Book Distribution

InHouse Publishing has its very own bookstore website to help give our authors an online platform to sell their books. If you decide to join our distribution network, we make your book available for purchase on our online bookstore (www.inhousebookstore.com.au) and through our wholesale catalogue.

After your book is published, we store some copies from your print run here. We list your book on our online store, with online traffic daily, and in our wholesale catalogue, which goes out to over 1,200 distributors, bookstores, and libraries across Australia. When we receive an order via our online bookstore or catalogue, we post it out to the customer. Your royalties from sales are paid quarterly to your nominated bank account.

Unlike many other large book distributors, we only take a very small fee to cover our administration costs and do not aim to profit from this service. For this reason, we only offer our distribution service to authors who have published through InHouse Publishing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any hidden fees?

Absolutely not. As mentioned, we only take a small administration fee (20% from each sale) to cover our time – shipping out the orders, hosting and maintaining the bookstore website, calculating and processing royalty payments, and advertising and marketing the books on our bookstore.

Can I still sell my books through my own channels?

Yes, of course! Our distribution agreement is non-exclusive, so you are free to sell your books yourself (in-person, via email, or on your website), through your own channels, or through an additional company (as long as they are also non-exclusive).

Do I have to be listed in the catalogue?

No. You can choose not to be listed in the wholesale catalogue. However, our best customers are our library distributors, with orders coming in weekly, so it is in your best interest to be listed in the catalogue.

Do you sell to big bookstores or retail stores?

Some bookstores, like Dymocks, make one-off purchases from us through our wholesale network. However, we do not offer our books on consignment, which most large stores (like Big W and Target) expect. We sell on a firm sale basis to ensure the purchase is guaranteed, and so that shelf stock is not returned to us damaged if it does not sell. If larger stores would like to stock the books on consignment, we forward the enquiry to you to enter into an agreement personally, if you wish to do so.

How do customers outside Australia purchase my book?

Overseas postage costs can be very expensive—even for just one copy of your book. If you have a large customer base outside of Australia, we recommend purchasing our Amazon print-on-demand set-up service. With the Amazon print-on-demand model, a physical copy of your book is available internationally through Amazon.com, .uk, .it, .fr.

The files for your book are uploaded to Amazon and copies of your book are printed only when they are ordered through Amazon. Amazon ships the customer’s order from an Amazon printing warehouse within the USA or Europe.

If you select this service through InHouse Publishing, we set up your account for you and upload your book, then pass the log in information and account management over to you.

How do I receive the money from sales made through IHP distribution network?

Royalties from book sales made through our InHouse distribution channel are paid via bank transfer. Please ensure we have your current and correct bank details to make payments (see Distribution Form). Royalties are paid to you following the end of each sales quarter (January–March, April–June, etc.).

How does it work?

InHouse bookstore: We store physical copies of your book here at our office. When we receive an order through our online bookstore, we post it out to the customer. (The customer pays for their postage costs—it is not taken out of the book sale price). We take a small 20% commission from each sale to cover administration costs and pay our authors the remaining 80% quarterly.
Wholesale distribution: (Optional) We list your book in our wholesale catalogue, which we send out to our network of libraries, distributors, and book shops quarterly. An industry standard wholesale discount of 40% applies to all sales made through the wholesale distribution channel. We post out the order and take a 20% commission from each sale.

What distribution services do you offer?

Our distribution services are exclusively for authors who have published through us. The aim of our bookstore is to give our InHouse authors another avenue to sell their books, to help support them and their work. We only take a small administration fee to cover our costs (20% from each sale) such as marketing.

We built our distribution network to support our authors and facilitate their success. It’s a win-win for our authors and our business. We want our authors to sell so many books they run out and come back to us for a reprint!

What if I don’t have an ABN or don’t want an ABN?

If you would like to apply for an ABN, you can apply here: www.abr.gov.au/business-super-funds- charities/applying-abn If you don’t have an ABN and you feel you don’t need one, please ensure you are eligible to provide a Statement by a supplier here: www.ato.gov.au/forms/statement-by-a-supplier-not-quoting-an- abn/ and email us the completed form when you return your distribution form.

Where will my book be available?

On our online bookstore, which has online traffic daily www.inhousebookstore.com.au
At our physical shopfront address in Underwood, Qld.
In our wholesale catalogue, which goes out to over 1,200 distributors, bookstores, and libraries (40% wholesale discount applies).

Why do I need to provide and ABN?

Due to updates to Australian tax rules and regulations, you are now required to provide us with your ABN information in order to receive your royalty payments from sales.

Why do wholesalers get a 40% discount?

Wholesalers such as bookstores purchase books to resell them in their own store. They need to make a profit on the sale in order for it to be worthwhile for them. They require a 40% discount so they can then list the book at the retail price in their store. If they don’t receive the discount, they might list the book at a highly inflated price. If the book doesn’t sell at that high price, they won’t order again. If it does sell, they will continue to purchase.

We strongly recommend offering the 40% discount but choosing your listing price carefully to account for this discount.