National Book Network in Lanham, Md., is pursuing a different strategy to raise the profile, and income, of its small-press division, Biblio, started just over a year ago. "We're now up to 300 publishers," v-p of marketing Marianne Bohr told PW, "and we're adding 30 to 35 small publishers a month. We even have a few from Australia and the U.K."
Among Biblio's criteria for taking on a small press, noted Bohr, is that "its books have to have an ISBN, a spine and a barcode. And there has to be some kind of market for the book. We often get books where Barnes & Noble or Baker & Taylor or Ingram has said, 'We'll take 50 copies, but they have to come through a distributor.' " To help its publishers market their books more effectively, NBN sends out a Biblio-Phile newsletter with tips on getting publicity and reviews, as well as packets on co-op.
Biblio waits until its clients' books are physically in stock in the NBN warehouse before listing them in its bimonthly bookseller catalogue. Although some Biblio titles have sold as many as 12,000 copies, most tend to fall into the 500 to 1,000-copy range. One that's likely to break out, Bohr predicted, is Starbuck O'Dwyer's satirical novel Red Meat Cures Cancer (Midnight Books, Nov.). O'Dwyer signed books at the NAIBA regional trade show in Philadelphia, and Biblio has made several co-op agreements to promote it.
But even if Red Meat Cures Cancer falls short, Bohr is confident that Biblio will have a strong showing this year. "We'll probably end the year up 50% over our sales target," she said.
