So if you were considering getting a copy of my novel, The Fempiror Chronicles: The Initiation of David, but were procrastinating, you might want to reconsider the procrastination. There is a program out there on Createspace to place the book into some much, much wider sales channels, making it available to actual retailers, libraries, etc. It basically allows the book to be orderable by just about anywhere. I don't know what these places are, but the word "thousands" was used.

Anyway, due to the increased channels it has to go through, the cost of allowing this level of distribution is slightly higher than the basics, and I priced the book as low as possible before. So I had a choice to either keep the book ultra-cheap and leave it where it is. This would be silly since after an early blitz of 11 copies, it's sold all of 2 copies in the last two months. Or I could increase the price to accommodate the additional sales channels. The necessary increase amounts to a little over $3, so the price would have to go up to 12.99. Since it hasn't sold much after my initial announcement anyway, I figure this won't leave me any worse off than I am now.

I'm posting this as a warning so someone planning to get it "at some point" can't fuss later and wonder what happened. Now, I do have a standing discount code of H63WMLZU which gives you a 15% discount if you order the book through CreateSpace at https://www.createspace.com/3385945

I'm going to make the change at the end of the year, so consider yourself warned.

I pondered just adding this to the end of my last post, but I figured that was an initial announcement, and this is something new, so there you go.

Here's the details of the new channels as stated by the CreateSpace website:

What is the Expanded Distribution Channel?
The Expanded Distribution Channel (EDC) offers you the potential to distribute your book to a larger audience through more outlets including: retailers, bookstores, libraries, academic institutions, wholesalers, and distributors. Through the EDC you have the potential to distribute your work to thousands of retail and wholesale outlets throughout the U.S. Regardless of whether or not you include your title in the EDC, all CreateSpace titles can be distributed through both the Amazon.com and eStore Channels.

How does it work?
Most online retailers, bookstores, and libraries find books through purchasing relationships with large wholesalers. If your book is not listed with these wholesalers, some retailers may not be able to buy your book, even if a customer specifically requests your title. Through the EDC you can make your title available to these wholesalers who in turn make your title available to thousands of online retailers, bookstores, and libraries.

There are three distribution outlets available through the Expanded Distribution Channel:

CreateSpace Direct - make your book available directly to certified resellers through our wholesale website.
Bookstores and Online Retailers - make your book available to major online and offline retailers.
Libraries and Academic Institutions - make your book available to libraries and academic institutions throughout the U.S.

I found out what the "thousands" means in this Expanded Distribution Channels. It appears that books that elect to be distributed through this additional channel are added to the database for the Ingram Content Group depending on your election (http://www.ingramcontent.com/default.aspx).

This is a huge distribution company that does supply physical book retailers, libraries, educaitonal institutions, etc. Not sure how they'll catalog all of Createspace's content, but they have physical and online catalogs available as well as a host of other services for their buyers. Hence, yes, I will definitely be electing these additional services despite the fact that it will increase the price of the book.  

Oh yes, Ingram does have international distribution as well. Kinda wild.

Now, this does NOT mean that it will be instantly shipped to outlets across the world. What it does mean is (what could be as long as) six weeks after I make the change, you can walk into Barnes & Noble and ask if they'd be willing to order my book. They'll look into their database of available books, and see it as an option to order, since (according to Ingram) Barnes & Noble uses them as a distributer.

Thought that was cool.

Hey George.

Have you tried marketing your book yourself in person? For example, maybe it'd get more sales if you distributed it in the University you went to (or are going to).

I'm assuming both physical copies and ebooks are available, so I think self-promotion is the way to go. You could also promote yourself (with permission of course) at one of those vampire RPG websites. Seems like your book would be right up their alleys.

I think that would cost a lot less (if it costs anything at all) than making your book available to more retailers and it would market your work much more widely.

I'm no expert on this, but I want your book to succeed so here's my two cents anyway: I believe you should work on increasing your book's popularity on a smaller scale BEFORE you make it available to bigger retailers. I don't think stock numbers matter that much if the book has not been properly promoted.

--Julio  

Hey George,

I ordered the book yesterday, but ended up getting it from Amazon instead of Createspace.  Amazon ended up being just slightly more (even with the discount), but my main reason was with shipping.  Createspace's shipping costs are through the roof (based on speed), and the earliest it would have arrived is January 2nd.

Thanks Mike. I knew CreateSpace's shipping was a bit higher than Amazon, but I haven't done a 1:1 comparison before. I know the shipping time is over-exaggerated. I'm not sure why that is, but when I had to order the proof copies, they had some insane shipping time frame, but it only took a week or so.

Reaper, I've considered some local methods of self-promotion, but one thing this larger distribution thing does is place the book into catalogs that places can order out of. Some stores won't buy them unless they go through the people they have relationships with.