A Question For Canadian Writers On Book Distribution In Canada

Saskatoonistan · Mar 6, 2009

Chapters/Indigo is Canada's biggest bookseller, however if you look on their website and do a search form small US publishers that do eBook/POD, you won't find a lot there. Is anyone experiencing difficulty arranging to have print books made available in Canada when it’s a small press publisher in the States and Ingram/Lightning Source? Basically a Canadian writer published by a small press or eBook/POD in the US has to convince Chapters head office to approve the book before they can set up any signings. Often a book can’t even be ordered by ISBN number up here unless it’s listed on Chapters/Indigo online. Finally a writer has to wait until their author copy arrives to show to head office before approval can be given.

McNally Robinson is, in my view, a far better bookstore but that's a topic for another day. Anyway, have other Canadian authors experienced this much difficulty getting their foot in the door to Chapters/Indigo?

ishtar'sgate · Mar 6, 2009

I'm a Canadian author but my small publisher is also in Canada, in your back yard actually - Thistledown Press. They don't seem to have any distribution problems in either Canada or the US. I can't really see why a small pub in the US would have trouble making a book available through ChaptersIndigo. I expect they'd follow the same procedure as they do for Amazon.

willietheshakes · Mar 6, 2009

It's not that easy, actually.

Books coming in through Ingram have to face international shipping, attendant costs, difficulties/costs of returnability, currency shifts and other logistic matters... Dealing with an indie like M-R limits the exposure on all those issues (ie, planning orders, logistics, etc) -- having it available on-line at Chindigo means a piecemeal approach, with logistical difficulties and higher costs.

For starters.

Chumplet · Mar 6, 2009

I'm having a helluva time with my two publishers -- one American and one Canadian, both POD. With a little persuasion, my local Chapters will carry my latest through a consignment agreement, but I have to supply the books. It will cost me money to sell my books through them until enough people ask for it, then they MIGHT buy copies on their own to put on their shelves.

Saskatoonistan · Mar 6, 2009

Chumplet said:
I'm having a helluva time with my two publishers -- one American and one Canadian, both POD. With a little persuasion, my local Chapters will carry my latest through a consignment agreement, but I have to supply the books. It will cost me money to sell my books through them until enough people ask for it, then they MIGHT buy copies on their own to put on their shelves.

That is awful! One thinks a Canadian writer would have better luck with independent booksellers. It's bad enough I have to go to an American publisher for a book about urban fantasy that takes place in Canada, with a Canadian protagonist stopping a Canadian city from being wiped out by bad juju because Canadian publishers don't do genre fiction. (Going to Americans by the way is something I highly recommend for Canadian writers.) Now I am going to probably have to buy my books about the aforementioned Canadian stuff and sell it on consignment inside Canada's only big box bookstore to my own countrymen!

The mind boggles, eh?

ishtar'sgate · Mar 6, 2009

willietheshakes said:
It's not that easy, actually.

Books coming in through Ingram have to face international shipping, attendant costs, difficulties/costs of returnability, currency shifts and other logistic matters... Dealing with an indie like M-R limits the exposure on all those issues (ie, planning orders, logistics, etc) -- having it available on-line at Chindigo means a piecemeal approach, with logistical difficulties and higher costs.

For starters.

Huh! Who knew. As a Canadian author I'd hate having that much difficulty selling my book in my own country. It sure makes me rethink attempting to deal with an American agent/publisher when my current wip is ready to make the rounds.

Chumplet · Mar 6, 2009

It's not the nationality of the publisher, it's the type of publisher that brings up the barriers. There are many fine small presses in Canada that go through the proper distribution channels that Chapters insists upon. And there are a lot of American and British ones, too. That's why I'm aiming higher with my next novel. I have no qualms about choosing an American agent over a Canadian one, as long as they sell my work to the publisher that will give me good distribution.

I also have no regrets choosing the small pubs for my first novels. I learned a lot.

willietheshakes · Mar 6, 2009

Saskatoonistan said:
That is awful! One thinks a Canadian writer would have better luck with independent booksellers. It's bad enough I have to go to an American publisher for a book about urban fantasy that takes place in Canada, with a Canadian protagonist stopping a Canadian city from being wiped out by bad juju because Canadian publishers don't do genre fiction. (Going to Americans by the way is something I highly recommend for Canadian writers.) Now I am going to probably have to buy my books about the aforementioned Canadian stuff and sell it on consignment inside Canada's only big box bookstore to my own countrymen!

The mind boggles, eh?

No, not really.

First off, there's an increasing amount of genre fiction being published in Canada, by presses small and VERY large.

Secondly, a LOT of stores, large and small, look very critically at POD stuff, and lump it together (fairly or not) with self-pubs, vanity presses, etc, ESPECIALLY when the author him/herself is doing the selling. The sheer volume of author-solicited materials, at this point, is enough to make one weep. Especially if one is (as I am) the person who has to go through them all, and break the vast majority of their authors' hearts. Yay job satisfaction.

ishtar'sgate · Mar 6, 2009

Chumplet said:
I also have no regrets choosing the small pubs for my first novels. I learned a lot.

Me too. It was a great experience.

Saskatoonistan · Mar 7, 2009

willietheshakes said:
First off, there's an increasing amount of genre fiction being published in Canada, by presses small and VERY large.

If you have a list, please post it here because I wouldn't be the first author who thought they'd researched the crap out of Canadian publishers and found nothing that would be a fit.

willietheshakes · Mar 7, 2009

I don't have a list, but as a juror for the Sunburst Award last year, I had 150 spec-fic titles from Canadians, some published in the US, some published in Canada, from publishers large and small. It made for a fun couple of months. And it IS growing -- Rob Sawyer's latest contract is with Penguin Canada; the first book comes out next month. Penguin Canada who also publish Guy Kay, Scott Bakker, Caitlin Sweet, Carrie Mac, etc, etc...

The 2007 Sunburst longlist is here -- lots of Canadian published books on it...

A Question For Canadian Writers On Book Distribution In Canada

Saskatoonistan

Still the wrong side of Saskatoon

ishtar'sgate

living in the past

willietheshakes

Gentleman. Scholar. Bastard.

Chumplet

This hat is getting too hot

Saskatoonistan

Still the wrong side of Saskatoon

ishtar'sgate

living in the past

Chumplet

This hat is getting too hot

willietheshakes

Gentleman. Scholar. Bastard.

ishtar'sgate

living in the past

Saskatoonistan

Still the wrong side of Saskatoon

willietheshakes

Gentleman. Scholar. Bastard.