Press Release: Deals Done
Self-published Titles To Get Sales Representation
Posted at 10:18AM Thursday 02 Jul 2009
Matador has become the first self-publishing services provider in the UK to employ a professional sales representation company to sell its self-published titles into bookshops across the country.As of 1st July, the strongest titles published under the Matador self-publishing imprint are being repped countrywide by Star Book Sales, based in Exeter. Troubador Publishing Ltd's Managing Director Jeremy Thompson said: "This really is excellent news for us and our authors, and is an important step in our commitment to provide quality self-publishing services under our Matador imprint. We expect over 150 new titles to benefit each year from full sales representation by Star Books. The retail industry has always had sales reps, whatever sort of product is being sold, and for good reason. A sales rep knows the product, can sell one-to-one to a retailer, and has the logistical back-up to ensure orders arrive promptly. I don't think the influence that a sales rep has on what a retailer buys for stock should be underestimated. "The problem of course is that retailers don't like taking risks and, historically, the stumbling block for self-published authors has been that retailers have been reluctant to stock self-published titles. This has been partly because the quality of many self-published books has been poor (content and presentation), and because people have erroneously assumed that all self-published books are printed 'on demand' – certainly not the case for most of Matador's titles. But attitudes to self-publishing are changing, and companies like Matador are demonstrating that good quality self-published books can hold their own in the books trade. "Self-publishing authors are also beginning to realise that if they want to sell books in volume, they have to compete with a very savvy trade publishing industry which has the infrastructure in place to sell books in volume. Most self-publishing companies simply don't have that marketing and sales infrastructure, and as a result few of their authors sell many copies of their books. Printing books 'on demand' doesn't often result in volume sales, as there are few copies available for anyone to buy off the shelf, thus most sales come from an author selling copies themselves. "To really get volume sales and a noticeable presence in bookshops you have to play the same game as a commercial publishing house, and that means operating in the same way as any trade publisher. Matador already has a good reputation for quality, strong links within the books trade and efficient distribution through Orca Book Services. Full sales representation is the last piece in the jigsaw – Matador authors can now publish and sell their book in exactly the same way as an author with a trade publisher. "The future for self-publishing is looking very good at the moment. The general books trade is far less sniffy about self-published titles, and if a book is commercial and has the potential to sell, a retailer is usually happy to stock it – they're not generally interested in how it was published." The Matador imprint was founded in 1999 in response to a growing demand for a quality author-financed publishing option. The imprint is selective in what books it takes on. In 2008 Matador published 150 new titles; this is expected to increase in 2009 to 200. Matador celebrated its 10th birthday with a party on its stand at the London Book Fair in April 2009. Star Book Sales is based in Exeter and represents about 10 publishers' lists to the books retail trade in the UK and Europe. Star has a team of eight full-time sales representatives in the UK, plus representatives covering northern and southern Europe. If you would like more information or would like to arrange an interview, please contact Julia Fuller at Troubador Publishing, by email at julia_fuller@troubador.co.uk or by phone on 07870 864779
www.troubador.co.uk
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