3. How to Set Up Book Distribution Channels for Libraries and Bookstores

Now let's talk about getting your book properly listed where library and bookstore buyers can actually find and purchase it.

This is absolutely crucial - without the right listing platforms in place, libraries and bookstores simply can't buy your book, no matter how much they might love it.

Let’s start with a crucial point that many indie authors miss: Libraries and bookstores don't shop on Amazon.

This is like expecting high-end homebuyers to find your property on Facebook Marketplace!

These institutions have their own established purchasing systems, just like serious homebuyers use specific real estate platforms and agents.

There are three essential platforms you need to utilize to make your literary property fully available to libraries and bookstores:

First, Bowker is where you'll secure your property deed through owning your ISBNs. This might seem like a small detail, but it's critically important. When you purchase ISBNs through Bowker, you maintain complete ownership control over your book.

Many authors make the mistake of using free "rental agreement" ISBNs provided by Amazon or other platforms - but these severely limit your selling options. It's like trying to sell a house when you only have a rental agreement instead of the deed! Libraries and bookstores often can't order books with these platform-specific ISBNs.

Invest in your own ISBNs - ideally a pack of 10 since you'll need separate ones for each format of your book. Think of this as securing proper deeds for all your properties.

Next, IngramSpark is your Multiple Listing Service that connects your book to virtually all libraries and bookstores. This is the distribution backbone that puts your property where the right buyers can find it.

Two settings are absolutely critical here:

• Enable returnability - bookstores simply won't order books they can't return. This is like offering a home inspection contingency to buyers.

• Set your trade discount between 40-55% to make your book commercially viable for retailers. Yes, this is like paying your real estate agent's commission - it cuts into your per-property profit, but it's necessary to access these markets.

IngramSpark puts your book into the databases and ordering systems that librarians and bookstore buyers use every day - just like the MLS system professional realtors rely on.

Finally, Draft2Digital is like listing your property on all the specialized digital platforms. This connects you to OverDrive, Hoopla, and other digital library systems that are increasingly important in today's market.

Through Draft2Digital, you can tap into the growing library ebook and audiobook market without having to establish individual relationships with each platform. This is like having your property automatically listed on Zillow, Trulia, Redfin and others, all from one submission.

With these three platforms properly set up, your book becomes discoverable and purchasable by libraries and bookstores through their established buying systems.

Without them, even the most beautiful book home with excellent home inspection reports might remain invisible to these valuable buyers.

Now that you've set up the proper listing and buying channels for your book home, what we're going to talk about next is equally important for reaching librarians, booksellers, and readers.

Yes, this next part even applies to Amazon.

But whenever we say this word to authors, we can see their eyes glaze over.😆

It's like that Homer Simpson gif where he's retreating into the bushes.

We're going to talk about metadata.

We know, we know—"metadata" sounds like something from a computer science class you tried to avoid. Authors hear this word and immediately think, "That's some super technical publishing term I don't want to know about."

But here's the truth—metadata is the key to buyers, all buyers, finding your book home.

Think of it this way: You wouldn't list a beautiful four-bedroom Victorian home as just "building for sale," right? That's essentially what you're doing when you neglect your book's metadata!

You'd mention that your home has a gourmet kitchen, hardwood floors, or is in a great school district—these are the specific details that attract the right buyers.

In the next lesson, we promise to make metadata not only understandable but actually exciting—because it's the difference between your book being a "dream home" that buyers can easily find versus an unlisted property that no one knows exists.