September is the start of a bunch of book events for us. First, Printers Row Lit Fest, then some library author fairs, craft shows, and presentations. We needed a bunch of books, and for newer authors, it may surprise you to hear that ordering books is harder than you’d think.
Publishing with Kindle Direct Publishing is free and relatively easy to manage, which is why so many authors do it. Readers can buy your book from Amazon, and if you want to have a stack of books to sell at a fair, you can order what they call “author copies.”
The advantage of author copies is that you only pay the print cost, but the disadvantage is that you pay to get them shipped to you. Having a Prime account doesn’t mean you can ship for free, and it takes much, much longer to arrive than other purchases you make.
Luckily, it seems we are in a good area for printing and shipping, so our author copies usually arrive within a week or two. If we really need books before then, we have been known to order a few at full price and have them shipped via Prime. Of course, that cuts into any profits, but at least we have the books in hand.
A last-minute publishing push meant that author copies of the Agatha Annotated version of The Secret Adversary weren’t going to make it in time for Printers Row, so we ordered a few as a regular ol’ consumer.
They were due to arrive the day before the event, but then we got a message saying they would be delayed until the day after the event. Don contacted Amazon, and they said they would expedite, etc., and we could expect the books late night/early morning. Super!
Late night came and went. Morning wore away. Our time at Printers Row was from 3-6pm and we lingered as long as possible before getting in the car, but finally we had to go without the books. About the time that we arrived at the venue, the books arrived at the house!
Since we were cutting it a bit close by ordering so late, I’m willing to share the blame with Amazon on this. What I’m holding them fully responsible for is the condition of the books they’ve been sending lately.
I have heard other authors complain, but this was the first time it happened to me. Books were shoved into boxes that were not quite big enough, bending corners and beating up the edges. Since Amazon dictates the book size, you’d think they would have the appropriately sized boxes for shipping them.
Also, we have noticed that covers on the newest Amazon-printed books start curling almost immediately. Our books from other printers look so much nicer on display shelves.
Some author friends no longer work with Amazon because of these issues. There are certainly pros and cons, and we are debating them now. If you are an author with suggestions, I’d love to hear what you think, and if you are a newer author just beginning with KDP, I hope hearing about our experience will be of help!