In this post pandemic world, it is not abnormal to see large bookstores close their doors or get acquired by others. However, because of the small amount of stores to begin with, any store closings were not expected to have a massive impact on the publishing business. That being said, it does point to why we operate as we do at Sunbury Press. While the vast majority of books are still sold in print, the majority of books are sold online, through ecommerce.

All things considered- we do encourage in person book events wherever possible to help market your book(s). At Sunbury Press, we continue to be very supportive of our local and regional booksellers, and urge our authors to select them for events over Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million when you can. We have often seen a lot more success when choosing local or regional booksellers, and showing your support to them is incredibly important in this business.

For post event operations, we will continue to monitor our risk of returns from the book trade, as we continue to navigate these choppy waters. This year marks our 20th in business, and we hope to continue for many many more years.

We have had a number of questions recently about ordering books for events. Bookstores can order from us directly at a 40% discount, or can order from Ingram (our book distributor). We would prefer a direct order -- or that you handle the books for your events. This month, we are once again in receipt of a large number of copies returned from book events where the stores over-ordered. These boomerang books are deducted from your royalties and build up in our inventory, when you could have just picked them up and used them at your next event. If you are doing a series of author events, please work with the bookstores to prevent returns. They are expensive for all parties involved.

And, for those of you ordering books, don't forget to use the AUTHORSONLY coupon code when checking out. We've had to fix a number of orders this past month. Please email orders@sunburypress.com if you have any questions.

For additional tips and FAQs surrounding how to plan for your book events, please see our other blog: 

https://www.sunburypress.com/blogs/book-marketing/bookstore-events