December 1, 2011

Pre-Christmas party time as Crafty Publishing brings out second book (and dips toes into e-publishing)

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Publishers, News, Publisher Profiles | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Crafty Publishing

Crafty Publishing

DECEMBER IS UPON US and the rush to Christmas has truly begun: how better to start the month than to join the celebrations with one of our smaller trade partners, Crafty Publishing, as their second book is released? Even better, both Young David titles are now available through CLC Wholesale. So without further ado, a warm UKCBD welcome back to Fiona Veitch Smith, author and publisher, who I’ve dragged kicking and screaming back to these hallowed pages…

IT’S BEEN THREE MONTHS since Phil found me in the gutter and elevated me to the dizzy heights of guest blogger for UKCBD [flattery will get you everywhere - Ed] (David and the Hairy Beast claws its way to market). Now in this second instalment of the trials and tribulations of a small start-up publisher trying to find space on the already overcrowded ladder, I can tell you that we’ve advanced at least one rung.

Young David Series

David and the Hairy Beast

David and the Hairy Beast

A few more bookshops have agreed to stock David and the Hairy Beast (the first in a series of quirky picture books about the life of the Young King David) and we’ve even had some orders through Bertrams. Internet sales through our website from individuals are also ticking along.

We’ve taken on a sales agent for the London area and are considering taking on a US dispatch agent as postage costs from the UK are off-putting for customers there. The London agent has approached a couple of dozen shops and most are keen to stock but wanted to wait for the second book to come out before they ordered.

David and the Kingmaker

David and the Kingmaker

David and the Kingmaker was expected to be published by the mid-to-end of October, but a change of project manager at our printer delayed production and we only took delivery of the book on 23 November. This is leaving it very tight for Christmas stocking but all but one of our ‘old’ shops have taken orders (and two of them have restocked the first book too). I also had appointments with two more shop managers this week.

However, sales have been encouraging enough to tell us we have a marketable product and that enough retail outlets are prepared to take a risk on us to make it worth our while. So we have started work on our third title, David and the Giant, which we intend to bring out for Easter.

More Authors and eBooks

The Peace Garden: an ebook from Crafty Publishing

The Peace Garden: an ebook from Crafty Publishing

It was always our plan to start with a series of books I had written to test our business model. If we felt it was workable, we would take on other authors too. It’s early days yet in our print range, but we have signed two new authors for our ebook line. For ebooks we are publishing adult novels. Again we have brought out one of my novels as a ‘test case’. The Peace Garden is a romantic thriller set in England and Apartheid South Africa. We have put it up on Kindle to start with but are in the process of rolling it out to other e-platforms through Smashwords. We hope that it will go ‘live’ on all platforms next week.

Marketing in this area is primarily, of course, online. I am arranging book giveaways and competitions through Goodreads and using Twitter, Linked In, Facebook and other social networking platforms to promote it. I approached New York Times bestselling author Ruth Downie (the Ruso series of Roman mysteries) to review it. Sales are slow, but improving.

The other two authors are writing a fantasy trilogy and a thriller respectively. Our adult range is not specifically Christian (although one of the authors is a Christian and his books have Christian themes) and we are targeting the general market.

Phil asked me why we had decided to go the ebook route. A number of reasons: firstly, our capital is currently tied up in the picture book series. Ebooks are of course far cheaper to produce. But secondly, ebooks have already overtaken paperback novels in the US and it won’t be long until the same is true in the UK. As our experience with the picture books has shown us, a small publisher such as we are, has difficulty physically getting their books to the US market. We don’t have that problem with ebooks. Also, to be honest, I’ve heard from other writer friends who have tried to self-publish adult novels in the UK, it is immensely difficult to get them into indie bookshops (Christian or otherwise). Will we ever bring out print versions? Possibly, if and if we do, you’ll be the first to know.

Disclosure notice: the links to Crafty Publishing featured in this post are affiliate links. If you click through and then proceed to make a purchase, Crafty Publishing will pay a small commission to the UK Christian Bookshops Directory. This is at no extra cost to you. Thank you.
 

November 29, 2011

CLC Wholesale to join PubEasy

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Book Trade, Christian Suppliers, News | Tags: , , , , , |
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CLC Wholesale

CLC Wholesale

CLC WHOLESALE have now advised the way forward for their much-anticipated online trade ordering service: via PubEasy.com, bringing them into the same network as Bookpoint, HarperCollins, Marston Book Services, Norwich Books & Music and Wiley-Blackwell, to name just a few of the other trade distributors and publishers using the service.

The actual launch date has yet to be announced as the technicalities of the service are still being worked through by systems programmers, but Chris Magee, Head of CLC Wholesale, has confirmed that “the project is going ahead.”

In the meantime, however, keep an eye on the CLC Wholesale facebook page for their latest news, stock updates and other announcements.

IMPROVED TERMS: Apart from Church Packs and Gospels, where CLC Wholesale themselves receive a lower margin, all Hodder titles are now available to retailers at a 40% trade discount.

FEEDBACK WELCOME: Chris also says,

My heart is to support the trade and am open to any help and advice, even constructive criticism that will help us.

so if you have any feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact him.

 

November 18, 2011

CWR: Improved terms for retailers, and hello CLC Wholesale, goodbye TMD

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Suppliers, Distribution Services, News | Tags: , , , , , , |
[3] Comments 
CWR Trade Announcement 18/11/2011

CWR Trade Announcement 18/11/2011

IN A MESSAGE TO RETAILERS issued today, CWR have announced improved terms for retailers and bid farewell to TMD (Trust Media Distribution), with a move to CLC Wholesale coming into effect as of  1st December 2011.

Retailers ordering direct from CWR who were previously on discounts between 35%-39% will automatically be raised to 40% as standard, with other discounts remaining unchanged. In the message, CWR say:

We hope this will go some way to help you in your valuable High Street ministry and enable you to continue to order and sell CWR products.

In practical terms the move to CLC Wholesale means that TMD will no longer be able to supply CWR products such as the much-loved and popular Every Day With Jesus Bible reading notes. The decision to switch follows on from TMD’s own recently announced review of their UK wholesaling policy:

TMD’s recent decision to cease UK trade wholesaling and to reduce the number of titles they hold has led us to review our trading arrangements with them. We have enjoyed a close relationship with STL/TMD over many years and we wish them well in their excellent work in the distribution of Christian resources. Therefore from the end of this month, CWR resources will be available either direct from us and from the CLC Warehouse.

In conclusion, CWR reiterate their ongoing commitment to the UK high street retail trade:

We wish to thank you for all your support and loyalty in helping to make CWR products available to churches and individuals across the country. We want to reiterate our desire to continue working with you, now and in the future, to ensure the stability and growth of your bookshop and its ministry.

CLC Wholesale have themselves recently announced plans for a trade ordering website: in their words, “Watch this space!” At present, stock announcements are being made via their facebook page but orders must still be placed by email, fax or phone.

Twitter Connects…

 

November 3, 2011

CLC Wholesale facebook announcement: “Watch this space” for trade ordering website

Posted by Phil Groom under News, Wholesale Services | Tags: , , , , |
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CLC Wholesale, 02/11/2011: Please know that we have heard your requests for a wholesale website and are researching the different options now. In other words, watch this space!

CLC Wholesale > UKCBD: facebook announcement, 02/11/2011

FOLLOWING ON from comments left in the wake of last week’s announcement of a UK supplier review by TMD, CLC Wholesale have confirmed that plans for a trade ordering website are now underway.

In a brief post left on the UKCBD facebook page yesterday evening, Oct 2nd, 2011, CLC Wholesale wrote:

Please know that we have heard your requests for a wholesale website and are researching the different options now. In other words, watch this space!

Thank you and congratulations to all concerned: here’s to a wholly interactive future!

 

October 28, 2011

No change before Christmas as TMD prepares for “significant” reduction in range of suppliers

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Book Trade, Christian Suppliers, Wholesale Services | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Update, October 29, 2011: Eddie Olliffe reflects on the viability of specialist Christian wholesaling: Book Trade – Reflections on the UK specialist wholesaling model
TMD: Trust Media Distribution - The new name for STL Distribution

TMD: Trust Media Distribution

TWO ANNOUNCEMENTS in rapid succession from TMD this week have highlighted two of the constant challenges faced by Christian booksellers and retailers: stock availability and range.

In the first announcement, issued on Tuesday 25th October, TMD stated that their range of UK publishers would be “reduced significantly” following a review of their current supplier base. That review is now underway with conversations between TMD and suppliers that one, who did not wish to be named, described as “what appeared to be an ultimatum to improve terms or sever our relationship”.

Although TMD’s initial announcement specified that no significant changes would be made “until the New Year”, it nonetheless raised the inevitable spectre of previous disruptions to the supply chain in the run up to Christmas, and a second announcement reiterating that “Christmas supply will remain largely unaffected” was issued on Wednesday, a point that Pete Barnsley, TMD’s Supply Chain & Marketing Team Leader, was keen to emphasise in a conversation with him later that day: retailers can remain confident that it’s business as usual at TMD.

I asked Pete what the reduction in range implied for STL/TMD’s one-time ambition to be the “One Stop Shop” for Christian retailers and he acknowledged that those days were over, admitting that in some cases it makes more sense for retailers to go direct to publishers for better terms and availability.

Given that the publishers listed in the initial announcement fall largely into the evangelical/pop/USA categories, I also asked what the range reduction implied for the more academic, catholic, liberal and mainstream UK Christian publishers: is this a theological narrowing of the range or a focus on the “big guys”? Pete wouldn’t be drawn on who might be in or out until the review is complete but emphasised that TMD’s aim is to serve the entire Christian marketplace across denominational boundaries, and that publishers with a single line were as likely to be included in the new mix as those with hundreds of lines.

The situation, Pete explained, is a case of facing up to reality: better to focus on what TMD can do in terms of publishers whose product availability they can be confident of rather than raise unrealistic expectations amongst retailers and end up letting both them and, ultimately, their customers down.

Retailers whom I contacted were broadly empathetic: the “One Stop Shop” was a fantasy and few, if any, have been wholly reliant upon STL/TMD, sourcing elsewhere as necessary despite the inconvenience of the extra admin involved in dealing with smaller orders and extra invoices.

The question remaining is whether other distributors or wholesalers can step up to the mark? No one was available to comment from Norwich Books & Music, but Phil Burnham, CLC’s UK Director, advised that CLC Wholesale would be willing to assist where appropriate:

CLC Wholesale would be very happy to hear from booksellers if there are items in keeping with our Statement of Faith that they would regularly source from us if we carried them. I’ll pass on any related comments to my wholesale colleagues for their consideration.

 

April 16, 2011

Social Media Update: Alban Books, Christian Bits, Christian Bookshop Ossett, CLC Inverness, CLC Wholesale and a note about security

Posted by Phil Groom under News | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
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GOOD TIMES on the social media front with several new entrants from the Christian book trade. Without further ado, then, a warm welcome to:

Alban Books’ first tweet brings us a reminder that a certain wedding is imminent — an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone with a special souvenir edition of the King James Bible:

Christianbits

Christianbits

Lorna tells me that things are going well for them in Ossett, with around 30 children plus accompanying adults attending their first Easter holiday literary activity morning: congratulations to all involved!

CLC Wholesale would like your feedback on promotions — head on over to facebook to have your say: What kind of promotion would you like to see CLC Wholesale do?

Last but not least: have you secured your facebook and twitter connections? It’s a straightforward procedure on both facebook and twitter which will make your accounts much less susceptible to hackers. If you’re not sure whether  or not you’re using a secure connection, simply look at the URL in your browser’s address bar: if it begins https://, you’re secure; if it begins http:// — without the ‘s’ — you’re not.

On facebook, go to Account (top right in your facebook browser window) > Account Settings > Account Security > Change, select the “Secure browsing” checkbox shown in this screenshot, then click the Save button further down the page:

Facebook Security

Facebook Security

It’s a similar procedure on twitter.

 

August 25, 2010

Good News for Struggling Shops and their Customers as RHP release more £1 Classics

Posted by Phil Groom under Book News, Christian Publishers, Guest Posts | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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THANK YOU to Geoff Wallace of Maranatha Christian Bookshop, Uxbridge, for this  follow on to Joy McIlroy’s recent note (in the Trade Notes section) about RHP’s £1 Classics Series. I have to confess that I haven’t tried them at LST yet, but I’ll certainly make sure that my successor knows about them for when I’m gone. A series that sells as well as Geoff and Joy have each found has to be a winner, methinks — and might well make the difference between make or break!

One Pound Classics from Rickfords Hill Publishing

One Pound Classics from Rickfords Hill Publishing

Geoff writes: Rickfords Hill Publishing have just released 6 more titles in their One Pound Classics series. The books include Pilgrim’s Progress, and books by Andrew Murray, Roy Hessian, Torrey and others.

The good news is that they are now all available from CLC Wholesale.

If shops are struggling with sales then stocking these books would really help. The new titles were only published in August but at Maranatha we have already sold nearly 100 copies across the 6 titles and more with the previous titles. They outsell our other books all the time.

Most of the customers who buy them buy copies for themselves and more copies to give away. We have sold 100s of copies of the previous 6 titles including 360 copies of Hungry for More of Jesus and 325 copies of Hallowed Be Thy Names (both by David Wilkerson and both superb books)

We devote a whole shelf to these books and they are the most popular shelf in the shop. At £1 they are amazing value especially as some of the books are over 260 pages long.

 

August 11, 2010

Sovereign World: Bringing People Together

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Publishers, Publisher Profiles | Tags: , , , |
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Paul Stanier: Managing Director, Sovereign World

Paul Stanier: Managing Director, Sovereign World

LATEST: New Trade Distribution Arrangement with CLC Wholesale

In line with Sovereign World’s heart for Christian mission and service to ministry we have made the decision to move our wholesale supply of books to CLC Wholesale. Sovereign World will also continue to serve shops direct and all our titles remain available from New Wine Ministries. In the interests of our new wholesale arrangement with CLC and New Wine Ministries we have made the difficult decision to no longer supply STL, who over many years have carried our titles. We acknowledge STL’s history with our company and we are grateful for their contribution…

>> Read more

If you’ve been involved in the Christian book trade for any length of time, you’ve almost certainly come across Sovereign World publishing — but what makes a company like Sovereign World tick? And has the company’s vision changed since its acquisition by The Christian Trust back in 2006? I invited Paul Stanier, Managing Director, to enlighten us:

It was August 1986 that Chris Mungeam first established Sovereign World Limited. Having enjoyed twenty-three years in Christian publishing, and now newly baptized in the Spirit, Chris voiced concern for reaching the church with books emphasizing a balance of the Word and the Spirit. The aim of the company was to specialize in books relating to the worldwide moving of the Holy Spirit. The focus was on subjects such as repentance, prayer, fasting, gifts and ministries of God’s Spirit, spiritual warfare, deliverance and healing as well as basic Bible study material. Twenty years later, in April 2006, Sovereign World Ltd was acquired by The Christian Trust, the Registered Charity responsible for the growing work of Ellel Ministries International, to continue the precious work of publishing outstanding Christian teaching. Ellel Ministries was founded in 1986, the same year as Sovereign World, and the future was a divine knitting together of these two organizations, both of which share the vision to proclaim the Kingdom of God by preaching the good news, healing the broken-hearted and setting the captives free.

Frida: Chosen to Die, Destined to Live
Sarah: From an abusive childhood and the depths of suicidal despair to a life of hope and freedom
Why Pray For Israel?

Today the vision for the type of books Sovereign World publishes remains unchanged. With the added dimension of Ellel Ministries we are now publishing powerful biographical stories of God’s transforming power to rescue and heal those in the darkest situations, as demonstrated in Frida, In Rebel Hands and Sarah. Out of Ellel Ministries’ extensive teaching in the healing ministry, more books are being produced that will help equip the Church to deal with a wide range of life’s most complicated, and for many, unhealed issues. Pastoral care is one of the most sought after needs of any congregation, yet so many churches are unable to meet that need. Sovereign World is a vital resource to enable this. For instance, our Truth & Freedom series opens doors of healing to many. It is our privilege to publish authors with deep experience in the faith and to help them spread the great hope found through Jesus Christ.

The world is changing dramatically, but God’s Word never changes. As we look to the future the relevance of Sovereign World has never been more important. We are on the threshold of an exciting new horizon. Scripture shows time and again that it is usually from a dark place that man most comprehends the magnificence of God’s redemptive work on mankind. God is moving in increasingly clear ways as this world’s darkness encroaches. As it gets darker, God’s light seems brighter and easier to navigate to. For times such as these I believe the message of God’s redemption of Israel can be applied to us. Christians need to join together in common truth and be willing to walk a path of holiness before there can be true unity. Zephaniah 3:9 (NIV) says:

Then will I purify the lips of the peoples,
that all of them may call on the name of the LORD
and serve him shoulder to shoulder.

We believe Sovereign World has been placed in a position on the front line of God’s agenda in giving people the tools they need. We want to help bring believers shoulder to shoulder – in unity to serve God. The fulfilment of Sovereign World’s vision is to see corporate transformation take place both within and outside the church. We are therefore looking to publish a broad range of titles with authors either known or unknown who want to partner with us in this vision. Our goal is to bring people together under the common truth of the Kingdom of God and see people healed and equipped to serve God for His purposes.

Our goal is to bring people together under the common truth of the Kingdom of God and see people healed and equipped to serve God for His purposes.

One of the greatest challenges facing Sovereign World is the sheer volume of Christian literature now being written and published. It is estimated there are 1000 new titles being released each month in the UK alone. Yet we believe our role in Christian book publishing is a discerning one. Please take the time to review the descriptions of our list of books. You will find that we are reaching into the very heart of the issues of the Church and Christian life today. As a company, we feel called to meet the needs of the church in a way we believe is vital.

In reaching out to you, the bookshops or reader, my hope is that you are envisioned by the possibility of equipping your local churches with Sovereign World books that can bring a wealth of fruit into their congregations – to bring renewal and transformation through healing, discipleship and holiness.

While holding fast to God’s calling on Sovereign World we rely on the Body of Christ to express support of our vision through the purchase of our books. This has a two-fold effect. Firstly, every book sale we make enables Sovereign World to publish the next book, thus continuing what we believe is an essential mission. Secondly, and most importantly, each purchase has the capacity to change lives and even communities. I am hoping you want to join with us in faith to see God work in this way.

Sovereign World Ltd, PO Box 784, Ellel, Lancaster, LA1 9DA, United Kingdom
Tel: 01524 753805 / Email: info [at] sovereignworld.com*

Discover More:

*Email address split to resist spambots

 

April 16, 2009

Staff Vacancies at CLC

Posted by Phil Groom under Bookshop Ramblings | Tags: , , , |
[2] Comments 
Christianity, May 2009

Christianity, May 2009

Ever wanted to work in Christian retail or wholesale?

An ad in the May 2009 issue of Christianity magazine, p.65, indicates several staff vacancies at CLC:

  • Bookshop Managers, Chatham & Ipswich
  • Bookshop Team members – various locations
  • Wholesale Team member, near Winchester

CLC regards all staff as missionaries: positions are unpaid but accommodation, utilities and council tax are covered for full time workers. Beyond that, you’ll need to raise your own support.

Full details from CLC, on the JobSearch noticeboard or in the magazine, of course: available from most Christian bookshops.

 

February 5, 2009

A Plea to CLC Wholesale

Posted by Phil Groom under Bookshop Ramblings | Tags: , |
1 Comment 

CLC Wholesale

CLC Wholesale in Christian Marketplace

Great to see your full page ad in the latest issue of Christian Marketplace; and great to know you’re there.

But even better if you made your stock catalogue available online, please.

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel: we don’t need another debacle like STL’s SAP implementation.

Instead, please sign up to PubEasy: PubEasy really does make online ordering easy.

Thank you.

 

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