With thousands of books published in the US weekly, and with countless more self-published weekly, that's a lot of books for a little store to handle. And, because many self-published books do not have the traditional gatekeepers such as literary agents, editors, copyeditors, art directors, marketing executives and sales reps, we cannot be guaranteed that their contents and appearance meet professional standards.
So, to be fair to our authors, all the books that sit on our shelves must meet the same requirements.
1. Each book must be available to us through a major publishing house (PRH, MPS, Harper Collins, etc) or must be available to us through Ingram Content Group, which is a major book distributing company in the US.
2. Each book must be available to us at regular wholesale terms (on Ingram this is marked as a regular discount [REG]) and must be returnable. We do not sell books on commission or consignment. If your book is already on Ingram, please check the discount and the returnable status. Many self-published authors are surprised to find that their books are only giving a 5% or 10% wholesale discount, which means that we will actually lose money if we bring it in and sell it.
3. Each book must be professional in appearance, printing, etc. If your self-published book has met the first two requirements, but looks unprofessional in appearance, we might still not carry it.
If you are published through Amazon, then Amazon is the right place for you to sell your book. If you want your book to be physically available in an INDY bookstore, it is best for you to contact Ingram Publishing Services and begin the process of hiring them as a distributor. You can visit Ingramspark.com for more information.
If you meet the three requirements, then you will automatically appear on our e-commerce site and your book will be available for purchase online. If you meet the three requirements and you'd like to see your book in our store, then please email us at LBayBooks@gmail.com
Thank you and best of luck with your project.