Children’s author Darcy Pattison, who runs Mims House Books, responded to the article on publisher-library relationships:
Thanks for the info in Hot Sheet about working with libraries on digital ebook sales. I realize the meeting and article are about independent publishers, and generally not about author-publishers, but I’d still like to comment.
One of my ongoing frustrations is the difficulty of finding the right person to talk with. I go direct to OverDrive, and they provide me with a list of who has purchased the books. But it’s often a state consortium, such as Beehive Library Consortium, a Utah consortium of libraries. They’ve bought several of my books, and I’d like to contact them with updates and info on new releases. But when I search, it’s a loop, only finding information about them on the OverDrive site. When I finally found something on the Utah state government site, it was unclear who was the right person to speak with. I sent emails that didn’t get answered.
So, OverDrive does give me some information. Beehive Library Consortium is a good customer for me. My books fit their needs. But I have no contact info and no way to find that contact info. Libraries and library consortiums need to stop making it so hard to find contact info. I’d love to talk with them about their communities and the type of books they need for their patrons.
I know people in the library and library distribution community read this newsletter. If you have a suggestion for Darcy on this matter, please hit reply and let me know. I’d love to pass it on.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
