Wholesale Distribution Services for authors using pod
Mission Point Press, a Traverse City, Michigan-based book publisher, operates a wholesale distribution service for the bookstore and retail trade. The company specializes in connecting Michigan authors with Michigan bookstores, although orders can be accepted from any retailer.
MPP was formed in June 2015 and is primarily a provider of editing, design, production and marketing services to self-published authors. MPP also has published its own books under the Mission Point Press and Chandler Lake Books imprints, including the best-seller Storm Struck: When Supercharged Winds Slammed Northwest Michigan; a book on the Flint Water Crisis published in partnership with Bridge Magazine, Poison On Tap: How Government Failed Flint, and the Heroes Who Fought Back; and the non-fiction crime thriller, Blood on the Mitten: Infamous Michigan Murders, 1700s to Present.
MPP Distribution Services operates a bit differently than a traditional wholesale distributor in ways that benefit both authors/publishers and bookstores. Consider MPP Distribution to be more of an authors’ co-operative.
While authors and publishers have typically had to accept a 55%, 60% or even deeper discount on books sold to distributors, that discount can shrink below 55% via MPP Distribution depending on the price of the author’s books.
Our aim for bookstores is to make MPP a one-stop shop for ordering Michigan-related books. The stores are able to purchase books at the standard 40% discount, plus shipping. The books are sold on a returnable basis. MPP also makes available an online ordering site for bookstores to make it easier for one-stop ordering.
Below are Frequently Asked Questions that explains how the system works for authors and publishers and who to contact to participate.
Frequently Asked Questions from Authors and Publishers:
Okay, so please describe the program.
MPP is helping to fill the gap left by the recent closure of Partners Book Distributing. Partners was a key player in channeling Michigan books to Michigan’s bookstores. Authors, publishers and storeowners all say the need remains. MPP believes it can help.
Is MPP just a new Partners, then?
Not quite. Our business model is different. Here is how it works for authors and publishers who use Ingram Spark, KDP, or other print-on-demand services and aren’t sitting on a lot of existing inventory. It’s fairly straightforward:
1) We list your book(s) with the other titles being sold by MPP Distribution Services.
2) A bookstore places an order for your title.
3) We take the order and process the invoice; we in turn send you your portion of the order to fulfill through the administration page of your POD provider.
4) We collect the invoice amount, then send you all but 15% of your total as our charge for the service.
5) Alternatively, if you want us to process the shipment through your admin page using your login, etc., we’ll send you all but 17% of the total. Most authors prefer to do this.
We also can provide distribution if you have existing inventory. If you’d like information on that service, please let us know.
Do you do anything else to help sales beyond just listing the book among your distributed titles?
Yes, we have a marketing program included at no extra charge:
• We put every book we distribute into an on-line catalog updated daily. This catalog doubles as an ordering site for bookstores. You can find it at www.MPPDistribution.com.
• We distribute this catalog to all Michigan bookstores — not just those that have used MPP Distribution Services — on a monthly basis.
• We send out email blasts every month to the stores with updates and highlights of new and current offerings.
What about shipping? Who pays for that, since I have to ship using my Ingram Spark or KDP account and I’m paying pay for that. Do I get reimbursed?
Yes, we send you the shipping fee that we charge bookstores less 15% or 17%. Because authors and publishers are scattered around the state, there’s no way for us to customize a shipping rate for each order and each bookstore. So we’ve set a standard rate that applies to all orders. So in some cases, we might be charging more than what it costs for you to ship your books to the bookstore. In other cases, we might be charging less.
That shipping rate is a $4 base fee per order, plus $1 for each book ordered.
Hmm … can you walk me through a sample transaction?
Sure. Here goes:
• A bookstore calls us (MPP Distribution) to order three of your books. (Or they can email, or order directly at www.MPPDistribution.com.)
• We put the order into our accounting system.
• When we get the order, we also email you asking you to send the three books to the bookstore using your KDP account. At that point, you'll be paying for the books that you send and the shipping. Alternatively, we can place the order for you via your admin page. Again, you’ll pay the cost to buy the book and to ship.
• You email us back once you've sent the books to confirm the order has been sent. At that point, we send an invoice to the bookstore.
• We keep 15% of the total on the invoice — both for the books and shipping — and send you the rest. We'll do this monthly. (Again, for those authors wanting us to process the orders through their KDP or Lulu accounts, we keep 17% of the invoice total.)
• You set the retail price. Bookstores will pay 60% of that — thus the 40% discount off the retail price. So if you set your book's price at $10, we'll charge the bookstore $6 plus shipping. We'll charge the bookstore a $4.00 base fee plus $1 per copy as the shipping fee. So the total shipping charge for three books is $4.00 + (3 x $1) = $7.00.
So let's look at that theoretical three-book order: We'll charge $24 for the books and $7 for the shipping = $31. We keep 15% — or $4.65 — and we send you the rest, which is $26.35.
Note! That works out to you “selling” the books to MPP at a very low distributor discount of only 51%. That 51% rate is fixed – the math holds no matter the price of your book, the number of copies sold, etc. So even if what we charge shipping doesn’t cover what it costs you, you’ll likely more than make up for it with this better discount.
Okay, that makes sense. But presumably my books will be ordered with other authors’ books by a bookstore. So how does that $4 base fee for shipping get split in a combined order?
Our system calculates your books’ percentage of the total sale — based on the total number of books in the order — and applies that to you. So, for example, if a bookstore orders four books and only one of them is your title, you’ll get $1 of the base fee less 15%. If three of the books in the order were yours, you’d get $3 less 15%. And so forth.
Would the books be sold on a returnable or a nonreturnable basis?
It’s no surprise that bookstores prefer that books be returnable, especially on self-published titles that feature new authors. We prefer nonreturnable, but we feel we need to yield on this.
The good news is that bookstores generally order in small lots. So we think the odds of seeing many returned books will be slim.
Returns aren’t free, unfortunately. We would subtract from an author or publisher’s next monthly payment the cost of any returns. That cost is the total that MPP must send back to the bookstore, plus a return fee to the author or publisher of $1 per copy returned.
Partners was good with customer service. How about you?
We pledge that customer service will be top notch for both author/publisher and the bookstores. Combined, we have many decades of experience in the book trade, both as a publisher and a retailer. So we know the business, and we’re aware of the importance of excellent communications and quick response.
Okay … how do I get started?
Your contact for the program is: Doug Weaver
Distribution Services Manager Phone: 231-421-9513
Email: doug@missionpointpress.com
You just need to email Doug and he will get you on board. We will ask that you provide the description of each title for our marketing and online guides (or point us to where we can find the descriptions online now). And the retail price of each title.
It’s important that you indicate the legal name and address of the entity that will receive the monthly payments.
To print any of the Author Resources, right click on the guide and select “print.” If you need additional help, ask your team leader to email the guide as an attachment.