This morning I received an email from a reader who wanted to carry my book in her store and did not know how to go about placing an order for books for resale. She is in the process of developing an online catalog as well as expanding her store to include books.
My first thought was the Amazon Associates program. By linking the ebook on her online store, she can collect referral money from those who purchase it. But that really is not a lot of money compared to her selling the paper version directly to her customers either in store or online.
When I published the book on CreateSpace, I elected to sell the books through the expanded distribution channels (EDC), making the book available to libraries, schools, and retailers. I routinely see sales through the expanded distribution channel on the sales report. Though my royalty is lower than the books sold through the CreateSpace channel, the book has a broader distribution, reaching more readers.
Having enrolled in EDC, I knew that my reader could order the book for her store, but I did not know the process. Apparently, a book enrolled in EDC is listed in the Ingram, Baker and Taylor, or Bowker catalogs, which is what retailers libraries, and schools use to order their stock. Retailers, then select the books they want to order from the catalog. For her to purchase the books, she will need to work with one of these channels.
The big three EDC channels
- Ingram claims that they are “the world’s largest and most trusted distributor of physical and digital content. We provide books, music and media content to over 38,000 retailers, libraries, schools and distribution partners in 195 countries. More than 25,000 publishers use Ingram’s fully integrated physical and digital solutions and programs to realize the full business potential of books.”
- Baker & Taylor touts itself as “the world’s largest distributor of physical and digital books and entertainment products. We serve retailers, from big-box and specialty stores to independent shops and Internet merchants, around the globe.” Their application process for retailers looks simple, requiring the completion of a four-page application.
- Bowker “is the world’s leading provider of bibliographic information and management solutions designed to help publishers, booksellers, and libraries better serve their customers.” Bowker has free service for self-published authors with fewer than ten ISBNs to help enhance discoverablity. Bowker sells ISBNs, but if you publish through CreateSpace, you get one at no additional cost, but you can use your own, which you have to pay for. Since the CreateSpace process creates all the metadata, I could see no need for Bawker’s service. I even created an account to check on my books ISBN and metadata, but could not find a way to do so. Feeling assured that CreateSpace has covered the requirements, I did not pursue it further.
Things learned about extended distribution channels
- EDC is not a guarantee that any retailer, library or school will list your book or purchase a copy to stock on a shelf. Stores such as Barnes and Nobel or other large book stores require that the book is listed with Ingram or Baker and Taylor before purchasing books for their shelves or listing the books in their online book store.
- To improve the odds of having them order your book, send your book to the book buyers at the corporate level. If they approve it, your book may become a part of the chain’s official stock. Make sure to include the ISBN in all press releases and marketing packages, and mail these directly to the buyers.
- CreateSpace is a great publisher for the indie author. I really appreciate how easy they make it for use to publish and distribute the books. As an indie publisher with CreateSpace EDC program, I do not have to purchase books to send to retailers, figure out the tax laws, return policies, and myriad other headaches associated with self publishing…they do it all for me for $25.00. For me, the EDC fee is worth every penny.
- According to CreateSpace’s Expanded Distribution page, if you change the cover or interior files for your book that is EDC-enrolled. Be certain to check with them to ensure that all the files are updated.
Have you had experience getting your book into retail stores. What advice would you give? Please comment.
