Specific Services for Publishers:
Prepublication Consultation

IPG has a full-time title development manager whose sole job is to consult with publishers well before a title goes to press—often even before an agreement is signed with an author—as to the likely strength of any title and how it can best be positioned for maximum sales. She does research on the comparative strength of the market niches into which any particular title might fit, analyzes the success of the various approaches to cover design and title that have been tried, and helps publishers build sales "hooks" into their titles from the very start of the title development process.

As part of the book production process she reviews the cover, book design, and layout from a sales perspective; reviews jacket and flap copy for appropriate and effective content; discusses publication date, timing, and pricing issues; discusses format issues—paper, cloth, or other; reviews marketing, author tours and appearances, and publicity plans; suggests or reviews advertising plans and opportunities; explains how to collect and interpret comparable title information; and discusses initial print runs and sales projections with the publisher.

Mary Rowles

Title Development Manager

Mary began a lifelong career in publishing at the Bookmen, a regional wholesaler, where she showed a strong affinity for sales. She went on to positions as Chicago sales representative for W. H. Smith/Mayflower Books, St. Martin's Press, and a commission sales rep with Heinecken Associates, representing Workman, Sterling, Abbeville, Houghton Mifflin, Harcourt Brace, Globe Pequot, and a plethora of large and small publishers and sidelines. She worked in retail bookselling at the Bookstall at Chestnut Court as the buyer and manager of the children's department. She was sales manager for five years at the LPC Group before joining Independent Publishers Group as trade sales manager.

"I find the feedback that I receive from IPG staff on our book covers, titles, price points, etc., to be extremely valuable. While I utilize a highly collaborative process between the author, my staff, and my designer, the points of view that the IPG staff present add a whole other layer of information to our design and marketing decision-making process. Because they have their fingers on the pulse of what the bookstore buyers (and consumers) expect and are looking for in a new book, the IPG staff invariably makes excellent recommendations that often mean the difference between a successful title and one that disappoints."

—Jeffrey Goldman, Santa Monica Press, Santa Monica, California