Hi Reader & Writer Friends,
My debut psychological thriller book, The Long Shadow on the Stage, is in stock in the local Barnes and Noble! Over the past two weeks, since I announced the exciting news, I’ve been overwhelmed by messages, comments, and questions from my fellow writers asking how I managed to convince Barnes and Noble to stock my book in their store. After all, I’m an indie author and sometimes feats like this can seem impossible when your books aren’t published by a major publishing company.
First of all, how did I get my book in Barnes and Noble? It started one day when I decided I wanted to have a book signing in B&N. I went to the store and asked to speak to the event manager. They weren’t there at the time, so I left a paperback of my debut book, The Long Shadow on the Stage, and one of my business cards. I thought leaving a copy of my book would give me a better chance of having it stocked in the store because they would be able to 1. See the professional quality of the book and 2. Read it if they wanted to decide if they thought it would sell.
Several weeks passed and I didn’t hear anything. I went to the bookstore again because in-person conversations are usually better for this type of thing (yes, even for introverts like me). The event manager was still not there, but I spoke with a different employee and left another business card with my contact information.
Another few weeks went by. I considered calling the bookstore or going there in person for the third time. I was scrolling through Instagram like usual when suddenly I was tagged in a post by the local Barnes and Noble. It was a photo of my book in the store! Several other local authors were featured in the post. I love that this particular Barnes and Noble features local authors and indie authors because not every bookstore is willing to do that.
Of course, I decided to go to the bookstore to see my book in person and take a few pictures to remember the momentous occasion. I was surprised to see four copies of The Long Shadow on the Stage on the shelf in the mystery and thriller section. I hope they all find a home with readers looking for a twisted thriller!
Part 2 to this blog post will be coming soon with some helpful tips for the things you can do to ensure your book can be stocked in bookstores like Barnes and Noble, including publishing through IngramSpark and making sure your book is returnable.
If you have any questions or want to speak about your own experience of getting your book into Barnes and Noble or other bookstores, please comment below.