5 Reasons Why Multi-channel Distribution is Important for Your Self-published Books
With the growth in self-published authors, awareness about the policies of publication in this route is becoming important. Not only in the west, but self-publishing in India is also becoming popular day by day. However, for a self-published author it is harder to find a place in the industry as nobody is there to do the monotonous tasks of printing, distribution and marketing. He has to do these works himself and therefore it is essential that he is aware of the rules in this self-guided publishing industry. Distribution through a single network no longer holds value for a book, especially self-published book. A multichannel distribution has become the principle to get your book to your readers.
Multichannel distribution simply means that your book needs to be distributed through more than one media or on more than one platform, in more than one formats. That is, a self-published book cannot be submitted to Amazon Kindle alone; it needs to be circulated through Ingram so that more online bookstores can stock it, and also other audio and digital platforms can list the book. The author might also want to personally circulate his or her copies through local bookstores, libraries, colleges etc.
Top 5 reasons why multi-channel distribution is a necessity for self-published books are-
- Fetch a Wider Audience– Not one, but many, refers to plurality; multiplicity. Gone are the days, when just local bookstores within a city would keep a collection of books to sell and profit the author. People are no longer interested to look out for books to read; they don’t have the time to spend on specific book. But if the book appears in a search or surf, they are likely to pick it up. When people have stopped visiting bookstores so often, how will they pick up your book from the shelf? Online multichannel distribution ensures your book is circulated through different platforms, and in the age of internet, it can get the visibility and the audience it deserves.
- Better Marketing– Multi-channel distribution also ensures that a load of your marketing task is reduced because your book will then be circulated through the web, social media and the worldwide working chains which may or may not be always available to you physically. Preaching in person is an obsolete task today.
- Your Book Can Be Used for More Than One Purpose– Sure, you have written the book with a specific audience in mind for the purpose of entertainment and pleasure but nothing can be better if your book is picked up by students for academic reference as well. If you can convince a college/university library or public libraries in your state to keep your book on their racks, you can achieve two things- firstly, your book will be picked up by students and experts in the field who are more likely to read a good writing. Secondly, people are still doubtful about self-publishing in India, but when your book is available in any of the academic institutions or national libraries, they will be keen to lift a copy and this might just erase their prejudice.
- Provide Multiple Sources of Income– Multi channel distribution of a self-published book ensures the author that he will make money not through one, but many sources. If your print book isn’t getting sold, your eBook can sell on digital platforms, or even your audiobook. But if you use a single channel of distribution, you will likely to end up losing financial opportunities on your book.
- Easy to Locate Your Book– Multi-channel distribution, i.e. distribution via online shopping platforms, application software, Ingram (worldwide digital distribution chain) and physical bookstores ensure that your book can be easily pulled out from digital databases like Google books. If you choose to distribute only through your local stores, it will be very hard to discover it in a larger periphery. When a self-published book is easily located on several platforms, it is likely to find more reviewers as for readers.
Self-publishing is growing with a rapid pace. It is time authors break-free from traditional modes of print and distribution networks and understand the bigger picture of this industry. Self-publishing in India can become easier in spite of the misinformation and prejudices associated with it, if you know the right ways of printing, distributing and marketing your work.
Apart from uploading the book on these platforms, is there no alternative means of advertisement or publicity for the book, in order to draw the attention of certain categories of audience?