Resources for Authors
There are a number of helpful resources available to authors. We recommend checking out the American Bookseller Association for some helpful tips (and where the author mentions "six pack of PBR" just substitute "bourbon and chocolate" for our buyer) and general info to give you insight into the world of bookselling. Agent Frazer Dobson also has some great advice for self-published authors, and The Author's Guild offers a number of useful articles, guides, and sample contracts. We strongly recommend doing your own research to determine the best way to market yourself and your book.
Event Request
We frequently receive inquires from authors wishing to sell books and hold book signings at our store, but as we have limited staff and our own event schedule to maintain, we are unable to accommodate everyone. In addition, not all books are a good fit for our store. We also do not consider hosting book signings for books we cannot sell in our store (i.e. only available through Amazon or unavailable at industry standard pricing). If you are interested in holding an event at KD's, we ask that you complete this Event Request and provide us with all the necessary details to make our decision.
If we decide that you are not the best fit for one of our hosted book events, there are a couple other options available to you. You may choose to keep your contact info on file to be notified when we hold our next Author Fair; we'll have a two-day fair (you can choose to be here for one or both days) where all local/independent authors may set up a small booth to read/sign/sell their own books. Alternatively, if you would like to host your own book signing, our event space is available for rent. You are welcome to leave a poster or other promotional materials in our store leading up to the event, but you would be solely responsible for selling your own book, promoting the event, and ensuring a successful turnout. These two options are available to you even if your book is one we do not carry in our store.
Book Submissions
KD's Books is proud to support local writers and contribute to a thriving local writing community. Due to the volume of requests we receive from writers wishing to sell in our store, as well as limited shelf space, we cannot carry every title submitted to us. Special consideration will be given to authors living in the KC metro area. We may not be able to respond to every submission. Unsolicited books brought to the store without being requested by KD's Books are considered free review copies.
To be considered, you must complete our Book Submission form. Once received, we will evaluate whether we can carry it, and, if interested, may reach out to you to request a review copy of the book to better determine its fit for our store and customers. We will evaluate your book for: fit in the store, literary quality, shelf appeal, and readiness to market and promote. We are not always able, or required, to provide feedback on our decision. The most common reasons we don’t carry books are:
- Not available through Ingram and/or not available at a standard discount (Bookselling has a tiny profit margin to begin with; we can't afford to accept less than 40% off retail discounts.)
- Author name/title not listed on the spine
- Design and/or production standards don’t match our expectations for stock
- Book doesn’t match curatorial need
Self-Publishing
"Well --- I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does...Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this company that went...bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. Its name was...All right --- Amazon." Shudder. "Don' make me say it again."
We understand the important role Evil A and its affiliates play in the independent author marketplace. That being said, we have taken a stand against The-Site-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named and we don’t spend any money with That Company. This includes Kindle Direct Publishing. While we have many, many, oh-so-many issues with the way You-Know-Who does things, our refusal to spend money there is born out of the fact that, if it were up to You-Know-Who, we’d be dead. No business, especially a small business, should be asked to write checks to their biggest competitor. If you are looking to self-publish, we suggest looking at Ingram Spark instead, and allowing standard wholesale pricing to support independent bookstores.
Book Promotions
We ask that, if we carry your book, you promote your book using links to KD's Book's website or even Bookshop.org or Indiebound.org. It's very discouraging when we agree to support someone’s book, and then we see that author encouraging their followers to go buy their book on The-Site-That-Must-Not-Be-Named. If your followers want to join the dark side, believe us, they will have no problem finding it without your help. Help them find alternatives that benefit their local economies instead. Built in to our agreement to support you should be your agreement to support us and other indie bookstores.