Bridge House published my short story, There Must Be More, in an anthology called Something Hidden. They published it in 2013, and it was the first piece of my fiction to reach the market. Gill James runs Bridge House Publishing. I always enjoy reading her newsletters.
Her newsletter today concerns distribution. She explains that they use both Ingram Spark and Amazon KDP. I use Ingram Spark because they have a returns policy which encourages bookstores to buy books through them. Bridge House use Amazon because it has become so difficult to export books since Brexit. Gill explains that there are so many forms and fees to pay since we left the EU, that it has become unprofitable. Amazon always print and ship books locally, so that’s a great way of circumventing the bureaucracy and costs which Brexit has added. Apparently it’s not just exports to the EU that have suffered, because we had great trade deals with other countries like the USA through the EU.
Gill also wrote about local author events at Waterstones. She says its very hit and miss. Some branches are very happy to host events for local authors, and others won’t. Apparently, Deansgate Manchester will and Bury wont. I must take heart from that and start approaching local branches. The manager at the Chippenham branch said they are too small, but to try Bath and Bristol.
So far I’ve sold 1,694 books through Amazon KDP, and four through Ingram. At least the four sold through Ingram might mean that a bookstore or library are trying out my Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. None have been returned so far, fingers crossed.
I hope that before long the damage caused by Brexit is going to get a lot more attention. There is a taboo hanging over the subject. When Claire and I were marching through the streets of London for a second vote, we’d get a few shouts of “You lost! Get over it!” Well we’ve all lost. Can’t we at least start talking about how to get over it, how to reverse it? It shouldn’t be something hidden.