We get many requests to carry books from both self-published and traditionally published authors. Here’s answers to some commonly asked questions and criteria for books to be carried in our store.
Please email us at info@thebookwormonline.com if you have additional questions or would like to send us information about your book (the info to send us is noted below here). As noted below, if you choose to leave or mail a copy of your book it will be considered a free review copy.
How do I get my book in your bookstore?
We support as many authors as we can. That said, we simply don’t have room to carry every book we’d like. We receive dozens of emails each week from authors interested in having us carry their books. Certain criteria must be met to be considered. Some genres simply aren’t in as much demand here as they are elsewhere, we have to take this into consideration as well.
If your book has been published through a traditional publisher and we feel we have the appropriate audience for it we will order it through them or one of our regular distributors on standard industry terms. If your book is self-published or not available through our regular distributors, or is only available on a non-returnable basis or without the standard terms, we may decide to sell your book on consignment terms. These terms will be discussed if considered.
Books must be professionally bound with the title printed on the spine (people won’t notice your book if they can’t see the title when it’s on the shelf). Pricing must be consistent within the genre. If you choose to leave or mail a copy of your book it will be considered a free review copy.
Book info should be sent by email. We are unable to accommodate walk-in visits without an appointment or telephone inquiries. When our doors are open we’re focused on helping customers, pricing and shelving books, and other day to day activities which keep the doors open. When emailing us information about your book please include your name and where you live, your email address, the book title, publication date, the ISBN, a link to a website with info about your book (not Amazon or Barnes & Noble, please), what your local target audience will be here in Powder Springs, and how you plan to promote your book here at The Book Worm Bookstore. Send all information to info@thebookwormonline.com. Please note that we receive many requests and we can’t personally reply to all inquiries, but we will take a look at the info you send to see if it’s a good fit for our store.
Do you have any tips for making my book successful in a bookstore?
To end up with the best product you can, a book to be proud of and one people want to read, we have some very basic tips:
- We strongly encourage all authors to have their book professionally edited. A potential reader flipping through your book will likely walk away if there are obvious spelling errors (particularly on the cover).
- Think about hiring a professional graphic designer to do your cover and layout–given a choice the public is much more likely to pick up a book that looks good. Formatting errors disrupt the flow of a story (for fiction) or can cause real confusion about events (for nonfiction). As mentioned above, the book title and preferably your name should be printed on the spine.
- Buy an ISBN and have a barcode printed on the back cover. It’s difficult to restock your book if we can’t easily track it in our system.
- Go with an affordable publishing company so you can price your book reasonably within its genre. Look at other published books in the same genre to get an idea of common pricing and price your book accordingly. You don’t necessarily need to print the price on the cover but be consistent; your book should sell for the same price through every outlet.
- Send people to us to buy your book! Send friends and family to us, and list us on your website as an outlet for your book with a link to our store’s website. Whenever you do publicity for your book, list us as an outlet. People need to know we carry your book. We can’t buy copies from you unless people are buying them from us.
- How are you going to promote your book? Having your book published is a big, exciting step, but it’s only the first step in getting your book into the hands of readers. You need to market your book; how are you planning to do that?
- Here is a link to a wonderful article called “How to Talk to a Bookseller: A 10-Step Guide for Authors” written by Melissa Lion who was a bookseller and the events coordinator at DIESEL, a bookstore in Oakland, California before leaving to write full time. http://www.bookweb.org/news/how-talk-bookseller-10-step-guide-authors
Can I have a signing at your store?
Signings and events at our bookstore are organized through publishers and our owner for books that are carried in our store. There are occasions where The Book Worm will host special events, like Entrepreneur Day, that will allow for authors not carried in our store to host signings. Please follow our social media outlets and website to find out when authors are being considered for these types of events.
Congratulations on your book—we know how hard it is to write a book and we appreciate the work you do! Thank you for considering The Book Worm Bookstore as a retailer for your work.