Microcosm publishing submissions how to#
Microcosm publishing submissions software#

The publisher’s book program continues to be centered around the categories of arts and crafts, health and wellness, children’s, lifestyle, coloring, and gift books. Licalzi says Blue Star is working to grow the game line and is in discussions with a number of a creators. It has released eight games to date, and sales have been led by its Millennial Loteria line two of the Millennial titles were sold exclusively through Target last year. “We have seen an uptick in the number of our books picked up by stores,” Licalzi adds.īlue Star is also working to expand its presence in specialty and gift stores, which are becoming more important to the company given its success with games and puzzles. He also gives a shout-out to Barnes & Noble, which, under CEO James Daunt, has allowed store managers to have more of a say in title selection. Last year was the second year that Blue Star was with PRHPS, and he says the company’s books are now available in more online and physical retailers in the U.S. Peter Licalzi, cofounder of the six-year-old press headquartered in Bend, Ore., credits Penguin Random House Publisher Services with a big role in the sales gain in 2021. New categories and new outlets helped lift sales 37% at Blue Star Press in 2021 over 2020, resulting in a 120% gain between 20.

Microcosm publishing submissions software#

“That’s why we’ve been able to pivot so effectively these past few years, and find so many new accounts.” Microcosm intends to make the software available to other indie presses this year as a subscription cloud service.īiel has spread the success around, issuing bonuses last year, which helped Microcosm retain all of its employees in 2021 seven of its 29 employees are also owners. Years of investment in its proprietary WorkingLit software program allowed Microcosm to automate numerous backoffice processes, enabling the company to save “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Biel says. Other publishers told Biel the purchase was a risky move, he notes, but he calls it a “great investment” that has accelerated the company’s growth. Despite the jump in sales, Microcosm’s fulfillment turnaround time fell to 24 hours, from 72 hours, last year after it purchased a second warehouse in Cleveland. Sales to bookstores and to nontraditional accounts like coffee shops, record stores, bike shops, and other such businesses have grown 368% during that time. Since it has taken back distribution, Microcosm is adding more than 100 new accounts per month, and it has stopped selling books on Amazon. “Our role is more about finding what is the taste of the time.”Īnother reason for the company’s success is its recent restructuring, which included the decision to bring distribution in-house in 2018.

“Every one of our bestselling books was a debut by an author with no platform,” Biel notes.

Microcosm publishing submissions how to#

One of its bestsellers last year is well-known to indie booksellers: How to Resist Amazon and Why, by Raven Book Store owner Danny Caine, which has sold more than 34,000 copies in all formats since its November 2019 release a second edition is in the works. Founder Joe Biel attributes the company’s success to publishing compelling reads that have been “categorically turned down by other publishers,” like Microcosm’s runaway top-seller, Unf*ck Your Brain, which the company says has sold five million copies in all formats since 2016.

This is the first time that Microcosm Publishing, of Portland, Ore., has made it onto PW’s list of fast-growing independent publishers, and it has landed with a bang: net revenue spiked 106% in 2021 over 2020 and was up 207% over 2019.