Self-Published Authors


Congratulations on writing and self-publishing your book!  We admire those who put in the work to publish their book by non-traditional means - especially when the traditional publishing industry is not representative of the world we live in, which often leaves many excluded from publishing opportunities.   

Kindred Stories is committed to creating and making space for self-published authors in our store.  We receive hundreds of self-published inquiries and, unfortunately, do not have enough space and resources to accommodate everyone.  This page is meant to help you explore whether or not Kindred Stories is the right place to try to stock your book.

There are 2 options for self-published authors.  Please read this page in full to learn about the process for getting your book on our shelves.

Ingram

The best way to get your book into our store is ensuring we can purchase it through Ingram.  We require a minimum retailer discount of 40%.  Please complete this form to begin the process.

Consignment

If your book is not available on Ingram, we may consider carrying your book on consignment.  If your book is accepted into our store on consignment, the books remain your property until sold.  Once your book sells, you will earn 55% of the retail price of your books sold at the end of the consignment period, which is 90 days.  The consignment period represents the minimum amount of time your books will be carried in store before being kept in stock, reordered, or returned to you.  It is our hope that your books will sell out, but in the event they don't, we will assess whether or not we will keep your books on consignment or return them to you.  The author is responsible for picking up their books in store or arranging for return shipping within 10 business days of the end of the consignment period.  The books will be placed in our free basket after 10 business days. 

Once approved for consignment, a $30 administrative fee will be assessed. Additionally, the author is responsible for the the cost of shipping books to our store.  Please complete our intake form to begin the consignment selection process.

Some things to consider:

Our process for deciding which self-published authors to carry takes a considerable amount of time.  We are a small team with endless tasks to get through so your patience is truly appreciated.  We receive hundreds of self-published author requests monthly, in addition to reviewing publisher catalogues with thousands of titles.  We try our best to ensure the store's inventory is balanced and diverse and it takes time to curate that.

We give priority to Houston-based authors and our store prioritizes the voices of Black people and people of color who are often left out of the room.  Please consider this before submitting to be carried in our store.

When customers are browsing, they are setting their eyes on thousands of covers and spines.  Please ensure your book stands out!  Hiring a professional illustrator and/or book designer to give your book a unique and professional look is a great idea.  We will not accept covers that are pixelated. 

We get a lot of self-published author inquiries that are memoirs and/or children's books focused on empowerment. These books are great and much needed but we can't stock our entire store with them.  Books with unique themes and written for varied genres are more likely get a look by our team.

Thank you again for considering Kindred Stories when deciding where you would like to see your book.  

 

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