Introduction

NAIPR: The National Association of Independent Publishers Representatives is a trade association of more than three hundred commission reps nationwide who sell for book publishers. Our members are often asked to act as sales representatives for very small houses and, sometimes, self-published individual authors. Although reps sell for many large and well-established publishers, their daily bread and butter can be the offerings and the success of small independent houses. Reps are inclined to have a healthy respect for small or new publishing operations.

Nevertheless, book reps frequently have to say "no" to self-published authors and to publishers in the start-up phase. Our customers are booksellers in a highly competitive and cost-sensitive business and they are now intent on reducing the number of vendors they deal with and the expensive paperwork, time, and labor involved in dealing directly with publishers. Bookstores often prefer to use centralized wholesaler sources for very small or specialized publishers It is un-productive for an independent rep to spend selling time as a missionary generating low or non-commissionable business for wholesalers.

The "critical mass" for a viable rep/independent publisher relationship varies with the nature and the saleability of the product. A reasonable level of activity, we think, is probably a publishing program of ten or more new titles a year with a steadily developing backlist.

The purpose of this document is to offer some information and advice to authors and publishers whose plans, for the time being, are focused on one or two or a few titles. We hope that their business will grow and reach a point where independent sales representatives can be of effective help to them in expanding their market, sales and profits.

Please address comments to:

Ralph Woodward, Editor
Marketing Advice For the Very Small or Self-Publisher
NAIPR,
111 East 14th Street, Suite 157
New York, NY 10003
Phone: (508)877-5328
Fax: (508)788-0208

For every title published, regardless of its source, a distinct publishing process is followed. More or less in this sequence these steps need to be taken:

1) Draft a publishing/marketing plan for the title.

2) Create, write, edit the book.

3) Prepare the manuscript for production.

4) Initiate sales to build orders for the book in advance of publication.

5) Initiate promotion and publicity and make it a continuing process.

6) Print and bind the first run of the book.

7) Distribute to sales outlets.

8) Fulfill orders.

9) Bill and account for sales.

10) Collect accounts payable.

No part of this process is easy but the relatively easier operations are those that remain under the control of the publisher, i.e. those operations that he can perform or order performed with the reasonable expectation that they will be carried out according to his orders.

The relatively difficult parts of the publishing process are those operations that depend upon the response and cooperation of independent parties: the public, the press, the book trade.

Securing the attention, interest, and positive response of elements that are not under the direct control of the publisher is what publishing (to make public; to divulge; to proclaim; to bring before the public, as for sale) is all about.

For the purposes of this document, we are going to concern ourselves with marketing issues: sales, promotion, publicity, distribution, all of those elements of publishing that tend to deal with the independent and often recalcitrant marketplace.

For a more general view of publishing and much more useful detail there are many, many books in your public library. Three that we have found particularly helpful are:

A Publishing and Marketing Plan (back to top)

Every book or article you read on the subject of publishing will tell you that the very first thing you must do is draw up a marketing plan for your project. Judging from our mail and phone calls, 90% of all new authors and publishers skip this step, write, print, and bind their book and then call us or their local bookstore or newspaper eager to find out what to do next. This is a good way to wind up with a splendid library of volumes in your cellar, attic or garage consisting of one (unsold) title.

Human nature being what it is, we know that some of our readers will already find themselves in this situation. Wherever you may be in the publishing process, now is the time to draw up a marketing plan if you haven't done so already. In a marketing plan, the following questions have to be answered:

1) Who will buy this book?

2) How will I let these customers know this book exists?

3) Where will they find this book and buy it?

4) How will I make it available in these sales outlets?

Simple, right? Not. A marketing plan is relatively useless unless it is very detailed and very specific. To each of the questions above there are seductively simple and general answers but they will not help you. Detailed answers will not all come at once but rather over time and in a continuing and developing process of information gathering and research. But you need to start with as many specifics and as much detail as you can muster.

Time to bring your yellow legal pad or your computer database program into play:

and so forth and so on...the longer and more detailed you can make this list the better your chances of sales success.

It is not a process you can skip. It is much more useful and productive if you undertake to do this before you set pen to paper on the book itself. The process helps you to learn how real your expectations are for the book you have in mind.

Before you commit yourself to the expense of printing and binding a book you should seek to develop advance sales. The common method for generating advance sales is to produce a direct mail presentation piece for the book, and to research and test lists of potential individual customers. Book wholesalers and retailers do not usually respond consistently to direct mail solicitation. You will need to be on the telephone, write personal letters, and perhaps make personal visits to local bookstores, and to wholesalers or the headquarters of larger retail chains if they are within reach. Appointments will not be easy to make at the buying levels of large sales outlets. Be patient, send information, and be reasonably persistent.

The learning process can be aided here if you make the acquaintance of one or more local booksellers or other retailers and sit down with them to discuss the realities of doing business with them. This is not a selling call but rather a plea for information and the benefit of their experience. Ask these questions:

1) Where do you buy books?

2) What are the viable terms (price, discount, returns policy) and sales aids (co-op advertising, posters, mailing pieces, etc.) that make it possible and desirable for you to promote and sell a book?

3) Is there a local independent publishers representative who could be helpful to me?

4) Is there competition for the book I plan to write and publish?

Booksellers are always a busy lot so don't approach them in the midst of a busy day or season. The best introduction is to be a customer...a regular customer if that is possible...but you will find most booksellers glad to be of help if you are careful to be considerate of their time. Plan your visit, ask thoughtful questions, take notes, and listen.

Although it is still in its infancy and an untested medium for sales, don't overlook the internet. If you are adept you might create your own home page. Certainly you will want to explore the possibility of selling your work through Amazon.Com Inc., one of the many internet bookstores on the World Wide Web. (http://www.amazon.com), Jeffrey Bezos, Proprietor.

If you propose to move beyond the publication of a few titles to a regular publishing program, even though you may not yet be ready to accomplish that expansion, then it will be useful to talk with an independent publishers representative in your region.

Depending on the nature of your books and their sales potential you may find a rep willing to test the market in the territory for you on a fee-plus-commission basis (you pay a guaranteed fee of $100 and up per month against an accounting of actual commissions earned, at 10 to 15% of net billings).

If your books sell through in sufficient quantities your local rep will be able to expand your coverage by enlisting other members of his selling group or representatives in other territories in the effort.

Although this figure varies widely from rep to rep, you can expect that an independent sales representative would need to see an annual commission income from your books of at least $1500 per salesperson. (The equation ? Retail price of the book (s) x 50% x 10% x # of books sold annually = $1500+ per sales rep.) Even if you expect your sales to reach this level you may have difficulty in finding reps willing to take on your book. But our members are usually a helpful lot and, at least will give you a candid evaluation of your project.

Naipr publishes a brochure, "Selling On Commission", which outlines the way commission selling works. Naipr also issues an annual Membership Directory of our 150+ members. Call or fax us for free copies of these publications.

Without any question the most important part of the marketing plan is detailing the ways and means of disseminating information about the book. If customers hear about it and demand it, sales outlets will follow. Having the book on sale in every bookstore in America is useless if publicity does not generate reader/customer interest.

Generally speaking, books (unlike clothing and some other products) do not sell because they are stocked and displayed in stores. They sell because people hear about them and seek them out. Getting the word out is the indispensable step in successful publishing.

Promotion for your book is everything that you do to generate interest and attention from and through retailers and wholesalers of the title. Mailings to booksellers, advertising and announcements in trade publications (Publishers Weekly, American Bookseller, Bookselling This Week, etc.), trade shows, posters, personal appearances in bookstores, etc. are promotional efforts.

Publicity for your book is everything you do to tell the public through the media (print, radio, television, internet) about your book, its subject, and its availability.

Advertising is promotion and publicity notice that you pay for. For promotional purposes you should produce a flyer or catalog of your titles which describes the content of each book, who is going to buy it, any independent praise it may have received, and any special events, advertising, or promotion that may accompany its publication. This document should also prominently detail the Title, Author, Price, ISBN Number, Trim Size, Type of Binding, Format, Special Features (maps, illustrations, charts, index, bibliography, etc.) , and Number of Pages. It should provide your retail and wholesale discount schedules, returns policy, and, of course, an order form and the publisher name, address for orders, and fax and phone numbers. Together with an appropriate cover letter this selling piece is designed to fully inform anyone buying your book or books for resale of the content and terms of sale.

To sell effectively and to represent you professionally, your catalog should be attractive and complete in its presentation. For publicity purposes you will need to prepare a press release which is, in essence, a news story about your book. Although effective press coverage is usually the result of personal contact by letter and phone it is very important that your press release be professionally prepared to meet the needs of editors.

Many books and articles on how to write a press release are available in your public library and should be consulted. To work effectively in these areas you are going to need the current edition of:

LITERARY MARKET PLACE:
The Directory of the American Book Publishing Industry
Published annually by: R.R. Bowker
121 Chanlon Road
New Providence, NJ 07974
(Current Ed. 1998, 2 Volumes, Pb.: $189.95
ISBN 0-8352-3928-4

"LMP" is the basic reference work for publishers and includes the so-called Industry Yellow Pages (Vol. 2) with the names, addresses, and phone numbers of every important contact in book publishing for essential services, suppliers, and the media. You can find copies in the reference section of your public library but you will probably conclude that you need your own copies readily at hand on your desk for constant use.

Solicit and receive orders, warehouse, pick, pack, ship, receive returns, and restock. These are all operations that a small publisher can perform and control in a garage with a few basic tools and supplies. But they can be time-consuming and a swift and orderly execution of these functions is very important.

Before trying to handle this work yourself, explore the possibility and costs of hiring a local or national mailing house or distribution service.

If you are computer-literate these functions, too, can be handled in-house in a small operation using basic accounting software and a personal computer. Commonly, however, a very small or self-publisher will prefer to use a mailing and business service already equipped to do this work efficiently. A somewhat larger publisher will want to consider using all or part of the publishing services provided by consortium services--publishing organizations that service (or are co-op associations of) small publishers joining together to share a common sales force and marketing and distribution services.

Be wary of so-called "vanity" presses that offer authors publishing services. These can cease after delivery of books, printed at the author's expense.

The following list is far from comprehensive but names some organizations that provide publishing, marketing, distribution, and accounting services:

Associations and Publications (back to top)

This document is in revised draft form. It awaits your suggestions and corrections. Fortunately, there are several other...and better...sources of aid and comfort for the small publisher. Among these are:

Para Publishing, P. O. Box 8206, Santa Barbara, CA 93118-8206 Dan Poynter, President. 1-800-727-2782. A comprehensive source of book and information marketing news and ideas. Reports, books, workshops, mailing lists, private consultation. Publishing:

Poynters Newsletter. 2 years. $9.95
Poynter's Secret List of Book Promotion Contacts
Document 112 (8 Pages)
Available by fax-on-demand 805-968-8947
Very useful information.

Publishers Marketing Association, 2401 Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 102, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 Jan Nathan, Executive Director. 310-372-2732 A non-profit trade association of more than 2300 publishers.

PMA Newsletter Monthly Newsletter. Resource Directory of Independent Publishers Annual Publisher's Annual Membership (1 to 9 employees) $80. Small Publisher Newsletter, 6 issues per year, $10.00 Nigel Maxey, Publisher.Box 1620, Pineville, WV 24874 304-732-8195 ( 5 to 10 PM EST)

SPAN/ Small Publishers Association of North America P.O. Box 1306, 425 Cedar Street, Buena Vista, CO 81211-1306 Tom & Marilyn Ross, Directors. 719-395-4790 SPAN Connection Monthly Newsletter Annual Membership and Subscription $75.00 (6/1/98)