The Launch
Your book is published under The Signature Press and made available to order through the distribution network. From that point a bookseller anywhere can buy it.
Included in the publishing editions
Trade Sales & Bookseller Relations
Published is only
the beginning.
Publishing makes a book available. The Trade introduces it to the people who select books for their shelves.
Through targeted bookstore research, professionally prepared title presentations, personalized buyer introductions, and thoughtful follow-up, The Trade extends the work of the House beyond publication and into bookseller relations.
VThe fifth stage
Two different pieces of work.
Four stages carry a book from manuscript to publication. The Trade is the fifth, and it begins where they end. It is commissioned on its own, it is not part of any publishing edition, and it suits some titles and not others.
The Trade
Being available and being introduced are not the same thing. The Trade researches the stores whose readers match your book, puts a professional presentation in front of the buyer, and keeps the correspondence going afterwards.
A separate engagement · Commissioned on its own
The engagement
The Trade Campaign.
Ninety days of organized bookseller outreach for a single title, run by the House on your behalf.
We begin with United States independent bookstores, working from a researched list rather than a mailing list. Each store is chosen because its readers are a plausible match for your book, and each buyer is approached individually.
The campaign
$3,495
One title, ninety days. Commissioned separately from the publishing editions.
Enquire about a campaignWhat the campaign includes
- Research and qualification of forty relevant bookstore accounts, chosen for the fit between their readers and your book
- Personalized introductions to the buyer at each account
- A professional bookseller title sheet, prepared by the House
- Follow-up correspondence and relationship management across the campaign
- Campaign updates at days thirty, sixty and ninety
- A final report documenting the outreach, the responses, and any opportunities that came of it
What a campaign is, and is not
Every campaign is a considered effort to earn bookseller attention and consideration. Retail placement, orders, sales, and events remain at the discretion of participating bookstores and are not guaranteed.
Physical copies, shipping, travel and events are not part of the campaign and are not carried as automatic expenses. Where a store asks for any of them, they are evaluated and quoted separately.
How it begins
An enquiry, not a checkout.
A campaign is worth running only when the book and the stores genuinely match. That is a conversation, so this is where it starts.
I
Tell us about the book
Title, format, publication status, and who it is for. If it was published elsewhere, that is fine, the campaign does not require that we published it.
II
We assess the fit
Not every book suits bookstore outreach. We will say so if yours does not, before anything is commissioned.
III
The campaign is scheduled
Once commissioned, the ninety days begin on an agreed date and the research starts immediately.