I love bookstores. They’re one of my safe places: the smell of fresh paper, brewed coffee, and yummy pastries; the friendly crowds of fellow booklovers; the space to sit and work on my laptop or peruse the periodicals, the mountains of delectable books. It’s everything my little author heart desires.
Although bookstore placement is a huge marketing asset and sales opportunity for many publishers, including the big five, getting your small independent book into physical stores isn’t always possible for indie authors.
Now, I totally understand that bookstores need to stock books that sell—especially independent bookstores. The staff put a lot of thought and effort into curating a selection of books that entice readers and will sell enough copies to keep the doors open.
However, a number of bookstores also foster a wonderful sense of community and prioritize showcasing a few smaller titles by indie authors.
With scams targeting authors at an all-time high (Authors Guild), I’ve been on high alert when vetting new opportunities. So, when I saw a post on Instagram about book consignments, my eyebrows raised so far that they launched above my head. But before I get into the details of that post, let’s talk a little bit more about how books get placed in bookstores.
Option 1 - Wholesale
Wholesale is the gold standard for store placement for many goods. The store purchases several items from a distributor at a discount and then sells the items individually at retail price. The quantities required for ordering and the discount from the retail price vary by type of goods.
Author Delivered
Some bookstores are more than happy to purchase wholesale books from indie authors if they think their customers may enjoy that particular title. It’s up to the store manager and the author to negotiate the discounted price (anywhere from 40-60% off the retail price—I usually ask for 50%), and then the author hand-delivers the books to the store.
I prefer this scenario because it means that the author gets paid upfront for their books: you have money in your pocket as soon as those books leave your possession. Although the author must pay to print copies of their book in advance, if bookstores don’t order them, the author can still use or sell them. Also, since the author personally distributes the copies of the book, they can use any printer they want, even smaller ones with limited distribution networks.
What about returns?
It would be wrong for me to offer wholesale book sales as the best option without at least mentioning one potential drawback: returns. Typically, bookstores expect the option to return unsold books. If you decide not to accept returns, some bookstores might choose not to purchase your title or to only order a few copies at a time.
If you do want to accept returns, you’ll want to negotiate the details for this as well. Bookstores don’t always give back the “returned” books, or the copies they want to return might be damaged. Be upfront about whether you will collect unsold books or prefer that the seller donate or destroy them. No matter what happens to the books, it’s up to you to pay back the bookseller the wholesale price for those copies that didn’t sell.
Through a Distributor
A number of indie authors believe that by selecting “expanded distribution” when uploading a title to KDP or selecting a wholesale discount through Ingram (KDP and Ingram being the two top printers and distributors indie authors use), their title will automatically start showing up in bookstores worldwide.
Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Behind the scenes, larger publishers, including the Big Five, do a lot of marketing to booksellers to convince them to stock their new releases. Smaller publishers, including indie authors, won’t have the healthy marketing budgets to ensure that bookstores stock their books.
However, that doesn’t mean all hope is lost! There are instances when the bookstore would want to purchase copies of your book for their store, such as if you offer to come to the store and host a book signing. These events can be a lot of fun and an opportunity to get friends and family to purchase copies of your book. Additionally, regular patrons to the bookstore will be excited to meet a real author and get to discover your work.
I will add that most bookstores will refuse to purchase the books through Amazon or KDP extended distribution, so the book will need to be available from a distributor like Ingram—or in the case of Barnes & Noble, the book could be printed through their own small press platform B&N press.
Consignment
The much more common route indie authors take to get their books placed in bookstores is through consignment.
In a consignment deal, the author brings copies of their book to the store, and the store displays the books on its shelves. The author still technically owns those copies of their books until each one sells. How the author gets paid varies depending on the contract you sign when you drop off the books, but typically the author will receive 60% of the sale price of their books, paid out either monthly or quarterly.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of bookkeeping required for consignment deals, and I’ve heard many stories from author friends about stores losing copies of their books or forgetting to pay the author for sold copies. If you do offer books through consignment, you’ll probably want to stop by the store periodically and see how many of your books remain unsold.
When Things Get Fuzzy
An increasingly common practice, which I’m already not a fan of, is for bookstores to charge a one-time placement fee for each title available through consignment. This fee usually isn’t too steep, around $20-$35. These fees are common in grocery stores and big-box stores, where they’re called “slotting fees,” but less so in bookstores.
I understand that this fee both helps deter poor-quality books and covers the administrative costs of adding a new title to the store’s catalog, especially for titles that ultimately don't sell but still take up shelf space.
However, my view is that the bookstore gets to choose which books they place on the shelves. They are paid for every book they sell, so they have an incentive to pick books that appeal to readers and to do their best to encourage customers to purchase the books in the store.
Some authors are willing to offer their books for consignment and pay a modest placement fee, even if it means taking a financial loss, just for the local exposure and prestige of having their book in that bookstore. For me, it’s a little too pay-to-play, but I understand that some writers view their books as more of a hobby than a business, and are willing to spend money for access to traditional author perks.
It just makes it a little ickier for those of us trying to run a profitable indie writing business.
The Post That Set Off My Alarm Bells
I came across this post on Instagram, and immediately felt my blood pressure rise.
Even sadder were the dozens of comments from authors expressing interest in participating in this “opportunity.”
I shared the post privately with some writer friends, adding the comment: “Tell me you hate indie authors without saying you hate indie authors.”
Was that dramatic? Maybe.
But the fee structure bothered me. A $50 review fee just to be considered is already a major red flag. The fact that the fee would then be applied toward a separate placement fee if the book was accepted made me even more uncomfortable, especially because I couldn’t find the full consignment terms publicly listed.
How much is the placement fee? What percentage of each sale goes to the author? How long does the book stay on the shelf? How many copies are requested? What happens to unsold books?
Authors should know those answers before paying to submit.
I’m a firm believer that bookstores should make their money from *selling books*, not from charging authors vague upfront fees.
Since I couldn’t find additional information about the placement fee or consignment terms, I sent them a friendly message asking for clarification. They replied promptly and answered all of my questions, including confirming that the placement fee is well over $150. I appreciated the clear response, but the email ended with a telling next step: “If you would like to move forward, reply and I will send the invoice to this email address.”
Local Bookstores are Not the Bad Guys
There are many businesses that take advantage of indie authors, but on the flip side, authors can also unintentionally overwhelm bookish spaces.
For instance, I read this on another independent bookstore’s website:
(Our bookstore) receives a lot of inquiries for consignment. Charging a review fee is one of the few ways we are able to make the work of maintaining active business relationships with independent creators financially viable while also welcoming the connections of new ones.
Honestly? I can understand that.
Bookstore employees should spend their time helping customers find and purchase books they’ll enjoy, not reviewing endless consignment applications from authors who may or may not be a good fit for the store.
This particular bookstore also seemed genuinely committed to supporting the local author community. They even asked whether authors would like constructive feedback if their book wasn’t accepted for store placement.
That is very different from a vague pay-to-play opportunity where authors are asked to pay before they know the full terms.
Libraries also get inundated with requests from local authors to carry copies of their self-published books, leading them to put policies and practices into place that can look pretty hostile toward indie authors. Read more about my experience with the local library in this post: Why I’m Mad at the Library
What’s an Author to Do?
Of course, my first piece of advice is to avoid consignment deals that require fees unless it’s with a bookstore you already have a relationship with and whose staff are excited to share your book with their customers. That might mean your book won’t be available on bookstore shelves, and that’s okay. However, do make it easy to purchase your physical books online, whether through your website or a major online retailer.
There are other avenues for selling physical books, including craft fairs, book festivals, art markets, conventions, and more. These all have the benefit of meeting interested readers and potential fans who will follow your career as you write and release more books. While there are scammy actors in these spaces as well, there is much higher potential for book sales at these types of events.
And if you do decide to look into a consignment deal for your books, ask these questions (and get the answers in writing!) before paying any fees, handing over any books, or signing any agreements:
- What percentage of each sale do I receive?
- Are there any upfront fees? What exactly do they cover?
- How long will my book be displayed?
- Where will my book be displayed?
- How many copies will the store stock?
- How are sales tracked?
- When and how will I be paid?
- What happens to unsold or damaged copies?
- Can I pick up my books if I decide to end the agreement?
Conclusion
I hope this post hasn’t given you the impression that I dislike bookstores. There’s simply a balance of booksellers operating as businesses and working with indie authors, who are also trying to find success in their careers as writers.
I’ve actually been thinking a lot about bookstores because I want to plan a small local book-signing tour for the upcoming release of Puzzling Escapes: The Secret of Shipwreck Island this fall. There are a lot of moving pieces that need to fall into place in order to make this tour a reality, and I’ll make sure to keep you posted as I add bookstores to the list!
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