Re: Terrific information
Asking about book reviews is a good strategy. A publisher that's actively trying to promote its books will work hard to get reviews in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and similar venues--readers don't always see these reviews, but librarians and booksellers do. If the publisher can't show you any reviews, or if all the reviews come from personally-owned reviewer websites, it's a good clue that this publisher is not really doing much in the way of marketing.
Check the book prices also. Since this publisher uses POD, the cover prices are going to be higher than is normal for trade-size paperbacks, but the prices shouldn't make you scream and run away.
More questions for your friend to ask:
- Are your books returnable by bookstores for full credit? (If not, bookstores will be unwilling to order them)
- Do you work with a distributor as well as a wholesaler? (A wholesaler, such as Ingram or Baker & Taylor, provides ordering and fulfillment services. A distributor provides ordering and fulfillment services, plus a staff of sales reps who pitch the publisher's catalogue to bookstores. Ideally, a small publisher should work with both a distributor and a wholesaler, or else work with a wholesaler and maintain its own staff of reps. If the publisher's books are available only through Ingram or B&T and it has no sales staff, the burden of selling will fall on the author.) (P.S. If the publisher doesn't know what you mean by this question, that will tell you something too.)
- If you don't work with a distributor, how do you sell your books into stores? (The answer should be: "We have our own staff of sales reps." If the answer is something like "We send out mass mailings and/or fliers", it's roughly the same as saying "We don't sell our books into stores at all", because stores ignore that kind of stuff as spam and junk mail).
- If you don't sell your books into stores, what's the focus of your marketing efforts? (If the answer is "our own website" or "we list with all the online bookstores", they're basically saying "marketing is up to you, kid".)
- Vicctoria