Things always appear easier before you actually do them. It appeared that using the “Expanded Distribution” option for a book published on Amazon would make BLEAK HOUSE more widely available, and it did, sort of.
I’ve been operating under the belief that I could do book signings in Barnes & Noble stores. There are two in Tulsa, and of course there are other, smaller bookstores in most of the bigger small towns in the region. As it turns out, I could indeed have book signings in these B&N stores, as long as I was in the correct distribution channels that would allow these stores to order my book. If they can’t get the book on their shelves, there’s no reason for them to host the event. No matter how nicely you ask, there’s no way around this logic.
Which leads to the obvious question: WHAT are “correct distribution channels”?
Why, I’m glad you asked that! When I initially Googled about getting distribution for an Amazon-published book, the Google actually directed me right back to Amazon’s help pages, where it said, just go to the distribution settings for my book, scroll down, and check the “Enhanced Distribution” box. Literally took me about fifteen seconds. I was able to select what global markets I wished to have distribution in, set prices for those markets (I only selected the U.S. and U.K. markets) and in a matter of weeks, the book would be available, signings could proceed, and everything would be great!
Okay, so “everything would be great” may be an overstatement. However as you may have heard, everything you need to know about the internet is on the internet. The folks at Barnes & Noble are terrific in every sense and they were extremely helpful about the best way for me to proceed. Both managers also provided me their store email addresses and encouraged me to write and describe my project in as much detail as I could.
If you’re curious about getting distribution in B&N, there is a page or two on their website called “Publisher and Author Guidelines” with FAQ’s and an enormous amount of clear information, with links out to even more info, and the managers in both B&N stores directed me there.
I found that B&N uses a distribution service called IngramSparks. I visited their website and found a truly full-service, end-to-end publishing and distribution outfit that offered way more than I needed, everything from proofreading to cover design, book layout, designing and placing ads, to distribution to the big bookselling chains. And they charge for every bit of it.
As my book is already being sold on Amazon I was not in need of most of their help. With a little more detective work I also found that IngramSparks has a simplified version of just distribution, called Ingram/iPages, and I learned from Katie at The Same Page Bookstore, where I had my reading last month, that BLEAK HOUSE is indeed available through that distribution channel. I wrote to the email address for B&N Corporate, with as much information as I could muster for my project, including press coverage, this blog, video of my one book signing event, my YouTube channel, and anything else I could pile on.
As of now I’m waiting to hear, both from B&N Corporate, as well as both Tulsa stores, to see if I’ve met their requirements. If it does work out that I’m in a “correct distribution channel”, I should be able to contact any B&N store and arrange a book signing event.
More info to come as I figure things out! Thanks for reading today, and leave a comment below or drop me a line at dickens@mooneyart.com if you like!
