How Book Distribution Really Works in Zambia

Distribution is the part of publishing that moves a finished book from the carton to the reader. It covers who holds the copies, how a buyer finds and orders one, who delivers it, when the author is paid and what happens to copies nobody buys. It is also the part most often left unplanned. A book can be beautifully edited and printed and still be surprisingly difficult to buy.

For Zambian authors, distribution rarely means one large distributor handling everything. More often it is a combination of direct sales, a few bookshops, an online listing, events and orders from institutions, each with its own arrangements. That combination can work well, but only when each route has stock, a price, a way to pay and a person responsible for it.

At Sotrane Publishers, we encourage authors to plan distribution before the books arrive from the printer, not afterwards. The questions below are the ones that decide whether interest in your book turns into copies in readers' hands.

Follow one copy from enquiry to handover

Choose one likely buyer and trace their order from the first question to the moment they hold the book. Suppose they see your cover shared on WhatsApp. Can they find the price without sending several messages? Is there a working order link or a named person taking orders? Can they pay in a way that suits them, and who confirms the payment? Will they collect the book, meet you or pay for delivery? Who deals with a damaged copy or a parcel that does not arrive?

If you cannot answer these questions, posting the cover more often will not help. The buying process needs fixing. A bookshop, an online shop, an event table and direct orders are separate routes, and each needs its own stock and its own responsible person.

An online listing gives a book a reliable destination. Sotrane's online bookshop is one place where readers can browse and order available titles, but authors still need to direct interested readers to the correct listing and understand how orders for their own book will be fulfilled.

Understand whether a bookshop buys or holds your books

"My book is in three shops" tells you where copies were placed. It does not tell you how many have sold or whether anyone has paid.

One shop may buy a small quantity outright at an agreed price. Another may take copies on consignment, holding them and paying for those sold under agreed terms. Arrangements vary, so settle the details before handing over a carton: the selling price, the shop's share, who pays for delivery, when sales are reported, when payment is made and what happens to damaged or unsold copies.

Keep a written record of the title, edition, quantity delivered and date, and ask the shop to acknowledge it. If you deliver 20 copies and later hear that there are "a few left", you need a count. How many sold? How many remain? Were any returned or damaged? How much is owed, and when?

Shelf space is limited and staff cannot remember every title, so give the shop a clear cover image, a short description, the retail price and a contact for restocking. Think too about where your readers actually shop. A specialist agricultural manual may sell better through a targeted professional outlet than on a general display. Because a shop keeps part of the price, the money you receive differs from the cover price, as our guide to pricing a book shows with worked figures.

A book is only available when a reader can find it, pay for it and receive it without having to chase anyone.

Plan delivery before you accept the order

Delivering ten books can take more effort than selling them. A lecturer in Lusaka may agree to send ten copies of a study guide to a group in another town and quote only the book price, before working out packing, transport, the trip to hand over the parcel and confirmation at the other end. If the parcel is delayed, each side may assume the other is dealing with it.

Before accepting an order, agree the destination, delivery method, cost and expected handover. Pack copies so that covers and corners survive the journey. Put a list of titles and quantities inside the parcel and keep a copy. Send the recipient the dispatch details and ask them to confirm what arrived. These small steps matter most when one person is ordering for a group whose members have already paid.

The cost of delivery changes with the route. Taking a few copies to an event you are already attending may cost very little. Sending a single book to another province may add a charge that makes the purchase unattractive, and the buyer may prefer to wait for a combined order. Do not promise nationwide delivery until you have worked out how each destination will be served and who will pay.

Institutions buy differently from friends

Schools, university departments, non-governmental organisations, churches and professional bodies can be valuable buyers for the right book. An enthusiastic person inside an organisation is not, however, the same as an approved order.

When a church leader praises a training manual and suggests the church "could take fifty", treat it as the start of a conversation, not a reason to print fifty more copies. Ask who makes the decision, how many copies are needed, whether a quotation or invoice is required, where the books must be delivered and when payment would be made. Find out whether they want sample copies and whether the books are for a single event or an ongoing programme.

Do not assume a book belongs in every school because it involves children, or in every organisation because it addresses a social issue. Show the buyer what problem the book helps them solve and whether it suits the people they serve. A confirmed order for 30 copies is worth far more than a vague promise of access to thousands of learners. Where payment comes after delivery, plan for the gap, because the printing and transport bills may be due long before the institution pays.

Treat events as temporary bookshops

Launches, book fairs and workshops put books directly in front of interested readers, but each event still needs a sales process. Who holds the float? Who can receive mobile money payments and confirm that they have arrived? Who records each sale, and who counts the unsold copies at the end? What happens when someone wants a copy after the table has been packed away?

An author can sell out of the copies brought to a conference while the rest of the stock sits at home. Another can carry three cartons to a launch, sell a handful and spend more on transport than the sales bring in. Estimate likely demand, make the sales point obvious and record every sale. Afterwards, give people a reliable way to order rather than another photograph of the event. Our article on the work that follows a launch explains how to keep that interest from fading.

Keep one stock record, however many people sell

A simple stock sheet prevents expensive misunderstandings. Start with the print quantity, then record copies kept by the author, delivered to each shop, sent to events, sold directly, supplied to institutions, given away, damaged and returned. Record the money received separately from the copies sent out.

Suppose a 300-copy edition is divided as follows: 80 at home, 60 in two shops, 40 with an event organiser, 100 held for online orders and 20 used for reviews and the author's own needs. All 300 are accounted for, but that does not mean 220 have sold. Every later movement should update the record, whether a shop sells 12, an event returns 25 or three copies leave for online orders. If the numbers stop adding up, find the difference before ordering a reprint.

Once a month, ask each holder for their opening quantity, copies received, copies sold or passed on, closing quantity and payment due. A reader should never be told a book is sold out while untouched copies sit with someone nobody has contacted for months. Knowing which channels actually move books also makes choosing a print quantity far easier next time.

How Sotrane supports distribution

For titles we publish, our bookshop listing carries an accurate description, the approved cover, the price and stock information, and titles are presented through relevant book fairs, booksellers, libraries and institutional channels. Sotrane also organises the Fitabo International Book Fair, which brings authors, readers and the wider book community together. When we manage an event, stock is counted before it starts and sales are reconciled afterwards.

Whether or not you work with us, begin with a modest route that genuinely works. Before the books leave production, name the first three ways a reader can obtain the book. For each, note the responsible person, the stock held, the price, the payment method, the delivery arrangement and when sales will be reported. Test each route yourself with a sample enquiry. It is perfectly reasonable to start with direct orders, one reliable online listing and one carefully chosen bookshop, and to add more only when orders justify them.

Where have readers been able to buy your book most reliably, and what had to change before that route worked?