BN.com and Retail Store Placement for Books
Please do not send physical book submissions to the Small Press Dept. Unsolicited materials sent to our offices cannot be returned.
If you have a compelling marketing plan or expect significant media/publicity that will drive customers to book retailers looking for your title, you can email us at sjamison@bn.com with:
- ISBN of your title in the Subject line of your email
- Details on your marketing/media/publicity
- Name of wholesaler/distributor that is handling your fulfillment to the retail trade.
- A link to your title on bn.com
- Author’s hometown
The buyer review process can take 4 to 6 weeks and you will be contacted via email with their decision.
All books will be considered for store placement based on subject matter and salability.
For a complete list of all our FAQs, please visit Publisher/Author FAQs.
Please consider the following points when publishing and presenting your book:
1. Does your book have an ISBN (International Standard Book Number)?
We use the ISBN to track inventory and sales information. An ISBN is a 13-digit number that specifically identifies your title. For further information, please see Barcoding Guidelines for the U.S. Book Industryon the Book Industry Study Group site. ISBNs are furnished by:
ISBN Agency
630 Central Avenue
New Providence, NJ 07974
877-310-7333
908-219-0188 (fax)
www.ISBN.org
Allow 5 business days for non-priority processing from the time an ISBN application is received at the agency (not from the date sent by the publisher). Priority processing is two business days from the time an application is received at the agency. Express processing is 24 business hours. If your book has already been printed, you can sticker your books with the ISBN once it is assigned. The ISBN and price should appear on the back cover of the book.
2. Does your book have a bar code?
Bar codes help our stores handle books more efficiently. The bar code which incorporates your ISBN is scanned at the time of purchase, thus recording accurately the sale of your book. The book industry uses the Bookland EAN bar code, not the UPC. The barcode must have the U.S. retail price of the book embedded in it and printed on it. If your book is already printed, you can have pressure-sensitive labels produced for placement on the back cover. For a list of commercial bar code suppliers, please see Labels & Barcodes on the Book Industry Study Group site.
3. What sort of binding is your book (Trade Paperback, Hardcover, Audiobook, etc.)?
For a complete listing of formats, please review the most recent version of the ONIX code lists at www.editeur.org/14/code-lists/#code. Since most of the titles in our stores are placed on the shelves spine out, we require both the title and author be printed on the spine of the book.
4. Is your book available through a wholesaler?
Placing your book with a wholesaler/distributor will simplify your billing (one invoice to one location). It also allows B&N to consider placing larger orders and putting the book on automatic replenishment. Wholesalers/distributors are used by many segments of the book industry: publishers, libraries and booksellers. Other bookstores order from the same wholesalers Barnes & Noble uses. For a list of wholesalers who work with Barnes & Noble, please send an email to sjamison@bn.com.
5. Is your book priced competitively with other titles of a similar topic and quality?
Customers care about cost. Price can be a determining factor for a customer when looking at books similar in content, presentation, and format. Look at the pricing of similar books in the category, and try to price yours competitively.
6. Why should Barnes & Noble place your title on its shelves?
Tell us what makes your book unique or special. What is your marketing plan? Send us your publicity and promotional plans, along with any reviews or articles that may have been written about your book(s).
7. What if there's an error in a title listing?
If you detect an error in a title listing, please email corrections@bn.com. Be sure to include the ISBN of the book. We receive a lot of copy that does not reference a specific ISBN, and this copy cannot be processed.
To add text content (descriptive content, author bios), email the information to titles@bn.com. Please include the ISBN with no dashes in the “Subject” line. For cover images, email a jpeg of the image to imagesinquiry@book.com. For more information about how to share content, please visit here.
8. Where can you find more information on the topic of book writing, publishing, and marketing?
The reference shelf in your favorite bookstore or local library features a wide variety of titles about writing books and the business of publishing. You may also consider e-book publishing with Barnes & Noble by visiting http://press.barnesandnoble.com. The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) offers information and resources to self published and independent authors. Learn more by visiting About Us - Independent Book Publishers Association (ibpa-online.org)
