Every year, the book industry wastes $3 billion worth of books amounting to about 60,000 acres of trees. This waste could be eliminated if everyone in the industry agreed to do non-returnable programs. When Jennifer and Mark Havenner started publishing in 2008, after having come from the equally wasteful world of magazine wholesale distribution, it was locked in from the beginning that The Way Things Are Publications would not perpetuate this unnecessary waste.
To that end, the company utilizes “Print on Demand” technology to publish books so that it never has to carry inventory. Additionally, the company does not accept returnable programs with booksellers and distributors. These two business decisions are out of the boundaries of the traditional industry, however, it is critical to our mission that they stay in affect and that we use our resources to educate the industry as to why all publishers should go this direction.
Print on Demand leaves a bad taste in the mouth of booksellers, because they are historically the tool of vanity presses and self publishers. This is drastically changing, because more and more publishers are realizing POD technology meets and exceeds the quality of offset technology. It is our position that booksellers should judge the quality of the book based upon its complete presentation and not solely upon the technology used to manufacture it. Understanding both the positive environmental impact for POD over traditional processes, and the tremendous savings in inventory waste can be incentive enough to embrace this transformative technology.
Additionally, the custom of allowing booksellers to return unsold inventory is resulting in billions of dollars of lost revenue for the industry annually and unfathomable environmental waste. Clearly, using a non-returnable program puts a certain degree of risk on the bookseller that was not present before. However, it is our position that bookstores know better than publishers how much inventory can be sold, and when given the opportunity to distribute only what will sell, then the potential for profits are higher. In return for bearing the risk of the sale, it is the publishers responsibility to compensate the bookseller with higher discounts and lucrative terms.
We understand our business processes put The Way Things Are Publications out of the mainstream publishing world. It is not our intent to change the industry, however, we believe strongly in efficient processes and inventory management particularly in a difficult economic climate.
If booksellers and distributors can get behind our desire to eliminate such tremendous waste in this industry, then we believe we can make solid progress in this new contextual chapter of the publishing world.
Logistical Information
- All books published by The Way Things Are Publications are available through Ingram
- The Way Things Are Publications will negotiate direct distribution deals with booksellers
- Consignment deals are available upon request