For Authors

If you've self published a book you may be thinking about reaching out to bookshops to ask if they will stock it! First of all congratulations, second, we love to support indie authors and have put this page together so you can reach out to us with all the info we would need. Most bookshops will require this information so feel free to reference it when reaching out to other shops.

If you have been traditionally published then you can either reach out with answers to the below questions or an Advanced Information (AI) sheet that your publisher will have put together. This AI sheet should include all of the info we need.

Do keep in mind that we are offered thousands of new titles each year and can only take a small proportion of what is offered to us. As well as being a small shop that has limited admin capacity.

The following is what to think about if you are approaching independent bookshops about stocking your book:

  • How much does your book retail at? Is this price competitive with other similar books?
  • What is your trade price? A margin of no less than 45% should be offered, in line with standard trade discount.
  • Does the format include a spine and a thirteen digit ISBN?
  • We purchase any books that we have in our shop, but they are generally on consignment or sale or return. You must be able to reimburse us for any unsold returns after a period of time of our choosing. Can you meet this requirement?
  • What category would you put your book in?
  • Who is your target market?
  • Is there a local angle?
  • What press and media would you do to promote your book?
  • Is your book stocked with wholesaler Gardners at a standard discount with returns? We generally stock 1 copy of each title, and this makes re-ordering much easier. 
  • Does the print quality and design of the book and its cover stand up to other books in our shop?

Please note we do not stock books published by Amazon or books that have been produced with the use of AI.

 

You will need to satisfy all of these requirements before we consider stocking your book. We are a small shop and we stock a small percentage per month of the thousand or so new titles that we are offered by publishers each month.

 

If you do satisfy these requirements, please get in touch and we can discuss how to go forward. Please do not drop in to discuss your book or leave copies with us without having been in touch first to arrange an appointment.

 

We stock self published titles where the author is local to Cardiff. If you are further afield we would be unable to stock your book as we are a tiny shop and do not have the admin capacity.

 

For more information check out this guide from the Bookseller's Association: https://www.booksellers.org.uk/Industry-Info/Industry-Info/Getting-your-book-stocked-in-a-high-street-bookshop