12.12.2016

Getting your indie books in bookstores, schools & libraries

I recently attended NCTE, the National Conference of Teachers of English, in Atlanta. A colleague who writes for the high school market convinced me to go, saying that it was where all of the teachers and librarians went, and where one could connect with them and talk about books.

My Fireseed series in particular, though a sci-fi thriller, has lessons on climate change and global warming, and teens should be aware now more than ever of their world in order to help it.

There was one thing I had to do first. Get the books published on Ingram Spark (used to be called Lightning Source) in order to offer the books at a 55% discount, and with returns. Amazon's Create Space does not offer this. For schools and libraries and also to get your books in bookstores, you need to offer your books at a 55% discount.

I have yet to know whether this gambit will paid off. It's too early to tell. But I will go to NCTE next year, because I did make great connections with teachers, who are hungry for good books with topical points for teens. You can see some of the discussion topics for the Fireseed series that are listed on my banner. I also offered free study guides, which drew people in.


Do you write for teens at all? If not, have you tried to get your indie published books into bookstores? If so, how do you do it? Do you offer a 55% discount?

10 comments:

  1. Hmm. Gonna have to look at this. I've been wondering about this very prospect with Xenophobia (my own book I'm working on). While I've used Amazon before (most often for short stories and works), I want to expand to the physical realm. I'll check it out. Thanks.

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  2. I do write some books for teens, but I haven't tried getting my books into bookstores and libraries. Right now I don't make enough money from my books to go through the expense of Ingram Spark just to offer a discount. It's something to consider in the future, though.

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    1. Maybe at some point in the future, yes. It suddenly made sense to me, what with all of the conversation about global warming, and the fact that kids need to learn the straight facts, not feel like it's all a hoax!

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  3. I write books for teens, but I've just begun to publish them. This is definitely something I'll keep in mind for the future. :) Christy

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    1. Thanks for stopping by. Yes, it's good to get a real feel for who your readers are and what you want to do with your books before taking this particular route.

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  4. I've quit doing print, but might revive it. It's something to think about.

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  5. Very interesting, Catherine. I learn something new everyday. Thank you.

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  6. That's awesome! Good luck to you, Catherine.

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  7. I've written some books for teens, but haven't tried to get them into schools or libraries. Good luck with yours, though. I hope they get them.

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