Author Steps for Getting Books into Barnes & Noble

Yes … I get it, you want a major bookstore to carry your book. It’s a two-way street.
First, your book MUST look like it’s been professionally created—that means it’s not a DYI. 

Second, you MUST have a compelling marketing plan on how you are going to market it and get people into their bookstores.

Third, you MUST be committed to shout out and promote your book to get to BN bookstores until you no longer want your books to sell.
Below are BN rules to get your book ball rolling …  BN.com and Retail Store Placement for Books

DO NOT SEND physical book submissions to the Small Press Dept of Barnes & Noble. Unsolicited materials sent to their offices cannot be returned.

If you have a COMPELLING MARKETING PLAN or expect significant media/publicity that will drive customers to book retailers looking for your title, you can email us at sjamison@bn.com with:

1. ISBN of your title in the Subject line of your email
2. Details on your marketing/media/publicity
3. Name of wholesaler/distributor that is handling your fulfillment to the retail trade.
4. A link to your title on bn.com
5. Author’s hometown 

The buyer review process can take 4 to 6 weeks and you will be contacted via email with their decision.

All books will be considered for store placement based on subject matter and salability.

For a complete list of all our FAQs, please visit Publisher/Author FAQs.
Please consider the following points when publishing and presenting your book:

1. Does your book have an ISBN (International Standard Book Number)?
We use the ISBN to track inventory and sales information. An ISBN is a 13-digit number that specifically identifies your title. For further information, please see Barcoding Guidelines for the U.S. Book Industry on the Book Industry Study Group site. ISBNs are furnished by:

ISBN Agency
630 Central Avenue
New Providence, NJ 07974
877-310-7333
908-219-0188 (fax)
www.ISBN.org

OR

Go to https://MyIdentifyers.com –if you are a member of AuthorU.org, use the code authoru2023 to get a discount.

Allow 5 business days for non-priority processing from the time an ISBN application is received at the agency (not from the date sent by the publisher). Priority processing is two business days from the time an application is received at the agency. Express processing is 24 business hours. If your book has already been printed, you can sticker your books with the ISBN once it is assigned. The ISBN and price should appear on the back cover of the book.

2. Does your book have a bar code?

Bar codes help our stores handle books more efficiently. The bar code which incorporates your ISBN is scanned at the time of purchase, thus recording accurately the sale of your book. The book industry uses the Bookland EAN bar code, not the UPC. The barcode must have the U.S. retail price of the book embedded in it and printed on it. If your book is already printed, you can have pressure-sensitive labels produced for placement on the back cover. For a list of commercial bar code suppliers, please see Labels & Barcodes on the Book Industry Study Group site. 

3. What sort of binding is your book (Trade Paperback, Hardcover, Audiobook, etc.)?

For a complete listing of formats, please review the most recent version of the ONIX code lists at www.editeur.org/14/code-lists/#code. Since most of the titles in our stores are placed on the shelves spine out, we require both the title and author be printed on the spine of the book.

4. Is your book available through a wholesaler?

Placing your book with a wholesaler/distributor will simplify your billing (one invoice to one location). It also allows B&N to consider placing larger orders and putting the book on automatic replenishment. Wholesalers/distributors are used by many segments of the book industry: publishers, libraries and booksellers. Other bookstores order from the same wholesalers Barnes & Noble uses. For a list of wholesalers who work with Barnes & Noble, please send an email to sjamison@bn.com.

5. Is your book priced competitively with other titles of a similar topic and quality?

Customers care about cost. Price can be a determining factor for a customer when looking at books similar in content, presentation, and format. Look at the pricing of similar books in the category and try to price yours competitively.

6. Why should Barnes & Noble place your title on its shelves?

Tell us what makes your book unique or special. What is your marketing plan? Send us your publicity and promotional plans, along with any reviews or articles that may have been written about your book(s).

7. What if there’s an error in a title listing?

If you detect an error in a title listing, please email corrections@bn.com. Be sure to include the ISBN of the book. We receive a lot of copy that does not reference a specific ISBN, and this copy cannot be processed.

To add text content (descriptive content, author bios), email the information to titles@bn.com. Include the ISBN with no dashes in the “Subject” line. For cover images, email a jpeg of the image to imagesinquiry@book.com. For more information about how to share content, please visit here.

My added thoughts … remember—author success comes from your passion in your story and content; from your vision of where you want to go and be; and your commitment to get there and support your book. The commitment factor includes time, energy, and money to support all of what you want. If any of the commitment factor is missing, then take a pass on what is written above.

Dr. Judith Briles is a book publishing expert and coach. Often, she must roll up her writing sleeves and become a Book Doctor, juicing up storylines and author words. She empowers authors and works directly with authors who want to be seriously successful and has been writing about and conducting workshops on publishing since the ’80s. Judith is the author of 48 books and 60 book awards including Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author and Book Platforms, Snappy Sassy Salty: Success for Authors and Writers, and How to Create a Million Dollar Speech. Her personal memoir When God Says NO-Revealing the YES When Adversity and Loss Are Present is a #1 bestseller on Amazon and her historical fiction debut The Secret Journey and The Secret Hamlet. The Secret Rise, book 3 and her first cookbook, Cooking with Judith will be published in 2025. Collectively, her books have earned over 50 book awards. Judith speaks throughout the year at publishing conferences. 

©2025 Judith Briles – The Book Shepherd All Rights Reserved.