Sales and retail distribution

Our self-published books can be sold directly into the book trade by Star Book Sales, who have a team of sales reps selling into independent, national and online retailers. To take advantage of this, an author needs to print at least 200-300 copies of a book and take our Trade Marketing and Sales Representation service, so we have enough stock to place with retailers.

We act as your retail distributor, taking bookshop orders and fulfilling them on your behalf.

You can check your book's sales through our website on a daily basis (not linked live to retailers).

Whether you publish using Print On Demand or print larger numbers for wider retail sales, we can get your books out there so they stand a chance of selling.

We send retailers daily 'price and availability' data so that any bookshop in the UK can place an order. We have long-standing trading relationships with wholesalers and retailers and are constantly adding new retailers. We arrange the distribution of a book through either traditional 'sale or return' bookshop channels or using Print On Demand distribution.

We store up to 300 copies of a book in our purpose-built warehouse for a two-year period following publication free of charge. (Larger quantities can be stored, but there is a monthly fee.) Most authors opt to take delivery of a percentage of their books, leaving the rest with us to hopefully sell on their behalf.

Books that are distributed using the Print On Demand model exist only as entries on online retailers' websites, until such a time as a copy is bought by a reader. This avoids the need to print copies in advance, but it does limit the sales of PoD books to online retailers, as bookshops prefer the flexibility of Sale or Return supply.

To give a title the best possible availability internationally, we use a number of suppliers and distribution channels, including Amazon, Ingram and Gardners, combining print ‘on demand’ (POD) technology with traditional physical distribution channels. The International Distribution Service guarantees:

• listing on Amazon.com
• listing on Barnes & Noble
• listing on numerous online retailers worldwide, including in Australia, South Africa, Brazil, China, India, Europe, UAE and many others.
• availability for European retailers to order via our wholesaler.

Like any publisher, what cannot be guaranteed is that:

• retailers will place orders
• all retailers will list a title as available or in stock
• availability reach will not change, as we are reliant on our industry partners’ networks worldwide.

Our international distribution service makes a title available to retailers and readers to buy, but we do not actively promote or market to overseas markets. Making a title available overseas may mean some changes to the format and finish when using print-on-demand channels, owing to the restrictions of POD technology. We choose the closest match to a book’s original materials specification when converting a title for print-on-demand with different suppliers, but cannot guarantee that internationally printed copies will be the same as our UK edition. Note that some formats may not be suitable for POD distribution owing to restrictions in format availability and that POD does not offer cover enhancements like foil or spot UV laminate.

Because of variations in print costs internationally, currency fluctuations and the higher cost of printing on demand, the cover price of a title will vary from country to country, but when setting a cover price in international markets, we ensure that copies are always sold at a profit.

Our international distribution service is for a period of two years from a title’s UK publication date, and costs £250.00+VAT; this can be renewed for a further two years at a cost of £150+VAT.