AtlasBooks Distribution / BookMasters, Inc.

[Grampa Joe]

Bookmasters??

I'm seriously thinking of using Bookmasters (http://www.bookmasters.com) to do my printing. They gave me a pretty decent quote for 1,000 copies and the rep I spoke to seems to be sincere.
Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with Bookmasters?

 

[jerrywaxler]

Satisfied Bookmasters customer

I'm seriously thinking of using Bookmasters (http://www.bookmasters.com) to do my printing. They gave me a pretty decent quote for 1,000 copies and the rep I spoke to seems to be sincere.
Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with Bookmasters?

I love these guys. They are highly reputable and easily to work with. I get a lot of compliments on my books.

Jerry Waxler

 

[tombookpub]

Bookmaters is highly recommended by one of the Self Pub writing industry's gurus (Self Fed Writer series), Peter Bowerman. I'm considering using this company as well.

 

[soma]

I'm doing some consulting work for a nonprofit conservation group that's putting out a guide to statewide nature areas. Most of what I'm doing for them revolves around marketing the title, with the understanding that they'll be doing all the selling on their own.

However, in the course of our discussions I noticed that none of them seem to know anything about distributors, so in the interest of my rep I figured I'd make sure they're on the right track.

They're publishing through Bookmasters, which offers them distribution through AtlasBooks. I am not familiar with AtlasBooks and have no idea what their history, cababilities, or reputation are like. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

 

[victoriastrauss]

In the past year, Atlas has absorbed two small press distributors--Biblio, which was originally part of National Book Network, and BookWorld, a small press distributor in Florida that closed in the fall of 2007 with little warning to its publishers. Will this consolidate Atlas's power base in the small press distribution world, or overtax their systems? It's too soon to tell.

My impression is that Atlas doesn't have the most terrific reputation, but maybe some of the publishers who post here have more insight into that.

- Victoria

 

[soma]

Thanks for the info, Victoria, I'll see if I can track down any of them. All they're really looking for in a distributor at this point is one that can get the book into libraries and make it more readily available outside the organization's home state, so I'll cross my fingers.

 

[CaoPaux]

Adding links for http://www.bookmasters.com/, parent of http://www.atlasbooksdistribution.com/.

 

[IGLOOGREENHOUSE]

Atlas-Books

A possible publishing company I'm looking into has little to their name, except what they explain to me as a "promising relationship with the distrobutors Atlas Books."

http://www.bookmasters.com/atlasbooks/

Is this a credible company, that is, if this company is partnered with a certain publishing house, does that house have a good likliehood of getting their books on store shelves?
Thanks.

 

[G. Applejack]

I think there's already a thread about them here:

<snipped>

Looks fairly promising so far!

 

[altaboy60]

BEWARE: BOOKMASTERS IS VERY ONE SIDED AND WILL TAKE YOUR MONEY AND YOU WILL GET NO RETURN

Atlas Book/Bookmasters: BEWARE

They have had some very major complaints and are being sued for misrepresentation with an self published author. My wife may be asked to testify in this. They will take advantage of anyone. They are very one sided and have very poor customer relations and service. Find another distributor that will take on a one or two book publisher or self published author.

 

[hurricanehanni]

Bookmasters for distribution???? (merged into existign thread in BR&BC)

Hi, we published 3 children's books and have them printed in China. Bookmasters is trying to get me to sign with them for distribution of the books. We only printed 2000 of each title and it takes about 6 weeks to get more copies from China. Anyone know about Bookmasters? Is it worth signing on with them? It seem like a lot of money? Thanks.

Ryan

 

[valeriec80]

I'm thinking that if they're telling you that they're going to get your book into bookstores, they're lying.

Every self-publishing success story I've ever heard with print books in book stores has required the self-pubber himself to do a lot of legwork.

I expect the money wouldn't be well spent.

However, I've never heard of Bookmasters, so I really don't know.

 

[thothguard51]

Here's a link to their website...

http://www.bookmasters.com/distribution/index.html

They not only do distribution, but they also print books and have an E-books partnership with MPS, a Macmillan group. They also host blogs, so I assume they have their own servers and storage facility.

I would say it really depends on what they want to charge you as to if their service would be reasonable or not. Do you have someplace to store 6,000 books? Climate controlled so the books do not get musty smelling from sitting in garage or self storage facility?

 

[priceless1]

Bookmasters is for small publishers who are mostly POD. They don't have the selling pull that the big boys do, like Perseus, Consortium, IPG, PGW because they don't have the in house staff and established excellent reputation. They're more adept at getting books listed in all the online databases than going out and pitching their catalog to genre buyers. If memory serves, they don't have independent sales reps that cover all the territories, and everything is done through their corporate offices...which isn't a whole lot. And they're expensive, to boot.

 

[CaoPaux]

Updating link for AtlasBooks: http://www.bookmasters.com/atlasbooks/index.html

Also, BookMasters has been bought by Castle Harlan, majority owner of Baker & Taylor, resulting in a "strategic partnership": http://www.bookmasters.com/07-13-baker-taylor.html

ETA: Which was in turn bought by Follett Corp in '15. Still in "strategic partnership."