Changes to Books In Print

[Sisters In Crime]

Dear Sisters in Crime members:

We’ve had a few problems with our transition to entering titles online
into Books in Print (BIP) this past year. Our apologies to those of
you who were inadvertently left out of the BIP, or whose listings were
incorrect. We are working on ironing out the bugs. If your listing was
missing or incorrect and you haven’t told us already, please email
Beth Wasson: sistersincrime at juno.com. (The deadline for checking your
entry and adding your books for the 2009 edition will be August 1.
I’ll remind you again!)

As I mentioned in the newsletter, the board has voted unanimously to
change the present system for the printed version of BIP to include
only those printed books that meet established marketplace standards.
In other words, the printed BIP will include books that are accepted
by booksellers and librarians. We are making this change because these
same booksellers and librarians have told us they no longer find the
BIP useful in its present form.

Our online BIP will include all member books: the print version
listings, print titles that did not meet the print BIP criteria, and
additional categories for non-print books, e.g. e-books and audio
books.

The online version of BIP will provide a site for readers and
professionals to find information about members' books that may not
fit into the established marketplace. As these books are marketed
mainly to online buyers who are likely to prefer checking online
resources, the online version is a good match and a good way to
provide a service for this segment of our membership.

Following are the criteria for a book that meets marketplace
standards:

Is returnable
Is offered at standard industry discounts
Is available through national wholesaler, such as Ingram or Baker &
Taylor
Is competitively priced
Has a minimum print run of 1,000 copies

(We believe that the minimum print run of 1,000 copies shows a
publisher's intent to place the book in the marketplace. It is the
same number used by Authors Coalition to determine a 'published
book.’)

Any titles that do not meet one of the standards may be petitioned on
a case-by-case basis, so long as all other requirements are met.
Petitions must be submitted in writing, preferably by email.

However, as POD technology becomes a more common practice for books
accepted in the marketplace, we want to create an avenue of
flexibility in print runs for those exceptional titles that now meet
all other criteria, as well as for future circumstances we might not
be envisioning. POD reprints of titles that met industry standards
when originally published will be included in the print BIP.

As you can imagine, it will take time for the board to work with our
BIP editor to make this transition smoothly. As always, we welcome
your questions and comments.

Sincerely,

Roberta Isleib
President, Sisters in Crime