Julie Broad explains how self-published authors get books into stores. Bookstore buyers order through wholesalers like Ingram, so you need to make your book returnable. You'll also need to prove demand through local events, media coverage, and getting fans to request your book in stores.
Chapters
Our client Gillian Gerson has her book the Elephant in the Gym in bookstores. And when we announced that the Canadian bookstore giant Chapters Indigo was going to carry her book, we got questions. How can I get my book into bookstores? So if you're wondering what makes a bookstore buy your book, stick around. Hey, I'm Julie the Book Broad award winning author and founder of this fantastic company that cares about authors and their success story so much, called Book Launchers. Seriously, caring more than other companies do is our superpower. Now before we dive in, make sure you subscribe to the channel and turn the notifications on so we can hang out in the comments when a video comes out. If you comment the day a video comes out, there's prizes and you could win some cool book Launcher swag. It's what all the cool kids are talking about. I have to tell you, the day I walked into a major bookstore and saw my book on the shelf was a really special day. It's funny because I sell so few books through bookstores and yet seeing my book on the bookshelf felt real. It made me feel like a real author. So as a self published author, you might be wondering, how do you get the attention of bookstore buyers so your book can sit on a shelf in your local bookstore or beyond? First, important to know book buyers work through wholesalers. I'm referring to Ingram, Baker and Taylor, America West, Brodart, and smaller niche wholesalers. Notice who's not on this list. Do you see Amazon or KDP anywhere? There's no Amazon or KDP prints. Some local chain stores and independent bookstores will carry your book on consignment. So if you really want shelf space and they won't deal with your wholesaler, that can be an option. But it's kind of a pain from your perspective. It also means that you're only getting paid for your books after they sell. So I recommend IngramSpark because then your book is listed with the Ingram Content Group, which is the biggest wholesaler in the United States. Now check out this video for a few important tips like making sure you choose returnable when setting your book up in Ingram, retailers only buy your book if it's returnable. Now if you're not with IngramSpark, you can apply to other wholesalers to carry your book. Getting into a wholesaler is not that complicated, but you usually have to apply. The hard part is showing the book buyers at the stores that your book is worthy of their coveted and limited shelf space. The first place most bookstores are gonna look is Amazon. If your book is not, then it's unlikely a store is going to take a chance on you. So get your book highly ranked on Amazon as possible then. If you're pitching stores directly, what you're going to have to do is show them how you're going to drive demand and even drive customers into their store. This means planning book events, media attention, interviews, speaking engagements. Show them that you have local promotions that are going to drive traffic in their door to get your book. Even better, show them that you're going to do this. Have your biggest fans go to the store and request your book, or order the book online and have it shipped to the store. That's actually an advantage to your customers because they save on shipping and you get the attention of the staff at the store. Win win. It would be nice to think that local or independent stores are going to support you, but they have to look at the dollars and cents for their decisions. So if you're wondering about airport stores, Costco, some of these other big retailers like Walmart, generally speaking, their big space is for sale so you have to have deep pockets to get it. And then if you want other, you generally need to be one of the top 100 sellers overall. They just don't have space for anything but those top 100. But hey, maybe your local running store or your local gardening store or some other local shop might carry your book. If it's a fit for their audience, they just might do it. All right, you like this video? Smash that thumbs up button and let me know below how you're going to get distribution or if you even care if a bookstore carries your book. And if you haven't already seen this video on the most commonly believed myths around writing and publishing your book, check that one out. Or this dandy on things that will make a cover that sells. Check out these really awesome videos. They're all great. You're going to love it. Just click it and I'll find something cool to put up here for you to watch.
