Is it ethical to sell self-published books to shops on your own if you have a gift store book distributor?

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Financially, I do not gain that much from selling them myself, but I'd like to have the book in as many shops as possible nationally. Yet I don't wish to jeopardize my relationship with the distributor. Asked by motherlove49 53 months ago Similar questions: ethical sell self published books shops gift store book distributor Arts > Books.

Similar questions: ethical sell self published books shops gift store book distributor.

Yes Form my experience: I own a Brick and Mortar bookstore and I do have new books from local authors. All of them are available through a distributor but I deal with the Author's themselves. It is easier and usually the author makes a few more pennies per book.

Unless you have a contract with your distributor that says only they can sell your book (which is silly) then there is NOTHING wrong with what you are doing. I get heaps of catalogues every day with thousands of books available to buy for my customers but if I haven't heard about the book (which is usually the case with small independent press runs) then I have no reason or desire to order it. If you come into my store and *sell me* on the book and tell me why my customers might like It I would usually have no problem carrying it.

But it would probably be on a consignment basis until I could see if the book would sell or not. With most distributors books are available on a net-30 basis, meaning the store has 30 days to pay for the book to see if it is sellable in their market or not. It is your job as an author to get your book out there, unless you are Nora Roberts or John Grisham you need to do your own promotion.

If you can drum up enough buzz about the book then your distributor will sell more copies and everyone is happy :) Good Luck! .

Books Well, in that case, I would ask the distributor how he feels about it. You almost have to in order to maintain your relationship with him. It is something that in the future you should discuss before making the deal with the distributor, though--which I'm sure you realize now!

Gosh, the whole deal should be in writing--you could end up with nothing for all your books if your distributor is not who he says he is. This has happened to people! I don't self-publish (so far!), but those I know who do are bound contractually that they officially can't sell their own books at wholesale prices.

They can only sell retail. Merchants are directed to the publisher/distributor in their case for wholesale bulk purchases. I am surprised to hear that you don't make that much to sell them directly yourself.

Does that mean you make more when the distributor does? If you talk to a store, and they are interested in selling your book, can't you take the order and pass it on to the distributor? Part of self-publication is that you are also responsible yourself for self-promotion, so it's good that you are out there talking to the stores and finding deals.

If you have to ask, you know that there is a problem in the back of your mind. I'd say that you shouldn't do it because you might jeopardize your relationship with your distributor for no good reason. Plus, it just looks a bit on the sleazy side.

I know of what I speak because I've written and am still marketing a book that I've written under another name. Sources: Life and writing Snow_Leopard's Recommendations The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil Amazon List Price: $27.95 Used from: $10.97 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 31 reviews) .

1 Poppet, regarding your answer "books": I'm not only the author but also the publisher. I can have multiple distributors for my book if I like. And I do have some retailers that I sell wholesale too, some from before I got the distributor.

Also, this particular distributor has a very niche market, not the whole gamut of a variety of books, so he is not necessarily reaching my entire potential audience in the gift shop business. In this particular case - the latest shop I sold to - I only get 10% more profit than what I would get if the distributor sold the books. But he had not sold my book to them...ever, though they did mention the company in their email.

I take that to mean they have done business with him at some level. That's what started me wondering about our deal, loose as it is. He is aware that I still market the book and do some wholesale selling.

I do think, though, that I should have a talk with him and set some parameters. I do not want to lose him as a distributor, but also, I am a very fair person and try never to take advantage of people. You have been most helpful...

Poppet, regarding your answer "books": I'm not only the author but also the publisher. I can have multiple distributors for my book if I like. And I do have some retailers that I sell wholesale too, some from before I got the distributor.

Also, this particular distributor has a very niche market, not the whole gamut of a variety of books, so he is not necessarily reaching my entire potential audience in the gift shop business. In this particular case - the latest shop I sold to - I only get 10% more profit than what I would get if the distributor sold the books. But he had not sold my book to them...ever, though they did mention the company in their email.

I take that to mean they have done business with him at some level. That's what started me wondering about our deal, loose as it is. He is aware that I still market the book and do some wholesale selling.

I do think, though, that I should have a talk with him and set some parameters. I do not want to lose him as a distributor, but also, I am a very fair person and try never to take advantage of people. You have been most helpful...

2 anovelideabookstore, regarding your answer "Yes":Your reply has been most helpful. I think what I didn't say in my original question is that my book sells best at retail gift shops, not at bookstores for the most part. They do not do consignment, but pay upfront on delivery, or maybe at most 30 days later.

I don't want to step on the distributor's toes in the event that a particular shop is his client. Of course, then my question to him is why he didn't sell it to them because now they want to buy it from me? I plan to have a talk with the distributor just to make sure we are on the same page.

I won't necessarily accept what he has to say without question in the event he is trying to take advantage. I do make about 10% more if I sell the books directly, and, as you mentioned, I am constantly promoting my book, as is my job. Even if I was published by a larger company, I do know that I would be doing my own promoting unless I was a John Grisham which, coincidentally, is the author I use as an example when I'm telling others about self-promotion.

Thanks much for your expert opinion. I see there are three sides to this story: the author, the distributor, and the merchant.

Anovelideabookstore, regarding your answer "Yes":Your reply has been most helpful. I think what I didn't say in my original question is that my book sells best at retail gift shops, not at bookstores for the most part. They do not do consignment, but pay upfront on delivery, or maybe at most 30 days later.

I don't want to step on the distributor's toes in the event that a particular shop is his client. Of course, then my question to him is why he didn't sell it to them because now they want to buy it from me? I plan to have a talk with the distributor just to make sure we are on the same page.

I won't necessarily accept what he has to say without question in the event he is trying to take advantage. I do make about 10% more if I sell the books directly, and, as you mentioned, I am constantly promoting my book, as is my job. Even if I was published by a larger company, I do know that I would be doing my own promoting unless I was a John Grisham which, coincidentally, is the author I use as an example when I'm telling others about self-promotion.

Thanks much for your expert opinion. I see there are three sides to this story: the author, the distributor, and the merchant.

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Can Gift Cards for Books only be used for the purchase of books.

I just self-published a book through authorhouse-they use amazon as a channel how do I know how many books amazon sells.

I want to sell my textbooks on Amazon. Will I receive a cash payment for these books or only store credit?

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