Real Talk: Growing Pains & Gains
We're back from London Book Fair! Don't miss our March events...
A very happy Friday to you Scribbler,
Allow us to feed your mind this month - for the Surrey readers, you can join Alice Fowler as she reads from her book "The Truth Has Arms and Legs" at Cranleigh Library on Thursday 20th March at 6pm. Tickets here.
And for Newcastle readers, we have a treat of an evening at Northern Stage: March 26th at 7pm. Tickets here Opt Indie Bookshop hosts John Ironmonger and Katie Hale; both of their recent novels delve into profound themes of human resilience, survival, and our connection to the natural world. Cornish readers? You have a whole tour!
I’m on my way back from London Book Fair with the guinea pig, and I plan to update you on my week in London shortly! But it has certainly been a month for growth and reflection.
I'm noticing a lot of things shifting for us this year – and with that shift, my mindset is becoming more positive as a business owner. I'm seeing that I should trust my intuition more and invest more financially in my ideas. That financial trust, putting my money where my mouth is, I've always found tough, because I'm risk averse, and book success is notoriously hard to predict. I've overheard conversations at big five drinks, where the editorial team laughs about the finance team asking them to 'tell them who the winners would be next year' – because they had no blueprint for it. Only educated guesses.
Here's the thing about small press publishing: most 'small' publishers I 'compete' with in the North (though really, we complement each other) get Arts Council funding of between 56k-250k annually. (These publishers are ‘National Portfolio Organisations’ - a very admin heavy application, which guarantees roughly 3 years of funding, before the team would have to apply again.) I'm so aware of this financial difference and our lack of 'fall back' that sometimes I've let it restrict my decisions, when actually a more abundant mindset would reflect our reality better. Because we are doing better, year on year.
Why We're Growing (And Why I'm Running Out of Books!)
The logistics are getting delightfully complicated – we used to do print runs of about 300 copies, with leisurely top-ups every six months. Now we're doing first runs of 500, and even that's too low for 2025!
Three things are driving this growth:
The Press is growing, our authors are growing, and their readership is growing. While we still proudly champion debuts, we're also working with established authors who bring their own passionate readers.
Those fancy cover finishes! Since 2023, we've been doing French flapped covers where possible, and I've taught myself to do spot UV and painted edges. These catch eyes in bookshops and honestly? They're going viral.
We're out there more! Events across the UK are creating ripple effects in each location.
The Painted Edge Saga (Or: How I Ended Up With 6 Books in My Flat)
The painted edge copy of The Wager and the Bear has been a massive hit. Being super organised, I ordered another 500 a week prior to publication, when I saw them selling fast. But here's the catch - they arrive by boat from Poland because our UK printers don't do painted edges. Mid-March delivery. No problem, right?
Wrong! The warehouse ran out, despite my setting up a minimum quantity alert system… (it didn’t go off!). I immediately sent them 50 copies first class, keeping 26 in my flat, in case of orders. Then half an hour later, a festival order came in for 20 and they didn’t want to go via the warehouse. So I packaged those up and started frantically calling UK printers: we need some in-between stock. (Hello 3rd print run!) Then the warehouse tells me we need a new ISBN for the non-painted versions and I'm faffing around with InDesign files! That’s all sorted, phew. The second print run arrives in the warehouse. But now the warehouse is overwhelmed; staff are working overtime and publishers are reporting stock being checked in two weeks later than expected… Book publishing logistics are mega complicated!
But if you’re wondering… the FOTW painted edges are available via our shop ;)
What I've Learned (The Hard Way)
Mark painted edges as limited edition from the start (avoid disappointed customers! This hasn’t happened yet - the disappointment - but I’m anticipating…)
Set up multiple ISBNs right away for different versions (although I’ve also been told by sales reps that this is not ideal - so warehouse and sales reps are in opposition here)
Trust our growth and do bigger print runs
What I will say is that growth is very tough as an indie - cashflow is a real issue when reprinting, because those projections have to be accurate, and because retailers usually release funds 6 months later. So if you can buy from us direct, this is much appreciated :D
Thank you for being part of this journey - chaotic painted edges and all!
Take care,
Isabelle