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LOCAL AUTHOR POLICY STATEMENT
Because we are approached many times each week by authors hoping we will sell their books, it has become necessary to develop this written explanation of our policies to save time and avoid misunderstanding.
Technology has made publishing easier without traditional professional editing, proofreading and evaluation of marketing and distribution. Consequently, the number of books we are asked to review continues to rise dramatically. No bookstore can carry every published title, whether from a major publisher’s list or self- published by a local author. And because of the volume of submissions we get, we must limit how many new books we will accept in any given season, the same as we do when buying from the big publishers. Many factors influence our decisions on whether to carry a title including subject, production quality, retail price and terms, as well as our judgment of the writing and editing and a local author’s personal plan for marketing. After considering those factors we also need to take into account whether the book will sell to our customers, whose tastes we know from many years of experience buying and selling books.
Most self-published books that we agree to stock languish on our bookshelves, although there are indeed some exceptions.
The following points should be considered before submitting your book:
- It should be professionally proofed, edited, designed, and published.
- It should have a spine with the title and author on it.
- It should be priced comparably to others of its type. *As with all inventory we carry in the store, we may decide a book doesn’t fit our store’s philosophy, or our market.
- We do not accept books published by CreateSpace, a division of Amazon.com.
- We only consider books written by local residents unless the book has local interest.
- It helps to be an existing customer of Prince Books.
We take self-published or self-promoted books only on a consignment basis. We do not pay shipping for consignment titles. If we accept your book, we will pay you 60% of the retail price for any copies that we sell. It is up to you to check after a few months (via email to staff@prince-books.com) to see whether your book has sold. Damaged or stolen items are the sole financial responsibility of the consignor.
If we stock your book, please have your promotional material direct customers to Prince Books for purchasing, and that your website direct orders to www.prince-books.com. Encourage friends, family and other contacts to purchase your book at Prince Books. Please do not advise them to purchase your book on amazon.com! We want to sell your book, not be a showroom for it.
If, after reading this you would like us to consider your book, please email staff@prince-books.com with contact information for the author and distributor, the wholesale/retail price, and any information about your book.
If you are requesting an event with us (and due to the expense of events and volume of requests, we have to turn down most requests), please provide the following information with the copy of your book:
- Why the event would be successful
- Number of family and friends who would attend
- Ways you would promote the event
- Local publicity you could generate
- Whether or not you will be at other stores/venues in this area.