At one of several Winter Institute panels focused on new business ventures, Susan Novotny, owner of the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany, N.Y., and Market Block Books, Troy, N.Y., as well as co-owner of Troy Book Makers, talked about her new project, a publishing house called Staff Picks Press.
Noting that mainstream houses are publishing fewer titles
and often pass on books that booksellers could sell, Novotny said, "New York
is not the center of publishing. We booksellers are. We know readers and we can
find brilliant authors."
Booksellers will be integral to Staff Picks Press, from evaluating manuscripts to selling the books. For most books, the model will work this way: authors interested in being published will send 50 pages of their manuscript to Staff Picks. "If they send in more than 50, they fail," she said. Novotny and two of her employees, both also named Susan, will go through the submissions. If "the three Susans" like a 50-page submission, they will send it to a network of seven to 10 independent booksellers around the country whom Novotny will pay $25 for an evaluation. If the manuscript passes this hurdle, the author sends the complete manuscript and it will be sent around again.
Staff Picks Press will not offer the usual editing services; it requests polished, ready-to-publish manuscripts. The press will focus on genre and general fiction and narrative nonfiction. The press will not pay advances, but aims to work in partnership with authors. If a book takes off, Staff Picks Press hopes to sell rights to commercials houses in New York. Booksellers who recommend titles offered by customer-authors could get a percentage if their books are resold to commercial houses.
The house's first title is Comeback Love by Peter Golden, a
novel published in November that Novotny described as "just the kind of
under-the-radar eccentric book that indies recognize can sell."
Novotny printed Comeback Love offset for $2 each in a first printing of 2,000 copies, not using her Troy Book Makers POD service. Novotny included the book in the ABA's White Box, and 10 booksellers ordered copies. The book, which made the December Indie Next list, is under consideration at a New York house.
Novotny said Staff Picks Press titles will be available at Ingram and Bookazine, and can also be bought directly, with a six-copy minimum, nonreturnable, at a 50% discount with free freight.
Bill Petrocelli of Book Passage, with stores in Corte Madera and San Francisco, Calif., called the idea "genius" for its market research potential and pointed out that the press is useful for booksellers who are often approached by customers with book proposals. "It gives us deniability," he said.