When I first published The Manhattan Mishap, I chose to be online only. Why? At the time, we were still in lockdown. The pandemic was in full-force and the world was once again shutting down. No one was shopping in-person. So, what is book return insurance? And why is it essential to your self-published book?

Here’s why I decided to bite the bullet and break the bank.

What is Book Return Insurance and why is it essential to your self-published novel?

For starters, it helps with exposure. And I know, if you’ve ever been a blogger you know how infuriating it is when people want to pay you in exposure. Like, how is that helping with my rent? But hear me out. With my novel being online only, it’s difficult to find. It’s a needle in a haystack. A seashell lost at the bottom of the ocean! Amongst the millions of books online, how can people find me?

And that’s not to say that no one has found my novel online. They have. However, it’s that much more difficult because you have to be specifically searching for it. Or searching for something like it.

Book Return Insurance allows big bookstores to have options.

The Manhattan Mishap is currently available through Indigo, Barnes & Noble, Bolen Books, and many more. However, you can’t go into one of their retail locations and pick it off the shelf. That’s where Book Return Insurance comes in. It allows major bookstores to have the option of returning your book if it doesn’t sell.

Every author’s worst nightmare.

My publisher told me that to even be considered at Indigo or Barnes & Noble, you have to have the insurance. Otherwise it’s a no-go. You’re too risky. They don’t want to be left with hundreds of copies of your book if no one wants them.

Having Book Return Insurance means that my self-published novel can be seen. Someone can walk into a bookstore and actually see my book. Maybe the cover catches their eye and they just have to check it out. Or maybe they heard about The Manhattan Mishap from a friend and want to go buy a copy.

After all, online shopping isn’t for everyone.

One downside to book return insurance is the cost.

It’s pricey. About $800 + tax for two years. After that, you can renew it on a yearly basis. The price was a tough pill to swallow. However, I’m hoping that with the addition of book return insurance for my self-published novel, The Manhattan Mishap will be even more successful.

Will you be picking up a copy in-store?

—ᴍᴍᴍ