In late December, our publisher was informed that a major portion of the shipment that was en route to our distributor was lost. She acted fast, looping in the Design Manager, Operations Manager, and me, the Project Manager, and we did some major troubleshooting. FedEx was attempting to locate the shipment, hopeful that it would be found after the holiday backlog cleared. The publisher reached out to Ingram, our distributor, to see if it was feasible to use their print-on-demand service to ensure we would have books in time to meet the industry deadline for new titles. Because of many factors (timing, holiday closures, and staffing numbers), the success of this option was not guaranteed. Ultimately, moving the publishing date forward a month was the best solution.
distribution
Lurking Behind the Glamour: The Business of Publishing
By Nif Lindsay
What happens after a book is written, edited, and designed? No, not marketing—that’s earlier. Find out what comes next and how that can impact the growth of an indie publisher.
Metadata Madness
By Stephanie Anderson @stephlitdesign
It’s no small wonder that the words “metadata management” can be overwhelming to anyone unfamiliar with what exactly that job entails; this is especially true in the publishing world, where all we want to do is help people tell their stories and get those stories into the hands of readers who will love them as much as we do. We love bookshops, and shelves upon shelves of beautiful covers and clever titles, and perusing Powell’s and reading their “Staff Picks” at our leisure. But we also have to be realistic: a growing majority of today’s readers just don’t have time to browse indie bookshops on a regular basis for their next epic tale, memoir, or anthology. Today’s audience does much of their browsing (gasp) ONLINE.
Book Sales, Or Math for English Majors
By Grace Evans @gracemalizia
Sit in a room full of English majors long enough, and you’ll eventually hear someone groan, “Ugh… math.” The topic may be differential calculus or how to split the tab, but the sentiment is always the same. Why, the lover of words bemoans, do we have to take a break from talking about books to do things with numbers?