The Independent Book Publishers Association CEO talks about what’s on tap after her organization merges with PubWest later this year—and what indie publishers can expect to see in the year ahead.
What new services will a merged IBPA and PubWest offer?
As part of the combination, IBPA will roll out a new tier of membership specifically tailored to established independent publishers that face similar challenges around issues like partnering effectively with their distributors, trade retail representation, global distribution, managing inventory, and scaling their organizations. For authors and smaller independent publishers that do not handle their own distribution or partner with full-service distributors, we will continue to provide the same benefits and programs that we currently run and will be adding some new educational and marketing opportunities this fall.
Last year was rough for distribution.
The two biggest challenges most independent publishers face are market access and visibility, and profitably managing and scaling their business. While the closure of SPD and NBN make it that much harder for indie publishers to place their books into retail stores, it also provides an opportunity for the industry to rethink traditional models of doing business.
What do you see coming this year for indie publishers?
More publishers seeking more creative ways to structure author partnerships, particularly as margins continue to shrink and new entities like Authors Equity further legitimize the concept of hybrid publishing. It will be more important than ever that IBPA continues to educate authors and publishers on what constitutes a fair, equitable partnership and works alongside other industry stakeholders to further refine the roles of authors, publishers, and publisher partners.
