Information for Self-Published Authors

Hoping to Place Their Title on our Shelves

Thank you for considering Where the Sidewalk Ends Bookstore for your book. Because we are approached many times every month by self-published authors hoping we will carry their book, we have found it necessary to outline our terms.

Please do NOT distract the booksellers at the front desk from working with customers by chatting about your book or asking for their input. All decisions regarding self-published books are made jointly by the owners. You are welcome to leave a copy for review, with your contact information written clearly on the inside cover, and all further communication is regarding your title is best sent by email to chathamsidewalk@yahoo.com. If we do decide to carry your title, we will send you our consignment contract.

Please note: Every self-published author that enters our store requests a more favorable discount for themselves than the industry standard, because the prices for them are so high to print, but shelf space for books in our small, independent business is very valuable, and each book must “pay the rent.”

Your book is taking the place of a book that we could get at a much higher discount from a traditional publisher. The economics of book publishing are difficult across the board, and we are not a showroom for online retailers. We receive several requests a week from self-published authors: if we accepted all of them, on terms that help the author, we would have a full section of several hundred books that are selling at a loss for us. We are sympathetic to your situation, but your best option, if you want to continue to have physical bookstores in which customers can browse for and hold your book, is to find a printing company that works within your overall budget for pricing.