In my most recent zoom meeting with my publicist Brian, he encouraged me to arrange talks and book signings with bookstores. I told him I wasn’t sure that would work, as I am solely published via KDP. It seems that bookstores like Waterstones are offering my book on their website, at a premium to what it is on Amazon. If someone orders one, they’ll buy it from Amazon, add a fee (£1) and send it to them. Brian told me about Ingram Spark. Apparently they can publish your paperback and distribute globally to bookstores via their warehouse. Amazon are POD (print on demand) only. Ingram Spark are the way to get your Indie book into bookstores, apparently. I’ve been setting up my account on Ingram Spark and loading my titles.
They say that you need to set a discount of 55% for the wholesaler, so that the retailer can get a 40% discount. That according to Ingram Spark, is what it takes to get your book into bookstores. Of course there’s a cost of actually printing a book. That’s £4.41 for The Spy who Sank the Armada. By the time you’ve added the discounts, and agreed to returns (bookstores won’t stock books unless they can return them), the retail price is around 25% higher than it is on Amazon, with a lower profit for the author.
I can see why Amazon are so successful. Still I would like to see my books in bookstores, so I’ve played around a bit. The minimum wholesaler discount you can enter is 35%. At that rate I can be competitive in the historical fiction market. I think I’ll time the publication on Ingram Spark for Super Tuesday 8th November, which is the publication date for Called to Account. Perhaps the associated launch publicity and a series of four books, will help the market swallow the minimum 35% discount. I’ll give it a try, and let you know how I get on.