By Bailey Potter, Senior Editor
Image courtesy of Unsplash
Your book is printed and boxes of copies were just delivered to your door. Besides promoting it on social media, LinkedIn, getting it into bookstores, etc., (a quick pause to applaud you getting this far!), how does one get their book into a library? Libraries purchase books from distributors just like bookstores, so if your book isn’t available from Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Independent Publisher’s Group, or another distributor, then you’ll want to pitch it yourself.
First thing first: Are you a local library-goer already? Being an author, you probably are, but if not, be sure to go get your library card, stat. One of the best things you can do to achieve this is to lean into the community-supporting mission of your local library. But even once you get your book into your local library, it’s not as if they’re all connected and will all start carrying it (wouldn’t that be nice). It takes a bit of work. But I think that you’ll find it to be completely worth the time and energy that it takes. You may even be able to host a book event at your local library. Chatting with the librarians and letting them know that you are a local author will also help your chances of getting your book picked up—and if nothing else, you may get a reader out of it.
If you are an indie author, you may find that your local library is your best bet for a library to carry your book. There is usually some sort of “Suggest a purchase” web page on library websites, such as Multnomah County Library’s (MCL) here. That’s a great first step. Librarians select which books to buy based on certain criteria, which may or not be available to the public. MCL’s FAQ page says this: “Local authors can submit via the suggest a purchase form. Other authors can contact us via email.” If you follow the instructions, you’ll see that there is a “Notes” section that you can fill out in the form—this is where I suggest you emphasize that this is your book and that you are a local author. Then, ask your friends and family to also suggest the library carries your book (if you ask your writing group, perhaps you can suggest each other’s books—MCL allows you to suggest two books a month). However, it’d be worth it to send your book’s sell sheet (don’t know what this is? Learn more here) along with your pitch, so consider also emailing your local library.
From there, make a list of the county libraries closest to you and begin branching out from there, emailing them your sell sheet if there isn’t a way to submit a form online. Research if there is a particular person to best pitch your book to, such as the head librarian or a librarian for a specific department or genre who is in charge of selecting books. If you can’t find it online, give the library a call and ask.
Some other things to note to successfully reach your goal:
- Format: Libraries often prefer to purchase hardcover books as they’re more durable, but if you only published in paperback or ebook form, that’s okay. They’ll accept those too.
- Reviews: If you have any trade reviews on your book, these can help boost your book’s likelihood of being noticed. Same if you have any blurbs or reviews written by other published authors.
- Good metadata: Just like bookstores, libraries require adequate metadata. Must haves include: a Library of Congress control number, at least one BISAC or subject code (but three is better—pro tip: be as specific as possible with each), an attractive cover image, a recommended age range for readers, an engaging book description, and any additional key selling points, such as if the author is local (ahem) or if the book is set in a local region.
- Donate: If nothing else, you could donate a copy of your book to a library, though this isn’t ideal financially speaking, of course. But it may be helpful for your local library if you aren’t able to convince them to buy it.
- Go straight to the distributor: It’s potentially worth noting that if you published your book via IngramSpark (print), Draft2Digital or Smashwords (ebook), or Findaway Voices (audiobook), then Baker & Taylor, which is the largest library book distributor in the country, offers indie authors the chance to list their books through their catalog systems. For more info, see this link.
Best of luck out there, authors! You’ve got this.
Bailey Potter is a senior freelance editor, and in addition to working with Indigo: Editing, Design, & More, she has freelanced for New Harbinger Publications, Red Wheel/Weiser, Forest Avenue Press, and several others in addition to numerous authors. For her in-house editing experience, she was the associate acquisitions editor at Beyond Words for more than three years and was a project manager for Ooligan Press. Bailey got her master’s degree in publishing at Portland State University, specializing in editing and design.
Between her background dabbling in various subjects, her experience working with publishers, and her personal reading preferences, Bailey specializes in editing nonfiction genres from professional and commercial psychology and self-help books to those more in the mind-body-spirit realm (including card decks) as well as fiction books in the fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, and romance genres, just to name a few. From developmental editing to proofreading, she has experience working on manuscripts at all editing levels.
Bailey lives in drizzly Portland, Oregon, and also works at BOLD Coffee & Books. In her spare time, Bailey likes to garden, do yoga, cuddle her cat, spend time with loved ones, and—of course—read.
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