CreateSpace, Lightning Source, Ingram Sparks, Oh my! Why large box retailers won’t shelve my POD.

Print On Demand is a popular way for indie authors to offer their books in print. This however, does not mean bookstores will shelve your book. Many authors do not understand, and often ask, why?

Let’s say an average large box book retailer carries 60,000 titles. Linear footage in a store is limited, so retailers work tirelessly to utilize space with books that sell. A store is in constant flux of managing underperforming titles.

I’m not saying indie books won’t sell. In fact many would sell.

An algorithm is created for each store. For example, let’s take a classic like Lord of the Flies. A store will carry X number of copies of Lord of the Flies based on sales. Once the number of books falls below the recommended quantity, the system will automatically reorder. Certain times of the year, a title like Lord of the Flies will sell beyond the recommended quantity, like for local summer reading programs, or a movie release. The store staff or home office staff will increase their order quantity for seasonal and market fluxes in sales. But they know, with a strong title, they will sell through their stock at some point.

Forecasting sales for new releases is more challenging. If a misjudgment in the forecast occurs, the store can return the overstock of titles back to the publisher after the preliminary release period.

If both bookstores and publishers have improperly forecasted sales for a title, then the publisher may approve of a discount at store level to move the title. Otherwise the publisher would get inundated with returned copies of the book, and then have to sell it to a discount retailer, or mark it down to a bargain title and send it back out.

Still, indie authors wonder what all this has to do with their titles? The main factor in this process is that the books are returnable to the publisher so the bookstore does not have to take a hit on their margin profit by discounting the book. Print on Demand books are not returnable to the distributor or publisher, hence offering higher risk. Once a bookstore puts that book on their shelf, they own it forever. If the book underperforms, the store takes a loss.

There are ways around this for special events such as local book signings, but for the most part, large retailers will not stock Print on Demand books.

This is not necessarily the case for indie bookstores or your local bookstore. Some bookstores will shelve Print on Demand books because local demand is high. Many may also work with the author or publisher on consignment.

Some Print on Demand publishers, like Ingram Sparks, use Ingram for distribution. This means your POD can be ordered through major book retailers’ sites. This does not mean your local Barnes & Noble will shelve your book.

Trust me, as an indie author, this news is disappointing to me too.

However, more and more readers are shopping digitally for their books and offering your title in multiple formats through multiple retailers is good sense for self-promotion.