Bookstore & Library Distribution Program
Mill City Press has five imprints (divisions) that provide authors with the same book distribution as offered by traditional publishers. Your book will be presented to and reviewed by the small press buyers at Borders, Barnes & Noble, and large wholesalers, giving your book a chance to be discovered by the book trade.
Authors do not need to participate in this program in order to have their books sold through online retailers and be available for special orders at bookstores.
Should you elect to participate in our bookstore and library distribution program, we will publish your book under one of these imprints:
Bascom Hill Publishing
Langdon Street Press
Two Harbors Press
Seraphina Press (Christian books only)
Jabberwocky Books (Children´s books only)
These imprints operate much like any traditional small publisher in that all titles have complete distribution to the book trade, including the primary wholesale, retail, library and online channels such as:
*Ingram *Baker&Taylor *Partners *Brodart (library distributor) *Follett Library Services *Barnesandnoble.com *Amazon.com
Further, each imprint has its own website and there is no connection back to Mill City, thus eliminating any unfair prejudice some commercial buyers may feel toward independently published books. For example of this visit www.BascomHillPublishing.com .
What the Bookstore & Library Distribution Program Includes:
- A complete read-through of your book by our senior staff which will determine under which of our imprints your book will be published.
- Personal, professional guidance on book positioning, which includes effective sales copy, book description, and your cover design choices in order to effectively target your market and make your book appealing to the book trade.
- Your book will be submitted to book buyers at the trade level (wholesalers, retail chains, library wholesalers). This includes complete title data including cover, book description, author bio, marketing plans, and more.
- Promotional opportunities at the retail trade level including bookstore events, regional book trade shows, (such as the Midwest Booksellers Association annual show) and professional association and academic conferences where applicable.
- Your book will be included in our distributor´s general trade catalog that is distributed to retailers and wholesalers.
- Includes book title set up fees with the distributor and other book trade vendors.
- No upfront fee for returns processing (although all fees incurred by returns are the responsibility of the author).
- All warehousing fees for your book for one year.
- Formatting your book cover into the sizes required by the various vendors.
- Author´s own sales (through their website or other venues) are not subject to distributor fees.
- Authors get monthly marketing conferences to discuss ways to effectively promote and sell books.
Requirements To Participate in the Bookstore & Library Distribution Program:
- To qualify for these imprints, you must first purchase the basic publishing package.
- Your book must be professionally edited (you need to use at least our basic editing services for all imprints other than Two Harbors Press).
- You must order at least 75 books to be delivered to the distributor (Six of those books will be sent to the small press buyers at Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc.).
- If you have a Christian or children´s book but do not want to adhere to the requirements, you will be published under Two Harbors Press.
If your manuscript is recommended to be published under our Bascom Hill imprint, there are additional editorial and marketing requirments. A complete list of Bascom Hill Publishing Group requirements is available here.
Costs to participate in the Bookstore and Library Distribution program - $1,000
Authors choosing to participate must do this prior to the cover design and layout of their book. You can order this program at the time you order the initial book publishing package. The assessment can take 15 - 25 business days depending on volume of manuscripts received.
The $1,000 fee covers the assessment, positioning & marketing advice, the distributor´s set up fees, catalog fees, warehousing fees, and related distribution charges, but not freight, trade discounts to wholesalers (40%-55%) nor the distributor´s fee for each book sold (10% of the wholesale price).
After the first year, authors will pay $299 annually for continued participation in the Program. That will be the only fee other than costs of printing books and returns.
For more information contact Anna Schmeling at anna@millcitypress.net or at 612-455-2294, ext. 202.
PLEASE NOTE: This program does not guarantee placement in bookstores. It makes an author´s book available to book buyers (wholesalers, retail chains and libraries) and offers authors the chance to have their book more visible within traditional book trade channels. This program is most suitable for authors who plan to commit a considerable amount of time (and their budget) executing a strong marketing and publicity plan, one that combines both traditional media and the internet. Also, note that the wholesalers take a trade discount of between 40% to 55% off the retail price of each book. The distributor takes an additional 10% fee based on the wholesale price. However, all net proceeds from each sale are paid to the author and Mill City Press takes no portion of any sales proceeds. Participation in the bookstore distribution does not limit the author´s ability to sell books from the author´s own website as it is separate from the distribution program.
