An Open Letter from The Cadence Group

Dear Friends,

The Cadence Group was founded to offer services to new and small presses. At the heart of each of our programs is a commitment to share our experience with others. We believe that knowledge should not be a commodity and the more we educate others, the better off the publishing industry will be.

We are a group of dedicated men and women who are passionate about books and who have extensive experience in the book industry. We strive to offer clients and prospective clients guidance and services that will maximize their potential and minimize their costs. Our commitment is to ensure that our clients, big and small, leave with the tools, skills, and knowledge they need to make smart decisions for their current projects and for their future growth.

In order to achieve these goals, The Cadence Group is constantly reviewing and updating the services we provide to ensure that we continue to grow and change with our ever-evolving industry.

We were thrilled to announce the expanded New Shelves Distribution program at this year's Book Expo. We have been even more excited by the warm reception the expanded New Shelves program has received from clients, colleagues, friends and retailers!

In 2008, we founded New Shelves to offer publishers a more effective, less-expensive way to get books in front of book buyers, wholesalers, librarians and specialty chains. Our goal is to combine low-cost warehousing and fulfillment services with an aggressive and focused sales program specifically designed to meet each publisher's individual needs.

The Cadence Group is proud to be working in such a wonderful industry!

Bethany Brown and Amy Collins MacGregor

Book Distributors to check out - Free Advice Fridays

Hi all!  We had a great time on Free Advice Friday today.  Everyone was a little quiet, but I think it was the sunny weather calling to us all!

Here is a list of links to book distributors that we like:

IPG   http://www.ipgbook.com/getpage.cfm?file=contact.html&userid=9F0DA4A9-3048-6445-430A6737959C31B6

Greenleaf   http://www.greenleafbookgroup.com/submissions.cfm


NBN   http://www.nbnbooks.com/ProspectivePublisher/


PGW   http://www.pgw.com/home/publishers.aspx


New Shelves   http://www.newshelvesdistribution.com/about_us  (disclaimer - this one is us!)


Book-Hub   http://www.book-hub.com/info.html

The Author Weighs In

You might remember a couple of months ago when I blogged (ok, went on a rant) about the poor quality and editing of ebooks.

That post,  Are eBooks Held to a Different Standard? chronicled my frustration with the fact that book after book after book available on my Kindle is riddled with typos and errors.

Finally, I was driven to write The Letter to both publisher and author outlining my dissatisfaction with a particular book that was particularly error-filled.

Customer Service at Publisher X responded within the first 24 hours. It was a relatively brief and somewhat uninformed response letting me know that my comments would be passed on to the appropriate editor.

The Author finally responded today. And, quite frankly, I believe her response clearly shows an author's perspective, and frustration, with mainstream publishing today. Even bestselling authors have begun to struggle with the increasingly lackadaisical approach to good editing, copyediting and attention to detail. In the rush to make books available as eBooks for the various available readers, the true core of good publishing and good editing appears to have fallen to the wayside in the rush for profits.

I must admit, I take this all quite personally. I hate to have a good read spoiled by poor editing. It ruins the entire story. But apparently, I'm not the only one. The Author's voice, too, falls on deaf ears.

Her response to me, below.... 

(Please note: author name, publisher name and editor name have been pulled from this correspondence along with any personal information that might identify any of them.)

Dear Bethany,

    I forwarded your e-mail to my agent who then forwarded it to my editor, demanding that they crack down on the "quality control" of the books they license to Kindle.  I was so horrified by what you told me, I couldn't even look at the edition myself.  I've complained to Publisher X about typo's in my books and sloppy Kindle editions, but your e-mail was so specific and articulate, I knew it would carry more weight than the author griping about the bad reproduction of her books.  My agent has just gotten back to me saying that my Editor finally got back to her. Anyway, she has started taking the problem seriously and has promised to pay more attention to both the regular publication of my books and the Kindle editions.  After all, this problem reflects on Publisher X  and Editor.  I do not set the type for my own books or do the final proofreading.

    Thank you for the e-mail.  It helped tremendously!

Let's face it folks, when an author's complaints about typos and sloppy editing is categorized as "griping", our industry has taken a huge step backwards. Publishers really need a good wake up call that consumers, and authors, are tired of poorly produced books.

Special thanks to this special author for responding so thoughtfully to my email!

BEA (unedited)

We here at The Cadence Group are still busy pulling together meeting notes from the show and have been overwhelmed by the number of great meetings, comments, feedback, and conversations had in our booth and on the show floor. Here are some (unedited) thoughts from the show:

1. The aisles were packed! We had to actually use elbows for the first time in four years to get through the main aisles of the show.
2. The IBPA aisle was rockin’. This showed a lot of increased activity and interest in small presses from around the country.
3. Digital made a statement. There were a lot of established and new companies exhibiting their software and programs designed to help publishers and authors take advantage of the many e-book platforms.
4. Notable absences. We missed some friends this year that were either not exhibiting or not attending. We hope to catch up again soon.
5. Lots of rights action. Most likely due to the fact that the London show was a bust due to travel problems, the rights action around BEA was much busier than we were expecting. Our clients books have been requested from agents and publishers around the world!
6. High-level meetings and attendees. We were lucky to see and meet with some of the top buyers and retailers from around the industry. The news is cautious but positive from most retailers.
7. An increase in buying activity. A number of our literary agent friends have noted a recent pick up in deals being done around the industry.
8. A decrease in giveaways. Catalogs and free giveaways were hard to come by this year. There was a significant decrease in the number of free books. Bummer for those of us hunting for a good find. However, a friend was a able to score an autographed copy of The Help!  

If you were there, please share your thoughts!