After I approve the electronic proofs of my books, I order printed copies.
Amazon handles the printing for books sold on Amazon. They send printed proofs with a bar across the cover that says NOT FOR RESALE.
Ingram handles the printing for books sold on all other stores. So, if you buy from Barnes & Noble or Powell’s or another online vendor, then it’s coming from Ingram. They don’t offer printed proofs, per se. I have to approve the electronic version for printing then order copies. These books arrive without any marker that they’re proofs.
I flip through every page of the printed copies to make sure the formatting looks correct, the pages are all in the correct order, and the pages aren’t crooked. Once I’m satisfied that they’re the way I want them, I approve the books for distribution.
The top row are the Amazon proof copies with the NOT FOR RESALE ribbon. The bottom row are from Ingram.
The books are currently available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. However, Barnes & Noble lists the print books separately, so if you click on the ebook you won't see print as an other format available. You'll have to go to their list of all of my books to see the print editions. Plus, as of the time of this writing, Wednesday, July 12, 2023, there is no book description showing on Barnes & Noble for the print books. Only the cover and the price. It takes a while for all data to populate.
It will be at least a week, possibly much longer, before the print books are available at other retailers.
If you find these printed copies with the new covers for sale at a non-Amazon bookstore, I’d love to hear about it!
