Hi Quillers!

We’ve got a little challenge ahead, and I want to invite you to join in! And there may even be a prize...🎉

You may have noticed that Barnes & Noble is buying fewer books from independent publishers and debut authors these days. With frequent staff turnover and constant reorganizations, it’s easy for amazing books like Recipes to get overlooked.

But here’s the good news: B&N hasn’t skipped any of our Bindery titles yet! That’s a big deal for debuts, rare even for the biggest publishers. It shows that there’s a real chance for us to grow our presence there. We just need to make some noise.

And that’s where you come in.🥳

Why this matters:
Each B&N store has its own buyer who decides what books to stock. While our distributor works hard to highlight every Bindery title, the turnover at B&N makes it hard to reach every store individually. When readers step up and show their excitement, it increases the chance our books will make it to shelves and into the hands of new readers.

You may be thinking, "But Meg, we should be talking about our local booksellers, not B&N." And you're 1000% right. However, getting our books into B&N sends a signal to local indie bookstores that these titles are in demand. When a book is visible in a national chain, local booksellers are more likely to stock it too. The goal will always be to support local, but we have to start here to get there.

So here's what we need from you...

⭐️THE B&N PREORDER SALE IS SEPTEMBER 3rd-5th! ⭐️

Tomorrow we’re coordinating a community-wide effort to ensure Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife gets a place on these shelves. Here's how you can help us:

1. Amplify: Share/Repost a Bindery post or one I'll be posting tomorrow asking friends to preorder Recipes through B&N. If you can link the preorder page in a story, that's also really helpful!

2. Show: If you’re comfortable, make a little content showing your local B&N visit where you preorder in person or ask them to stock the book. I'll attach a sell sheet below you can pass on to the manager. Even a quick photo helps!

3. Call to Action: The B&N pre-order sale runs from 9/3–9/5. Encourage your friends to visit their local store to pre-order, call to ask if it's being stocked, or if there isn’t a store nearby/you're uncomfy going in person, we can all still participate online.

If you need a simple script for turning in a sell sheet to B&N, here's an example:

Hi, I’m looking for Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife by Deston Munden, coming out in October. I follow Megs Tea Room, and they’ve been talking a lot about how it's the perfect fall book for your cozy fantasy table. Is your manager available? I actually have some information about the book that might help with ordering.

🏆BUT WAIT, THERE'S A PRIZE! 🏆

For everyone who shares or posts, we’ll be offering entry into a drawing to win EVERY Bindery book to date! CLICK HERE to share how you participated and enter to win!

Why this works:
Every small action adds up. Even if you only post, share, or ask one question at a store, that’s one more ripple that can help a book reach more readers. And Deston truly deserves his place on these shelves. This book is such a GIFT to the cozy community, so we're all banding together to ensure it gets as much exposure as we can offer.

Thank you for always showing up for these authors, these incredible books, and for each other. You all are such a powerhouse community and I can't wait to see how this impacts our cozy reach!

Let’s do this! 💛

LINK TO VIEW + DOWNLOAD SELL SHEET