Small Publisher Marketing refocus

LloydBrown · Apr 29, 2006

I began an earlier thread with two questions in mind. The thread that was slightly off-topic from the title dominated, and so I'm returning to the other point.

What do small publishers do to sell books?

I am not building a hostile anti-publisher case here. I want to learn what the publisher considers his obligations, and what the author considers the small publisher's obligations to be.

Other people have pointed out that publishers of all sizes

send out ARCS to PW, Kirkus, Booklist, Library Journal
send out additional ARCs to sources identified by the author and/or publicist as potentially relevant
send their full catalog to booksellers (not necessarily any one title) and libraries
personally call booksellers and libraries to pre-sell new titles
a known publisher, even a small one, is more likely to get a book actualy read and reviewed by anyone who receives the ARC
facilitate any author efforts by helping to arrange anything the author volunteers to do

And then there are the no-brainers

price the product competitively
design the book to be attractive and appropriate to the target market
offer industry-standard discounts to give retailers an incentive to carry their product
offer returns to maximize initial shelf space

Obviously, the difference between small press and large press is simple scale. A small press might order an initial print run of 3,000 whereas a large publisher might order 20,000 of the same title. I understand that.

Things I do NOT expect small publishers to do (but certainly wouldn't mind if mine offered) place ads in consumer magazines

reimburse the author for travel expenses and convention or trade show fees
"pay" for premier merchandising with additional discounts

Ted · Apr 29, 2006

I'm gonna keep track of where this discussion goes,

but I'm way behind on the jargon:

What are ARCS and PW, Kirkus, Booklist, Library Journal?

veinglory · Apr 29, 2006

They don't produce bulk sales but various online distribution methods, depending on the size of the publisher. e.g. projectpulp, fictionwise

LloydBrown · Apr 29, 2006

Ted said:
I'm gonna keep track of where this discussion goes, but I'm way behind on the jargon: What are ARCS

Advance Review Copies; copies sent out before general release for review.

PW, Kirkus, Booklist, Library Journal?

Publisher's Weekly and the others are professional review mags. They influence library & bookseller purchasing decisions.

Cathy C · Apr 29, 2006

Small publishers often band together to hire a distributor. A distributor (unlike a wholesaler) is like a freelance salesperson. The small publisher signs a contract and for the fee paid, a distributor will approach the booksellers as an "employee" of the publisher to sell their line of books to chain stores, independent stores, grocery/newsstand/airport distributors to get the books onto the racks/shelves. They design and produce catalogues of their books and send the distributor out with press kits, promo blurbs and cover flats to hand out.

They're also very innovative regarding advertising. Our publisher partnered with the local national football team to place flyers inside the game program. (Nothing better to do while you're waiting for the game to start, after all.) They do lots of creative marketing like that. Independent Publishing Associations often have brainstorming meetings where member publishers offer suggestions to increase the business for all. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. :Shrug:

Publishing's a tough business.

But yeah--as an author, I do expect some attention to getting the book into stores and making the public aware of the books.

LloydBrown · Apr 30, 2006

Cathy C said:
Publishing's a tough business.

No joke. I found some financials discussing publishing in developing countries in a google search, and just watching your Net Present Value shrink up all of your income must be disappointing. You pay out early and don't get money quickly. A book that "breaks even" in sales dollars can cost you a chunk of money.

I certainly don't mean to imply with a statement like "that's all they do" that the items I listed aren't effective or don't take up a bunch of time. I'm merely looking for a pretty thorough list so that when I talk to my publisher friend I'm not a complete idiot. When he says "You don't know all the things I do for my authors," I want to say "I have a pretty good guess."

Lauri B · May 1, 2006

I don't think you can lump all small publishers together in the same category. From my perspective, the absolute most important thing to ask a small publisher is whether or not it has national distribution with a well-known, well-respected distributor (NOT a wholesaler such as Ingram or BT). No amount of advertising, promotion, book signings, etc.etc. is going to improve booksales to any measurable extent without the books being in stores nationwide. It can't happen.

LloydBrown · May 1, 2006

Nomad said:
I don't think you can lump all small publishers together in the same category. From my perspective, the absolute most important thing to ask a small publisher is whether or not it has national distribution with a well-known, well-respected distributor (NOT a wholesaler such as Ingram or BT). No amount of advertising, promotion, book signings, etc.etc. is going to improve booksales to any measurable extent without the books being in stores nationwide. It can't happen.

What are the good distributor names to look for?

Lauri B · May 1, 2006

Independent Publishers Group
National Book Network/Biblio (tend to rep really small presses)
Consortium (does a lot of literary small pubs)
Publishers Group West (not sure if they were bought again or not)
Any large publisher who distributes for smaller ones (for example, Chronicle distributes for a bunch of smaller children's publishers)

Cathy C · May 1, 2006

Here's a link to some others:

http://www.bookmarket.com/distributors.html

Lauri B · May 1, 2006

Yes, but really read the descriptions carefully. A super-small distributor is probably only as useful as your own efforts--it's like going with a tiny publisher or a brand-new agent.

LloydBrown · May 1, 2006

Nomad said:
Yes, but really read the descriptions carefully. A super-small distributor is probably only as useful as your own efforts--it's like going with a tiny publisher or a brand-new agent.

Okay, I'm getting confused. He mentioned Ingram & B&T now and hopefully Bertrum's by the end of the year. Yet aren't those wholesalers?

maestrowork · May 1, 2006

I think Ingram is getting into the distribution business.

Small Publisher Marketing refocus

LloydBrown

Ted

veinglory

volitare nequeo

LloydBrown

Cathy C

Ooo! Shiny new cover!

LloydBrown

Lauri B

I Heart Mac

LloydBrown

Lauri B

I Heart Mac

Cathy C

Ooo! Shiny new cover!

Lauri B

I Heart Mac

LloydBrown

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray