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We offer a ‘virtual publishing’ model for smaller publishers, authors, and organisations, bringing together marketing, sales and distribution under one publishing ‘umbrella’ (assuming the publisher does not have an existing distributor). We work closely with a team of experienced print brokers, typesetters, designers and editors, for clients who are looking for wider support.
Our Approach
First, we are not consultants or advisers, although we include general advice as part of a wider relationship with a client. We work on a retainer or project basis, not to an hourly or daily rate.
As part of our service, we are happy to put clients in touch with experts in a particular field (such as export). As we do not gain any commercial benefit from our recommendations, our advice is impartial.
Fundamental to our operation is the belief that sales and marketing are not standalone activities but need to be intermeshed. For this reason we would not offer one without the other
Here are five things we focus on:
- treating publishing as an integrated whole, ie sales, marketing and editorial are not bolt-on activities but interconnected
- the building block approach (doing things in the right order, one step at a time),
- attention to detail – eg no point in securing major reviews if your books are not properly listed with BookData et al
- realism – we work on the assumption that we will not get the call from Richard & Judy or have our books selected for 3 for 2 promotions and prepare accordingly (anything extra is a bonus)
- lateral thinking (the routes to market are many and various).
We work best when involved early enough in the publishing process to be able to advise on key drivers such as the cover/jacket and the AI. With bookshop presentation deadlines getting earlier and earlier, it is important to be able to send salesforces out with proper ammunition. This is the most important factor in marking you out as professional.
The Publishing Services Umbrella
Publishing Services offers an umbrella of distribution, sales and marketing services in the UK in association with Central Books and Phil Richards Sales. A London rep is in the process of being appointed. The rationale for this arrangement was to enable start-up/smaller publishers and selected authors/organisations to aggregate their turnover and thereby meet the threshold criteria for acceptance. However, if a publisher is established enough to have a distributor, we are happy to work with them.
Phil Richards Sales specialises in building sales with key accounts who buy centrally, such as WH Smiths, Borders and British Bookshops. He also works with the core stock managers at Waterstones, as well as the main trade wholesalers who supply an increasing percentage of bookshop chain stock.
Phil makes personal visits to a total of around fifty head office key accounts, library/school suppliers, wholesalers and individual London stores. This is supported by extensive mailings and teleselling to further individual accounts.
Given the trend towards central buying, we are not looking to appoint any sales reps outside London.
Our aim is to build clients’ turnover through increasing sales per title rather than taking on more and more lists.
For more detailed information click on the relevant link.
Publishers
Authors
Organisations
Publishers
We focus on smaller publishers (typical turnover of less than £1 million) who do not have an in-house sales & marketing function. Our prospective clients are those who combine a flexible small-business mentality with commercial awareness and a desire to build turnover. Our expertise is in non-fiction.
In today’s competitive publishing climate, small publishers need all the help they can get. Unless you are dealing with a category where the author’s involvement in marketing is not required (eg illustrated books, some textbooks etc), selecting authors who are enthusiastic about publicity is vital.
As mentioned earlier, publicity is not bolt-on: the book itself needs to be right – its format, price, title, copy and cover design. We encourage involvement from the start of the publishing process. Then there is the quality of the book itself…
We also have access to the full range of wider publishing suppliers – including print-broking, typesetting, design, editing and proofreading – if required.
Services
Our services are tailored according to the needs of the publisher and to the level of in-house support available. They include the following:
Preparation
- advice on a book’s title, price, positioning and publication date
- feedback on cover copy and design
- feedback on inside page design
- access to editorial, design or print contacts
- drawing up a sales and marketing plan per title
- identifying non-booktrade outlets
- drawing up costings
- recommending relevant promotional material (eg posters, flyers, showcards)
- arranging for submission to Amazon, Cilip and BookData
- helping to prepare key selling tools – eg Advance Information Sheet, Press Release & Catalogue
- advice on endorsements
Selling in: sales outlets
- submitting to the trade press
- mailing and presenting to key accounts
- arranging cover illustrations in wholesalers’ Buyers’ Notes
- advice on supplementary mailings – eg library, school, wholesaler
Marketing and publicity
- marketing as identified in the Sales & Marketing Plan
- researching review lists: national and regional newspapers and magazines
- identifying relevant website and ezines
- prioritising publicity targets
- submitting for bookshop and other events + arranging POS support
- telephone follow-up of relevant outlets
- arranging radio and/or television coverage
- finished copy review mailing
After publication
- mini publicity campaigns for reprints
- continuing to promote where possible
- stock reduction/remaindering if a book has not sold well
Do contact us at [email protected] for further information. All enquiries will be treated in confidence.
Authors
Are you well-known in your own right and would like to take the publishers’ profit rather than the lower author royalty? Or would you like to test the market with a larger-format paperback before submitting massmarket rights to a mainstream publisher? Or do you have a strong local following which you feel would translate into sales?
To complement our work with smaller publishers, we take on a limited number of authors who wish to self-publish. However, self-publishing only works as a commercial venture (the rationale for our involvement) if your book has a genuine market, if you are either an expert in your field, or of course a celebrity, and if you enjoy working with the media – often at the less glamorous end of the spectrum.
The Hike and the art of onedownmanship by Don Shaw (published 2 September 2004 using the Publishing Services umbrella) sold 2,500 copies in three weeks. We have just reprinted another 2,500. However, in the absence of central deals or national book reviews, this involved a lot of hard work. Grassroot campaigns can be highly effective but they are also extremely time-consuming. You need to be sure that you can commit the time required.
If you are a celebrity, the marketing approach would be different, and we would look to link up with one of the larger publicity agencies to be able to offer access to the highest-level national publicity outlets.
Services
Our services include the following:
Preparation
- advice on a book’s title, price, positioning and publication date
- agreeing the format, price and paper
- agreeing the title and cover copy
- commissioning a cover or jacket
- commissioning inside page design
- submitting to the various bibliographic agencies
- commissioning illustrations (if applicable)
- commissioning an editor, proofreader, indexer, designer and typesetter
- advice on non-booktrade outlets
- signing off on costings and arranging for the book to be printed
- drawing up a sales and marketing plan
- recommending relevant promotional material (eg posters, flyers)
- preparing key selling tools – eg Advance Information Sheet, Press Release, Catalogue
- advising on endorsements
Selling in: sales outlets
- submitting to the trade press
- mailing and presenting to key accounts
- arranging cover illustrations in wholesalers’ Buyers’ Notes
- advice on supplementary mailings – eg library, school, wholesaler
Marketing and publicity
- marketing as identified in the Sales & Marketing Plan
- researching review lists: national and regional newspapers and magazines
- identifying relevant website and ezines
- prioritising publicity targets
- submitting for bookshop and other events + arranging POS support
- telephone follow-up of relevant outlets
- arranging radio and/or television coverage
- finished copy review mailing
After publication
- mini publicity campaigns for reprints
- continuing to promote where possible
- stock reduction/remaindering if a book has not sold well
Do contact us at [email protected] for further information. All enquiries will be treated in confidence.
Organisations
We offer the whole ‘virtual publishing’ infrastructure, seeing a project through from concept to finished copy and then selling and marketing to both specialist and mainstream outlets.
However, we should stress that self-publishing only works as a commercial venture (the rationale for our involvement) if your book has a genuine market, and also provided that you will work with us in helping promote your book. Our services are most suitable for organisations who have outlets for non-booktrade sales in addition to those of the booktrade and who therefore wish to retain the publishers’ profit.
Our services include the following:
Project viability
As part of the preparation stage we draw up a project overview, estimate of costs, suggested timescale and outline sales and marketing plan.
Preparation
- advice on a book’s title, price, positioning and publication date
- agreeing the format, price and paper
- agreeing the title and cover copy
- commissioning a cover or jacket
- commissioning inside page design
- submitting the book to the various bibliographic agencies
- commissioning illustrations (if applicable)
- commissioning an editor, proofreader, indexer, designer and typesetter
- advice on non-booktrade outlets
- signing off on costings and arranging for the book to be printed
- drawing up a sales and marketing plan per title
- recommending relevant promotional material (eg posters, flyers)
- preparing key selling tools – eg Advance Information Sheet, Press Release, Catalogue
- advice on endorsements
We employ with a team of experienced freelancers who we have worked with on previous projects. Together we identify key stages – such as cover copy, inside page design, proofs and the press release – for you to sign off on.
Selling in: sales outlets
- submitting to the trade press
- mailing and presenting to key accounts
- arranging cover illustrations in wholesalers’ Buyers’ Notes
- advice on supplementary mailings – eg library, school, wholesaler.
Marketing and publicity
- marketing as identified in the Sales & Marketing Plan
- identifying specialist publications and associations
- researching review lists: national and regional newspapers and magazines
- identifying relevant websites and ezines
- prioritising publicity targets
- submitting for bookshop and other events + arranging POS support
- telephone follow-up of relevant outlets
- arranging radio and/or television coverage
- finished copy review mailing
After publication
- mini publicity campaigns for reprints
- continuing to promote where possible
- stock reduction/remaindering if a book has not sold well
Do contact us at [email protected] for further information. All enquiries will be treated in confidence.