Independent Publishing and Retail ©Copyright: David Sheets and Snowfall Press LLC. All rights reserved.

1. Who are you and why should I listen to you?

16 years in Christian publishing 5 years with Tyndale House Publishers 4 years with Multnomah Publishers 2 years with STL Distribution 3 years with Snowfall Press Have sold to every major retail channel including Amazon; Walmart; Barnes&Noble; Family; LifeWay; international; church, ministry, and catalog Dave Sheets

2. How do I get to retail?

Surround yourself with experts Obvious = editing, design, marketing Just as important = sales, distribution, printing and inventory

Indy publishers can’t do it all

Weigh the costs

You need sales experts. Average indy bookstore carries 10,000 titles Average large chain bookstore carries 100,000 titles Traditionally published editions increased from 302,410 in 2009 to a projected 316,480 in 2010.* *RR Bowker’s Annual Book Production Report

How is your book unique? Title? Package? Marketing?

You need marketing experts.

You need distribution experts.

Three key questions. Relationships? Recommendations? Returns?

Three printing and inventory questions. Print-to-Inventory?

Print-to Order?

How important is cash flow?

Understand the gatekeeper’s needs.

Books must sell.

Books need to be unique. There are 6,848 titles on PRAYER on Amazon.com

Make it easy on the gatekeeper.

3. What do retailers expect?

Retailers expect authors to have a platform.

Retailers expect an author to have a tribe.

Retailers expect to work with a professional business.

Who are you and why should I listen to you? BUSINESS Business plan Promotional plan Release plan

Who are you and why should I listen to you? Timeline MARKETING PLAN SALES PRESENTATIONS PUBLICITY AND MARKETING COVER AND CATALOG RELEASE DATE 6-9 MO 1 MO 2 MO

Who are you and why should I listen to you? Speed presentation 100

4. Do I really want to get to retail?

Retail is expensive. S R P $ 50% COGS LOW MARGIN

Retail is changing. Consignment Online Retail Stores Closing Returns

52 percent of all books are not sold in bookstores!

Retail channels and how they work.

Big box. High discount High returns (30-40%) Limited titles 9 month lead times Collections

Chains. High discount Demanding marketing coop Coordinated marketing 9+ month lead times Limited shelf space Returns

Online Highest discount Shorter lead Unlimited shelf space Will ‘stock’ most or all titles Easier to do direct Non returnable

Independents. Hard to reach 3-6+ month lead times Limited shelf space Limited cash Limited marketing* Returns

Special Markets. High discount Economy has made challenging 9+ month lead times Dedicated tribe Limited cash Non returnable

International. High discount Hard to reach 9+ month lead times Shipping/exchange rates Partial list Non returnable

5. What does the future of publishing and retail look like?

The non-traditional sector [self publishing] continues its explosive growth, increasing 169% from 1,033,065 titles in 2009 to an amazing 2,776,260 in * *RR Bowker’s Annual Book Production Report

Self publishing growth is changing the game.

The New York Times reported that “According to a recent survey, 81 percent of people feel that they have a book in them…and should write it.” If you do the math, that represents over 200 million people in the U.S. who want to write a book in their lifetime! No wonder self-publishing is thriving as never before!

Authors want more.

All the tools are available.

No need for publishers?

Cost of entry has fallen.

What must independent publishers do?

Get permission.

Engage Socially.

Sell direct.

Q. Questions?

©Copyright: David Sheets and Snowfall Press LLC. All rights reserved.

How Snowfall began What does Snowfall do? 1. We print books for publishers, authors, and businesses, from one unit to hundreds of units. 2. We enable printers to tie into our network, automate prepress, communicate with publishers, print books with an automated line, and drop ship books anywhere in the world. ©Copyright: David Sheets and Snowfall Press LLC. All rights reserved.

Snowfall Press Print Services Distribution Services Technology Services Publishers worldwide Snowfall Print Network Operating system Equipment consultation Access to print network New print orders Printers worldwide ©Copyright: David Sheets and Snowfall Press LLC. All rights reserved.

The Snowfall Advantage. No set-up fees – use your free account to load and archive as many titles as you want No change fees – for anything, after all, we aren’t doing the work, you are ©Copyright: David Sheets and Snowfall Press LLC. All rights reserved.

The Snowfall Advantage. No waiting – order as soon as you approve the file Fully automated pre-press – files rip within minutes of approval and order You control when to print, and your books are printed in three business days or less No set template for book sizes ©Copyright: David Sheets and Snowfall Press LLC. All rights reserved.

The Snowfall Advantage. Partnership with top distributor – STL Distribution, which allows retail stores to order and ship print- to-order books the same day Partnership with Dickinson Press – established long run printer ©Copyright: David Sheets and Snowfall Press LLC. All rights reserved.

How Snowfall began  Operations in place in US today  Nimble, best of class equipment/operating system  Technology driven company  Printers in Phoenix, AZ and Elizabethton, TN  Retail distribution centers in Reno, NV and Elizabethton, TN  Future plans for expansion on every continent ©Copyright: David Sheets and Snowfall Press LLC. All rights reserved.

Product and Services Snowfall Press prints soft cover (perfect bound) books with black & white interiors and 4 color covers Prints books from 40 to 1500 pages Books range from 4”x6” to the A4 format (slightly larger than 8.5”x11”) and any size in-between Snowfall prints on standard white and cream paper (50#-60#) and on thin white paper (40#) Covers are gloss laminate ©Copyright: David Sheets and Snowfall Press LLC. All rights reserved.

Easy Pricing 4x6 thru 6x9 $1.25/cover and $.01/page Larger than 6x9 thru 8.5x11 $1.25/cover and $.02/page ©Copyright: David Sheets and Snowfall Press LLC. All rights reserved.