EMBLEMATIC EVENTS

Amid the flux, it is hard to spot major trends in the making. This column is designed to flag them early by focusing on the small, tangible phenomena that signal their existence.

The Growing Partnership Between Small Presses and Independent Booksellers

John Kremer

The Event: The Publishers Association of the South (PAS) and the Southeastern Booksellers Association (SEBA) agreed last fall to exchange ex officio represen- tatives as liaisons between the two groups. Not only do they hope to increase com- munication between Southern publishers and booksellers, but they also hope to get more books into (and out of) bookstores.

The Implications: Tiffs exchange of rep- resentatives is only the most recent of many events leading up to a closer al- liance between smaller publishers and in- dependent booksellers. Here are a few of the other events:

�9 The growing consolidation of the ma- jor New York publishers (Bantam/ Doubleday/DelL Simon & Schuster/ Prentice-Hall, NAL/Viking Penquin) has resulted in growing domination of

John Kremer is the author/publisher of 101 Ways to Market Your Books as well as the editor of the "Book Marketing Update" newsletter. He is a member of the American Booksellers Asso- ciation, COSMEE Publishers Marketing Asso- ciation, and American Book Council.

the standard bookstore distribution channels by a few major players. As a result, smaller publishers are turning more and more to other means of reaching their readers, induding direct mail and co-op marketing arrange- ments. The discounting of bestsellers in the major chains has hurt independent booksellers who cannot afford to com- pete on price alone. Hence, most inde- pendent booksellers now emphasize their special knowledge and thear service to customers. The mass marketing of hardcovers has resulted in even greater reliance upon the "big book" among both the major publishers and the major chains. This, in turn, has left plenty of room for smaller presses to publish those mid- list, regional, and specialized titles ne- glected by the major publishers.

As a result of all three of the above trends, both the independent publisher and the independent bookseller have be- gun to specialize more and more. Note,

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for instance, the increasing number of children's bookstores and the founding of the Association of Booksellers for Chil- dren (ABC).

When Ad-Lib Publications recently conducted a survey of booksellers in order to develop our new Specialty Booksellers Directory, we found more than 2,100 booksellers who have specialized in spe- cific subject areas (not counting the ap- proximately 8,000 religious booksellers). Moreover, we have found many pub- lishers who want to rent these specialized lists.

Other marketing programs which en- able smaller publishers to reach the inde- pendent booksellers have also sprung up, including "Sales Call in an Envelope" from Aames-Allen Publishing and the co- op marketing programs sponsored by the Publishers Marketing Association (one of which recently targeted only media and booksellers interested in cookbooks).

Not only are smaller publishers becom- ing more knowledgeable and effective in reaching specialized bookstores, they are also becoming more sophisticated in edit- ing and designing their books. Hence, their books are winning increased accep- tance among bookstores in general.

Building on new marketing programs and greater editorial sophistication, the smaller publisher is going to have to work still more closely with the independent bookseller if both are going to survive the consolidation of the major publishers and the continued discounting of books. In the next few years, we should see more pro- grams reflecting this need.

In this regard, thus far, the independent booksellers have taken the lead. Already they are fighting the de facto alliance be- tween the major publishers and chains. Note the suit against Avon Books by the Northern California Booksellers Associa- tion, and the more recent one against the Barnes & Noble chain in Marin County.

Note also the new booth assignment process initiated by the American Book- sellers Association for their 1987 con- vention, which is really designed to make it easier for smaller publishers and inde- pendent booksellers to get together to see what each has to offer the other. Such a move would have been unthinkable even a few years ago.

While the American Booksellers Asso- ciation has always provided a focal point for the regional booksellers associations, the regional publishers associations have never had such an integrating force--un- til now. Now they have three. During the past two years, COSMEP (the Interna- tional Association of Independent Pub- l ishers) , the Pub l i she r s Marke t ing Association, and the newly formed Amer- ican Book Council have all been nurturing the growth and vitality of the regional publishers associations.

In the past year I've visited five of these regional associations, and they are all made up of active, committed publishers who are willing to work together to in- crease their knowledge and their market- ing muscle. And they are beginning to have an effect.

With the growing strength of the re- gional booksellers associations and the in- creasingly active regional publishers associations, the alliance between the two is bound to grow stronger. The SEBA/PAS interchange is really only the beginning of a much larger movement.

One likely result of the alliance is the development of new distribution methods that will link the smaller publisher and the independent bookseller even closer to- gether. This, in turn, could change the way all booksellers and publishers do business. Look for a more flexible distribution net- work that will get books to the bookstores when they need them. Look for closer co- operation on local and regional promo- tional tie-ins. Look for a new method of handling returns. And look for even

Emblematic Events 77

greater specialization on the part of both the smaller publisher and the indepen- dent bookseller.

Who will benefit most from these changes? Ultimately, the reader. Especially the reader looking for quality reading ma- terial that fills a need, whether for infor- mation, entertainment, or inspiration.

But all booksellers including the chains and all publishers including the major ones will also benefit from these changes. Though some of the major publishers im-

mediately bellyached about their booth assignments at the 1987 ABA convention, ultimately even they will agree that the changes made sense--and produced re- suits that were better for all concerned.

There will certainly be some upheaval in the next few years, and not all small publishers or independent booksellers will survive. Those, however, who learn to work together are much more likely not only to survive but to come out even stronger than before.