GETTING YOUR BOOK INTO THE CHANNELS
So, what does 21c Publishers do? We have a strategic relationship with STL Distribution, the nation’s second largest wholesale distributor of Christian books. Your book will be housed in their two warehouses (Tennessee and Nevada). It will be sold to Christian bookstores, general bookstores, the mass merchants (big box stores), cataloguers, internet retailers and international distributors by their state of the art sales force. They take orders electronically from retailers, churches and consumers. They pick, pack and ship your product. They collect from the customers, assuming complete credit responsibility. And any returns that come back (yes, all books sold to bookstores are completely returnable) are added back in to inventory to be sold to someone else.
OTHER SERVICES
Marketing- At 21c Publishers, we help you design and execute a marketing plan that will optimize your book sales. We utilize the techniques that work best for the largest publishers. We take advantage of the most cutting edge technology such as social network marketing. And, most important, we show you how to market your book at a reasonable price.
STL Key Marketing Partner
One of the key strategic partners used by 21c Publishers is STL Distribution. STL provides all of the “back room” fulfillment services for our clients’ products. In addition, we utilize STL’s sales force to sell in to the large retail chains, mass merchants, internet retailers, cataloguers and wholesale distributors. STL Distribution North America has roots that date back to the 1800s with ministry, publishing, and distribution. Over the past 10 years STL Distribution has experienced several mergers and name changes. With these company mergers one of the largest non-profit book distribution houses in the world has been created.
Revelation Marketing Group Key Marketing Partner
Another key partner is Revelation Marketing Group. 21c Publishers utilizes the services of Revelation as our primary sales force in to the independent Christian and general bookstores. Revelation Marketing Group has a division of field representatives living across the country servicing independent stores in their territories. Several of our sales reps have had over 20 years of experience in the inspirational business. The combined tenure of Revelation's field reps is over 135 years, which translates into a wealth of industry knowledge and the best service available.
What does it cost for product fulfillment?
Less than you think. You would have the initial cost to ship your product to STL’s warehouses. Then you pay a warehouse storage fee of 1.5 cents per unit per month. To store 1000 units is only $15. When a product is first added to the inventory, 21c Publishers will list it in STL’s sales catalog. The charge there is about $300 per item. But you only have to list it once and that is your only required marketing effort. From there on out, it is a revenue sharing arrangement. If we sell your product, we collect our fee, which is 37% of the revenue collected. We send you the rest, so you would get 63% of the revenue collected.
When are the “selling seasons”?
The selling seasons start with sales conferences. That’s when we show the new catalogs to the sales reps and tell them about the new products. The April sales conference would include books shipped in the Fall and for Christmas. The August sales conference would include books shipped for Christmas and through Easter. The December sales conference would include books shipped from Easter through the summer. We recommend 4 catalogs for our authors….The Parable Group Catalog…The Munce Group, The Lifeway Catalog, and the Family Catalog.
Four catalogs to advertise in
The Parable Group Catalog
How the Parable Group works: As a member of The Parable Group, each member store gains the competitive edge of empowerment from a national association, while still remaining a distinctive, locally-owned store.
In order to fully appreciate and support the programs and services available at Parable, we recommend that stores meet the following qualifications:
Participate in a minimum of four print promotions annually with coordinating in-store merchandising POP kits (including the Spring and Christmas catalogs).
Stock advertised products. Parable member stores have complete autonomy in ordering inventory and are asked to carry reasonable quantities of any products featured in the catalogs they are participating in.
After Thanksgiving flyer. Average print run for the catalog is 725,000 114 stores. $2,100. Larger store.
Thanksgiving November 3rd catalog average print run is 725,000 is $4,600.
Special event for The Almighty Bible. Merchandising kits are supplied for each event to create an atmosphere of action in the store and create foot traffic. Kits include banners, posters, shelftalkers, endcaps and more, and are coordinated with catalog and flyer design when appropriate.
The Munce Group Catalog
The Munce Group consumer catalog is the flagship program within their comprehensive line of marketing services. It is the single most effective way for us to directly target the maximum number of customers. They offer member retailers over fourteen catalog or flyer vehicles throughout the year. Members are required to participate in the Spring and Christmas catalogs; yet on average, the retailers participate in four to six promotions each year. The Munce Group is the nation's largest full-service marketing group, serving over 500 U.S. independent retailers.
November 1st Christmas sales event catalog $1,900. 1,000,000 300 stores.
After thanksgiving November 26th smaller circulation…250,000 $1,100
Family Catalog is around $4,000
Lifeway Catalog is around $4,000
What you are buying is store positioning. End isle display. This happens when we advertise in the catalogs. You can buy special events in Lifeway.
How large is STL’s warehouse? Can they handle really big books?
Their Tennessee warehouse is over 190,000 square feet. They have plenty of room and lots of capacity. They can handle the largest book launches.
If you have a manuscript and want it published, feel free to call
Lee Fredrickson at
800-658-0284
(or e-mail lee@21stcenturypress.com).
For mail:
21 st Century Press
2131 W. Republic Rd PMB 41
Springfield, MO 65807
