Book Distribution: How Does Your Book Reach Your Readers?

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So you’ve finished your final draft, edited it, formatted it, and are now ready to put it out into the world? But how do you do that?

Book distribution is as important as any other aspect of writing. After all, most books are written to be read. And finding the best way to reach your readers can mean having your work be recognized or fall into obscurity.

What is Book Distribution?

Simply put, book distribution is the process and logistics of making your book available to your consumers, otherwise known as your target readers. 

There are two main types of distribution systems: print and ebook. Nowadays, authors usually publish their works physically and digitally at the same time. 

However, printed books and ebooks reach consumers in different ways. Knowing how each system works, along with its advantages and disadvantages, is crucial for any author.

What is a Book Distributor?

A book distributor is a person or company that fulfills the function of distribution. They take care of storage, shipping, delivery, and billing. In some cases, they’re even the exclusive sources of your book, from which retailers need to submit their orders.

Some distributors operate actively. They have a team who takes care of the sales and marketing side for you, such as pitching your work to bookstores, libraries, and retailers. They cultivate and maintain relationships with these avenues to get as many copies of your book to consumers as possible. 

Publishers who also act as distributors are almost always like this, as they have a large interest in seeing their authors’ works become a success. 

Other distributors work more like passive suppliers. They fulfill book orders from retailers but leave sales and marketing to publishers and authors. They either charge a flat fee or a share of the royalties in return for their services.  They also reserve the right to make returns and set a minimum amount of copies for each book to be distributed.

Types of Book Distribution

Here are different kinds of book distribution. The first three falls under print distribution, which deals with a physical product, while the last one is about ebook distribution, which deals with purely digital formats.

Full Service Distribution

A full service distributor is a company that offers a wide range of services to publishers, such as warehousing, sales representation, order fulfillment, billing, and paying royalties. In exchange, they take a small slice of the sales. 

Their biggest advantage is convenience and scale. Though it’s not necessary to avail all their services, they can be found in one place, and managed by one entity. They’re also usually well-connected, giving you access to different vendors, catalogs, and online listings.

Small publishers and independent authors don’t usually go for full service distributors unless they already have many pre-sales or a huge amount of readers. 

Print-on-demand Distribution

Print-on-demand is a newer type of distribution, made possible through digital technologies. You upload a copy of your book to a website, where it is made available for purchase. When an order is placed, it is then printed and sent to the customer. The cost of printing is directly taken from the sales receipt, with the remaining amount going to the author or publisher.

Because it allows for printing exact quantities of your work, it removes the necessity for print runs (printing hundreds or thousands of copies at a time), warehousing (as there’s no inventory to store), and intermediaries (wholesalers and retailers).

If you intend on going this route, the two key distributors currently are IngramSpark and Amazon KDP. 

Wholesale Distribution

Wholesale distribution refers to the use of established book wholesalers to distribute books and other printed materials to various retailers and other distributors. 

What usually happens is they obtain a large number of copies, often at discounted prices. They store them in warehouses and sell them to retailers, who ultimately sell them to their customers.

In this way, they act as intermediaries, handling logistics, inventory management, and transportation. Publishers can then focus on developing new titles, while retailers focus on customer service.

Ebook Distribution

Ebook distribution is the online dissemination of books, in a digital format, through select online platforms and retailers. When purchased, copies of your work are then available to be read and downloaded on electronic devices that are either designed for reading or using an e-reader app.

Most ebooks are available in three formats: Epub, MOBI, and PDFs. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, which you can find here. All are protected by something called digital rights management (DRM), which helps you prevent piracy. This is usually provided by your ebook vendor, no matter the format.

Some ebook distributors are also called aggregators. They provide your work to multiple distributors, giving you access to tons of retailers from just a single access point. 

It also lowers costs while still allowing you to reach your digital audience. Aside from convenience and portability, you won’t have to deal with physical inventory, printing costs, and most things associated with traditional printing.

What Distributor Should You Choose?

The short answer? It depends. The bottom line is that there’s no right way to go about this as it depends on a lot of factors that are often personal. From maximizing your income to fulfilling specific requirements, choosing your distribution method is a complex but crucial process.

If you manage to sign up with a large publisher, you’ll likely be working with a full service distributor. If you’re independent, then print-on-demand might be the best route for you. Or you might just bypass all of these and go for self-distribution (essentially doing everything by yourself). 

You’ll also need to consider the many challenges you’ll encounter along the way, which will be different depending on what method you choose. 

Print distribution is always more complicated than ebook distribution as it deals with a physical product and all the processes, issues, and complications it brings with it. Printing, warehousing, logistics, and shipping costs are just some common ones you’ll encounter.

Ebook distribution eliminates all of that. But it does come with its own problems, such as device and format limitations, glitches and corruption, and piracy. 

However, despite the ease of ebook distribution, it is still advisable to do a mix of ebook and print distribution, as printed books still make up the majority of global book sales. Finding an efficient balance between the two is usually what most authors have to think about nowadays.

What questions do you have about book distribution? Share them in the comments below!

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