1. The US Academic Book Market: Selling to the Trade Publishing Workshop, Beijing, September 4, 2007 H. Dirk Koehler, Publisher, The World Bank, Washington, DC This presentation is based on a presentation by Jose de Buerba, Distribution Manager, The Office of the Publisher, The World Bank, Washington, DC

2. Overview  Market Characteristics  New Title Data Dissemination  Wholesale  Retail  Sales Representatives  Distributors  Events and Exhibitions  Useful Links

3. Market Characteristics  Two very clearly defined seasons:  Fall: July to December  Spring: January to June  The importance of the catalogue  Strongly recommend publishing two per year  Should mostly include new and forthcoming titles (as far as six months in advance)  OK to include popular backlist, clearly indicating that fact, e.g. by “previously announced”  Different catalogues for different audiences: library market, trade accounts, individual and other direct customers

4. Market Characteristics (ctd.) Not only/mostly for the trade, but important:  Web presence is absolutely crucial (“If it can’t be found on the web, it doesn’t exist”); most people now consider full text online as supporting – not cannibalizing -- print sales  Direct marketing through mail and phone has become less important in the last few years  Email, RSS, and other e-promotion very important

5. New Title Data Dissemination  Very important for trade accounts and very time consuming for publishers (but can be outsourced, e.g. see below)  Important to have good supporting systems for data retrieval (data should be ONIX compliant)  Trade accounts usually request data 6 months in advance  Each company has different specifications and asks for data in different formats  Bowker also feeds data to trade accounts (but publisher has to feed Bowker)

6. Screenshot BowkerLink

7. Screenshot Editeur: ONIX

8. The Wholesale Market: Baker & Taylor  Largest US academic wholesaler, includes YBP and Majors  Main customers: academic libraries, international sales, trade  Visit buyer at least twice a year (New Jersey)  Important to prepare sales analysis  Metadata VERY important (two files), include three BISAC subject codes for each book plus other bibliographic information  Submit data at least 3 months in advance of publication date, and make sure all titles are in system when mailing catalogue  Orders received via EDI (publishers warehouse EDI compliant)  Co-Operative marketing opportunities available (recommended)  Active continuations department for standing orders  TitleSource3 & Pub Alley (more expensive) allows publishers to track demands, upload data, compare sales of related titles…

9. The Wholesale Market: Ingram  Main customers: bookstores and other trade accounts, also strong in the library market (less so than B&T)  Also requires metadata, different format than B&T  Visit buyer at least once a year (Tennessee)  Strong in trade market: returns usually high (for WB they supply Borders)  Co-Op marketing mandatory (minimum $1,200)  Lightning Source part of the group and located down the road. Automatic supply of POD titles  Online web for publishers also available (I-page)

10. The Wholesale Market: Blackwell’s Book Services  Specialized in library sales  Funded in 1879  HQ in UK, USA and Australia  Very strong export market and library tenders  No electronic title feed required, send information via e-mail, catalogues and sales kits  Publisher Online Service (POS) available

11. Other Wholesalers / Jobbers  Follet Library Services (also retail)  The Book House  Emery Pratt  Brodart (public libraries)  Eastern Books  Rittenhouse (health titles)  Matthew’s Book Company (health titles)

12. The Retail Market: Barnes & Noble  820 stores in the US nationwide  Need to submit metadata to their distribution center  Four different store categories:  National Chain, Academic Stores, Academic Text Services, online store (www.barnesandnoble.com)www.barnesandnoble.com  National Chain  Visit buyers twice a year (usually at the beginning of each season)  Small presses / niche publishers get to see only one buyer for all subjects  Need to persevere and have at least a few good trade titles to get to subject buyers  For each title need to submit a “new buy sheet” (in paper)  Present titles 3 to 6 months in advance

13. The Retail Market: Barnes & Noble (ctd.)  Academic stores (around 30)  Separate buyers, same process  Academic / text services  No brick and mortar stores, only fulfill textbook orders by universities  Online store:  Need to provide metadata, upload digital covers for each title  Sales usually much lower than Amazon.com

14. Screenshot Barnes&Noble Publisher & Author Guidelines

15. The Retail Market: Others  Borders Inc. (HQ in Ann Arbor, Michigan)  Buys for US, Latin American, and Asian stores  Follets  Mainly academic stores (e.g. Stanford University)  Also provide text book services to universities  Other independently run university book stores (e.g. NYU)  Powell’s  Independent Bookstores:  E.g., Politics and Prose, Olsson’s, Cody’s, Modern Times  For online stores, particularly amazon, see separate session

16. Sales Representatives (“Reps”)  Sales reps are a good option to cover the retail (also call on wholesalers)  Call on all stores, including national chains  Biannual sales conference to present new titles, sales kit VERY important (blurb, key selling points, cross-marketing opportunities, audience, recommended stores, etc…).  Commission anywhere from 5 to 10% depending on customer (no commission on text book orders)

17. Distributors  The distributor should sell direct and to the trade, and do marketing. For publishers based outside the US he should also do fulfillment and keep adequate stock.  Downsides:  An additional intermediary reduces margins for publishers  Marketing efforts have to be spread across other publishers distributed  Risk that he does not cover the retail market well  Upsides:  Lower operational costs for publishers  Cross marketing opportunities with other lists  Active North American distributors include NBN, RENOUF, BERNAN, Stylus, Boskage, etc….

18. Important Events and Meetings  Book Expo America  Strong trade focus, less relevant for academic market  Meetings of  ALA (American Library Association)  SLA (Special Libraries Association)  ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries)  Co-Operative stands are a good option to attend the above meetings plus other more specialized ones

19. Useful Links  Baker and Taylor Publisher’s Services  http://www.btol.com/inf_details.cfm?id=193 http://www.btol.com/inf_details.cfm?id=193  Ingram Publisher’s Services  http://www.ingrampublisherservices.com http://www.ingrampublisherservices.com  Blackwell’s Publishers Information  http://www.blackwell.com/publisher_information http://www.blackwell.com/publisher_information  Barnes and Noble Information for Publishers  http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/for_publishers/for_ publishers.html http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/for_publishers/for_ publishers.html  Borders Information for Publishers & Artist  http://www.bordersgroupinc.com/artists/publishers.htm http://www.bordersgroupinc.com/artists/publishers.htm