How does a book makes it into the main chain Bookstores and on to the shelf?
Here are the criteria for all books… That are submitted to the home offices of -- B&N / Borders - Book Resellers
All publishers and wholesalers have to submit their books to B&N main corporate office / and or to, Borders main corporate office, to see if they want to carry and sell that
particular book .
The book evaluation goes through the book buyers at these places, and the decision is in the hands of the person that is in charge of buying that particular book genre at these main
chain bookstore home office.
1) The book buyers at either places --- B&N main home office / or at Borders main home office receive these books on their desk based on the genre that they are in charge of
buying from Publishers' and wholesalers / distributors to resell to their customers.
2) Those book buyers will read and evaluate the book based on the same writing genre of similar books. This takes 4-6 weeks for their evaluation process for every book that is
submitted.
3) This buyer will look at sales of the same book genre and see how people (customers) are buying this type of book.
4) The buyer will check sales based on similar book genre through their company to see if people are buying this type of book either online or at store level (meaning Book on shelf
or by people walking in and ordering).
5) Then the book buyer will determine how they will buy this book and how they will resell this book to their customers.
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This is a must for all books to have no matter which main chain bookstore that carries and sells your book or from any publisher that publishes your book.
6) The book buyer will see if there are any book reviews listed on the back cover or inside the first 2 pages of the book -
1) There must be reviews from the main-stream media, such as Magazines of the book genre / Newspapers
2) There must be reviews by other published author's that writes the same genre, as these reviews are endorsement from these other published writers for your book.
3) There must be a Foreword written by a published author of the same genre.
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8) The book buyer also looks to see if this book genre is in demand from customers.
9) The book also needs to carried by a wholesaler / distributors. (If the book will be sold either online or to be placed at - Store Placement Level.
10) All in all the main book buying decisions come right down to the book buyer at the main home offices. If it would be B&N or Borders, they are in charge of their companies
and what books they place on their shelf or on their online store.
The Book Publishers and the Wholesalers and Distributors do not have a say in any of the Book Buyers decisions on how they (the Book Buyer at B&N or Borders) buy books to
resell to their customers or how they will resell these books. We also are not in charge of how many books they buy either. This is all up to the book buyer at these main home
offices.
Now all main chain bookstores such as B&N / Borders; the book buyer at these main home offices will give approval on how their stores can buy books from publishers /
wholesalers / distributors to place on their bookshelf for their customers to buy. Or they can order that book for the customer and the customer can walk in and pick up their book
or the book will be shipped to the customers home.
Now just to mention, B&N and or Borders will list your book for sale on their website even if you do not have these items listed above.
If you want your book to be on any bookshelf at any main chain bookstores like B&N and or Borders or any other main chain bookstore worldwide as this is called - Store
Placement Level - Your book must meet those items requirements above no matter what.
Another note this is why it take about 6-8 months to properly publish a book and to get bookstores interested in placing your book on their bookshelf, which this is every author's
dream.