How Distribution Works In the Publishing Industry
There are two different ways publishing can work with distribution. The first is in an independent author who is acting as self-publisher/self-distributor and the other is an author working through a publisher/distributor relationship.
In the first instance, the author has made the choice to do everything himself. He has obtained an ISBN himself, established a business to act as his publishing company and will be responsible for writing, formatting, cover design, finding a printer, deciding how the book will be printed and what materials will be used to print it, quantity to be printed, storage of printed books, and distribution of said books.
Traditional distribution channels are limited for a self-published author with only one title. Baker and Taylor will work with you, but on a very limited basis. They have something called a Partner Program. Following is what they what you get:
• A “one-time” appearance of your title’s annotation & jacket art in one of our monthly catalogs. The publisher will be responsible for writing the annotation. Baker & Taylor reserves the right to edit as appropriate. We will notify you when your annotation will appear in our catalog after we receive and process the required annotation information you submit to us. Placement of your annotation will appear approx. 3-4 months after we receive your annotation information.
• Your advertised title will initially be stocked. We will place one-time orders to ensure a minimum of 12 books in stock for each of our four (4) service centers. Purchase orders will be generated once we’ve confirmed your title(s) are listed on our database and we’ve received and processed your advertising information as instructed. (All subsequent orders will be placed according to demand.) This agreement applies only to the advertised title(s).
• Access to our online title database will enable you to check the listing of ALL your titles, including inventory and demand.
Requirements For Acceptance Into The Partner Program
• One time fee of $295.00 for a single title.
• Publisher must agree to the following business terms for a minimum of one (1) year:
55% discount; books are 100% returnable; publisher pays inbound freight; 90 day net payment
• Publisher must have a working email address.
• Title must not be more than 2 years past publication date.
• If title(s) has a list price of greater than $75.00, Baker & Taylor reserves the right to order a smaller amount of stock.
So, yes, your book will be available to bookstores, but it won’t be on their shelves. If you want your book on bookstore shelves, the easiest way to achieve this is to know a bookstore owner who will stock your book. You, as the author/publisher will have to work tirelessly to promote your book through every avenue possible to try to generate sales. Remember, sales through bookstores are not your best sales – these sales don’t earn you much money because you have to give away most of your cover price to someone else (Baker & Taylor for their $295 fee, shipping fees, 55% of the cover to the bookstores — added on to your existing cost of buying the ISBN, printing the books, shipping them from the printer, marketing the book, etc.).
The distribution picture is slightly better for publishers with more than 10 titles, but not much. Unless the author and/or publisher is willing to spend about $25,000 for marketing one title, Ingram – the nation’s largest distributor – will not even consider it, and Baker & Taylor will give it the same consideration they give a self-published book at a lesser fee.
If you, as an author, are determined to have your book distributed by Ingram, there is a way. Book wholesalers can act as middlemen for self-publishers, but again if you have only one title you are limited. Atlas Books, a division of Bookmasters, will handle your title — but you will have to be willing to give up between 65%-75% of your cover price for the privilege.
Many independent authors have found nontraditional distribution and sales venues to be much more receptive to their books as well as being more lucrative. Asking a shop that sells angel figurines to stock your book about angels and offering the store 40%-45% of the cover price is a much better fit than going through traditional bookstores. Other ways to increase sales could include an author web site, blog sites, book signings, writing articles related to your book’s topic for other web sites in return for a link to your book’s web site, readings at libraries, book fairs, etc.
So, as an author you will need to consider all of this before you print your book. As an author, you’re not just writing, you’re also a businessperson. You should draw up a plan that shows the target audience for your book’s subject; how you will market, distribute sell your book and how much this will cost; where the book will be printed, how many will be printed and what this will cost; and whether you will need warehousing and order fulfillment and how much that will cost. This plan should all be made before you ever consider publishing the book. All of these costs should be added together and divided by the number of books you plan to print to help you determine your cover price. Knowing what your book costs is important — you’re going to work at making sure it sells well and you don’t want to lose money on each sale.
Education and planning will help to make your book publishing experience a pleasant one.