MPC Press International

Go Amazon Go Amazon!!!  As with many small publishers, we at MPC are appreciative for the efforts of Amazon and its ability to push our titles.  Recently, we have seen a surge in sales for various MPC books, but particularly No More Mac and Cheese, A Bachelor’s Guide to Cooking with Ease.  Amazon has a unique way of marketing books, and it works.  For example, if one purchases “A Man a Plan a Can” for $10.87 on Amazon, he/she is asked about purchasing No More Mac and Cheese for $4.95.  One bachelor’s cookbook is not enough to cure the blues for American singles.  Our online sales have accelerated and we have Amazon to thank!

Tags: amazon, American, blues, marketing, singles

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.

Tags: Bay Area, Christmas, Cookbook, Nordstrom

In the spirit of summer, here’s a coloring page of Rhyme and his friends at the beach.

Follow the link below to reach the pdf download.

Rhyme Beach Coloring Page

Tags: beach, coloring, friends, summer

MPC had been searching for good pig ideas for years.  So, when Rhyme’s author and illustrator came to us with an idea for a story about a pig in politics, it was really a no brainer for MPC.  First, we love animal stories.  Second, a pig is a good animal for books, particularly if you are trying to be funny.  Everyone has a humorous pig joke or reference.  So, we were happier than a pig in s___ when Rhyme was introduced to us.  The main character (Rhyme) was quite a ham; we found him funny, both verbally, and with paper and pen.  It may seem pig-headed, but we knew that we would not find a better book on the subject.  Third, adding the political angle was perfect, even though both left and right parties seem to be partial to removing pork from politics, especially given today’s trough economy.  In summary, we would be sty-mied by anyone who believes that a clever book on a pig in politics is a boar.

Tags: author, boar, character, illustrator, paper, pen, political, Politics, rhyme

Download, print, and color the image. Cut along the black lines to create your bookmark. If your printer can handle thicker stock paper use that. Or, you could glue your coloring to tag board or a cardboard and then cut it out.

Follow the link below to download the pdf.

Rhyme Bookmark

Tags: bookmark, color, rhyme