Whether you’re traditionally published or indie-published, one of the big challenges is getting your books into bookstores, am I right?

Traditionally published authors (theoretically) have a leg up, because that’s their publisher’s job. But if you’re published by a small press, it may feel like you’re an indie author when you’re out there slogging your books from store to store, doing the ask.

As someone published by a small press, and now my own imprint after that press pulled back operations, I’ve developed my own strategy. More on that later. I’m also lucky enough to be friends with [and, full disclosure, a seasonal employee of] a bookseller. Renee Cunningham opened Oliver & Friends Bookshop in Belgrade Lakes in June 2020, right at the height of the pandemic. Despite having to limit customers in the small space for many months, her store filled a need and the community responded.

In a few months, Renee is moving the store to 150 Main St., in Waterville (the Colby College-owned Bill & Joan Alfond Commons building). She’s sad about leaving Belgrade, where she built up a following not only among the locals, but the region’s robust summer population as well. But she’s happy to bring books to a bigger audience, and really isn’t leaving the region, since Waterville is right down the road.

Renee is super-focused on running her business the best way possible, one reason she’s had so much success even though she opened, as I said, during the worst of the pandemic in 2020. I’ve seen her excellent business sense firsthand as an author, a customer and an employee. With that in mind, I’ve asked her to weigh in on some best practices for writers who’d like to get their books on store shelves.

Keep in mind every store is different, but this Q&A should be a good guideline if you’ve got questions. At the end, I’ll outline some of my own strategies.

Oliver & Friends Bookshop in Belgrade Lakes. Owner Renee Cunningham, while sad to leave the village, is moving the store to Waterville in the spring.

Question: Do you sell books by indie authors?

Renee: Yes, we love to support indie authors as much as possible.

Q: How should I approach you about selling my book?

R: We ask that you send us an email with information about your book. Phone calls or walk-in requests can be tough during open hours. The chance to review your request via email when we have time to spare makes it much easier and allows us to give your request more attention. In your email, please let us know if you are seeking to sell your books wholesale, or to place them with us on consignment. [Maureen note: More on this in my section at the bottom.]

Q: What if my book is traditionally published?

R: That works too! Just like with indie authors, send us an email with some details about your book, including how we can purchase it wholesale.

Q: How does author payment work when you sell my books on consignment? How about if I have a publisher and you’re ordering them that way?

R: If we’ve agreed to sell your books on consignment, we will run a sales report once a month and issue a you a check. If we purchased them directly through your publisher or through a wholesaler like Ingram, you’ll get paid directly through your publisher or agent.

Q: Do you sell books by any author, or are there reasons you won’t sell someone’s book?

R: Yes, we will sell books by any author if the book is a good fit for our inventory mix and/or if we have shelf space and room in our buying budget. For instance, Health & Wellness is a genre that does not sell well in our store, so we may pass on a book from that genre. Other reasons we may pass on a book include a lack of professional editing or cover design.

Q: What happens if my books are on your shelves, but no one buys them?

R: If your books are on consignment with us and there are no sales in a six-month time frame we’ll contact you and ask that you pick them up. If we’ve purchased them from a publisher or wholesaler, we may mark them down or return them for credit.

Author Shannon Bowring signs books at Oliver & Friends Bookshop in Belgrade Lakes in August.

Q: Do you do author signings? If so, what’s the best way for me to approach you about them, and if we do one, what can I expect?

R: Yes, we enjoy welcoming authors to our store for signings. Please email us a request along with information about your book (if we don’t already carry it). If we host you for a signing, it’s a joint effort between us and you. We’ll do our part to promote your event and we ask that you do the same. We’ll provide a table, chair and event signs. While we can’t guarantee what the turnout will be, we’ll do our best to make it a great experience for you.

Q: I know other bookstores may do things differently. Are there any resources that tell me what bookstore best practices are?

R: There sure are! The New England Independent Booksellers Association has a great section on their website for authors. Click here to visit it.

Maureen here again. Thanks Renee! That’s some good info.

I’ll add some tips of my own from the author’s point of view:

1. Sell your books like a professional. When you bring them to the store [after they’ve agreed to sell them], also provide them a packing slip or invoice that has the book or books name, ISBN, retail price, your percentage, and quantity of each book. Keep a copy for yourself. This way both you and the store will be on the same page with your books. It’s as much your job as theirs to keep track and know what you’ve given them.

When you first pitch, also be clear and informative. I’ve created what’s called a “sell sheet” or “info sheet” for all of my books. It has all the information about the book, including ISBN and distribution channels. When you contact booksellers, or libraries, include the sell sheet in your email. This will give them all the information they need as well as signals to them you’re a professional who knows what you’re doing. Be sure to convert it from a word doc to a PDF for email distribution. It will look more professional that way. Here’s an example of one of mine:

2. If you are an indie author, publish your books through IngramSpark as well as KDP (Amazon), and mark them as returnable on Ingram. Even though you will make less money if they’re marked as returnable, bookstores are more likely to stock them, so you win in the long run. Why publish them both on IngramSpark and KDP? That’s a blog post for another day, but the short version is that as far as getting your books into bookstores, Ingram is a distribution channel, one that bookstores and libraries order from. Bookstores battle Amazon for customers [note when buying: you can buy online from most bookstores just as easily as you can buy from Amazon]. They aren’t thrilled if they see an Amazon ISBN on your book and may not stock it. If they order from Ingram and can order your book there, they may be more likely to do just that. If your book is marked as returnable, they’re more likely to order it knowing they can return it to Ingram if it doesn’t sell.

If you are traditionally published by a small press, urge your publisher to make your books available on Ingram and to accept returns, even if it means less of a profit for everyone. Big picture, more stores will stock your books.

Even if you are traditionally published, you may choose to sell on consignment. This is where you sell directly to the store, rather than through a distributor. Ask the store which they prefer. With consignment, you have more control and make a few more cents  per book. Many indie bookstores prefer it as well, because they don’t have to pay upfront for the books. The downside for you is that those sales do not count as “official sales” when you are pitching future books to agents and publishers, whether you are indie published or traditionally published. They like to see how your previous books sold, and only sales through a distribution outlet, like Ingram or Amazon, count as official sales. It may not seem fair, but that’s the way it works, since you could conceivably buy hundreds of your own books, not sell them, then claim to have. Not that you’d do that. But you could.

3. Do your homework. Before approaching a bookstore, go to their website and see if they have any information about their preferences. Some will have that info, some won’t. Check out the best practices on the link Renee provided. Approach the store respectfully [as Renee outlines, an email introducing yourself is the best way to go for the most part, and be sure to attach your sell sheet].

4. No means no. If a bookstore won’t sell your book, don’t argue with them or be rude. They have their reasons, even if you may not agree. They are a business, not a charity organization or your free PR firm. Walk away with some dignity intact by being professional and polite.

When I was making the rounds of stores asking them to stock my first book [I didn’t email first! Rookie mistake!] one bookseller handed me back my book like he was handing me a bag of dog poop and said, “I don’t think so.” Another one said “we don’t sell self-published books,” even though I told him mine was traditionally published. In both cases, I thanked them for their time, and left. Their loss, as far as I was concerned. On the other hand, the Sherman’s chain began selling my books when they were the sellers at an author event I was involved in after my first book was published. They have sold them ever since and they are awesome to work. I get a check in the mail just about every month. Sometimes it’s for less than $11, sometimes it’s for a lot more. It feels great every time, no matter the amount. Ditto for Renee — she began selling my books when she opened Oliver & Friends Bookshop four years ago, is happy to talk them up to customers, and I’ve sold many through her store. When other authors ask me about selling through stores, I can’t say enough good things about Sherman’s and Oliver & Friends. Actually, when shopping for books comes up in general conversation, I also sing their praises.

5. If a store asks you to pay a “shelving fee,” say no thanks and walk away.

6. Remember that it’s up to you to market your books. If you have an author signing, be sure you publicize it and find out from the bookstore what it expects you to do both in advance and day of.

7. Communicate and be proactive. Be sure both you and the bookstore are on the same page as far as what is expected of you, how you will be compensated if your books sell, how many books you’ve provided them, and what will happen if they don’t sell.

If you would like a bookseller to sell your books at a library event, be sure you communicate with both the library and the bookseller well in advance and make sure you understand how it will work and what your role is. Keep in mind the bookseller is running a business, even though they’re offsite, and will expect a portion of your profits, likely the same percentage they get when they sell your books in their store. Judge whether it’s worth their time and your money to come to the event, or if you’ll just sell the books yourself (or get a friend or family member to do it).

8. If you get feedback about your selling style, information, or book quality, take it to heart and see if there are changes you can make that will bring positive results in the future.

Bottom line

With all of this in mind, know that individual sales at bookstores, while they’ll make you some money if you’re lucky, aren’t likely to be the thing that will put you on a bestseller list if you are an indie or small-press author. [Unless the local newspaper compiles its bestseller list from that store alone, but that’s another blog post for another day.]

The bottom line is use your energy wisely, understand that bookstores are a business. Be the professional author that you’d like the bookstore to treat you as. If you respect the businesses that can help you along the way it will pay off in the long run.

Oh, and I almost forgot — be sure you have the best possible book that you can write, and if you are self-published, produce, including paying for professional-looking covers and good editing.

Good luck and good writing!