The Business Behind the Book: My First Consignment Check

As soon as my book, Santa’s Summer Vacation in Michigan, was released, I ordered my own author copies to share with local businesses in my community.

Every store had a slightly different approach. Some purchased copies outright. Others asked for a wholesale price so they could resell the books at retail. And several chose to carry the book on consignment.

I loved participating in The Bookman's Second Saturday Storytime earlier this month.

If you’re unfamiliar with consignment – which I was just a few months ago – it simply means the store doesn’t buy the books upfront. Instead, you leave a certain number of copies with the retailer, and they only pay you after the books sell. In return for displaying and selling your book, the store keeps an agreed-upon percentage of each sale. You receive the rest.

For many authors, consignment is a win-win. It gets your books into local stores, helps you build relationships with independent retailers, and introduces your work to new readers.

Check me out! My first story time experience outside of March is Reading Month!

Today, my book is available in 13 stores in Michigan, with four of those partnerships operating on consignment, including The Bookman in Grand Haven, Mich.

And today, I received my first consignment check in the mail!

Keeping everything organized can be a challenge, so I created a spreadsheet to track each store, how many books they carry, the format (paperback or hardcover), our agreed-upon percentages, delivery dates, reorders and payment schedules. Now I can mark The Bookman as partially paid because they cut a check after a certain dollar amount.

It’s definitely tedious, administrative work, but opening that first consignment check after three months made every minute of tracking worthwhile! Thanks, Bookman!

I'm really excited about this buddy partnership with The Bookman in Grand Haven, Mich.