.

[Woody]

mustn't have my stuff here, ed keeps it.

[fnord33]

I don't really know the details, but I'll tell you what little I know based on my experience. I published my first book through Author House (which turned out to be a big mistake). They are big enough that their books get put on the list of available titles along with everything else and online retailers pretty much just pop it all up on their website. A lot of the small publishers are POD now so nobody's out anything if it doesn't sell. Then you have the people that get to list stuff on places like amazon and Alibris and have everything drop shipped by a third party without ever touching the merchandise. Somehow they can sell my book for about as much as Author House charges me for a copy and make a profit. I want in, but nobody seems to know how to get started. So, from what I can tell, anything that comes out with an ISBN worms it's way world wide on the internet pretty quickly. I was shocked when my book started popping up in random places and people from Portugal started sending me fan mail. I've proabably sold more books to foreigners than I have Americans. That's the internet for you.


Now, that isn't to say that getting your book onto specific more selective websites isn't still a great achievement. Getting a chain store to stock even one copy of your book is next to impossible. I tried to talk to Barnes and Noble about stocking Muffy, and they said that a few hundred people would have to special order in in the store for it to qualify. Who is going to bother special ordering my book in a store when they can get it cheaper on line and have it delivered to their house?     

[Geoff_N]

You are on the nose for any book with an ISBN to be listed online. Some take extra work - such as Fictionwise, Smashwords, etc.

As for bricks and mortar stores, my books are in some but only because I physically go to them and ask to see the science fiction buyer. I then show them my name as a reviewer on the back page of one their best sellers - eg on the back of one or two of Joseph d'Lacey's books. Tell them I am also an author and local (sometimes that stretches the truth but then Ii call myself an Earthman) so in every case but one, they agree to stock my books - especially Waterstones and Borders (RIP).

Geoff