Celebrating Independence
by Judith Rosen -- Publishers Weekly, 7/12/2004
Judging by the increase in booth space—up from two to three—and a full roster of autographings at this year's BEA, National Book Network's three-year-old sister company, Biblio Distribution Inc., is coming of age. It now handles sales and fulfillment for 800 independent publishers. "We've really grown by leaps and bounds," marketing director Jen Linck told PW. "We're not growing that quickly in terms of the number of publishers, but the sales keep growing." Biblio bestsellers typically sell between 12,000 and 15,000 copies a year, while the average title is more likely to move in the 500- to 1,000-copy neighborhood. "I turn away about 50% of the submissions," says Linck. "It's been higher lately. Usually it's that their price is too high and they have no promotion." One that Biblio was especially pleased to keep is The Official Movie Plot Generator Guidebook (June), written and published by the Brothers Heimberg. This spiral-bound flipbook has three sets of panels, for combining plot, action and protagonist in a promised 27,000 funny ways. It is quickly becoming one of Biblio's topsellers.
