CONSIGNMENT
To begin, congratulations! Writing a book is an enormous endeavor that requires great creativity and perseverance. You have accomplished an achievement whether or not it ends up on our shelves.
 
IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES YOU WILL FIND:
•    Information about how we handle consignment books
•    Our official Terms of Consignment
•    Next steps for you!

GENERAL INFORMATION
WHY SHOULD YOU USE CONSIGNMENT FOR YOUR BOOKS?
Taking books on consignment is the best way for The Book Cellar to sell self-published books. This gets your book in our hands, on our shelves, and hopefully into the hands of hungry readers! 

MY BOOK IS AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION FROM INGRAM!
Great! Even better news for you. Please let us know if this happens to be the case as we will most likely consider purchasing your book through Ingram rather than on consignment. Note: If your book is non-returnable to Ingram, we may choose to use our standard consignment process

WHAT IS THE BOOK CELLAR LIKE?
The Book Cellar is an independent bookstore located in the heart of Lincoln Square for over a decade. We’re a cozy space with a little café that serves coffee, sandwiches, and wine. Our customers are diverse and eclectic in their preferences. They’re interested in unique books not everyone is reading.
RECOMMENDED READING
www.tcdailyplanet.net/so-you-wrote-book-now-what/    

OUR SELECTION PROCESS
We bring our years of experience to the table when choosing consignment books for our shelves. Because our space is limited, some factors we consider include: our store culture, genre demand, inventory needs, promotion ability, and sales potential.

At The Book Cellar, we are committed to our local writing community; priority is given to authors with Chicago appeal, local connections, and those who have made a connection with us as a store.

BOOK BASICS

YOUR SUBMISSION SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
•    A standard hardcover, softcover, board, or children’s equivalent binding. We will not accept books with alternate binding styles, i.e. spiral.
•    Author name and the title displayed on cover and binding.
•    A 13-digit International Standard Book Number and barcode.
•    A suggested retail price.
•    Quality writing- By this we mean: Is your book soundly written? Has it been proofread and thoroughly edited? Spell check doesn’t catch everything. For the sake of you and your readers, books with excessive grammatical and structural errors cannot be accepted. We want your book to be at its best!
•    A marketing plan.

HOW YOU CAN HELP MARKET YOUR BOOK?
We are constantly receiving new books at the Book Cellar. How will yours stand out? Have no fear, you are your own marketing team! We will work to help make sure your book gets in front of our customers, but it is your work that makes the difference.

We’re happy to put out advertisements for your book. Make sure you have us listed as a purchase location on your website or social media, so your fans know where to purchase your book! Let us and your fans know when your book gets reviewed. 
Marketing does take work, and we need your help.    SUBMISSION PROCESS
1.    Contact us about consignment. You’ve already done this! Nice!
2.    Read through this packet carefully.
3.    If you think your book fits our criteria email us (words@bookcellarinc.com) the following: a short synopsis, some information about you, a marketing plan, a picture of the cover, the suggested retail price, and a maximum of 2 sample chapters. DO NOT mail us your book. 
4.    Wait. This part sucks, we know.
5.    If we are interested, we will contact you.
6.    We may ask for a full copy or move straight on toward taking your book.
7.    If accepted: we will agree on how many copies will start with.
8.    Once agreed you should bring your books by and fill out a consignment form. There is a $25.00 stocking fee. We will not accept your book until this is paid.
9.    If you are not local, you are responsible for shipping your book to us, including the stocking fee.
10.    Author, store, and readers rejoice!

FAQ
Read over the official terms, then check back here.

YOU HAVEN’T GOTTEN IN TOUCH WITH ME, DOES THAT MEAN YOU HATE MY BOOK?
No way! As an independent book store our days are very busy and we wear many hats. We will do our best to get back to you in a timely fashion, but if it’s been longer than 3 weeks, feel free to follow up with us.

I WANT TO DO AN EVENT!
Great, please email us with a separate proposal if we accept your book!

1. All books must include the following:
   1. A standard hardcover, softcover, board, or children’s equivalent binding. We will not accept books with alternate binding styles, i.e. spiral.
   2. Author name and the title displayed on cover and binding.
   3. A 13-digit International Standard Book Number and barcode.
   4. A suggested retail price.
2. All books must be submitted following the submission process. Unrequested copies will become property of the Book Cellar.  We are unable to accept walk-ins, phone calls, or unsolicited mailings.
   1. If we request a copy of your book to read you must include a self-addressed and stamped envelope if you wish it to be returned.
   2. The Book Cellar does not accept or stock books published by Amazon.com, their Createspace label, or other Amazon publishing outlets.
3. Books will be accepted for a 60/40 consignment agreement. 60% consigner, 40% us. We will not pay more than 60%.
   1. There is a standard $25 handling fee per title. Titles will not be accepted unless this is fully paid. Please make checks out to The Book Cellar.
   2. A consignment agreement form must be filled out by both parties in order for books to be stocked.
   3. The quantity of titles will be agreed upon once books are accepted.
4. The Book Cellar agrees to carry your book for a 6-month period upon acceptance of consignment.
   1. At the end of 6 months your book will be re-evaluated. If no books were sold, we will ask you to pick them up. If we decide to continue to sell them we will contact you about a further contract. If you are unable to pick them up, please provide an alternate means of us returning them: shipping labels, self-addressed envelopes, etc. The Book Cellar is not responsible for any shipping charges.
   2. You are responsible for keeping your contact information up to date with us. If we cannot contact you because it has changed, any unsold books will become property of The Book Cellar.
   3. During this period The Book Cellar may contact the consigner for additional copies.
5. Any books left at The Book Cellar by a consigner for longer than 30 days after the consigner has been contacted to pick them up will become property of The Book Cellar
6. The consigner is responsible for sending an official invoice to The Book Cellar in order to receive payment.
   1. We recommend emailing us to see if any books have sold, and then sending an invoice for sold books.
   2. The Book Cellar can only be billed for books sold.
7. The Book Cellar reserves the right to deny any requests for taking books on consignment at our discretion, no questions asked.