Deconstructing Distribution
1. Sufficient scale so that national and independent booksellers will carry their accounts. This generally means at least $100,000 a year of business with wholesalers and chains.
2. Sufficient sales volume potential and financial credibility, so that sales reps and booksellers can count on continuing sales, cash flow and returns handling.
Eugene G. Schwartz is editor at large for ForeWord Reviews, an industry observer and an occasional columnist for Book Business magazine. In an earlier career, he was in the printing business and held production management positions at Random House, Prentice-Hall/Goodyear and CRM Books/Psychology Today. A former PMA (IBPA) board member, he has headed his own publishing consultancy, Consortium House. He is also Co-Founder of Worthy Shorts Inc., a development stage online private press and publication service for professionals as well as an online back office publication service for publishers and associations. He is on the Publishing Business Conference and Expo Advisory Board.