What’s the best way to spend a lazy afternoon? Browsing the shelves at a major bookstore like Barnes & Noble, a lot of readers would say. If you’re a self-publishing author, the concept of getting your book on the bookshelves at any nationwide bookseller is a major win in your career. Securing a spot for your books on local bookstore shelves is a key move to get more sales and more readers.
E-commerce is king (the vast majority of books are purchased online), but did you know that bookstore chains get two and a half times the market share of independent bookstores? Getting your book on the shelves at any bookstore means readers who are actively shopping for books will have your book in front of them. Talk about visibility!
The majority of my clients are self-publishing authors, which means that seeing their books on the shelves at major national booksellers like Barnes & Noble isn’t always a guaranteed thing. Thankfully, the process doesn’t seem to be that hard! Let’s talk about how to get your book in Barnes & Noble stores in three easy steps.
Prerequisites: What You Need to Get Started
Before we begin, it’s important to note that the competition is fierce. For Barnes & Noble to even consider your book, you have to put out a quality product. This means your book has to look like it came from a traditional publishing house.
Your book must have good cover design: Includes back over text (your book’s blurb should be ~150 words, explaining the story in present tense), a bar code with a price (the book must be priced competitively), and with your book’s title and author name on the spine.
Your book must be properly formatted as a paperback. Your book needs to be a trade size, which is commonly 5.5×8.5 or 6×9 for fiction books.
Your book must be professionally edited. A few typos here and there is fine, but don’t expect your book to pass inspection if there are glaring errors.
Your book must have an ISBN that is registered to a traditional or independent publishing company, not the author. (Barnes & Noble doesn’t like to sell books that appear self-published.) Using a publishing company name that sounds like a legitimate publishing house will work.
You need to be working with a distributor. Barnes & Noble expects to buy through book distributors, including Ingram (the largest supplier of books to bookstores). This means you need to set a discount of at least 55% off your retail price. (Find more book distributor options here.)
Your books also need to be returnable. Your distributor will need to ship your books to Barnes & Noble at your own expense. In some cases, this might be 300 books, and Barnes & Noble will reimburse you in 60 to 90 days. But if the books don’t sell, Barnes & Noble will ship the books back to you (or your distributor) and expect a full refund. Some books may have been purchased by customers and returned.
It’s absolutely critical that you’ve hit all your prerequisites before submitting your book to Barnes & Noble for consideration.
How to Submit Your Book to Barnes & Noble for Consideration
Step 1: Include a pitch packet and a marketing packet.
A pitch packet is a cover letter explaining:
- why Barnes & Noble should carry your book
- the size of your platform (share your website and socials)
- how you’re marketing your book
- why your book will appeal to their customers.
You can submit this as a Word file.
A marketing packet is an expanded version of your pitch packet, and it should include details on:
- your audience size and how you’re marketing
- media appearances (if any)
- awards (if any)
- website traffic statistics
- number of social media followers
- if you’re working with a publicist/marketing firm
STEP 2: Self-publish your book with BN.com.
Sign up and submit your book at https://press.barnesandnoble.com. It’s free.
STEP 3: Compile an email to sjamison@bn.com:
Include the following:
- ISBN in subject line
- Details on your marketing/media/publicity plan
- Name of your distributor
- Link to your book on BN.com
- Where you live
After you submit, BN will request a physical copy if they’re interested in your book, in which case they’ll read the book and do a quality check for the cover, formatting, bar code, and so on.
Wait 4-6 weeks and you’ll be contacted via email with their decision. If you’re approved, do the happy dance! Seeing your book on the shelves at Barnes & Noble is a major accomplishment.
Too Daunting? Here Are Some Alternatives
If submitting your book to Barnes & Noble seems too daunting, there are still plenty of options available.
- Talk to your local Barnes & Noble. Go in and talk to the manager of that location. My client John Katsoulis got his book Feral Eye of the Blackbird in some Barnes & Noble stores in Miami, simply by talking to the manager. The books were sold on consignment and the order was fulfilled through his distributor, Ingram.
- Try local or regional bookstores. Go in and talk to the owner/manager to sell your books on consignment. Make sure to approach them with your marketing plan in place—they will not market your book for you.
- Benefits of local bookstores: Some readers seek out local/regional authors; this may be particularly true if you live in a travel/touristy spot or any major state capital.
- Try local libraries. Contact the head librarian or procurement librarian and give them all this information you’ve compiled (ISBN, marketing plan, awards, blurbs, etc.). Make sure your book is available through Baker & Taylor (US and Canada), WhiteHots (Canada), or Library Services Center (Canada) wholesalers. Offer to do an event (author readings, book signings), as this will draw readers to the library.
Book editor Kristen Hamilton is the owner and sole employee of Kristen Corrects, Inc., where she provides manuscript editing services for traditionally and self-publishing authors. Several authors whose books she has edited have won awards and have topped Amazon’s best sellers lists.
Reading is Kristen’s passion, so when the workday is over, she can usually be found curled up with a good book alongside her four cats. She loves watching cat videos and scary movies, eating pizza, teaching herself French, and traveling, and she is likely planning her next vacation. She lives outside of Boise, ID.
Indeed, trying to find new readers when you’re an unknown author is difficult. My novel reached just shy of 500 copies before it petered out on Amazon. Reviews have been excellent and because of that, I want to get to grow. But how? If it had a known name on it, itd be found and sold by large volumes.
Miring in uncertainty…. There has to be a way.
Hey Daniel, have you read my blog 12 Genius Ways to Market Your Book? https://www.kristencorrects.com/12-genius-ways-to-market-your-book/ A lot of my clients have had success doing these different things. In particular, try scheduling book signings and going to book festivals! Making that human connection with your readers is a great way to build your reader base.
Amazing advice!
This was so helpful, thank you!
Ms. Kristen Hamilton I read your information 12 Genius Ways to Market Your Book? https://www.kristencorrects.com/12-genius-ways-to-market-your-book/ I learned a lot but here it goes. I am an unknown named new author of 17 books now that I have written over the last 40 years and finally decided to publish them. I first went to Dorian Publishing (way to expensive) and got my first 14-page book into AuthorHouse (They messed up my book so bad with no refund) I got very disgruntled and a friend from my church told me to check out Amazon. While waiting for Amazon’s response I went to Copyright.gov and got all my books copyrighted. When Amazon finally came through, I set up an account through KDP Self-Publishing and Amazon Author Central. They gave me free ISBN and ASIN numbers with barcodes. I have been trying to market them but unsuccessful due to cost. I wanted to try to do my own foot traffic and bring my books (All in print & Kindle) to local retailers, a lot of work whew! What I need is to get professional reviews so I can get them into the Libraries and bookstores another expensive issue. I am writing all this to see if you knew any avenues that I can take without spending my whole Social Security Income on trying to get my books recognized. Thanks Benjamin
You’re right – it’s a lot of work to market your book! First, make sure you’re putting out a good product: Is the book edited and formatted properly? Does it have an enticing cover? Is there a description of what the book is about on the back cover? These are important selling points to readers.
Assuming you have your bases covered there, consider reaching out to local bookstores to do author signing events. Attend book festivals and craft fairs. Don’t be afraid to talk to people! Include bookmarks and sign each copy you sell to make a personal connection with readers. Ask them to leave an honest review of your book on Amazon after they’ve finished reading it. It will take time, but as long as you’re persistent, you’ll get there one day!
What if you already have a book published through Barnes and Noble Press… will they automatically put a physical copy in their stores or do we still need to market it to them?
When you publish through this platform, your book will generally be available for sale on their online store. However, having your book available online through Barnes & Noble Press doesn’t guarantee automatic placement in their physical stores.
Barnes & Noble’s decisions regarding physical store placement involve various factors such as book sales, demand, reader interest, and potential marketing strategies. They have specific processes and criteria for selecting which books get stocked in their physical locations, such as sales performance and marketing efforts.
Barnes & Noble receives numerous book submissions, so securing shelf space is competitive. Persistence, a solid sales track record, and effective marketing strategies can significantly increase the likelihood of getting your book on their physical store shelves.
what if ur book is already published?
That’s okay! Just make sure you have all the prerequisites in place (properly formatted, ISBN, working with a distributor) and you can still pitch your book to Barnes & Noble.