Independent author program
Bethany Beach Books is proud of our history of supporting local authors and independent self-published authors. If your book is not available through a major distributor or publisher, we would love to consider it for our Independent Author Program.
Listed below are our terms and some important things about our Independent Author program. If you would like to proceed with the Independent Author Program after reading the information & guidelines, please fill out the form below.
steps to our Independent author program
1. Read & familiarize yourself with our program and terms below
2. Ensure your book meets our guidelines
3. Fill out the Independent Author Program form below
4. Receive confirmation & acceptance email to program
You will receive acceptance via email. The confirmation email will include how many books should be dropped off or mailed to the store + instructions for payment. Do not mail or drop off any books until you receive this confirmation.
5. Upon acceptance to program, follow the email instructions to pay your one-time program fee
6. Drop off or mail requested number of books
7. Tell all your friends, family, hair dressers, baristas, and humans that your book is at Bethany Beach Books
8. Contact the store periodically to check inventory stock
Physical Book Guidelines
Book must have a printed and bound spine displaying the title and author name.*
*Please provide pictures of your book (spine, front and back covers) to Programs@bethanybeachbooks.com. Applications will not be considered without pictures of your book.
Spiral bound or stapled books are not accepted
Book must have a 13-digit International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
Book must have a barcode with ISBN displayed on the back of the book
Independent author program terms
We are committed to supporting local authors and our local community. Books from outside our community can not always be accepted if we feel we cannot sell them successfully. You must receive confirmation that we will carry your book before shipping or delivering any copies to us.
Our Independent Author program is labor-intensive: setting up paper records, tracking sales, and managing the inventory must be done individually and by hand. All books occupy valuable space on our shelves, which is limited. Authors should understand that there are expenses associated with simply making their book(s) available in our store whether they sell or not. We have a one-time program fee to help offset these labor costs. The non-refundable one-time fee is $35.00 per title for all Independent Author agreements.
Our pricing terms are 50/50, which means the author doesn’t pay us anything beyond the initial $35 fee. BBB does not pay the author anything unless their book(s) sell.
We pay quarterly for book sales at the end of the month following the regular Accounting Quarter. Payments for sales are mailed by the end of April, July, October, and January.
A program coordinator will be in contact with you to confirm the number of copies which should be brought/mailed to the store. If you are scheduled for an author signing event, you will be asked to bring additional books to sell during your event. Books sold at such an event will be added to our inventory for payment on the quarterly schedule described above.
We review sales performance every quarter. If we feel sales are too low, the agreement will be terminated and you will be asked to pick up any remaining books. If you cannot pick up remaining books, we can mail them back to you for a $5 media mail fee, which can be paid by calling the store. Books will be held for one month after termination notification. If the consignor fails to respond at the end of a month, books will be donated to appropriate community service outreach organizations.
It is the author’s responsibility to notify us of any changes in contact information. It is also the author’s responsibility to check with us about inventory status and to deliver new inventory as needed.
We ask that author's promote the availability of their book at Bethany Beach Books on their social media platforms and events.
If these terms are acceptable, please fill out the form below. Upon confirmation of your acceptance to our Independent Author program, you may then pay your $35 program fee via mailed check or credit card online (instructions will be included in the email). Please note it can take up to two weeks for your application to be processed and for you to be contacted. If you have not heard from us within 14 business days, please then feel free to contact us at:
Programs@bethanybeachbooks.com
If you have any specific questions not addressed by these terms, please feel free to contact the email address provided above.
Bethany Beach Books reserves the right to make the final decision on accepting a book.