Amazon Continues To Give Publishers Run-Around.

For all of those who'd post otherwise, I'm not talking about publishers that have the money and the where-with-all to sue Amazon or otherwise cause them loss of business if they don't pay attention to them. I'm speaking of all those OTHER publishers who are at Amazon's mercy.

Oh you want an example. Well while I can give you many, I'll stick with my own frustrations as not only can I provide facts but also prove that the facts are genuine.

Amazon shows the Hardback of Never Ceese as being available through them as "new." The hardback of Never Ceese is out-of-print though and has been out of print for some time. More recently, the rights to the book have reverted back to me. I have the letter from the original publisher that states this.

Baker & Taylor, the original distributor, also has the letter. I sent it to them upon request and after a conversation I had with them. Do I know whether they actually stopped distributing the book? No. And I doubt that they did but I would have to take legal action to force them to and I don't have that kind of money.

Regardless of whether Baker & Taylor are acting in a legal manner or not, Amazon should. I've told them of the matter as well. I told them that if they list the hard copy as new and available through Amazon as such then they are breaking the law. The basic response to all of my emails to them, please talk to the publisher even though I am the publisher.

Bottom line, buy the book through second-hand sellers. I still don't get money but neither does the original publisher who liquidated over 4000 copies without giving me the opportunity to buy them back myself, keeping 250 copies so they could sell them themselves. How much did I make off of Never Ceese the hardback? A $500 dollar advance against royalties. So basically $500 dollars and some pocket change. Considering what I paid for editing, the original publisher didn't edit the book, and publicity, the original publisher did little in this area, I will forever more be in the red for the hardback of Never Ceese.

Oh and if Amazon has copies and you buy one, it's stolen and they know it because I've told them and provided them with information to show this. Way to go Amazon. Keep on bullying.

Sue Dent

Distribution through Baker & Taylor.

Distribution is the key if you want bookstores to order your books to have on hand to do booksignings or to simply put them on the shelf but the kind of distribution required only works for large publishers as they were they only kind of publishers around for a VERY, VERY, LONG time.

Here's an example of how ridiculous it all is. My first publisher got set up with distribution through Baker & Taylor. My new publisher has republished the same book, EXACTLY the same book through Lightning Source, a POD publisher. When I called Barnes & Noble to verify that Baker & Taylor was the distributor, they said yes and could therefore order the book for me to have at a book signing should I want to do one. When I told her to check on Never Ceese, ISBN 9780976994749 from Black Bed Sheet Books the B&N rep IMMEDIATELY said, "oh, that's through Lighting Source. That's a POD. We won't order those for a signing." That's interesting because it basically the same book!

Now back to Baker & Taylor. Hey, if I qualify as a publisher why don't I see how much they charge for distribution. Got the pdf yesterday. IF I qualify, it's $125.00 one time fee. Wow! Really. Oh, wait! They get to choose the package. There are two other packages one is a $350 one time fee and the other a $450 one time fee. The difference in price is they provide you with a little advertising. The catch as I see it, I'll bet NO ONE qualifies for the $125 package.

But lets say they do. Seems a small price to pay to be able to go into a chain bookstore and say, "hey order my book," and they do it. Okay. Here's what the publisher as to swear in blood that they'll do. Offer book sellers 55% off retail. Check. Pay inbound freight to Baker & Taylor. Check. Make books returnable . . . . make books returnable . . . hmmm . . . okay I asked about this. You do have to make books returnable BUT you don't have to pay for the books to be returned from the store (according to the person I talked to) UNLESS the book is damaged. Yep. I asked what constitutes damage and it was VERY elusive. Anything from a bent page to a scratched cover. Okay so if the book comes back "damaged" you have to pay the postage to have it returned. Okay still not a bad deal if Baker & Taylor are honest (sure they are.)

So unlike with POD publishers you will get a book back, maybe damaged, maybe not. POD publishers never return the book the bookstores return and never tell you for sure what happens to them. Well, most say they destroy them but since they themselves never get the books back because they don't want to pay postage, I'm sure this probably never happens. Most likely the "destroyed" books are resold to second hand sellers. And yes, that's my opinion.

So aside from losing money on postage and possibly paying money for "damaged" books to be returned there's the 90 payment deal MEANING that if a bookstore purchases your books then returns them before they have to pay for them, which they can do and doo-doo all day long, you'll be out the money until they pay in 90 days.

So all in all, distribution through Baker & Taylor sucks for a small publisher. And you don't even get to pick the package if you qualify. Baker & Taylor chooses for you. That's what they told me. Yeah, right? Like they know what's best for me or any small publisher. Good grief!

Baker & Taylor have been contacted part 2

*****NOTE******
Roughly five minutes after this post went up Baker & Taylor called to give me the fax number where I could send the letter that shows my rights being returned to me. How cool is that! I did ask them to send me information about packages they offer since they seem to be more lenient with their requirements than INGRAM!!! But sadly, they offer nothing for small publishers or rather no package where the books aren't returnable. Having the books returnable would be fine of course provided that you get the returned book back but POD publishers never get your returned book back. Hmmmm . . . maybe Baker & Taylor does. I'll have to check that out. Anyway, thanks Baker & Taylor. It was nice talking to you. ;)
******************

Baker & Taylor is the distributor/whoelsaler that Journey Stone Creations somehow managed to get on-board with to distribute their books after dropping CBA member distributor STL after learning that since they themselves weren't a member publisher STL couldn't seem to place their books. Hmmm . . .

Anyway, I did contact Baker & Taylor yesterday to find out who needed to see the letter that Journey Stone Creations provided that states the rights for Never Ceese the hardback have been returned to me and was directed to an answering machine where I left a very detailed but short message.

Haven't heard back yet but hopefully soon since I understand they have three copies of Never Ceese the hardback on back order, three books that will be stolen books if Baker & Taylor fill the order with copies from Journey Stone Creations.

Baker & Taylor have been contacted.

Fingers crossed. It does seem that Baker & Taylor is the distributor Journey Stone Creations continued to use to sell the 250 books they kept out of the over 4000 they liquidated for less than what I offered to pay them. I know, right?

So I contacted Baker & Taylor this morning to let them know that JSC no longer has the legal rights to provide them with books. Of course I had to leave a message but I've no doubts they'll get back with me soon to fix things.

The downside is that this means libraries will have a much harder time getting Never Ceese because Baker & Taylor is the one distributor they use. Sad. Very sad. But that's not for me to fix. Also Baker & Taylor is one of the TWO distributors Barnes & Noble pull stock from without question. In other words, if you pay Baker & Taylor and qualify as a publisher, you too can have easy access to the larger chain bookstore shelves. That doesn't change the fact that chain bookstores are only for large publishers and you'll never get the money you pay Baker & Taylor back but it will make book signings easier. HA!

But anyhoooo, now to sit back and see how long it takes Baker & Taylor to drop JSC "like they're hot!" Oh how I've been waiting for this day.

On another note, Forever Richard is already showing up as out-of-print!!! Yay! Bookmasters did something right. Sooooooooo, if you want the hardback of Never Ceese you'll have to go to one of those resellers who bought up some of those dirt cheap liquidated copies. And if you want Forever Richard, you'll have to come to me until they're gone ORRRRRRRR wait for the Black Bed Sheet edition which WILL have more added to it oh yes it will!! Ah, 2011 is looking good already. ;D

On another note, I think I know why STL was looking. JSC used them initially as their distributor and Barnes & Noble still has them listed as the distributor or at least they do in one instance. I think the one person at Barnes & Noble who actually knows what's going on (which varies from day to day it seems) is aware that Baker & Taylor is the distributor for the hardback of Never Ceese.

Thirsting for Blood Forum!

Aye, there be a new thread posted on my Thirsting for Blood Forum. When ye get a chance go and check it out. Arrrrghh!

All scallywags are invited. Only if I don't like ye, I'll cut off yer hands and feed 'em to the sharks. Mark my words. I'll do it. ;D

This be the place!!

*Peg-leg Sue hobbles off to write some more.*

Independent Distributors

Morsel for today about distributors or wholesalers depending on what the particular company wants to call themselves.

From a site that boast a list of Independent distributors:

Note: No distributor listed below is likely to take on distribution of a single POD (printed-on-demand) book. POD does not lend itself to distribution via distributors, except in the case of backlist books that are being kept in print only via POD. Frontlist books, which are the books that most benefit from distribution by a distributor, need to be produced in sufficient quantity to merit the sales efforts of one of these distributors.

And what are Frontlist books. Here's the clearest definition I could find:

"There are two publishing seasons each year: Spring (January to June) and Fall (July to December). Publishers who issue catalogs used to do so twice a year to match the publishing seasons. The new titles were listed in front of the catalog--hence the name. Older books were listed in the rear of the catalog--hence the name "backlist." . . . This can vary from house to house, but it usually refers to a title that is less than one year old. "Backlist," therefore means a book that has been in print for at least one year."

No distributor listed below [at this link] is likely to take on distribution of a single POD (printed-on-demand) book? Really? And yet distributors such as BookMasters are listed and they pretty much distribute POD books--POD books they themselves print. I suppose the wording "is likely" gives the right for POD distributors such as BookMasters to be listed. And so small publishers flock to BookMasters because they can afford this [so they think until they reap the benefits of fee after fee after fee that ultimately sink any small and POD publisher before they even get out of the gate.

Atlas books of which Book Masters is a division, does have an arm for large publishers. It's BDS another division of Atlas Books Yet if you qualify for distribution through BDS you probably won't have any trouble getting "hooked up" with either Ingram or Baker & Taylor for distribution. So why waste your time and money getting "hooked up" with a smaller wholesaler who most likely charges the same and can only offer less benefits as Ingram or Baker & Taylor who are the top two wholesalers that bookstores buy from. And no, I'm not advocating "hooking up" with Ingram or Baker & Taylor as they are the two wholesalers who are facilitating the bookstores ludicrous return policy that kills all POD and small presses that seek distribution.

I suppose I'm just saying to call a duck a duck. It is not relevant to refer to a distributor simply as distributor any more than it is relevant to call a title "Christian" when it is written for a very specific denominational market.

Speaking of Christian, STL is also on the list of distributors. Yes, they are a distributor but the bookstores they primarily shop their customers book to are "Christian" bookstores which actually only provide books for the conservative evangelical fundamentalist Christian. And most of those stores only take books that are CBA approved and already [and automatically] have distribution through Ingram's denominationally exclusive Spring Arbor or rather, as Ingram puts it, their fundamentalists arm. If you want your book in "Christian" bookstore then you need to bite the bullet and sign up with CBA. Ingram provides this denominational branch their OWN distribution. No need to waste your money on distributors who claim to serve the "Christian" market. Rest assured they will take your money.

Okay, that's enough for now. ;)

Off to work on Electric Angel!!

And one wonders why small publishers don't make it.

More fodder for my book on publishing.

Click here to read excerpt in its entirety.

Consider the advance system, whereby a publisher pays an author a nonreturnable up-front fee for a book. If the book doesn't "earn out," in the industry parlance, the publisher simply eats the cost.

In my case, as in many cases, my book never "earned out." The slim advance was all I ever got. Royalties don't come until a book "earns out."

Another example: publishers sell books to bookstores on a consignment system, which means the stores can return unsold books to publishers for a full refund. Publishers suck up the shipping costs both ways, plus the expense of printing and then pulping the merchandise. "They print way more than they know they can sell, to kind of create a buzz, and then they end up taking half those books back," says Sara Nelson, editor in chief of PW. These systems were created to shift risk away from authors and bookstores and onto publishers. But risk is something the publishing industry is less and less able to bear.

The reality is that publishers don't sell books to bookstores, bookstores buy from wholesalers. Publishers sell to wholesalers or distributors. Small pubs use distributors mostly because it's all they can afford. The relationship with wholesalers and bookstores goes back to that "depression" model when wholesalers (or at that time publishers I guess) allowed bookstores to return unsold books whenever they wanted to-however they wanted to so that bookstores could survive.

Also, the only ones printing way more than they can sell, to create a buzz as with Meyer, Rowling, King and sooooo many others, are your tried and true mainstream publishers who can certainly afford to do this and survive the insane return policy started in the depression by (wait for it) THEM!!

If the return policy is in such need of change so that the thousands upon thousands of small publishers can survive then why isn't it "fixed" to address the small publisher?

If you were one of those large publishers and the competition was nipping at your heels, producing quality fiction beyond even their wildest dreams, would you push for wholesalers to change things? And just because one wholesaler changes the way they supply books to bookstores, there's no guarantee the others will follow suit, or in this instance Ingram or Baker & Taylor. Bookstores sure as hell aren't going to change things, the larger ones are living la vida loco.

Okay that's enough until the book which will only happen if enough of you tell me you're interested. ;)

See, I'm that little guy. If I put something out there, I do so knowing that it doesn't stand a chance of getting in front of anyone other than those five or six who follow my blog. So few books that I actually lose money I never had attempting to sell it because that's how the industry operates right now. So yes, an interest expressed will help me decide whether I go any further with this book idea surrounding the publishing industry-past and present: from a small publishers POV.