We are a local business owned and staffed by residents. As an extension of that approach, we are committed to supporting local authors through dedicated shelving and promotion of their books.
To get started, please read the details of this program carefully. Then, complete the application linked near the bottom of this page.
Eligibility
You and your work must meet all of the criteria below to be eligible for this program.
- Residency. Your primary residence must be within ~10 miles of our store. Naturally there is some flexibility here but the spirit of this requirement is that you live near us. Visiting the store to meet with us or speak at an event should be relatively easy to do.
- Professionalism. You are not required to be a full-time author. That said, we expect your work to be professionally edited and ready for general readership.
- Content. Generally speaking, we are looking for a diverse collection of genres and reading levels for this program. However, we may defer or deny acceptance of any submitted work for any reason. For example, we may limit this program from October through December depending on shelf space availability.
- Publisher. To provide a consistent level of quality to our community, we prioritize titles available from large publishers (e.g. Penguin Random House, Hachette, etc.) or their subsidiaries. We will also accept titles published through indie services (e.g. Ingram Spark) but we will not accept titles printed through on-demand services owned by multi-national retailers. If you are relying on an indie or print on-demand service, you must provide a review copy as part of the application process.
- Printing. Your work must be printed to a commercial standard and must be marked with an ISBN.
Benefits
Your work will be displayed within our Local Authors section for 30 to 90 days, subject to commercial availability of the item. If mutually agreed, we may extend display based on sales performance and general interest in the topic.
If your work is available through a publisher or distributor, we will purchase your book using our regular operating process. These titles will be sold as standard items in our store and you will not receive a commission from us. If your work is only available through an indie publisher or print-on-demand service, you are required to provide copies of your work to us. In this case, we will sell your book on a commission basis following standard industry rates. Commissions are paid via check within 30 days of the end of each calendar month. For example, commissions for sales during January would be paid within 30 days after January 31.
Based on demand, we may request an author signing, book reading, or similar event featuring you and your work. These events are free to the community and are held within our store. We will promote these events through our website, newsletter, and social media. Remember, you are the most effective promoter for your work – we expect you to invite your family, friends, and actively engage your followers through marketing channels available to you. For book launch events, please contact us 3-6 months prior to your launch date so we can plan accordingly.
While your work is on display through this program, you may email us to request an update on the number of items sold. We will provide a response to sales inquiries within 72 hours.
Application
Please complete the Local Author Program application to submit your work to us. We will contact you if your book is accepted or if we require additional information or materials, such as a sample printing. Due to limited shelf space and levels of interest, not all submitted works will be chosen. Moreover, we may not be able to respond to every submission directly. If we do not respond or select your book, please remember, this outcome is often a reflection of our workload, previously agreed shelf allocations, and other distribution agreements, not necessarily due to the quality of your work.
If your book is accepted and printed by an indie printing service, we will ask you to sign an agreement with us outlining quantity commitments, delivery guarantees, and the commission rate.
We look forward to hearing from you!