Introduction
Trying to get bookstores to accept your book and give it shelf space is time consuming and hard to pull off. Most bookstores are not eager to get your book. And to make matters worse, as a small independent publisher or self-publisher, you would be at the mercy of the bookstores. They set all the terms, whether you like it or not. But even if you do everything they want and spend a lot of time and money in the process to get a bookstore to accept your book and give it some space, there’s no guarantee they’ll sell it. Here are ten reasons why a new self-publisher should avoid spending valuable time and money trying to get their book into traditional bookstores.
1. Bookstores only accept books that they think will sell in high volume
They will almost never believe that a self-published book will sell more than a few copies. They know that a small publisher doesn’t have the power, connections, or budget to execute a large, sophisticated marketing plan.
2. Bookstores will usually order fewer than 10 copies
Even if they accept your book and agree to give it shelf space, most bookstores will order fewer than ten copies at a time. Limited warehouse space is one reason. A second reason is that your book will only be given a short time to prove to the bookstore that the book will sell. If not, it will be removed from the shelf.
3. Bookstores only accept books that can be returned
And they can give you 50% to 80% of your books back, and you have to pay to get them back. Some big bookstore chains know that small publishers can’t afford to buy back books. They will then offer to buy your books for less than a dollar and then put your book on their discount table.
4. Bookstores expect the publisher to pay shipping both ways
This is a fact of life for the self-distributing self-publisher. It also takes a long time to pack your books for shipping, and postage is expensive.
5. Bookstores sell very few books compared to online retailers
This is especially true for self-publishers. The well-established big-name authors and the largest publishers are the ones that get the best displays and placements in the bookstore.
6. The physical bookstores do not have enough space to store all the titles
Small bookstores can store 5,000 titles. Large bookstores could stock 140,000 titles. Amazon stocks a few million titles. You’ll end up spending a lot of time and money trying to get your book into bookstores, most of which simply don’t have the space to carry your book.
7. Libraries will force you to recover all damaged copies
Your book will remain on the shelf in the bookstore, will be tampered with, bent, knocked over, etc., and then the bookstore will force you to remove it and force you to pay for shipping.
8. Bookstores have a bias against self-published books for two big reasons.
has. The reputation of vanity printers and self-publishers who produce low-quality, unmarketable books.
b. Self-publishers typically lack the right relationships with distributors, making their books difficult to obtain.
9. Bookstores can order your book even when it’s not on their shelf
Almost every bookstore in the United States can order a book online through companies like Ingram or Bertrams. The book will then be shipped to the bookstore and picked up by the customer.
10. Bookstores can easily take 90-120 days to pay you
As a small, independent, publisher or self-publisher, I would be at the mercy of the bookstores. They set all the terms, whether you like it or not. And as a small publisher, waiting several months for your money can be devastating.
conclusion
Avoid all these hassles when you’re just starting out as a self-publisher and stay away from bookstores. Wait until your book sales are doing very well on Amazon, which is when a “big name” publisher might be interested in picking up your book. They will have the connections, the power and the money to deal with the bookstores. But if you’re still desperate to see your book on a bookstore shelf, you can easily contact the hundreds of small independent bookstores across the country. Good luck.
