How to Get Your Book into Bookstores and Libraries

One of the biggest achievements that any author can hope to accomplish is to have their books in a bookstore or a library.

However, doing that is a bit of a challenge because not every bookstore and library is going to accept your published book and there are a few things you need to do in order to ensure that they do.

This blog aims to talk about all those important factors that determine if your book ends up in a library or a bookstore.

We will look at what are the important things bookstores and libraries look for and also understand why authors need to have their books over there.

Understanding these will make sure you learn how you can make sure your book ends up in the library or bookstore.  So let’s get started.

Why Do Authors Wish to Have Their Books in Bookstores and Libraries?

Prestige

Having your books in establishments like bookstores and especially libraries is a sign of accomplishment and legitimacy in the publishing world.

This is because there are millions of books out there but not every one of them make it to libraries or bookstores where it is seen, bought, read and studied by future generations.

That means if your book has ended up in a library or bookstore then it is actually providing some value to the readers out there.

Readership

The second reason why every author wants their book to be in bookstores and libraries is that it is one of the best kinds of marketing tools out there.

Having your book in a library is free marketing for the duration of the book.

Similarly, if your book is displayed in a bookstore then it is going to act as a marketing tool for the book for the remainder of its stay in the store thereby helping with promotion.

What Do Bookstores and Libraries Look For?

Library

Good Reviews

One of the most important things a library looks for is going to be good reviews because reviews are one of the easiest ways to determine the quality of a book.

These reviews do not necessarily have to be the best kind of reviews possible for that book and no one is looking for the best kind of reviews.

The reviews should just say that the book is going to fulfil the purpose the library is looking for.

Necessary Identifiers

Just like ISBN (International Standard Book Number) libraries have different identifiers that help librarians categorise books into different sections.

These identifiers can signify what kind of book it is and also who controls the different licences related to the book and all of those formalities should be in perfect order if you ever want your book to reach the library.

If you have issues with your barcode or catalogue number or even issue number and things like that that can get flagged in a universal library system then you can count your book as rejected because libraries do not take any chances when it comes to legitimacy.

Professional Look

Apart from that the book should look the part because if the book does not look professional with a good book cover as well as a clear title and cover art that is appropriate for the library then the library will simply reject the book.

If you especially want your book to be in public libraries then you should make sure that all the technicalities related to the book are alright so that the book feels very professional and well put together in hand.

You can have the best content inside the book but if you do not have something to represent that content in the form of a good book cover and exterior then libraries will not come close to that book.

Topical Relevance

The most important reason of them all is going to be topical relevance because libraries only have a very limited number of spaces when it comes to books.

That is why a library will look for books of different categories rather than having the same kind of book for a single category.

This means that if the library already has books in the same genre your book is from then the chances of your book being accepted in the library is low.

But if your book is unique and influential then libraries would love to have a copy of the book. That is why if you want to improve your chances of getting accepted by libraries then make sure the topic is unique.

Bookstore

Demand and Relevance

The acceptability of libraries and bookstores are quite similar in the sense that bookstores are only going to pick up books that are very relevant to society.

This means that a bookstore is not going to pick up a book that has no traction or demand in the market and it is only going to pick up something that already has well-established demand.

You need to understand that a bookstore is a business and it is only going to pick up something that is going to sell and a good indication of that would be market and demand.

Good Pricing and Deal

The second very important factor to having your books in a bookstore is going to be good pricing and deals. If you work with your publishers and distributors to provide a very attractive deal to the bookstore then they will be much more inclined to keep your book.

You can do that in multiple ways because you can directly sell the books to them or you can even go into an agreement whereby the bookstore keeps the book on display for selling it but can also return unsold copies to you.

Whatever you do you must make sure the deal is attractive and the prices are low in order for bookstores to accept your book.

Solid Track Record Of Sales

The easiest way to have your book accepted by a bookstore is to have a solid track record of sales. If you can show the bookstore that your book is performing well online on platforms such as Amazon and offline in other stores then bookstores will jump on the occasion to keep your book.

If you can especially show the bookstore that your book is performing well in the bookstores of their competitors then it will become an even bigger catalyst for bookstores to have your book. It all depends on sales and the guarantee of sale.

Conclusion

• Libraries are going to pick up a book that is relevant and also that fulfils a gap in the collection and also something that provides actual value to their readers.
• A bookstore will do all of that with additional points of good pricing and a good track record of sales.

You do not really have anything in your hands when it comes to these establishments picking up your book. What you can do is create an amazing book in the first place.

That is where we can help you because we are Orange Publishers, we will help you with the entire publishing process.

We ensure the best of both worlds when it comes to traditional publishing as well as self-publishing as we offer the reliability of traditional publishing along with the convenience of self-publishing all into some of the most convenient publishing packages in the industry.

We welcome you to visit our website and check out everything we do.