Continuing to Grow

Although still in its infancy, Biblio Distribution in Lanham, Md., a division of National Book Network that was launched two years ago to handle distribution for micro presses, is "doing very well," according to NBN president Jed Lyons. After some reshuffling of personnel—Jen Linck is now director of Biblio—and rethinking of sales materials—Biblio added a hardcopy catalogue, even though it originally planned to use only an online one—Biblio is positioned for growth, something Lyons anticipates seeing more of in the months to come. "It's not an easy business," he acknowledged. "You're dealing with a lot of small publishers that are learning as they go. But there are often gems among the books. The publishing industry is consolidating so quickly. Most of the growth is going to come from the independent publishing sector." At present, Lyons aid, Biblio has about 500 clients, and counting. Many are referred to Biblio from Ingram; others are former clients of Bookworld, which recently dissolved its small-press division. Lyons noted that Biblio has its own sales force, although NBN provides help with marketing.

"We are profitable," added Linck, who attributes some of Biblio's growth to its selectivity in accepting new publishers. "What we look for," she explained, "is that the publishers have some kind of marketing plan and that their books look like books on bookshelves, not something from Kinko's." Among this season's bestsellers that more than meet that threshold, Linck singles out The Jesus Thief by J. R. Lankford (Great Reads Books LLC), a novel about cloning Jesus; Nancy Moshier's Eat Yourself Thin cookbooks (Nancy Moshier) on low-carb cooking and fabulous desserts, which benefited from an infomercial that Moshier ran earlier in the spring; and Toygasms! The Insiders Guide to Sex Toys & Techniques by Sadie Allison (Tickle Kitty Press), author of last year's Biblio hit Tickle Your Fancy: A Woman's Guide to Sexual Self-Pleasure.