Self-Publishing FAQ

How do I get my book listed on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com?

In order to get your book listed online at Amazon or Barnes and Noble you will want your book to be listed in the Ingram distribution channel. When Amazon or Barnes and Noble wants to purchase a book they first look to Ingram who carries millions of book titles in their inventory.

Luckily for self-publishing authors there are a few print-on-demand book printers who can also distribute your book to Ingram. Once listed with Ingram your book will show up for sale on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and many other online book retailers. When someone buys a copy of the book there is no need for you to do anything. If the retailer does not have the title in stock they will request a copy from Ingram. If Ingram does not have a copy in stock the order will be sent to your print-on-demand printer who will print and likely drop-ship the book to the customer. You just sit back and collect your check for your percentage of the sales made.

Two popular print-on-demand companies who distribute to Ingram are:

• Lightning Source, which is owned by Ingram and offers print-on-demand book printing for self-publishing authors and small press publishers.
• CreateSpace, which is part of Amazon. They offer two services for distribution. The first option liste your book for sale on Amazon.com. With their expanded distribution, your book will be distributed through Ingram and made available to all retailers.

If you did not or do not wish to use a print-on-demand printer for your books and instead used an off-set printing method to print out a large quantity of books, you still have an option for getting your books listed for sale at Amazon.com by using the Amazon Advantage program. Fees and some of the guidelines are below. Please check Amazon's website for their most current prices and rules as they may have changed since the time this article was written.

• $29.95 Annual program membership fee.
• Amazon takes 55% of list price (set by you) – you get 45% of list price.
• You pay for the cost of shipping your books to Amazon.
• Amazon will order books from you when their stock runs low. You must ship the books to them in a timely matter.
• Books must have ISBNs printed in them and have a printed, scannable barcode on the back cover.

Looking for more help and advice on self-publishing or just have a few questions? Read about our Self-Publishing Consulting.

Author: Kimberly Martin
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