Contrary to popular belief, self-published books can get into brick-and-mortar bookstores.
Ask me how I know…
Here Are Three Easy Ways to Prepare Your Self-Published / Indie Book for a Store:
1. Have a professionally designed cover with your name and title on the spine.
Usually, I will tell you to ensure it’s edited first (do that, please), but I want to highlight book covers here because they become even more important offline.
Imagine you are in Barnes and Noble (or anywhere) looking for your next read. The cover is going to attract you first.
Also, because you see it from that point of view, the book becomes easier to notice if the name and title are on the spine.
Some bookstores also take your book through a review process, where their team has to vote on the book. If the cover is poor and the editing is not up to standard, they’ll reject stocking your book.
2. Buy Your ISBN from Bowker
You can get your book into Independent stores with a free ISBN on consignment. However, having your book registered under your or your company’s name is a plus if your target is larger chains.
It’s a plus because bookstores hate Amazon’s guts. As soon as they see you are published with Amazon, they are judging you and already trying to come up with a way to let you down easy. It’s almost an instant no.
There are also tons of benefits to having your own ISBN. I go into depth about that here.
3. Use both Amazon and Ingram Spark.
Publish with Kindle Direct Publishing for Amazon only. Do not choose the expanded distribution. This option puts your book into Ingram Spark’s system but under Amazon.
Instead, you will opt out of this and create your own Ingram account.
Then, you are going to publish your book there as well.
This will allow bookstores to order your book directly from Ingram Spark through you instead of Amazon should they decide to carry your title. It also prevents you from bringing copies in yourself, which you would do under consignment.
More on this in part two…
The PBS Blog 
This is so useful. I’ll have to tell you later about a bookstore owner in Detroit, who all but told me my product was trash, before she asked if it was on Ingram, if it was through bookshop, or any of that. She went off simply because it was indie and mentioned something about how she doesn’t do consignment 🙄
Point is…everything you’ve said here is absolutely true.
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Wow, but I feel you and thank you for sharing. It’s so sad how Indie artists are treated. I had an experience one time where the lady told me: “It looks self-published.” I was FURIOUS. Like you not even gonna send it to the review board or nothing? Flip through the pages? Actually READ IT?? Dang, lol.
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Exactly!
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So helpful, Yecheilyah! I’m working slowly toward releasing my books, and can use all the expert help I can get. Thanks!
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You’re welcome and congrats on your books! 🥳
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