Self-Publishing Books

Information for self-published authors

We love the vibrancy of independent publishing and supporting the industry, with over 184,000 books published in the UK* every year it takes an awful lot of work to choose which books we are able to stock in our shops, this means we have to be very selective in what we choose.

The Booksellers Association has produced a guide for self-published authors which has been endorsed by The Society of Authors. Please read this guide carefully, it will answer a lot of your questions and gives the information we need from you to helps us decide if we will stock your book.

We hope the following points are helpful to you, they are intended to be read alongside the Bookseller Association guidelines.

1. We understand that self-publishing can be challenging, and we heartily recommend using the Writers and Artists Yearbook for information on acquiring a literary agent and then a publisher.

2. If you feel that your book is a good fit for one of our bookshops, email us with information about the book (ideally including a photograph of the jacket and a press release). We will always respond to you within 2 weeks.

3. Your book is more likely to be successful if the content of the book is of local interest to Chorleywood, Gerrards Cross and surrounding areas.

4. Consider your local library and social media as places to market, launch and talk about your book.

5. Let us know what distributor or wholesaler stocks your books, as it is very rare that we get stock directly from authors. We recommend that you have your book stocked by Gardners or Bertrams, the two main book trade wholesalers, at a standard trade discount. This simplifies ordering and significantly increases your chance of being stocked by all bookshops.

*Statistics from the International Publishers Association