Stephen Hiemstra asked W. Terry Whalin:

Terry: I notice that you are involved in publishing. In the summer, I self-published my first paperback, A Christian Guide to Spirituality, and this past weekend published a Kindle Edition. I had thought to team up with a publisher to come out a hardcover edition , I have puzzled over whether this collaboration would be interesting to a publisher. What advice can you offer me? Stephen

W. Terry Whalin Stephen, thank you for the interesting question.

I doubt you will be able to find a publisher to want to do your hardcover edition. Why? All the books in the brick and mortar bookstores (one of the domains of traditional publishing) are 100% returnable.Bookstores buy books and carry them in their stores based on what the author is going to be doing to promote that book. In the last several years, there were 90% returns on hardcover books. I work for a New York publisher in acquisitions (finding the books that we publish). We release the paperback and hardcover at the same time. Libraries like hardcover books but in the bookstore we only sell paperbacks--because of the high percentage of returns.

When you see those hardcover books in your local bookstore and they are marked "Last Chance." It is really the last chance before those books are returned to the publisher--and destroyed. Yes most of the time they are destroyed--a sad end to a book.

For a strategy, you would be better offering a publisher your self-published book--provided it has been successful (rare because many self-published books sell poorly). At my publishing house, we sometimes will take a self-published book and move it into the bookstore channels. We sell our books into 98% of the bookstores in North America including the brick and mortar bookstores--broad distribution--which is what every author wants for their book (or should want). I hope this helps you.

Terry

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