by Jay Hartman
Q: I heard that Book Depository is closing. What effect is this going to have on print sales internationally?
A: Well, it’s not going to be good.
It’s hard to believe this is the third month in a row that I’ve had to say something about the imminent fall of the book business at Amazon, but here we go again.
For those who may not be familiar, Book Depository was an amazing online print retailer that offered worldwide shipping to darn near any country in the world. This made the print market accessible to pretty much anyone, anywhere without insane international shipping charges. They used to be the go-to retailer for lots of people, including me.
Then, Amazon bought them. And, well—we know what happens when Amazon buys a company. Especially if CEOs change and new CEOs hate books. Amazon announced they’d be shuttering Book Depository at the end of April, thus ending the ability for people around the world to easily access their favorite print authors and titles.
At the time of the writing of this column, there isn’t an alternative to Book Depository that offers free shipping everywhere. I point folks to a great article that discusses some possibilities.
I also recommend Espresso Book Machine. If a title is available for print-on-demand through Ingram and is opted into the EBM program, a copy of the book that is indistinguishable from the copy you pick up in a store can be printed on-site where an EBM is located. Here’s a link showing where all the EBM machines are located around the world.
Also, when in doubt, check with the publisher. They might make arrangements for an international purchase. For example, at Untreed Reads, we have the capability to print a title via Ingram in the U.S., the U.K., or Australia. This greatly reduces shipping costs for readers. Since these orders come through our site, this also means more royalty for our authors.
Q: I heard a rumor that you plan to leave Untreed Reads. Is this true?
A: Normally I abhor rumors, but yes, this one is true.
Back in October of 2022, my business partner decided she wanted to exit the publishing industry. I was not able to buy her out, so she sold the company to Top of the World Publishing. The new owners kept me on as CEO and Editor-in-Chief on a six-month, renewable independent contractor agreement. At the end of the six months, I made the difficult decision to resign after thirteen years.
Certainly the company will keep going without me, new people and faces will fill the gaps of what I used to do, and everything will continue on—just without me. Maybe even better, because the new owner has deeper pockets and can accomplish more than I could have hoped to deliver to my authors on our previous budget.
It’s sad, but I leave with the knowledge that I got a lot of authors brought back from being out-of-print, and got new voices read and discovered. Authors won awards for stories in anthologies I published and that will be part of their career bios forever. I helped cover artists get their visions out to the world, proofreaders got to exercise their abilities, independent bookstores and ebook retailers got a little more to help keep their doors open…and so on. I know I did some good in the world for others.
People ask if I will continue in publishing and the honest answer is “I don’t know.” For at least the next six months, I plan on offering developmental editing for other authors as well as publishing consulting for authors, self-publishers, and houses. After that—who knows? I might start a new venture.
The important thing is I’ll stay on here at WPN and continue to use my column as a resource for authors and publishers alike. I look forward to continuing to educate, inform and help make everyone’s careers a little bit stronger in any way I can.
Looking to get The Publisher Perspective? Send your questions to jhartman@untreedreads.com with TPP in your subject line. If your question is used, we’ll send you a free ebook from Untreed Reads.
Jay A. Hartman, editor-in-chief at Untreed Reads Publishing, founded Untreed Reads to promote ebooks with an emphasis on independent authors and publishers. He’s written about the ebook industry for fifteen years and previously served as content editor for KnowBetter.com, one of the internet’s oldest sites reporting on ebooks and epublishing.
