GETTING DISTRIBUTION THROUGH AMAZON

Anyone interested in self publishing has probably at least heard of author services like iUniverse, Xlibris, AuthorHouse, Lulu.com, Booklocker, Outskirts Press, and Amazon’s own BookSurge — services commonly referred to as “self publishing companies.” (Many self publishers prefer to call them subsidy publishers, but I’ll stick to the common usage here.)
You may also know that these businesses are based on print on demand. Though this term describes a printing technology, it usually refers also to a distribution model—which, to the self publisher aiming at Amazon, is just as important. But to understand print on demand as a distribution model, you need to know a little about how the industry is set up.
Most people assume that the big self publishing companies print the books they sell, but in most cases they don’t. In fact, the only one in the U.S. that does is Amazon’s BookSurge. Nearly all the rest rely entirely on the company that is the real heart of the industry: Lightning Source Inc.
Never heard of it? I wouldn’t be surprised. Lightning—as I’ll often call it for short—doesn’t want you to! They don’t want to work directly with “authors” at all, only with publishers and author services, because otherwise they’d be overwhelmed.
So, Lightning Source lets the self publishing companies act as “front ends” for the operation. Those services take your book, convert it to a form that Lightning can use, and take care of all the submission and administrative details. Meanwhile, as of 2006, Lightning churns out a million books a month!
But let’s get back to distribution. There’s something else you need to know about Lightning Source: It’s owned by the same company that owns Ingram Book Group, the biggest book wholesaler in the U.S. Almost every bookstore in the country, along with many libraries and schools, orders books from Ingram.
As you might expect, Lightning Source has a direct line into Ingram. In fact, Ingram “carries” every title printed by Lightning—even if Ingram doesn’t really keep the title in stock. Actually, it does stock popular Lightning titles, but the others it can get from Lightning overnight. So if a bookstore inquires, Ingram reports any Lightning book as immediately available.
So, by working with any of the self publishing companies that feed into Lightning Source, you automatically make your book available to booksellers throughout the U.S. (Contrary to what many new self publishers think, though, Ingram does not promote books and get bookstores to buy them. Ingram only makes them available and waits for orders.)
Foremost among the booksellers that can get your book from Ingram is Amazon.com. And because Amazon draws book data directly from Ingram’s electronic catalog, you are guaranteed that Amazon will automatically list your book. What’s more, because Amazon regularly uses Ingram for drop shipping, all Lightning titles are normally listed on Amazon as in stock or available within 24 hours, even if Amazon doesn’t have its own copies at the time.
The connection between Lightning Source and the rest of the U.S. industry is even stronger than that. A few huge booksellers have the resources to tap into Lightning Source’s electronic systems and order directly instead of going through Ingram. These include
Baker & Taylor, the second largest U.S. book wholesaler and the largest supplier to U.S. schools and libraries.
NACSCORP, another major wholesaler, as a service of the National Association of College Stores.
Barnes & Noble, including BN.com.
And of course, Amazon.com. Though Amazon normally orders from Ingram to fill immediate customer demand, it orders directly from Lightning to stock a book.
Meanwhile, Lightning’s overseas branch, Lightning Source UK, is similarly well connected. Among the companies it supplies are Gardners Books and Bertram Books—prime U.K. book wholesalers and major suppliers of Amazon.co.uk—and the national chain Blackwell’s. Books handled by Lightning in the U.S. can easily be earmarked for printing and distribution by Lightning UK as well—and vice versa.
Despite its printing in only these two countries, Lighting Source’s books show up on all Amazon sites worldwide. Books from Lightning in the U.S. are sold also by Amazon in Canada, while books from Lightning UK are sold by Amazon in Canada, France, Germany, and Japan.
Of course, BookSurge—Amazon’s own self publishing service—will get your book onto Amazon.com as easily as can any company associated with Lightning Source. But it can’t begin to match the rest of the distribution that Lightning automatically provides. In fact, at this writing, BookSurge can’t even get your book onto Amazon in other countries! Amazon.com might be your main marketing target, but you still want your book available as widely as possible.
So, just as print on demand can remove cost as a deciding factor in publishing, print on demand through Lightning Source can also remove what has traditionally been the biggest roadblock for self publishers: lack of access to the channels of distribution. What’s more, it does it in a way that eliminates most of the ongoing labor of publishing. Success no longer means you must spend your time taking orders, shipping copies, and sending invoices and reminders for payment.
Instead, just let booksellers, schools, and libraries order your book from Lightning Source or one of its partners or major accounts. Then all you need do is sit back and wait for your monthly check. In fact, except for maybe a few copies for promotion and gifts, you don’t need to keep a stock of your book at all. (And as one who remembers having a hallway full of printed books in the “old days,” I can’t begin to tell you what a blessing that is.)
So, you should run right out and sign up with one of the self publishing companies, right?
Not if you can help it!
As I said, self publishing companies like iUniverse and Xlibris are basically front ends for Lightning Source Inc., which does all the printing and maintains the distribution channels. The cut that these companies take for their middleman role is no doubt well-earned, but it’s hefty. In fact, for each copy printed, it about doubles your cost of getting the book out.
But what can you do about it? Lightning Source declines to work directly with authors, limiting its dealings to publishers and author services. How can you get around that?
Well, you can become a publisher.
Now, this may or may not be the best idea if you’re handling only a book or two. But especially if you’ll be producing any more, then setting yourself up as a publishing company makes very good sense—even if it’s only to work with Lightning. Doing that can not only cut your costs in half, it can also let you set your own terms on discounts and returns!
If you live outside the U.S. or U.K., you’re not left out. Because of the Internet, it’s no trouble to work directly with Lightning or Lightning UK from anywhere in the world. Once you set yourself up as a publishing company, you’re ready no matter where you live.
No other avenue to Amazon can match the full range of benefits available to publishers who work directly with Lightning Source. Working with Lightning, then, is a key element to the new business of self publishing. If you plan to keep going in publishing and don’t need a lot of handholding, Lightning is the very best way to aim at Amazon.

By Aaron Shepard
Excerpted and adapted from the book 'Aiming at Amazon: The NEW Business of Self Publishing', Shepard Publications, 2007
For more resources, visit Aaron Shepard’s Publishing Page at www.aaronshep.com/publishing