When I published my first novel in 2018, I thought I had done enough research to be reasonably well prepared. But as it turned out, I still had a lot to learn, and I made some rookie mistakes along the way.
That’s exactly why I have this blog! So I can share what I’ve learned and help other new indie authors avoid some of those pitfalls that caught me off guard early in my career.
One question that wasn’t even on my radar when releasing my first book was whether or not I should make the books returnable. This was a topic that hadn’t come up during my research and really didn’t seem like an important question I needed to consider. But it is, and in this article, I’ll explore the pros and cons of this decision.
Bookstore Policy
Before you decide whether you want your books to be returnable or not, you first have to ask if you want the possibility of bookstores carrying your novels on their shelves.
Most bookstores will refuse to order copies if the books are nonreturnable.
This was a lesson I learned the hard way. I originally published with Barnes & Noble Press, which did NOT give authors the option to make their books returnable. (I don’t know if they’ve since changed this policy.) You can imagine my surprise when B&N stores told me they couldn’t order copies because my books were nonreturnable.
Let me repeat that because it’s exactly as ridiculous as it sounds. Barnes & Noble stores would not order my books, which were printed and distributed through Barnes & Noble Press, because the books couldn’t be returned… even though they came from the company’s own press!
Crazy, right? This is what I meant when I said I thought I’d done my research, but this issue had never even occurred to me.
Wide vs. Limited Distribution
Ultimately, your decision to make your books returnable is tied to your overall distribution strategy. Are you going wide or limited?
With wide distribution, your books are available to a variety of libraries, schools, universities, and third-party retailers including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, Apple Books, and most independent bookstores.
On the other side of the distribution coin is the limited method, which typically means an author has elected to focus 100% on Amazon to take advantage of KDP’s promotions, marketing tools, Kindle Unlimited, and other benefits that aren’t available to authors who aren’t Amazon-exclusive.
There are pros and cons to both strategies. Just because one method works particularly well for an author doesn’t mean that it will be the best choice for you, so it’s important to consider how you want to market and sell your books.
In my case, I prefer the wide distribution model even though the majority of my online sales still come from Amazon. I like making sure my books are accessible to as many people as possible on as many platforms as I can (and I don’t trust Amazon to have exclusive rights considering they have a shady past of sometimes shutting down accounts and screwing authors out of royalties).
By going wide, that meant I had to make my books returnable. It was the only way to ensure retailers and librarians would even be willing to order… and that’s only half the battle. There’s still a stigma around self-published books; even though my series has been well received with good reviews and even a few awards, some bookstores and libraries still occasionally decline my request to carry my books because they didn’t come from a traditional publishing house.
If you choose to be Amazon-exclusive, you don’t have to take on the added risk of making your books returnable because the vast majority of bookstores and libraries will not carry your books anyway. It’s not uncommon for them to have a strict policy against Amazon books and refuse to order from KDP.
Risk to Indie Authors
If you decide to make your books returnable, understand that your decision will come with some risks. To fully illustrate this, let me explain how indie authors earn royalties.
IngramSpark is my current distributor. They allow me to set a suggested retail price and custom wholesale discount on my books. To keep it simple, I’ll use whole numbers. Let’s say my paperback costs $7 to produce, and the retail price I set is $20. IngramSpark lets me choose a wholesale discount between 35% and 55%, so let’s use 50% to keep this example nice and neat. Remember that IngramSpark has to make money too, so after the print cost is subtracted, they take 30% of the remaining royalties, leaving me 70%.
With these sample numbers, if Amazon orders a copy of my book to sell on their platform, they’re paying IngramSpark $10 for the book (50% of the $20 retail price I set, although they can turn around and sell it for whatever price they want). From that $10, another $7 is subtracted to cover the cost of printing the book, leaving $3 in royalties. IngramSpark will take 30% of that, leaving me with only $2.10 in my pocket for that single book that a customer will buy on Amazon for $20.
(This is why self-publishing can be VERY misleading when distributors advertise that authors get to keep 70% or more of the royalties. Technically, the statement is correct, but that number is drastically lower after the print cost is subtracted. Realistically, I actually earn about 18% of the retail price after the print cost and Ingram’s share are factored out.)
Okay, we made it through the math! As you can see, it’s the retailers, not the authors, who make the most money when it comes to selling books. But what happens if Amazon orders too many copies and wants to return them?
Here is where the risk comes into play. Guess who has to cover the reimbursement and shipping charges for returns? (Hint: it’s not IngramSpark.)
Let’s say Amazon ordered 20 books and wants to return them all. Even though they paid IngramSpark $200 (plus shipping) for those books at 50% off the set retail price, I made only $42 in revenue from that transaction. Now, I’m on the hook for that $200+ for the returned books.
The good news is I don’t have to pay that upfront. IngramSpark deducts my incoming royalties until that balance is paid, and then they’ll start sending me payments again. The bad news is returns can be costly, especially if retailers are ordering a lot of copies upfront and then sending most of them back. Large quantities of returned books can be devasting for indie authors.
I will note that the majority of my book sales are not online. I set up a booth at markets, festivals, and conventions to sell them in person. I also encourage my fans to purchase directly from me through my personal website rather than a third-party retailer. On the rare occasion a retailer returns my books to IngramSpark, they’re shipped to me so I can resell them. So, it’s not a total loss as long as they’re in good condition, but it’s still frustrating to lose those recurring royalty payments until the balance is back down to zero.
If your wide distribution model relies on selling primarily through bookstores, be aware that high returns are a big risk you’ll be taking on.
Conclusion: Yea or Nay?
Making your books returnable is a personal decision that depends on your distribution model and marketing methods. There’s no right or wrong answer — it’s entirely up to you!
Hopefully this article helped to shed a little more light on wide vs. limited distribution, self-publishing royalties, and the risks and benefits involved with making your books returnable so you can make an informed decision.
If this article was valuable, you might like some of my other posts:
Self-Publishing a Book: 8 Facts & Hacks You REALLY Need to Know
Pros & Cons: Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing
Are Vanity Presses a Reliable Option for Authors?
Self-Publishing 101: How to Purchase & Register an ISBN
Author’s Review: Polgarus Studio Ebook Formatting Service
Author’s 20 Tips for a Successful Book Signing
Author’s Advice: 15 Tips to Write a Compelling Fiction Book Blurb That Sells
NetGalley Review | Author’s Experience Joining a NetGalley Co-Op
Tips for New Authors: How to Overcome 5 Common Fears
Author’s Perspective: Why I Rarely Do Bookstore Signings
GREAT News! IngramSpark Is Revising Their Fee Policy
3 Ways Indie Authors Can Make Extra Money with Their Website
How to Make Money: 7 Extra Revenue Streams for Indie Authors
IngramSpark Self-Publishing: Process, Royalties, Review, & Advice
Self-Publishing Review: Barnes & Noble Press vs. IngramSpark
3 Reasons Why I Self-Published
I'm an award-winning fantasy author, artist, and photographer from La Porte, Indiana. My poetry, short fiction, and memoir works have been featured in various anthologies and journals since 2005, and several of my poems are available in the Indiana Poetry Archives. The first three novels in my Chronicles of Avilésor: War of the Realms series have received awards from Literary Titan.
After some time working as a freelance writer, I was shocked by how many website articles are actually written by paid "ghost writers" but published under the byline of a different author. It was a jolt seeing my articles presented as if they were written by a high-profile CEO or an industry expert with decades of experience. I'll be honest; it felt slimy and dishonest. I had none of the credentials readers assumed the author of the article actually had. Ghost writing is a perfectly legal, astonishingly common practice, and now, AI has entered the playing field to further muddy the waters. It's hard to trust who (or what) actually wrote the content you'll read online these days.
That's not the case here at On The Cobblestone Road. I do not and never will pay a ghost writer, then slap my name on their work as if I'd written it. This website is 100% authentic. No outsourcing. No ghost writing. No AI-generated content. It's just me... as it should be.
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