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You’ve made the decision to publish independently.
Until now, “going indie” meant giving up seeing your print books sold into bookstores. We can help.

If you are an independent author who has previously published with a traditional publisher in the Christian market, keep reading to see how StoneWater Books can help you get your print books into bookstores and into the hands of more readers!

How STONEWATER BOOKS can get your books into stores…

OVERVIEW

Bookstores order from distributors. That’s simply how they work, and they’re rarely willing to purchase books from individual authors, since that would require many, many individual accounts rather than the few distributors where they typically buy.

But distributors have the same problem. They simply aren’t set up to work with hundreds or thousands of individual authors, rather than the publishing houses from which they typically buy.

Enter Stonewater Books, bridging the gap between individual authors and established distribution.

Each year StoneWater puts authors together in two sales cycles of books and sells those books through our exclusive distributor (Anchor Books), where bookstores, and even other distributors, will happily order your book for their shelves!

BENEFITS

Increased profit
Independent print books will typically earn you about three times the royalty of a traditionally-published print book.  As an independent author you may sell less than your previous traditional books, but the increased profit per book should equal or outweigh the decrease in sales. For example, a typical-length novel at a retail price of $14.99 will earn you approximately $3.25 after all printing and distribution costs.

Increased exposure
Readers do more than buy in bookstores – they also browse!  Keeping your name in front of readers and bookstore staff is a great idea.  It’s like free marketing that even pays you!

DETAILS

Most independent authors give up print sales or settle for the “print on demand” solution that only makes books available online. (Despite the “expanded distribution” offered from some POD solutions, bookstores rarely, if ever, order books through these channels.)

Stonewater Books gets your print books to a distributor, where they will be available for order in the same way books from any traditional publisher are ordered.

Here are a few other important points:

~You keep all rights to your book. Stonewater Books is your distribution partner, not your publisher.

~Distribution fees through Stonewater Books are charged only on books sold, not on books printed. This means that Stonewater Books makes no money until you sell books.

~The printing of your book and shipping to Anchor Books (our partner distributor) is your responsibility. We will walk you through this process, guiding you on the best quantity for your print run. The number of units printed is very important and affects your bottom line. Too small a print run results in a high cost per unit, but you also don’t want to print more books than you’re likely to sell.  Stonewater can show you specific numbers on how this all works. In the end, the decision on printing is yours.

~Only your paper books are distributed through Stonewater. Ebooks are yours to market on your own and are not subject to distribution fees.

~Sales reps will present your book to bookstore buyers – both large chains and independent stores.

~Amazon and other online channels will also have your book available for sale.

How are we different from a self-publishing company?

This is a question we hear often. Self-publishing companies typically charge high prices for services such as editing, formatting, cover design and “marketing.” They promise to make your book available to retailers through a large distribution channel. But this “channel” is likely only a listing in a world-wide database of millions of books. How will a bookstore owner even know about your new book? Purchasing is done months ahead of time. Bookstores rely on sales people to present upcoming new releases in set sales cycles throughout the year. Unless your independent book is included in these sales presentations, it will languish in obscurity.

With Stonewater Books, you have the option of having your book presented to the buyers of major retailers through our distribution.

ARE YOU QUALIFIED?

If you typically sell about 5000 or more print books in the first year of a book’s release with a traditional publisher or your own marketing efforts, you would be a good fit for Stonewater Books. Or Our reasoning here is simple: We want you to succeed. Retailers are not likely to stock your book if they don’t believe those units will sell off their shelves.

We will recommend you print at least 3000 books to get a good price on each book, and will generally estimate that you’ll sell about one-third as many print books as you did with a traditional publisher. (Again, you will likely be making three times the royalty, so the net profit to you will likely be about the same.

INTERESTED?

If you are interested in more details about joining our next sales cycle, please fill out the form below and send us your info.  We’ll be in touch with a breakdown of printing and distribution costs, deadlines for inclusion, information about book returns, and much more.