Hi, hello! I’m sharing a new blog series called “Author Business,” where I share my experience and knowledge with our fellow authors to address the business side of our publishing goals. In fact, most of you are likely already fairly proficient in your writing skills; after all, there’s a plethora of classes, courses, and panels to attend to improve one’s craft. However, there isn’t a lot of organized information around what happens after you write the book.
Today, we’re talking about working with booksellers, but I’ll have more to share about copyright, in-person events, working with street teams and influencers, setting up a book release tour, and much more.
The goal is to help you better understand the process of working with booksellers to see your books on more shelves. Let’s dive in!
1. Create an Author One-Pager
Regardless of how you published/intend to publish your books, an author one-pager will really save you and booksellers time. A one-pager is a document that has all the relevant information about your books, such as
- Author Name/Pen Name
- Book Titles
- ISBNs
- Book Descriptions
- Tropes & Triggers
- Book Covers
- Genre/Recommended Age
- Retail Price
- Contact Information
I’ve created a template on Canva that you can copy and use! Now that I have several duologies, I created a one-pager for each series.
Much like applying for a job, working with booksellers will involve sharing the same information about the books. You might find yourself sharing digital one-pagers, print them out for in-person visits, or copy and paste the information on an author form.
Speaking of which, it’s so important to read the instructions for each bookstore first before applying. They all tend to have their own methods for collecting author information, and it only makes you look good if you read and follow the instructions.
2. Know Their Niche Before Outreach
If you’ve ever been to your local bookstore, then you already know that each space has limited shelving. That means that even if they had the budget, they can’t stock every book on the shelves. And many indie bookstores will have a specific niche or audience in mind. So it’s always ideal to do some research first about which types of books the bookstore will even take. Again, this will save everyone time.
Usually, there are several ways to know a bookstore’s specialty: visiting in person, looking at their website, and perusing their social media. Often, booksellers will share their niche genres on their author interest pages. So it helps to get that obvious information first.
3. Understand Wholesale Options
Before getting into wholesale, here’s how books literally end up on the shelf. First, the bookseller places an order for books. IngramSpark is still a major resource for booksellers, but more competitors are on the rise. Booksellers pay a wholesale rate for the books, and the printer will ship the books to the shop. The booksellers then catalogue the new books so they’re added to the system. Finally, when a reader picks up a book, they pay the full retail price. And of course, everyone rejoices!
Booksellers will either stock books that have a 60/40 split (authors get 60% of the sale) or they will negotiate a rate with the author. So when it comes time to put your books up on IngramSpark or other business-to-business book printing services, it’s worth considering the wholesale rate for your books.
On IngramSpark, there’s a way to indicate how booksellers can return books to the authors/publishers. For now, I recommend “yes – destroy” so you’re not left with an insane bill for returned books.
If you sell books directly, I highly recommend having wholesale options. For example, I provide wholesale pricing for my books on my shop. The perk here is that I sign the books and add some bookmarks before mailing them off to booksellers. I’ve had some success with this because I’ve made it this much easier to sell books to bookstores.
4. Read Author Consignment Forms
When you work with a bookstore, you will likely review and sign an author consignment form. This document outlines what each party can expect in this partnership. Bookstores will have their own process for ordering stock (through IngramSpark or the author), how the author will be compensated (before or after the books sell), and what happens if the books aren’t sold by a certain time.
As an author, you are technically a business owner because you’re selling a product. I recommend asking for the author consignment form and making sure you want to go through this process.
5. Schedule In-Store Signings
Even after signing the consignment form and you finally get to see your books on the shelf, there is still more to do. There are so many books to buy online and in-person, so how do you ensure people know where to find your books? In-store signings and author events are a great way to bring in your audience and meet the bookstore regulars. Talk about a win-win for you and the booksellers!
Some bookstores I’ve worked with won’t even start a formal relationship with me until I have an event. It’s good data for whether I’m offering what the readers are craving. So don’t be too surprised if they pitch this to you before the books are formally available through the store.
When putting together these events (and I’ll share more in future posts), you’ll decide how readers will pay for the books: directly from you (at the table) or through the register (that 60/40 split).
6. Keep the Relationship Going
Okay! You’ve signed the consignment form, you’ve done the signing, and your books are on the shelves! That’s awesome. Now that you have a relationship with the booksellers, you get to keep the relationship going. Add them to your next book tour for the next release, share photos of your books in their store, and remind readers of where they can find you in physical locations. I’d argue that this isn’t a requirement, but it’s certainly a great way to network yourself and maintain positive relationships with folks in this industry.
Note: If you’re using IngramSpark, any bookseller can order in any requests. If you have a loyal fanbase, ask them to put in requests through the booksellers for pickup. This can really help you and your work stand out.
7. Consider the Slow & Steady Path
I understand that this is a lot of work. It’s one thing to follow these steps for one location; it’s another to consider just how many bookstores are in your state or country. This type of work isn’t for everyone, largely because this isn’t everyone’s goal or measure of success. I’ve put in a lot of literal miles to reach bookstores across Texas. I think I’ve earned the title of indie bookstore questing queen! But this all started with a goal and dream of seeing my books on the shelves—right next to all the other books, whether trad or indie.
The problem isn’t that the books aren’t available; it’s passing on the message that the books exist and should be on the shelves. So I recommend taking the slow and steady path—especially if you’re a one-author show. And remember: it’s not about how many bookstores are directly working with you; it’s how many books are actually getting sold. You may have to prioritize certain stores over others because it’s the best use of your time and budget. And they might do the same for us, too.
Well, I hope this is a good motivator to get your books out there. What additional questions do you have? And what topics are you excited to dive into with this series?
