An ISBN and complete metadata
Without an ISBN a book does not exist in the trade systems. We issue it from our publisher block and register title, author, format, price and description.
Bookstore distribution
Get your book into bookstores, not just onto one website
Bookstores do not browse author websites. They order from the catalogs of wholesalers and distributors, with an ISBN, a publisher and a trade discount. That is exactly where your book goes with us.
How bookstores get books: a bookseller searches the catalog of a wholesaler, sees the title, the publisher, the price and the discount, and orders. With ShelfPublisher your paperback is in those catalogs under the imprint of Orbita Media, so more than 50,000 bookstores can order it, from Barnes & Noble-sized chains to independents.
Invitation only · Every request is read by a person
What booksellers look for
Four things a bookstore checks before it orders
A publisher it can deal with
Booksellers order from publishers and wholesalers, not from individual accounts. Your book carries Orbita Media GmbH as publisher of record.
A wholesale source
Stores buy through the wholesalers they already work with. Your title is listed in those catalogs and printed on demand when an order comes in.
Trade terms
A store needs a discount to make money on a sale. The trade discount is built into the net revenue we share with you, so you never negotiate it yourself.
Reach
Where your book can be ordered
US
27,000+
United States
UK
9,500+
United Kingdom
DE
6,800+
Germany
FR
4,200+
France
ES
3,100+
Spain
IT
Feltrinelli, IBS & more
Italy
CA
1,400+
Canada
+
12 more
Worldwide, print on demand
Honest expectations
Orderable everywhere, stocked where you make it happen
Print on demand means no warehouse full of copies and no stock risk for you. It also means a bookstore orders your book when a customer asks for it, or when it decides to put it on a shelf. A catalog listing makes that possible; it does not make it automatic.
What moves a store to stock a title is demand: readers asking for it, a local event, a bookseller who has read it. Our guide How to get your book into bookstores covers what you can do yourself.
- Listed in the wholesale catalogs of every market you publish in
- Orderable by chains, independents, libraries and online stores
- In Italy, orderable through our global wholesale distribution; a dedicated Italian book trade channel is in preparation
- No promise of a place on a particular shelf, from us or from anybody honest
Can be ordered from
Among the retailers that order from the catalogs we deliver to: Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Walmart, Foyles, Blackwell's, Thalia, Hugendubel, genialokal, Orell Füssli, Ex Libris, laFeltrinelli, IBS.it, Booktopia and Amazon (each checked by ISBN search on the shop's site, October 2026). These are retailers where the book can be ordered, not partners of ShelfPublisher. Names are trademarks of their owners.
Questions
Bookstores and distribution, answered
Where can my book be ordered?
The book is listed in the wholesale catalogs that more than 50,000 bookstores order from: about 27,000 in the United States, 9,500 in the United Kingdom, 6,800 in Germany, 4,200 in France, 3,100 in Spain and 1,400 in Canada, plus 12 more countries through print on demand. In Italy, bookstores such as laFeltrinelli and IBS.it can order it through our global wholesale distribution. Online stores that order from the same catalogs list it too, Amazon included.
The book is printed on demand, so it is orderable wherever those catalogs are used. Whether a store also puts a copy on its own shelf is that store's decision.
Will bookstores put my book on their shelves?
We cannot promise that, and nobody honest can. What we do is list the book in the catalogs booksellers order from, with a proper ISBN, a real publisher and complete metadata, so any bookstore can order it for a customer or for its shelf. Your own contact with local bookstores, events and readers is what makes a store stock a title. Our article How to get your book into bookstores covers what booksellers look for.
Will my book still be on Amazon?
Yes. Amazon is one of the retailers that order from the wholesale catalogs, so your book can be bought there as well. You do not need a KDP account for that edition.
What happens when bookstores return copies?
Returns and cancellations reduce the net revenue, because bookstores in the trade can return copies they ordered. If the trade corrects an earlier report, the correction is set off against your future credits.
For which markets and languages can I publish?
The portal publishes for four markets: International (in English, with distribution in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and further countries), Germany, France and Spain. You choose the market when you submit the book.
Italy has no print route of its own in the portal, but Italian bookstores such as laFeltrinelli and IBS.it can order the book through our global wholesale distribution. A dedicated Italian book trade channel is in preparation.
Guides
More on distribution
Book distribution for self-published authors
Book distribution explained: distributors, wholesalers and aggregators, the discount chain, print on demand and KDP Expanded Distribution.
Read the article
How to get your book into bookstores
How to get your book into bookstores: how stores order through wholesalers, what booksellers need, why POD books rarely sit on shelves, and Barnes & Noble.
Read the articleHow to sell your book in Italy: Italian bookstores, distribution and the law
How Italian bookstores order books: distributors and wholesalers, the 5% discount cap, consignment and returns, and how a self-published book becomes orderable in Italy.
Read the articleYour book belongs where readers browse.
Request access and tell us about your book. A person reads every request.
Request access