Mascots are harder than you can imagine

Have you ever heard of the phrase herding cats? That's what it's like trying to get a consensus on a mascot. Our board of directors and COO both disliked the first attempt at a mascot, feeling the realistic nature of the suit and body failed to generate a personality. Here's another, more stylized attempt that we'll pursue for agreement on Friday and next week. But I'll unveil it here first. Thoughts?

As if I haven't said enough about distribution, here are some further thoughts. This is actually a portion of the e-Gems series, the mascot above for which will be the official... well... mascot. The article will also be a part of a publishing handbook that's in the works as we speak (write).

Enhancing Your Book Distribution Through Retail Margin
Part I

Retail margin is basically the difference between your book’s wholesale price and your book’s retail price. For example, a book with a cover price of $10 and a wholesale price of $5 has a 50% retail margin.

Wholesale price is what the wholesaler pays for your book. Outskirts Press uses the wholesale price to determine the selling price to its distributors like Ingram, Baker & Taylor, and others. For example, a book with a cover price of $10 and a retail margin of 50% will be sold to a distributor for $5.

Retail Price is the same as Cover Price or Selling Price. This is the cost of the book to the end consumer (the reader). The retail price is typically printed on the cover of the book and also “embedded” within the barcode on the back. For example, a book with a wholesale price of $5 and a retail margin of 50% will have a retail price of $10.

As you can see, retail margin, wholesale price, and retail price are interconnected. By having two figures, the third can always be calculated.

Outskirts Press introduces two concepts that piggy-back on the foundation above. The first is Base Price and the second is Book Profit.

Base Price is the minimum cost of each book to be produced. This is what authors pay for their books. Base Price is calculated most directly by the length of the book.

Book Profit is defined by the author as the amount of money he or she wants to make for each book sold. The difference between the base price and the wholesale price is the book profit. Outskirts Press authors keep 100% of the book profit.

By allowing Outskirts Press authors to define their book profit and retail margin, authors can instantly see what their wholesale and retail prices are. Understanding the difference between these terms, and how they are connected with one another, will help empower you to more sales with your book.