The Spine is Fine but Be a Lover of the Cover
Jan 11th, 2010 by MPC Press
Books sell best when more than just the spine is showing. When 5,000 copies of No More Mac and Cheese, A Bachelor’s Guide to Cooking with Ease, landed on our doorstep, we at MPC knew that creativity was in order. With No More Mac and Cheese being our first title, sales of this magnitude were certainly ambitious. Why had MPC Press taken on an inexperienced author who was not a very good cook yet had written a cookbook…and in rhyme? And why would the author of No More Mac and Cheese hire a publisher with no experience? First, it is always challenging for a new publisher to attract a well regarded author, so signing a contract with any author was a good start for MPC. Second, the author of No More Mac and Cheese could not find anyone else to publish his book, so he turned to this young publishing company as a last resort. When one learns that the author of No More Mac and Cheese actually created MPC Press in order to publish his book (that had been rejected by every publisher), the relationship seems to make sense. As for selling the book, we had no problem finding bookstores to carry the title. Shelves were stocked with No More Mac and Cheese, particularly in our Bay Area market. But, it is challenging for the consumer to locate a book (particularly a wire-bound book, but really any book) when only the spine is showing. Placement is key! So, we sought other angles and Nordstrom at the time had a “Gift Gallery” in most of its stores that carried candle holders, plates, picture frames, snow globes, and a small selection of books. Fortunately, MPC had a connection with a Nordstrom employee who introduced us to the Gift Gallery buyer. Similar to the experience with bookstores, we had no problem generating orders from Nordstrom. But unique to Nordstrom’s Gift Gallery, No More Mac and Cheese was placed on tables and shelves with the cover, not the spine, in full view to the customer. Sales exploded, and we can attribute this to the least recognized of the “4 P’s” of marketing: placement (and to a lesser extent the author’s 50 Nordstrom gift cards purchased that Christmas for friends and family). So, we now look for every opportunity to place our books in unique non-bookstore environments.
