What markets are there for print books? Amazon, yes. Any others?

[April]

Hello there. Are there any markets for self-published paperbacks besides Amazon? It looks like Smashwords is for e-books only. Are there any other paperback markets I should consider? My paperback will be finalized and ready for sale soon. Thanks!

[Ian]

I use lulu.com - quite happy with them. They have several printing facilities around the world to reduce postage fees.

[[deleted user]]

I use both Createspace and Lulu. After putting both paperbacks and hardcovers up on Lulu I found them being marketed in outlets as faraway from me as Hong Kong and New Zealand. Not a bad deal. It's free, aside from the wholesale cost of at least one copy of your book before you can okay it for distribution beyond Lulu.

[April]

So Lulu does offer the books for sale - and it sounds like they can do a hardback, too. That's nice. I'd like to have a hardback. I think CreateSpace only does paperbacks.

I have my book on CreateSpace now - I'll be receiving a proof to look at on Wednesday. Once I get the format right, I'll look into putting it on Lulu as well.

Thanks!

[Mike]

I use Lulu and can endorse what Ian and Ken say - the fact they have printers in different countries is helpful. The quality of the printing is good. Apart from the proof copy, there is no charge. Also, you can sell direct off their site (getting a much bigger share of the cover price than you would from Amazon!). I believe you can also use Lulu as the "back end" for your own website if you want to sell direct from there.

I do have a couple of beefs with Lulu. One is that although they do the digest format used for many novels, it's not one of the sizes for which they offer global retail distribution. (I did ask why and got quite a dismissive reply.) The other is that their EPUB converter for ebooks is a bit glitchy. But they will deal with these things in time.

I also have a small number of sales through Ingrams - this is the wholesaler for bookshops. If you register your own ISBNs at Bowker, this will make it a bit easier for bookshops to order (although if you get your ISBN and Global Distribution through Lulu, they should still be able to).

[Lisa]

I used createspace for Amazon (without their expanded distribution) and IngramSpark. Ingram has a small set up fee but I wanted to get my book into the Canadian market. Because of Ingram, my print edition is now listed on Chapters (big Canadian retailer) and Barnes & Noble. I hope it will eventually get on Amazon.ca as well.

[Quantum]

thx. although i'm going to target mobile devices initially, this is helpful info.

[[deleted user]]

Keep in mind that Lulu also markets to Ingram free of charge if you go for wider distribution.

[April]

Cool! I didn't know I could get listed with Ingram. That's awesome. I definitely hope I can manage that.

[Ken]

April wrote: "Cool! I didn't know I could get listed with Ingram. That's awesome. I definitely hope I can manage that."

Createspace extended distribution (free) will do that as well. Note that being listed in the Ingram catalog doesn't mean bookstores will start stocking your books.