Did you know that bookstores don’t have to keep your book once they buy it?
That’s right. A bookstore will return your book if it doesn’t sell.
When bookstores order books, they can return unsold books for credit against future orders for up to a year. It’s the book retailer’s dirty secret. Even though inventory is seemingly moving and books are selling, you might see books come back!
What most indie authors with printed books don’t consider is that it might take thirty or even sixty days from an order placement, before receiving funds from bookstores. If they don’t get paid, you don’t get paid. And just because they order a book from you, doesn’t mean a buyer will buy it from them.
The practice of returns keeps bookstores from taking losses and is a huge reason for you to promote your book to the fullest. If you don’t direct traffic to bookstores and create demand, they’ll send inventory back to where it came from.
The good news is that smaller and independent publishers (this includes you) have fewer returns compared to larger publishers.
Your book is less likely to oversaturate the bookstore market.
Returns usually happen when too many copies are pushed through the bookstore market and the demand isn’t there.
If you focus most of your efforts on nontrade sales (such as direct sales, special sales to businesses and organizations, and sales at speaking engagements), you’re spared the stress of returns.
However, returns are an expensive nuisance and a necessary evil, so while you can’t completely eliminate them, here are three tips on how they can be avoided:
1. Print a reasonable number of books
The authors I work with often begin with one thousand copies and reprint after selling their initial inventory. Ordering a small number allows you to test the market without getting in over your head.
2. Set the right price for your book
Overpricing is the number-one complaint from bookstores about self-published books. If your book is priced too high, readers will simply not buy it, especially if there is a comparable book available for less.
3. Promote, promote, promote
If bookstores know that you’re out there marketing and sending customers to their stores, they’ll be more supportive and are less likely to send your books back. Also, if you have a book signing at a store, let your network know you’ll be there. Bookstores love authors who bring in buyers.
Want more techniques? We talk about this in length in The Indie Author Revolution! What’s your personal experience with returns? How have you avoided them?
