How do I get my self-published book into libraries?
- Libraries buy through distributors and library platforms, not Amazon.
- Wide print distribution (e.g. IngramSpark) makes a book library-orderable.
- Library ebook platforms like OverDrive reach digital lending.
- Standard trade terms and returnability help libraries say yes.
- Local outreach and patron requests drive many acquisitions.
Libraries acquire through their own supply channels, so the first step is being available there: use a distributor like IngramSpark that libraries can order print from, and reach digital lending through library ebook platforms such as OverDrive (often via an aggregator). Offering standard trade discount and returns makes you easier to stock. Then drive demand locally — librarians respond to patron requests and direct outreach.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Library sales and lending expand a book's reach far beyond retail buyers and reach readers who would never have purchased — but Amazon-only self-publishers are effectively invisible to libraries, who do not buy that way. Getting into the channels libraries actually use, on terms they accept, is what makes library acquisition possible at all. The discovery side then follows from outreach and reader demand.
Chapter ii·What to include
- Wide print distribution a library can order from.
- A library ebook platform (OverDrive and similar) via an aggregator.
- Standard trade discount and returnability where possible.
- Complete, professional metadata so librarians can find the book.
- Patron-request prompts to your local readers.
- Direct, polite outreach to local library acquisitions.
Chapter iii·Example
An author lists her print book through IngramSpark with a standard discount and returns enabled, and gets her ebook onto OverDrive through an aggregator. She then asks local readers to request the book at their branch and emails her city library's acquisitions contact. Two library systems order copies within a month.
WriteLoom's Sell studio tracks your distribution channels and metadata, so being library-ready is part of the workflow, not an afterthought.
See the Sell studio