Careful Growth

by Judith Rosen -- Publishers Weekly, 4/4/2005

Size may matter more for wholesalers than distributors. Certainly, small can still be beautiful when it comes to distribution clients. Four-year-old Wilson & Associates in Alvin, Tex., which started with one client in 2001, has grown substantially by concentrating on one- and two-book publishers, according to company founder John Wilson, who started the technical publishing house and North American distribution company after leaving Gulf Publishing Company. His wife, Pharaby Wilson, joined Wilson & Associates in 2002 as chief operating officer. Today the distribution operation has 34 clients and will have its first client/author featured on The Today Show in June: chef Anne Mahle, author of At Home, At Sea: Recipes from the Maine Windjammer J. & E. Riggin (Baggywrinkle Press).

"We're trying to do controlled growth," said John Wilson, who continues to look for new clients. In addition to representing small presses to the trade in both the U.S. and Canada, Wilson & Associates is one of the few distributors to offer its clients a Web outlet through its Web Site, thebookdistributor.com. "It gives authors a place to send people to buy their book when they're on tour," said John Wilson. "Most of the clients we work with don't have the money for a Web store with credit cards." Although Wilson & Associates primarily represents U.S. publishers, it has seven clients in the U.K. Given the exchange rate, the company is exploring other models, such as purchasing North American rights.