How do I make a good first impression?
One of the best ways to make a good first impression with independent booksellers is to actively encourage your readers to buy your books from independent booksellers like us and not from Amazon. You can do this by linking to your favorite Indie and/or IndieBound on your website and social media. And don't just link. Use the most prominent buy button on your website to send visitors to Indiebound or your favorite Indie. If you list several purchase options, list your favorite Indie or IndieBound first.
How do I get my book on your shelves?
If you are a local author and your book is available through Ingram at our regular discount or directly from a large publisher, please just let us know via the contact form. If we decide to carry it we will purchase it through our usual channels.
If your book isn't distributed and you are a local self-published author, you may be eligible for our consignment program. Working with individual authors on a consignment basis allows us to carry many titles we would otherwise not be able to offer and strengthens our ties with the community. To be eligible for consideration, the author must live locally or the subject matter must be local. The main factors that determine whether or not we will carry a book are:
- The level of local interest
- Is the product professionally crafted?
- Was it professionally designed/illustrated?
- Does the text have typographical or copy-editing errors?
- Are the title and author names on the spine?
- Are there production quality issues?
- Is the product’s pricing competitive?
- Does the book fit our store’s philosophy or our market?
- Does the product have viable marketing support? (author website, active on social media, etc.)
- Is there an ISBN code printed on the back cover?
How do I get my book listed on blackdotcc.com?
If we do choose to carry your book and you would also like it sold on our website, there are additional steps for self-published authors. The book details must be available in an industry-wide book database that our online platform uses.
1) Log in to IndieBound.org using your personal account. If you don't have an account on IndieBound.org, please create one at https://www.indiebound.org/user/register
2a) Once you are logged in to your IndieBound account, point your browser to: http://www.indiebound.org/addabook
2b) Once you are logged in to your IndieBound account, for missing cover art, navigate to: http://www.indiebound.org/addabook/cover
3) Enter your data, attach an image, and submit.
4) Please allow time for approval by the American Booksellers Association. Once approved, it can take up to 24 hours for your book to appear in search results and on IndieBound.org.
All add-a-book requests must be submitted through these forms. Changes and corrections to existing books (other than cover art) should be emailed to addabook@bookweb.org.
What else do I need to know?
All consignment requests must be made in writing. We regret that we are unable to accommodate walk-in visits or telephone inquiries prior to acceptance due to the high level of inquiries that we receive. We will not accept unsolicited review copies.
You can download our consignment agreement below. Note that currently we are way behind in reviewing consignment submissions and it may be 2-3 months before you hear from us. And, you will only hear from us if we are interested in putting your book on our shelves. Due to the overwhelming number of requests, we cannot respond to all submissions.