Distribution
Once your book is complete, Authors sphere’s distribution services will help get your masterpiece into the hands of your readers. All publishing packages include print-on-demand paperback distribution, making your book available for popular retailers like Amazon, Chapters/Indigo, and Barnes & Noble to include on their websites.
You may also choose Enhanced Amazon paperback distribution; Ingram hardcover distribution; and eBook distribution through Amazon Kindle, Kobo (Chapters/Indigo), and Smashwords (Apple Books and Barnes & Noble Nook).
Distribution channels
While books can be sold on thousands of online websites, Authors spherepartners with these four distribution channels that supply the major global retailers with physical books and eBook files:
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Ingram (included in every print package)
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Kindle Direct Publishing (included with Enhanced Amazon Distribution service for print and/or Kindle eBooks)
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Rakuten Kobo (Kobo app and Chapters/Indigo)
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Smashwords (Apple Books, Barnes & Noble Nook, and many others)
Royalties for all purchases of books published through Authors sphere are earned through one of these four companies. Aithors sphere conveniently consolidates all royalties and issues quarterly payments to authors.
How print-on-demand distribution works
Print-on-demand printing is technology that allows authors to sell their books globally without having to fulfill orders through their own physical inventory of books.
When someone orders your book online, a single copy is printed and shipped. This technology is especially advantageous for indie and self-published authors: you don't have to invest up-front in a large inventory of printed books.
When you sign up for one of our managed distribution options, we set your title up with Ingram, making your book available to thousands of online retailers in paperback format. Hardcover printing and distribution through Ingram is available for an additional fee.
Each retailer decides whether to list your book, but the most popular online retailers for our authors are Amazon, Chapters/Indigo, and Barnes & Noble.
You set the suggested retail price. The distributor will retain a fixed amount of that price to cover their manufacturing costs. The retailer will take a percentage in exchange for listing the book, and you earn the remainder as your royalty each time a book is sold.
Authors also have the option of purchasing the Enhanced Amazon service. We will set up your book for print-on-demand distribution with Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing service, through which paperback orders will be printed and fulfilled by Amazon. (Note that Amazon's KDP service only supports paperback books.)
How to get stocked in bookshops
The best way to sell in brick-and-mortar bookstores is to provide a copy on consignment, typically ordered in advance through our print department. The bookstore takes a cut of the profits, usually between 45–55%. The details of consignment agreements vary, and arrangements must be made between the author and bookstore.
To purchase a book directly from the distributor and stock it on their shelves, bookstores will typically require a 55% wholesale (or retail) discount to be set with the distributor, who makes the book available to them. Books will need to be marked as “returnable,” which requires a charge of 45% of the suggested retail price per book returned.
Book-return program
Authotrs sphere has created a program to enable you to have your book stocked by bookstores. There is an opt-in fee (currently $500 + tax) and the book must be priced high enough to ensure that the royalty earned will cover the costs of returns in the event that 50% of the books are returned. Beyond this, Authors sphere would withhold all royalties earned via the distributor until 6 months following the author’s decision to opt out of the program.
With this in mind, it is not advisable to choose this route before understanding the implications, and more importantly, having confirmation from bookstores that they intend to stock your book.
Having a bookstore order and shelve your book from the distributor is an extremely competitive process, and even if a book is set up with a 55% wholesale discount and a returns policy, it is unlikely that any bookstore will decide to carry the book without being approached by the author, and shown a history of high sales and a strong positive reception for the book.
Unfortunately, the process involved to allow returnability is set up so that the distributor, retailers and publishers can all minimize risk and maximize profit, with very little being earned by the author per book sold. In other words, it’s not particularly lucrative for independent authors.
This is why it’s best to start with a strong online marketing campaign, and take advantage of the existing online retail infrastructure, which is far simpler and lower-risk, combined with local launch and signing events. Proudly revealing your book to your community is often the most rewarding aspect of the publishing process for many authors.
Why trust Authors sphere to distribute your book?
Our Managed Distribution program does all the heavy lifting to make your book available for sale through Ingram's network of booksellers. We consolidate and pay royalties from all channels and provide regular sales and royalty reports. We will be available for support as long as the book is published if there are any issues with your retail listings. Most authors choose this program as opposed to direct distribution.