QUALITY PRESS BOOK INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM
Quality Press has explored the various ways to get your book distributed for Worldwide Distribution by one of the nation’s largest wholesalers, and have come up with, what we consider, the best solution. Wholesalers do not directly contract to work with self-published authors. However, we can set up your book for direct distribution through a print on demand situation which means the orders will be filled directly by the printer (not from your existing inventory). There would be no shipping to stores or distributors on your part. If you join this program, after 90 days, and each month thereafter, you will be paid directly into your bank account for any books sold through their distribution channels. You will also be able to access your online account on a monthly basis to see how many books have been sold.
This same program will make your book(s) available to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and numerous other distributors, wholesalers and retailers (bookstores) throughout the country and around the world.
You maintain 100% ownership of your title. With this program, you can offer any discount you wish from 20% up. Usually, the wholesalers want 55% because they have to sell their inventory to retail bookstores at a 40% discount, but they are probably flexible in that regard because they will actually accept a 40% discount from publishers if your book is in demand. That is your decision though, but we feel that between 40-55% discount is best.
The way you get paid for books distributed to stores, libraries, etc. is by the units sold – the printer sells directly to the wholesaler / distributor and deducts the discount off the top. So, for instance, if you offer 40% discount on a book that retails for $13 they will deduct $5.20, leaving you $7.80. Then from the $7.80 the printer will deduct the printing cost (estimated at $3.50 per book to print) and to supply the wholesaler or distributor and all other vendors. This would leave you with a profit of $4.30 per book sold / distributed.
Personally, we do not recommend accepting “returns”. You might sell fewer books, but in the long run at least you know what you will be paid with no surprises in the future because of returns. But again, that is your decision. If you opt to accept returns the books will be sent back to the printer and you would pay to have them shipped to yourself. Books are not recycled and resold and there is even a possibility that they might become damaged along the way. (That would be YOUR loss).
NOTE (Let’s Recap): The publisher (YOU) determines the wholesale price at which it sells the book to the printer, who pays the publisher the wholesale price less the cost of printing for each book printed. A standard trade discount of 55%, with a “returnable” status allows for the widest availability through resellers and retailers. While the printer accepts short discounts as low as 20% off of list price, setting a short discount significantly limits the distribution of a title in the retail market. Some major chain retailers and resellers may not order a short (less than 55%) discount book. There is no guarantee that any given reseller or retailer will make any given title available. The issue of returns is a complex one. The publisher (YOU) determine(s) if a book will be returnable or non-returnable. The returns issue could also affect your ability to sell to certain distributors.
If you want Quality Press (QP) to coordinate and set up your book on this program, the one-time costs payable to Quality Press would be $350 based on the following criteria:
- QP will set up your distribution accounts for printed books and ebooks so you can be paid directly from the distributor into your bank account.
- QP will consult with you to determine your price points and discounts for international distribution
- QP will upload your files into the printer’s special printer set-up – For Print on Demand Distribution – Your books must be set up in the printer’s system with appropriate metadata and other critical information
*Designer set up and extra printer formatting costs
ADDITIONAL COSTS PAID DIRECTLY TO DISTRIBUTOR/PRINTER:
$50 – Self-publisher application / distribution set up costs (1-time fee paid directly to printer)
$40 – Print Sample (required)
$60 – Distribution promotion cost (optional)
Once your distribution account is set up, you can order a personal inventory of books (price is determined upon your page count). These books would be available whenever you need them to sell to friends and associates. Your only cost for a personal inventory would be printing and shipping, with no minimum requirements.
Your book will be available through the printer to several resources, and they will be responsible for filling all orders received and for paying you.
The program mentioned above has been used by Amber Communications Group, Inc. and has proven to be quite successful.
Here is a price recap for the distribution services:
$350 – Quality Press – consultation, coordination & set up fees
$195 – Quality Press – eBook set up fees (optional)
Distributor costs:
$50 – Distribution / Printer application / set-up
$40 – Print sample
$60 – Distribution promotion (optional)
Please let us know if you are interested in the distribution set-up and we will begin the process for you. Contact Yvonne Rose at 602-743-7426.