Why Your Book Isn't In the Bookstore, For Free
Wherein I undercut someone else's paywalled post on this topic
I recently read a post about why a popular title might not be in any given local bookstore. And I was like, ooh! Did somebody say bookstore? This poster put on their Nancy Drew-brand investigative smock and grabbed a plastic magnifying glass from an old box of Trix cereal and found out the answer and then cannily put their answer behind their paywall, using gobs of leading language, painting a picture of a potentially harrowing publishing and PR crisis that must be averted at all costs!
I have no paywall. I’m trying to build a readership. My Substack is a writing exercise for me. And while I could use some extra cash, I don’t need it and I don’t imagine too many people would line up to pay for this, even though I’m delightful and sometimes I give out valuable information. I would rather you order books from my store, or buy from your local indie shop, than give me $3.75 a month after the landlord takes their cut. Undercutting is a time-honored tradition in American business, committed by El Numero Uno Enemy of the People, Am*z*n, on the regular. So here I go:
Why isn’t any book not in the the bookstore? I am not going to say YOUR book, because I’m not committing rhetorical legerdermain here on my Subbystack by getting you to envision yourself as a wronged yet successful published author, because this poster (nope, not linking it) sure did. That post rubbed me the wrong way with the framing: O FUTURE BESTSELLING AUTHOR, MEANING YOU!!! THIS TERRIBLE TRAGEDY COULD BEFALL YOU SOMEDAY!!! PAY ME FOR THE ANSWER TO PREVENT THIS EGREGIOUS CALAMITY!!!!! I mean, sure. But know that you can walk into any independent bookstore and ask this question and they’ll have an answer for you. This poster wrote that they did ask a bookseller, and the bookseller didn’t know. Which, sure. To be fair, not all booksellers are as obsessive about the business as me, but there are multiple answers to this question.
There’s lots of scenarios in which a popular, new book, nationally distributed by that behemoth of distribution, Ingram, might not be in a bookstore the day you show up:
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1. THE STORE DIDN’T ORDER IT. Every book in the store was thought about, and then ordered, by the buyer. Sometimes, the buyer overlooks a title or two, even NYT bestsellers. I look at the list every week and often I find myself thinking, “huh, haven’t seen that one in the store.” And then I forget about it. But it happens. Earlier this year, I was super into the novel Leaving by Roxana Robinson, published by Norton, available from the usual channels. Our store never carried it. I would argue it is a match for the clientele of our store. I can think of a few other titles I’ve enjoyed in recent memory that we never had for basically no good reason other than it slipped through the cracks.
NO ONE IN THE STORE HAS ASKED FOR IT. I’m waiting for the paperback to make a case to our buyer to carry Leaving. I have my reasons. But at my store at least, all of the booksellers have influence over the stock. Sometimes, the buyer nixes our requests. If no one is advocating for your book from within the store or as a customer, that may be your answer. I can’t speak for Buns and Noodle or any of the larger indies, but this is why you should try to form a working relationship with an indie bookstore. Show your face, buy stuff, chat with us and tell us about your book!
THE REP DIDN’T REP IT. Maybe the book fell through the cracks when the rep came around to rep?
WE RAN OUT. It happens. This is good news! You should be able to ask how many copies the store has sold and if we plan to order more. We have that info on our screens.
THE WAREHOUSE IS SOLD OUT/IT’S BACKORDERED. This is a likely scenario if the book is popular. Huge titles can sell very quickly, creating a backlog if it needs to go into another printing. These lulls are temporary but can take a few weeks. If this is the case, then we are very happy to put your name down so you get first dibs on the book when it comes back into stock.
IT’S NEITHER HERE NOR THERE. A common occurrence with books that are a couple of years old: they’re not out of print, but the publisher hasn’t reprinted them in a while. So the Ingram warehouses indicate zero copies with no delivery date. A special order might move the needle on this, but I can’t guarantee an estimated date of arrival. We invite you to place a special order, though. That’s better than doing nothing.
This is all to say that this is a rare occurrence, more of an inconvenience and a reflection of the jankiness of the distribution system, and has nothing to do with any single writer or their work. It is also not a five alarm fire that only those in the know can put out, and if such a thing causes you depression, as this poster suggested, well…I’m sorry. That’s real, but of the myriad ways you can be made to feel like shit in this business, rest assured that the supply chain is not out to get you!
If you are a published author and your book isn’t on the shelf, please ask the bookseller why. If they don’t know why, the manager will. Or ask me. I’ll get to the bottom of it with my super-secret bookselling spy tool kit.
Currently reading: All Fours by Miranda July.