When it comes to publishing a children’s book, there’s no doubt that getting through production and reaching the glorious moment of holding your masterpiece in your hands is unmatched. Often, it seems like that’s the monumental occasion you’re working so hard to achieve. But for a book to be successful, there has to be a plan for what comes next—getting the book into the hands of readers. And for that to happen, you need to have a plan for book distribution.
First off, what is book distribution exactly? Put simply, it’s how a book is carried by retailers, from Amazon to Barnes & Noble to independent bookstores, and how it’s accessible for major wholesalers. That, of course, is how individual consumers can then purchase the book. Many authors confuse this with marketing and PR, but this is actually its own significant part of the publishing process. After all, book distribution is key for making it available for readers to purchase!
The thing is . . . it’s not something an individual can usually do on their own. Sure, you can design and print a book through Shutterfly and then approach your local bookstore about carrying it, but chances are you’ll run into lots of challenges. Most retailers—whether major or independent—have a set process for ordering books, and you need to rely on the established distribution channels for your book to be available for sale.
Authors who rely on print on demand publishing may mostly see their book at online retailers—Amazon.com, Bookshop.org, Walmart.com, etc. However, with online shopping becoming more common than ever, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If a print on demand author really wants to have the opportunity to get their book on shelves, though, it may be possible.
Say, for example, you publish through IngramSpark, which has a minimum required wholesale discount of 40 percent (this is how retailers make money from selling your book). If you set it at 40 percent, places like Barnes & Noble won’t even see your title in the system because there’s not enough money to go around for the retailer and the distributor. You would have to set it at 53 percent to 55 percent at a minimum to even have the chance to get physical placement in stores.
It’s likely you would have to allow returns as well. This isn’t necessarily a problem, but if you get a ton of returns, you may end up in the red. And if you start by allowing returns but then switch to not allowing them, you may get flooded with returns because the retailers that have purchased your book will be notified and given a window of time to return before it’s no longer allowed.
As with anything, it’s a matter of figuring out what’s most important to you! If you’re determined to have a book signing event at your local Barnes & Noble, it may be worth it to cut down on your royalties and allow returns to potentially earn that opportunity. If you’d rather prioritize income or ROI, you should stick with a 40 percent wholesale discount and make it so returns aren’t accepted.
When an author does an offset print run, depending on their publisher’s connections, they may have a greater chance of getting their book on the shelves in stores. If the publisher professionally manages distribution in-house and/or partners with major distribution entities like Ingram, your book should feed through to all the retailers—online and physical. Does that mean your book will be on the shelf at every bookstore? Of course not! But every retailer should have access to order and stock your book if they choose.
Tip: With an offset print run, your book should still also be available across online platforms, but they may run low on stock sometimes. It is up to online retailers like Amazon to order more copies—your publisher can’t just send books without a specific order being made.
Something to keep in mind here is that the wholesale discount is trickier to pinpoint with an offset print run because every retailer has different requirements, and distribution partners like Ingram want a piece of the pie too. Generally, you can expect the wholesale discount to fall somewhere between 40 percent and 60 percent.
No matter how you distribute your book, there are a few key elements to keep in mind:
1. Metadata. This is the descriptive information about a book—title and author, of course, but also genre, ISBN, pub date, keywords, and categories. This may seem boring and highly technical, but it is crucial to get right. After all, it largely dictates the discoverability of your book! Having the right metadata allows your book to be appropriately catalogued for distributors, retailers, libraries, etc. And when you’re strategic about things like BISACs (or categories), you can position your book for success in terms of bestseller status. The key here is to be as specific as possible.
You’re a lot more likely to become a #1 new release in BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Investments & Securities / Commodities / Energy compared to just BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / General. There are fewer new titles to compete with in the narrower category!
2. Seasonality. Just like in any industry, the changing seasons can affect distribution. Some very obvious examples are holiday-themed books. You want to publish and push distribution of your Halloween book in fall, of course. What may come as a surprise to some authors is that it is not recommended to publish in December because distribution is often thrown into a frenzy by the holiday season. Retailers usually already have their stock picked out in advance of the holiday crush, and they’re too busy to pay attention to your new release. So if you want your book out in time for the holidays, publish no later than November. Otherwise, wait until the new year.
3. Geographic region. There’s something about a local author that makes a book stand out! In the mass of new titles launching every week, you can forge a connection and get a leg up over other books by focusing your distribution efforts on your geographic location. Chances are you’ll get more traction in the place you reside. Some books are even specific to a particular region, state, or city. That’s definitely something to leverage—and it could even help you get your book on the shelves at local gift shops that only have a small selection of books for sale.
4. Demand. As you learned in your high school economics class, everything comes down to supply and demand. If demand for your book is high, it’s more likely to be stocked on the shelves. Conversely, if demand is low, retailers may stop ordering copies. Some online platforms may even stop showing the book as available if no orders come through for an extended period of time. This is generally beyond the publisher’s control, but you can always strategize to drum up consistent demand!
While we’ve been focusing on distribution for physical books, distribution is also available for additional formats—e-books and audiobooks. When it comes to digital distribution, you can expect to see your e-book available on Kindle, Nook, Apple Books, and other major online retailers. For audiobooks, the main distributor is ACX, which makes audiobooks available through Amazon, Audible, and iTunes.
Of course, it completely depends on the book and the author’s goals, but it’s often a good idea to make a book accessible through various distribution channels. After all, some people love to hold a physical book in their hands. Others keep their full library on their e-reader. Yet others don’t have time to sit down and read and would rather listen to a book while cleaning or commuting. Some readers even like to consume three different books at once—a physical book, an e-book, and an audiobook—depending on their mood or what they’re doing throughout the week. You can appeal to more readers by offering more options in terms of format, and using different distribution channels is integral to that.
So that’s book distribution! If it sounds complicated . . . well, that’s because it kind of is. But don’t worry—you don’t need to know all the intricacies. You can rely on the professionals!
At Ballast Books, we offer offset print runs with warehousing and distribution as well as print on demand publishing. Regardless of what path works best for you, we are happy to help you get your book out into the world and into the hands of eager readers! To learn more, visit www.ballastbooks.com.