• Dan Poynter’s best-selling “Self-Publishing Manual,” now in its 15th edition (Para Publishing, 2006), provides more compact, useful and complete procedural guidance on how to use distributors and wholesalers, as well as fulfillment houses.
• For a numbers-based, practical analysis of selecting different distribution strategies (outsourcing, self-managed, alliances), you must read consultant Tom Woll’s white paper, “Sales Representation & Distribution Options for Independent Publishers” (PMA, The Independent Book Publishers Assoc., 2000). In it he provides pros and cons, as well as financial examples using generally recognized industry benchmarks and pro forma costs.
Piecing Together the Distribution Puzzle
• Dan Poynter’s best-selling “Self-Publishing Manual,” now in its 15th edition (Para Publishing, 2006), provides more compact, useful and complete procedural guidance on how to use distributors and wholesalers, as well as fulfillment houses.
• For a numbers-based, practical analysis of selecting different distribution strategies (outsourcing, self-managed, alliances), you must read consultant Tom Woll’s white paper, “Sales Representation & Distribution Options for Independent Publishers” (PMA, The Independent Book Publishers Assoc., 2000). In it he provides pros and cons, as well as financial examples using generally recognized industry benchmarks and pro forma costs.