SharedBook Teams with Tattered Cover and Capitol Books

By Lynn Andriani -- Publishers Weekly, 11/10/2008 2:25:00 PM

Custom publishing platform provider SharedBook announced today new affiliate agreements with two prominent independent bookstores, as well as the national children’s literacy organization First Book. Denver bookstore the Tattered Cover; and Montgomery, Ala., bookstore Capitol Book and News signed on to direct visitors from the stores’ Web sites to SharedBook.com, where customers can purchase personalized editions of more than 100 children’s books. Affiliates get 10% of sales.

As affiliates, Tattered Cover, Capitol Book and News, and First Book will send customers to www.kids.sharedbook.com, a direct-to-consumer store featuring classic children’s books that can be personalized with a dedication, photo and, in some cases, a back cover. Visitors to SharedBook’s affiliates will be taken to a custom-branded store that maintains the look and feel of the originating site. SharedBook CEO Caroline Vanderlip said she hopes to link up with a variety of sites, and that booksellers are high on her list. She said the affiliates will do some promoting, as well; Tattered Cover plans to “extensively market the capability in-store," she said.

Thomas Upchurch, owner of Capitol Book and News, said his store did well selling personalized copies of America 24/7, a 2003 book from DK. Upchurch will promote SharedBook's personalized children's books in Capitol Books's e-mail newsletter, which has a significant number of subscribers.

SharedBook also announced two other new affiliates today: online baby journal and organizer Kidmondo, and Grandparents.com.