APG Sales & Distribution

No offense, but...are you sure the problem is with the distributor? Shifting the blame to someone else is a handy way for a nonperforming publisher to fob off nervous authors.

- Victoria

I had the same problem in 2005 when I published a romance with a small pub - I got my author copies but...the books never made it into stores. I had folks checking all over the USA and as far away as Australia - and they kept getting the "out of stock" message or an "out of print" message. I was not please and it turned out to be a publisher problem. Long, horrid story - I got my rights back and just repubbed.

Good luck!

Carlene

I see in Ingram iPage that you have a number of back orders in all their warehouses. They don't list your book as being out of stock or unavailable, so that's a good thing. They list the distributor as Midpoint, so APG must be a subsidiary. APG's site says they've been kicking around for twenty years.

At any rate, it's incredibly rare that a distributor is at fault for not getting the books to Ingram's warehouses. They get a weekly report from Ingram that tells them the numbers for all their titles. When the numbers are low, they have Ingram generate a PO and ship more books to their warehouses. That isn't to say a distributor screw up isn't impossible, just not probable. They would have had to seriously drop the ball to make that kind of blunder.

What raises my eyebrow is that your publisher, Frederick Fell, didn't appear to be aware of it. Most distributors have online reports that their client publishers can access to see up to date information on the disposition of all their titles. It's pretty hard for a publisher to have a book fall through the cracks.

If it were truly the distributor's fault, any publisher worth their salt would be on the phone screaming for answers. And they would be able to tell you exactly what happened in order to keep you in the loop. Without more information, this just feels all wrong.

inkkognito said:

Priceless, are the backorders something I can see on a website somewhere? I'd love to see how many there are...

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I doubt it. Here's what I pulled off the iPage site:

Status IN OR PA TN [these are the warehouses]
On Hand 0 0 0 0
On Order 33 20 20 20

Even though your book shows a release date of June '09, Amazon's site still lacks the order button. You really got the shaft on this and should demand an explanation from your publisher, as this will have dire consequences on your promotion schedule.

Your book is still listed as on backorder on iPage, which could make things tough for bookstores should they want to place an order. It's probable the books arrived at Ingram's warehouses, but the paperwork can take a few days to wend their way through Ingram's bowels. Good luck to you!

inkkognito said:

Thanks...would that be a good thing to point out to the publisher or just wait a few days and see if it's a paperwork backlog?

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Considering they dropped the ball, I would leave nothing to chance and talk to your publisher. Their reply to you should be (after a butt-kissing, heartfelt apology), "yes, our distributor sent X number of books to Ingram on XYZ date, and it takes a few days for the system to update."

Distributors - The Good, The Bad, and The Downright Ugly

This isn't about a specific company, as much as a general request for information about this part of the industry.

A few days ago James Macdonald put up a thread here at B&BC concerning a newish publisher, Sheaf House, and I went to have a look. They seem to be earnest, well-meaning and author-friendly, if lacking in any relevant publishing experience.

It's also not a POD, vanity or any form of self-publishing service. I know this, because the publisher, Joan M. Shoup, spends the first paragraph of her About page telling me so. She then goes on to explain that Sheaf House books are distributed by a company with a national sales team (more on this company later).

See, now I'm puzzled, because on the surface, Sheaf House doesn't look to me like the kind of outfit that would have much in the way of distributon. And while quite a few small/medium presses certainly are able to get their books both reviewed by trade publications and into stores, Sheaf House gives off a more amateurish, homegrown vibe; and so I started to wonder about this distributor, and distributors in general.

I have two premises here:

1. Agenting and publishing is interspersed with both shady and earnest-but-gormless operators alike; it would be wonderful if this wasn't the case in other parts of the industry as well.

2. Writes are getting wise to the importance of proper distribution. They look at a publisher, and ask questions like: "Yeah, but how will you get my book into stores?" They're also getting wise to the difference between wholesalers and distributors.

The question is, if the publisher answer is: "No problem. We're contracted with This-or-That company. Here, go have a look at their website, they have a catalogue and everything." - do most writers have the tools to evaluate said company?

For an out-and-out scammer, contracting with a shady or ineffectual distributor could be a lure and simply part of their overhead. (If you think that sounds elaborate, go take a look at Bobby Fletcher's Empire of Scam.)
Whereas a well-meaning, but clueless publisher, could very well know enough to understand that proper distribution is important, but not enough to avoid ineffectual ones.

So why did I start banging my head against this? Right, back to Sheaf House and their distributor - APG Sales & Distribution.
Please note that I'm not an industry insider, and I don't have either the knowledge or the personal experience to make any sort of authoritative statement. All I can do is place incense on the google altar and speculate on the odd stuff that comes up.

Onward.

The list of publishers that use APG is compiled from their homepage and their Fall 2009 Catalogue.

Lets take a look at the publishers who use APG:

Frederick Fell Publisher - This is APG's Big Guy. They have their own catalogue and look to be on the up-and-up on the surface, although there is some weirdness in the thread here at B&BC.

3-D Alley - Can't find website.*

Amethyst House Publishing - This from homepage:

Finding a necessity in the market for new and
emerging Authors to have a voice, Amethyst
House is focusing on that need.

Amethyst House, is committed to finding a
market not only for new Authors but for talented
Authors whose quality work has yet to find a
favorable reception.

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Aslan Publishing - Christian 4theluv press.

Borgata Books - Can't find website.*

Celebrity Press - Can't find website.*

ColourStory Publishing - Can't find website.*

Compendium Inc. - Can't find any book-related Compendium Inc. sites.

D C Thomson & Co Ltd - Appears to be a Scottish printer of everything, possibly with a sideline in publishing.

David Icke Books - Self-publishing outfit for David Icke.

Dercum Audio - Can't find website.*

Eager Minds Press - Can't find website.*

Everywhere Press - Can't find website.*

Epiphany Imprint - Looks like a self-publishing outfit.

Inclusive Books - Looks like it's primarily a self-publishing outfit.

Foulsham - Non-fiction. Looks legit.

Green Sugar Press - This appears to be a selp-publishing group venture.

Humor House - Can't find website.*

J R Publications - Can't find correct website.

Javelin Publishing - No information available.

Knowledge Products - Audio publisher.

Levine Publishing - Self-published author, Michael Levine, can't find website.

Life Action Press - Can't find website.*

Manor House Publishing - Canadian press, no About page, but includes this in their submission guidelines:

Also include a summary/synopsis of your manuscript and outline what you see as the market, sales potential and sources of sales for this book – including any sales outside of bookstores. And describe what you will do to support your book through marketing and promotional initiatives.

If this is a Business book or non-fiction work requiring writing, rewriting and/or editing services, please advise and, if interested, we’ll discuss fees for such services. Please also advise if you are prepared to financially support your book by securing advance purchase orders prior to publication or via on-line resale initiatives or via third party purchases (such as clubs, organizations or institutions). This can also include author purchases to support website sales or speaking tours. All of this provides information re market demand/ sales potential.​

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Eirin, I don't have time for more than a quick glance at the moment, but what I saw at their site didn't violate my sense of reality. I don't know how good they are at what they do, but so far I see no reason to think they don't do it.

I find their bare-bones site vaguely reassuring. If I saw a deluxe site put up by distributors that went out of its way to be user-friendly and welcoming, I'd wonder what was the matter.

Here's their "Sales" text:

At APG we employ a distributed national sales team to include an in-house sales staff. We don't just rely upon buyers to find your publications, we put our experience to work by penetrating the marketplace and moving your products.

As well as our Sales Team, we also have well established relationships with the national book trade retailers and wholesalers like Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books-A-Million and Baker & Taylor, almost all of the independent book stores and regional chains that are members of the American Book Sellers Association, like Target, K-Mart, Wal-Mart and Meijers.

APG can also place your publications in our Multi-Channel Internet Sales program, where we can reach MILLIONS of customers daily who have the convenience of shopping from home.

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Again, I don't know how real it is, but it's not what someone would make up who was making things up.

I'll see what I can find out.

Thank you HapiSofi. I really appreciate that.

I'm curious about APG, but I was also hoping to use them as a springboard/comparison in a discussion on distributors in general. See, I remember reading an old thread where Priceless gave a short description of being in the process of signing with a national distributor (can't for the life of me find that post now, of course).
I think she mentioned certain requirements for consideration, such as trade reviews, but I do remember her saying she had to jump through hoops.

That led me to believe that good distributor were selective. Which, when I think on it, is kind of a no-brainer. Their salesforce, and reputation, must be able to stand behind the books.
And if there is good, there's sure to be bad lurking around too.

Gah! How did I miss that?! I swear I searched the forums before I posted. Must've had a moment of dumb'n'blind.

It wasn't the post I was thinking about, but since it's so much more informative, I'll just go read that instead ::sheepish::

Thanks Cao.

An update. APG Sales & Distribution does indeed distribute for Sheaf House and a number of other (small?) presses. I'm only writing this to say: APG was a huge disappointment from where I sit and type. Last winter, before my book released, they claimed they had commitments from big bookstore chains to order and stock my book. Those never materialized. No bookstores ordered. Not a single one. When I asked about this (face to face), I got no answers. I believe the rep made one phone call to one purchasing agent of her acquaintance, but the rep was not in and no follow up was ever done.

If your (small?) press uses APG as their sole pipeline into bookstores, run. That's my sadder but sorrier tale.

Deb, I can attest that just like publishers, not all distributors were created equally. Some are fabulous and others suck stale Twinkie cream.