Getting a Self Published Book into the Chain Stores

Best of luck. If you figure it out. let the rest of us know.

caw

To have any chance of being routinely ordered the book needs to have a deep discount and be returnable through normal channels (i.e. a large distributor). With a self-published book this is unfortunately almost certainly not the case. That means the main focus has to be in other venues although a few local stores may stock it on request.

Your friend should first contact Baker & Taylor, book distributors, and get on their list. Then try to contact local store managers and see what they say. It'll probably be a polite No.

The job of peddling a self-published book to the big stores is nearly an impossibility. Local independent booksellers might carry it, but your friend is fighting for shelf space with "no guns."

Sorry, but basically speaking, this isn't how it's done.

They could always try and get an agent to submit it to publishers...

a_sharp said:

your friend is fighting for shelf space with "no guns."

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It's not just a matter of "big guns". It's a matter of straightforward economics. The math just isn't there.

caw

WARNING NUMBER ONE:

Do NOT have anything to do with Publish America.

WARNING NUMBER TWO:

See Warning Number One.

caw

There's a section of AW called ... I think it's POD, Self-publishing and E-publishing. I should imagine many posts in that section discuss the distribution problem.

The bottom line is pretty much this ...
writers do not submit and submit and submit their mss, compete with thousands of other mss, suffer multiple rejections, rewrite and rewrite, pay 15% to agents, revise to please the editor, and, finally, issue forth under bizarre covers
because this is such a fun process.

They do it because New York print publishers are able to get books into chain stores.

If your friend wants to get his book into chain stores, he might look at what other writers do to get their books into chain stores.

a_sharp said:

The job of peddling a self-published book to the big stores is nearly an impossibility. Local independent booksellers might carry it, but your friend is fighting for shelf space with "no guns."

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This is what I was going to suggest. Most independent bookshops will have a shelf featuring "local authors." So your friend could go himself to those stores and request that they stock it. It's not mainstream distribution, but it may result in some extra sales. Depends on how diligent he is.

I've seen similar items in local florist shops; perhaps your friend might try florist or gift shops to see if there'd be any interest. This might be easier than getting it into bookstores.

'try' being the operative word here. The book's already published - remember?

JamieFord said:

They could always try and get an agent to submit it to publishers...

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On a general note -give me one reason why I, were I a chain bookstore owner, should put this self-published book on my shelves. Who, with publishing experience, has determined it is worth publishing and/or will sell?

I wish your friend good luck.

A friend who is a TV weatherman in a major city wrote a children's book, published by a minor house. He got it into the local store of the largest chain, but the rest throughout the nation will not stock it. Good luck.

www.donaldmichaelplatt.com

My father-in-law managed to get space for about 8 of his fairly thin trade paperback memoirs (self-published) in his local Chapters bookstore. I believe he went in and negotiated with the manager personally. I'm not privy to his personal affairs but the comment he made to me was that the bookstore was asking for a sizable percentage of the book cover price in exchange for the privilege of having his book on their shelf.

My father-in-law is a very widely known entrepreneur in his community. I believe this is the only reason the bookstore manager accepted to make space on his shelves for the book. If he wanted to have his book in any of the other Chapters locations outside of his community, I don't think he'd stand a chance.

Maryn said:

Your friend might also consider alternate sales points. The chain bookstores have experience with self-publication and poor sales. What about the many stores that sell baby furniture? Toy stores? Baby clothing? Silversmiths that sell infant keepsakes like silver spoons? Any of them, especially locally-owned, might be willing to keep a small stack to see how it goes, sales-wise.

Free copies to the offices of OB-gyn's and pediatricians could easily lead to "Where can I buy that?" questions. He can also leave business cards with a website for sales.

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These are very good suggestions because they're practical. Having been down this road, I can say that it's fun for a while, but it doesn't go far and you wind up not writing but becoming a book salesperson. You have to do the job other people get paid for--and they have big-name clout behind them. The reward for taking this on yourself is usually non-monetary, by which I mean that you provide entertainment pleasure for your readers and maybe get positive feedback. This may be enough to satisfy your friend.

Another place is book fairs. If your friend has the ability to promote the book, he/she may be lucky enough for fair sales to exceed registration fees, travel expense, etc.

Since your friend is considering chain stores, I would assume these alternatives either don't appeal or have been tried with results similar to what I've described here.

I'll tell two stories and then I'll shut up.

Ever hear of The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield? It started as a self-published paperback. Redfield drove his car all over the country peddling his book out of the trunk. When he got 6,000 copies out, a publisher called him, and the rest is history. Question: can or does your friend want to sell books out of his car? On the road cross-country?

In 1996, Richard Paul Evans had a publishing first: both hardback and paperback versions of The Christmas Box topped the charts. His book got started as a spiral bound set of manuscripts put together at a Staples or someplace. The book literally sold itself--I know because I heard him speak. Evans decided the healing effects of his book needed to reach more people than word of mouth could do. He got rejections until his final publisher took on the book because he could prove two years of runaway sales funded by himself. This, by the way, was before POD.

Both of these cases inspired me to try self-publication for a YA mystery I wrote for a very special family member. She was eleven at the time. I found out that if I even got a publisher to accept it, she would be 15 by the time it hit the street. The book is good, I've sold hundreds of copies through school libraries, public libraries, book fairs, local booksellers, and classroom appearances. The kids love it, the parent love it. I even got one grandparent to start reading fiction for the first time. This was all very gratifying because I was giving and getting firsthand. It's nice.

But my experience with self-publishing taught me who I am and who I am not. I am first a writer. I have also been an account manager with million-dollar sales years to my credit, but I don't want to go there. I don't want to pack books in my trunk and sell them in parking lots. I can't afford book fairs and all the rest.

I do wish your friend all the best of luck.

Hey, SL, you placed the interpretation of negativity upon my post.

It's going to be tough to get the book into other than a local store - that's a fact - not me being negative, and I did wish your friend good luck.

The questions I mentioned are basic and often insurmountable hurdles when trying to get any self-published book into a chain-store and I was not having a dig at your friend.

These posts are read by many people, not all of whom have the apparent awareness of you and your friend.

And getting self-published isn't a struggle - that's the easy part. It's finding paying readers (via a chainstore or otherwise) that is the hard part.

Simple Living said:

My friend is well aware of the struggles of self-publishing. He chose it anyway. No matter the results, he's happy with his book.

My post requested suggestions and helpful advice, not negativity.

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Maryn said:

Your friend might also consider alternate sales points. The chain bookstores have experience with self-publication and poor sales. What about the many stores that sell baby furniture? Toy stores? Baby clothing? Silversmiths that sell infant keepsakes like silver spoons? Any of them, especially locally-owned, might be willing to keep a small stack to see how it goes, sales-wise.

Free copies to the offices of OB-gyn's and pediatricians could easily lead to "Where can I buy that?" questions. He can also leave business cards with a website for sales.

Maryn, who sometimes lives outside the box

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Building on this post.

My sister-in-law owns a florist/gift shop in rural Iowa. Local artists put things in her store all the time. Her father-in-law makes little wood whirlygigs that she sells for him, too.

Try the local florist, gift & card shops. They may love having a local author's book. Your local library may also love a copy. You may be able to arrange a signing at one of these places.

Is there a coffee shop in the area that has a gift shop attached to it? That's another possible venue. Hospital gift shop is too.