Trade Books 201: Secrets of Creating a Thriving Gift Books List

description

Cookbooks, guides to hiking and mixology, art books, and calendars all represent some of the many trade books published by university presses, books that are designed primarily for the "gift" market. While many of these publishing projects reflect the geographical roots of their presses, taken as a whole these books showcase the splendid diversity of the AUPresses's regions and member presses. Yet as different as they are, gift books share requirements that create challenges for university presses both large and small. How do gift books fit into publishing missions that prioritize scholarship, accessibility, and diversity? How do you plan out the costs and projected revenue for books that may require extended acquisitions or production investment and timelines? How do you pitch gift books to your editorial boards? This panel is a deeper dive into the trade book ecosystem. Designed for university press professionals who are already publishing gift books or who are trying to identify their gift book niche, the panel goes beyond the basics of trade publication to think about how best to position a specific product line within a press's catalogue. In a roundtable format, the panelists will discuss the "trade secrets" of how to plan out a gift books list from snout to tail-or, from market research, audience, and P&Ls, through acquisitions editorial, production challenges, marketing, and sales.