Distribution
Distribution explained
After a long journey of book edits and re-edits, you are ready. Now, as the author/publisher, you have two primary concerns for your efforts: to get the book read by others and to see a return on your investment.
Misconceptions in publishing abound, there are certain realities many people don't understand about the book distribution system. Choosing where to sell your book is just one part of a larger self-publishing strategy. Our role is to explain a distribution and marketing solution that makes the most sense for your book.
We encourage authors to focus their efforts on online sales initially whilst building their author platform as it gives them more control over their book sales and opportunity to sell directly from their website, at events, or in eBook formats. A book does not have to be returnable to sell through any of these channels. You will make more profit per book sale than through either a wholesale or retail distribution service.
Many pay to publish providers hide how they distribute and the platforms they use. Why? Essentially with just one click on a platform you will be distributed globally to 39000 outlets worldwide. Yes just one click. But this does not equate to sales it just means the book is available to a wide readership.
Pickawoowoo can assist you to make informed distribution decisions through coaching / consultation or even set you up with our global printer and distributor.
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Can you undertake my legal requirements for me?Yes we are more than happy to do this for you and we charge you a service /admin fee to undertake the tasks. You will pay for the actual costs through the relevant organisations (barcodes and isbns etc).
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What is a legal deposit?Legal Deposit is a requirement under the Copyright Act 1968 for publishers and self publishing authors to deposit a copy of any work published in Australia with the National Library (or library of Congress in US) and when applicable, the deposit libraries in your home state. Legal Deposit ensures that Australian publications are preserved for use now and in the future. We are happy to undertake this task for you and a service fee applies.
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Do I need an ISBN and who should own the ISBN?The short answer is yes, if you’re intending on selling your book, and you should own it. ISBN's are to most authors, just one more detail to look after when they are already feeling overwhelmed. Self-publishing companies prey on unsuspecting authors with low budgets, so when they say, “We’ll provide you with one of our ISBNs for free,” authors breathe a sigh of relief. But little do they know this is one of the worst decisions they wiill make. ISBNs can only be purchased legally from Bowker. Self-publishing companies purchase ISBNs in bulk (as can any author). In a nutshell - who owns the ISBN owns the book. When you purchase an ISBN, Bowker wants to know the name of the publisher. So, if XXX self-publishing company buys the ISBNs, they enter their name as the publisher. When they assign one of their bulk-purchased ISBNs to a book, the company becomes the publisher of the book and not the author/publisher. At Pickawoowoo Publishing Services, each author is considered an independent publisher. We do not pass control of your book over to ourselves nor forfeit a percentage of your compensation (royalties). For that reason, we will purchase ISBNs on behalf of an author with the author listed as the publisher. Total transparency and you own it.