Barbara Freethy books headed for physical bookstores

Are you a reader who's missed being able to easily buy print versions of books by your favorite bestselling digital indie authors? That's about to change. Barbara Freethy and Ingram Publisher Services are teaming up to get her books into bookstores everywhere, so you'll be able to buy them in print or digital, whichever format you prefer. Barbara joins HEA to share the good news …

Barbara: Since I started independently publishing my books in 2011, the one part of publishing that I couldn't break into was widespread print distribution. While my digital sales passed the 5 million mark this year, I couldn't find a way to get my bestselling books into the bookstores. I could set up print-on-demand, whereby readers could order my book from a few key retailers, but a lot of my readers wanted to be able to buy the books in their local stores. Since that part of publishing was under the control of the big New York publishing houses, it took me some time to figure out a way to make widespread print distribution happen for me as an independent publisher.

Last year I entered into an agreement with Ingram Publisher Services to sell and distribute my titles to the print market under my publishing imprint, Hyde Street Press. I'm thrilled to say that the response from retailers has been very positive. The retailers want to carry the books their readers want to buy and read, so it's a win-win situation for everyone.

This week, the first book in my Callaway series, On a Night Like This, hits the shelves. The Callaways are an Irish-American blended family who live to "serve and protect," many as San Francisco firefighters. Each sibling is featured in a stand-alone story that offers romance, mystery and adventure as well as some intriguing family secrets!

For the next year, I'll be releasing a book a month, starting with the Callaway series and then also mixing in two of my NYT bestselling titles, Summer Secrets and Don't Say a Word.

I'll also be launching a brand new romantic suspense trilogy that will have a simultaneous digital and print distribution in October with the release of Beautiful Storm (Lightning Strikes No. 1). I'm really excited about the new trilogy, which has an overarching mystery and is something I've wanted to write for quite some time.

As many of my readers know, I love writing books that cross genres, and my stories are usually a mix of romance, women's fiction and romantic suspense. I think there are a lot of readers like me who enjoy books that have a little bit of everything!

I also want my books to be available in any format that my readers choose to read in, which is why this deal is so important to me. I want readers to be able to find my books in digital, trade paperback, hardcover, audio and at their favorite store or library. Hopefully, as Ingram and I move forward in our partnership, the sales reps will be able to convince even more retailers to order the books to sell in their stores.

I believe my partnership with Ingram is the first of many. There has been a huge void in the market the last three years with top-selling digital indie authors unable to get their books widespread print distribution. But now that is changing, and those readers devoted to print will be able to find and buy the books that their digital-reading friends have been raving about for months. They won't have to miss out on a great book simply because it was published independently. This is truly a happily ever after for not only indie authors and retailers but also for readers!

Find out more about Barbara and her books at www.barbarafreethy.com.