One Honest Indie

“Reject the tyranny of picked. Pick yourself.” ― Seth Godin, Poke the Box

  • Home
  • About Me
    • Privacy Policy
    • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • What is Dystonia?
  • My Novels and Short Fiction
    • The Sam McRae Mystery Series
      • Identity Crisis
      • Least Wanted
      • Riptide
      • Deep Six
      • Law Can Be Murder
    • The Erica Jensen Mysteries
    • My Other Novels
      • Invisible Me
      • The Planck Factor
    • Short Stories
  • For Writers
    • Indie Publishing
    • Blogging
    • Screenwriting
    • Writing Advice
    • Marketing
  • Podcasting
  • Hang Onto Your Work-Life
    • Frugal Living
    • Health and Wellness
    • Recipes
    • Organizing
    • Photography
    • Travel
  • Online Courses
    • Learning for Life
  • Book Reviews
  • Food for Thought
    • Bits and Bobs
  • Videography
    • My Videos
  • Contact Me

Book Distribution Was Always the Issue

08/24/2021 by Debbi

Tweet
Share
Pin
Photo by Pauline Loroy on Unsplash

Remember what I wrote about print-on-demand (or POD) publishing?

It doesn’t take a genius to realize why ebooks became so popular (and how Amazon built an empire, based on authors’ years of rejections getting screwed by publishers and others frustrations with matters like distribution and marketing) among authors who decided to bypass the traditional publishing route. It’s relatively cheap (depending on your tolerance for bad covers and poor editing) and it’s easy as can be.

But when it comes to print books, you need to know a few things.

The returnability issue

As a POD published author and a self-published author, the biggest hurdle you face to getting your product placed in bookstores is the infeasibility of allowing your books to be returned for a complete refund if they aren’t sold. Not to mention the penalty you as the publisher get socked with for shipping costs. The alternative is for the bookseller to destroy the books. Both a financial waste and hardly an eco-conscious approach. But it’s been standard practice for a long, long time. Unfortunately, booksellers continue to insist upon doing this and traditional publishers continue to follow this practice, cranking out large print runs instead of finding ways to use modern technology to create new solutions.

At one time, authors engaged with readers in any bookstore that would have them. They routinely did things like sell books out of the trunks of their cars, direct to readers, aka, consumers. Setting up signings at book fairs, festivals and other venues, going to individual bookstores and arranging events where and when they could. These methods, although they can bear fruit with enough time and effort, are a lot of work, time consuming, and not terribly cost-effective. Then, clever authors found ways to use the Internet to sell books of various formats online. A much less labor-intensive and time-saving approach. At one time, the problem was virtually eliminated (no pun intended) with the advent of ebooks.

Ebook distribution

Ebooks are the cheapest, easiest and most logical way for self-published authors to distribute and sell their work. However, since I first self-published my fiction in 2009, the ebook market has exploded.
More than ever, this means self-published writers need to “up their game” in terms of the quality of their work.

Writing and promoting a badly-written book is like walking around with a “Kick me” sign on your back. You’re also doing nothing to advance your writing career. In fact, you may end up derailing it, if you aren’t careful.

Much of this advice depends on what you wish to achieve as a writer. Always remember that your notion of success may not match that of other “influential” authors.

Remember also never to compare your start with someone else’s middle.

PS: I still think that if you want your work placed in bookstores and libraries, you should listen to Amy Collins’ podcast interview.

Tweet
Share
Pin

Filed Under: Creative Entrepreneurship, For Writers, Indie Publishing, Print Publishing, Serialized content Tagged With: Authorpreneurs, Creative Entrepreneurs, Distribution, Indie Authors, Indie Publishing, Print Books, Small Press

Meet Debbi

Welcome to my writers' corner of the Internet. I'm a novelist, who also writes short stories and screenplays. I hope to share the benefit of my experiences as an indie author with dystonia since 2009. I also post a lot of book reviews, because I love to read and learn new things. I hope to share that knowledge with you.

Click on the cover for a free copy!

Try My Online Courses

I'm posting writing and other courses online at Creative Living! 

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Follow

Categories

  • Accountability
  • Accountability
  • Announcement
  • Bits and Bobs
  • Blogging
  • Book Reviews
  • Creative Entrepreneurship
  • Film Review
  • Food for Thought
  • For Writers
  • Frugal Living
  • Fundraising
  • Hang Onto Your Work-Life
  • Health and Wellness
  • Indie Author Guide
  • Indie Publishing
  • Law for Writers
  • Learning for Life
  • Life Update
  • Marketing
  • Memoirs
  • My Story
  • My Videos
  • Online Courses
  • Online Marketing
  • Organizing
  • Photography
  • Podcasting
  • Poetry
  • Print Publishing
  • Producing
  • Random Thoughts
  • Recipes
  • Screenwriting
  • Serialized content
  • Social Media
  • Summaries
  • Tech Talk
  • Towel Day
  • Travel
  • Videography
  • Vlog
  • Writing Advice

Tags

Amwriting Authorpreneurs Blogging Book Publishing Book Review Book Reviews BookTube Branding Content Marketing Crime Fiction Dystonia Entrepreneurship Fiction Filmmaking Food for Thought Health History How-To Indie Authors Indie Publishing Inspiration Marketing Memoirs Mindfulness Nonfiction Online Marketing Organizing Productivity Productivity Random Crap Random Thoughts Recommended Reading Self-Care Self-Publishing Self-Publishing Guide Seth Godin Social Media Travel Video Videos Vlog Wellness Writing Writing Tips YouTube

Grow Your Readership with BookSweeps

Support Indie Bookstores

indiebound

Recent Posts

  • My Own Self-Publishing Journey — Part Four
  • When Opportunity Knocks …
  • My Book Review of ‘Online Marketing for Busy Authors’
  • My Book Review of ‘Crowdsourcing for Filmmakers’
  • My Own Self-Publishing Journey — Part Three

Recommended Web Services

Build Your Website with Namecheap - Get Privacy Protection Free Forever

Web Hosting

Monthly Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in