How To Get Your Book Into Australian Bookshops And Libraries

By Tasman Publishers 23 October 2026 12 min read

To get your book into Australian bookshops and libraries, first make it orderable: an ISBN in your name, good metadata, and wholesale distribution (usually through IngramSpark for print) on discount and returns terms shops accept. Then make it wanted: visit independent bookshops with a sell sheet, list with library suppliers, put the ebook on library platforms like Libby and BorrowBox, and register for lending rights.

Most authors who ask how to get your book into Australian bookshops and libraries are really asking two questions. Can a shop or library order it? And will they want to? The first is mostly paperwork. The second is persuasion, and it's where self-published authors either give up or get creative.

This guide covers both, with the Australian details that US-centred advice skips: our library suppliers, BorrowBox, legal deposit and the lending right schemes that can pay you every year your book sits on library shelves.

Step One: Make Your Book Orderable

A bookshop won't email you to buy three copies. It orders through the wholesalers it already has accounts with, alongside every other book it stocks. Libraries work the same way through library suppliers. So before anyone can say yes, your book needs to exist in the systems they search.

That starts with the basics:

Your own ISBN. A free ISBN from Amazon KDP is tied to Amazon, which shuts out most bookshop and library channels. Buy your own from Thorpe-Bowker, one per format. Our guide on how to get an ISBN in Australia walks through it.
Complete metadata. Title, subtitle, description, subject categories, page count, format, Australian retail price and publication date. Register these details with Thorpe-Bowker so the book appears in Books in Print, which shops and libraries use to find titles.
A cover and interior that look the part. Buyers judge in seconds. A professionally typeset interior, set to KDP and IngramSpark specifications, also means your files won't be rejected at upload.
Legal deposit. Australian law requires a copy to go to the National Library of Australia, and usually your state library too. The National Library catalogues what it receives, and that catalogue record matters later for lending rights.

Wholesale Book Distribution In Australia

For most self-published print books, book distribution in Australia means print on demand through a wholesale catalogue. IngramSpark is the usual choice. You upload your print-ready files once, set your terms, and the book becomes available to order from Ingram's network of retailers and libraries. Copies are printed as orders come in, so there's no garage full of stock.

IngramSpark in Australia is particularly useful because it's the route most bookshops and library suppliers can actually order through. Many authors use KDP for Amazon and IngramSpark for everything else, with the same ISBN on both for the same format.

Two settings decide whether shops will touch your book: the trade discount and returns.

Trade discount, explained

Bookshops don't pay your full retail price. They buy at a discount off the recommended retail price, and that gap is their margin (with a slice for the wholesaler). Print on demand adds a twist: the printing cost comes out of what's left after the discount, and the remainder is your earnings.

Here's the trade-off. Set a short discount and you keep more per copy, but a shop earns too little to bother ordering. Set a full trade discount and you earn less per copy, but you're on the same footing as books from established publishers. IngramSpark shows the current minimum and its recommended settings on the title setup page, so check there rather than relying on a figure from an old blog post. Your retail price needs to make sense once the discount and print cost are both taken out.

Returnable books

Shops expect to be able to send back stock that doesn't sell. That's normal in the book trade, and most bookshops won't order a book that isn't returnable. IngramSpark lets you mark a title as returnable. For Australian sales, returned copies are destroyed rather than shipped back to you, and you're charged for them. One bad order can hurt, which is why some authors start non-returnable for online sales and switch on returns once a shop has agreed to stock the book.

Orderable isn't stocked. Wholesale distribution means any shop can order your book, usually for a customer who asks. It doesn't put copies on shelves. That part is up to you.

Is Your Self-Published Book On Booktopia?

Booktopia is one of Australia's biggest online bookshops, and it's where a lot of readers check first. There's no KDP-style dashboard where authors upload a book. A self-published book on Booktopia generally appears through the wholesale and distribution data the retailer receives, so getting your distribution set up properly is the real step. Once your book is live, search Booktopia by ISBN after a few weeks to confirm the listing, cover and price are right.

Want Your Book Orderable By Every Shop And Library? We set up ISBNs in your name, metadata, and the retail, wholesale and library feeds that bookstores and libraries order through. Tell us about your book for a fixed quote. Get a fixed quote or call +61 8 7111 2944.

How To Get My Book Into Bookstores: Going In Person

"How do I get my book into bookstores?" usually has a local answer. Independent bookshops are the most receptive to self-published authors, and they're far more interested when the author lives nearby. A Fremantle crime novel, a Barossa family history or a picture book set on Kangaroo Island all have an obvious local audience the shop already serves.

Before you visit:

Buy something there first, or at least know the shop. Booksellers can tell when you've never been in.
Ask when the buyer or owner has time. Never turn up during the Saturday morning rush.
Bring a finished copy, not a proof or a manuscript.
Bring a sell sheet and leave it behind.
Offer something: a launch, a signing, a school holiday reading. Events sell books, and shops know it.

What goes on a book sell sheet

A book sell sheet is a single page that answers every question a buyer has, so they can say yes without chasing you.

Include	Why the buyer needs it
Cover image and title	It's how they'll remember the book next week.
A 50-word blurb	Enough to know who'll buy it, short enough to read at the counter.
ISBN, format, page count	They order by ISBN. No ISBN, no order.
Recommended retail price	It has to sit comfortably next to similar books on the shelf.
Publication date and availability	Shops plan stock and events around dates.
How to order	Name the wholesaler or distributor, and confirm it's returnable.
Your local connection	"Adelaide author" or "set in the Blue Mountains" is often the deciding line.
Contact details and event offer	Makes it easy to book a launch or signing.

Consignment bookshops and the local author shelf

If a shop won't order through a wholesaler, ask about consignment. You supply copies, the shop displays them, and you're paid for what sells, usually after a set period. Unsold copies come back to you. Many consignment bookshops are small independents, gift shops, tourist information centres and museum shops, which can suit local history and regional titles very well.

Keep it businesslike. Agree the split, the payment period and what happens to unsold or damaged copies in writing.

Plenty of independents also run a local author shelf or table. It's often the easiest way in, because the shop has already decided to support local writers. Ask about it directly.

How Libraries Buy Books

Libraries are a better bet than many authors realise. Public libraries actively collect Australian and local writing, and a single sale to a library network can mean copies in several branches. If you want to sell a self-published book to libraries, though, don't expect to sell boxes over the counter. Most acquisitions go through suppliers.

Library suppliers in Australia

The main library suppliers in Australia include James Bennett, Peter Pal and ALS. They supply public, school and academic libraries, and they're open to small presses and self-published authors. James Bennett has a publisher services section on its website for new Australian titles, and Peter Pal has a new publication form that makes a book visible to the libraries that buy through it.

Suppliers typically ask for full bibliographic details, a description, your Australian retail price and your publisher details. They also expect library-level trade terms, so have your discount and ordering arrangements sorted before you apply. Some prefer to hear about a book before publication.

Talk to your local library

Once your book is with a supplier, tell your local library. Many councils have a local studies collection or a local author program, and some state and regional library services run author talks. Give them the ISBN and how to order, and mention any local setting or subject.

Ebook Library Distribution: Libby And BorrowBox

Australian library members borrow a lot of ebooks and audiobooks through apps. The two big ones here are Libby, run by OverDrive, and BorrowBox, run by Bolinda, which serves libraries in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland.

Self-published authors reach them through an aggregator. Draft2Digital, for example, distributes to both OverDrive and BorrowBox. Libraries then choose which titles to license, so a librarian still has to select your book, but it's in the catalogue they shop from. Library ebook licensing works differently from retail sales, and the distributor's terms explain how you're paid.

Check KDP Select first. KDP Select requires your ebook to be exclusive to Amazon. While it's enrolled, your ebook can't be in Libby, BorrowBox or any other store. Decide which matters more before you enrol.

Public Lending Right And Educational Lending Right

A self-published book in libraries can keep earning, so register it. The Australian Lending Right Schemes pay creators and publishers because their books are held in libraries. The Public Lending Right in Australia covers public libraries. Educational Lending Right covers school, TAFE and university libraries.

Based on the Office for the Arts guidance for 2026:

Who's eligible: living authors, illustrators, editors, translators and compilers who are Australian citizens or permanent residents and earn ongoing royalties from the book.
Self-publishers register twice: as a creator and as a publisher, lodging a title claim for each. Self-publishing creators are an eligible publisher category.
Which books count: printed books, ebooks and audiobooks with an ISBN, published and offered for sale, with a catalogue record in the Australian National Bibliographic Database (or SCIS for school titles).
How it's worked out: a sample of libraries is surveyed each year and holdings are estimated. A book needs an estimated 50 or more copies to qualify, and there's a minimum payment amount.
When to claim: after publication and within five years of the publication year. Claims close on 31 March each year, through Lending Rights Online at arts.gov.au.

Registering doesn't guarantee a payment, but it costs nothing and takes an afternoon. Check the current rules on arts.gov.au before you lodge, since the details are reviewed from time to time.

A Quick Comparison Of The Routes

Route	Best for	What you need	Main catch
Wholesale print on demand (IngramSpark)	Being orderable anywhere	Own ISBN, print-ready files, trade discount, returns setting	Orderable, not stocked
In-person pitch to independents	Getting on actual shelves	Finished copy, sell sheet, event offer	Slow, one shop at a time
Consignment	Local and regional titles	Your own stock, written terms	You carry the stock and the admin
Library suppliers	Public and school libraries	Bibliographic details, library trade terms	Selection is up to librarians
Ebook library platforms	Libby and BorrowBox borrowers	EPUB, ISBN, aggregator account	Can't be in KDP Select
Lending rights	Ongoing income from library holdings	ISBN, catalogue record, eligibility	Needs enough copies held

Getting Help With Distribution

None of this is out of reach for a determined author. It's just a lot of small, fiddly steps, and missing one (a KDP ISBN, a non-returnable setting, a blank description) can quietly block a whole channel.

When you publish with Tasman Publishers, we set up ISBNs in your own name, the metadata for every edition, and distribution with the major online retailers and wholesalers that bookstores and libraries order through, including Amazon, Booktopia, Apple Books, Kobo and Google Play, plus library platforms. You keep your copyright and 100% of your royalties. See what's involved on our book publishing page.

Distribution makes your book available. Getting shops and libraries to pick it up is marketing. Our book promotion campaigns include submissions to library platforms and local stores, and our guide on how to market a self-published book in Australia covers the wider launch plan.

What it costs depends on what your book needs: the formats, whether files are already print-ready, and how much of the setup and outreach you want us to handle. Get in touch for a free, fixed quote.

Bookshop And Library Questions

Will Australian bookshops stock self-published books?

Many will, especially independents, and especially for local authors. What they need is a book they can order through their normal wholesaler, on terms that match other books, with a professional cover and a fair retail price. Being orderable isn't the same as being stocked, so expect to visit the shop yourself with a finished copy and a one-page sell sheet.

How do I sell my self-published book to libraries?

Libraries rarely buy direct from authors. Most order through library suppliers, so list your book with them and make sure it's available through a wholesaler. Then let your local library know it exists, along with any local connection. For ebooks and audiobooks, use a distributor that reaches library platforms such as OverDrive (Libby) and BorrowBox.

Do I need IngramSpark to get into Australian bookshops?

Not strictly, but it's the most common route for self-published print books. It puts your paperback or hardback into a wholesale catalogue that bookshops and library suppliers can order from, printed on demand. The alternative is printing a run yourself and selling direct or on consignment, which works locally but doesn't scale far.

What is a book sell sheet?

A one-page summary of your book for booksellers and librarians. It shows the cover, a short blurb, your ISBN, format, page count, retail price, publication date, how to order, and a line about you, especially any local connection. It lets a busy buyer decide in under a minute and keeps your ordering details in front of them afterwards.

Can self-published authors get Public Lending Right payments?

Yes. Self-publishing creators who are Australian citizens or permanent residents can claim under the Australian Lending Right Schemes, registering as both creator and publisher. The book needs an ISBN and a national catalogue record, and payments depend on how many copies libraries are estimated to hold. Claims close on 31 March each year through Lending Rights Online.