ABOUT SCB

     

SCB places our highest value on an equitable publisher-distributor partnership, and we invite you to read and assess the information here to determine whether SCB is the right distributor for your line of books.

A brief overview: we started in 1988 with one book, and now distribute 5,000 titles from 200 publishers. By astutely managing our growth and choosing independent publishers we enjoy working with, SCB has developed a solid industry reputation for great service, high integrity and sustained success in our challenging business.

SCB AND the NEW MEDIA
New media/information/internet companies take justifiable pride in their lean staffing and elegant systems in this information economy. Reddit, Mozilla, Craigslist and Wordpress -- and SCB -- are just a few examples of this new paradigm which eschew top-heavy bureaucracy in favor of efficiency and quick market responses. This is just one of the many ways in which SCB is ahead of the curve and very different from other distribution companies.

WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT SCB?

  • SCB offers an unique interactive, non-hierarchical management system in which you benefit from our seasoned experience (100+ collective years in the book business!) and have access to ALL our staff, ALL of the time
  • Our SCB offices are located within the SCB warehouses — not off-site — for a continuous overview of operations and efficiency
  • We prize our independence from governing boards and bureaucracy
  • Family-built and privately owned, we have invested our personal reputations in the quality of our distribution services

ECONOMIES OF SCALE
The real question is this: Do you want your company to be a small fish in a corporate pond or do you want to be a BIG fish at SCB? Our entire business at SCB is exactly scaled to and calibrated for the independent publisher: we love to help you grow, and we do it well. At SCB your interests won't ever be trumped by a behemoth publisher who dominates all the other distributor's resources of time and attention. We know each of our publishers well: we pay close attention to their evolution and growth and are genuinely, personally thrilled with their successes.

HOW WE CHOOSE OUR SCB PUBLISHERS
We carefully evaluate quality independent publishers to ensure that their titles complement our existing SCB list. Our successful independent publishers are characterized by their

  • dynamic titles
  • regular publishing schedules
  • strong backlists
  • authentic marketing plans
  • credible authors

We occasionally sign a one-book publisher with an extremely promising, well-capitalized and unique title, but are primarily interested in publishers who generate at least one book per season, or two books per year on an ongoing basis. What subject areas are we interested in? SCB prints 2 general catalogs and 3 specialty catalogs a year, covering a wide variety of subject areas. CLICK HERE to take a look.

LOCATION
As the only major book distributor in the area, SCB has important professional and personal connections in this dynamic region. SCB is located in Gardena, minutes from

  • downtown LA, with 15 million people, the hub of business in the West
  • the 10 Freeway, the major trans-continental truck route
  • LAX, Los Angeles International Airport, top port of entry from Asia
  • The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, the largest ports of entry for all consumer goods, including books, entering the US

OUTSTANDING SALES TEAMS
SCB works with the top commission sales groups in North America. We have 28 terrific and experienced book reps covering every region of the US and Canada. SCB is our publishers' exclusive distributor to the book trade, and our reps present our many catalogued lists of titles to

  • all major and regional bookstore chains: Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, Chapters and Hastings
  • retail wholesalers: Ingram, Baker and Taylor, New Leaf, Partners, Bookazine, Brodart, Follett, Hudson News, Nutribooks and many others
  • public libraries and school libraries
  • independent, college bookstores and museum stores
  • the major online retailers, including Amazon, bn.com and Powells.com

SPECIAL SALES
SCB has dedicated staff and sales reps who generate special market sales, placing titles in non-book markets and outlets, a growing element of the book business. SCB has successfully placed many of our titles in

  • Anthropologie
  • Urban Outfitters
  • Spencer Gifts
  • and many other gift book outlets

In addition, SCB partners with a national gift rep group with offices and a showroom in the huge LA Mart and the staff contracts booths at the big gift shows in LA, Atlanta and New York each year, and at many regional gift shows.

eBOOKS
eBooks remain the Wild West of publishing as they become an ever-larger segment of publishers' incomes. We encourage all new SCB titles to be published simultaneously in print and ebook formats -- and we make it an easy process that happens in concert as publishers enters their information for our seasonal catalogs. Once your book is published, you will see it for sale at Apple, Kindle, Nook, Kobo and Sony, just to name a few of the e-platforms that SCB covers.

PROGRESSIVE SYSTEMS AND REPORTING
SCB offers a resource-rich website and data management portal, and a user-friendly, secure, transparent, 24/7 online reporting site where SCB publishers can review a variety of reports and see their inventory, sales and account status, review sales by all accounts, and pull detailed third-party reports from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Ingram and Baker & Taylor.

MARKET GUIDANCE
We regularly consult with our publishers on effective

  • book promotion
  • industry advertising
  • pricing and packaging
  • cover design
  • publication scheduling
  • print run determination
  • market targeting
  • sales materials
  • and much more

FOREIGN RIGHTS SALES
Foreign rights sales can make the difference between a break-even title or a profitable one. We attend the largest rights convention in the world, the Frankfurt Book Fair, as well as the London Book Fair and the BEA in New York to initiate rights deals for our SCB publishers. While we don't directly negotiate rights, we cooperate with our publishers' agents. If you require a rights agent, we also work closely with a rights agent who attends all the big shows.

OVERSEAS SALES
SCB works with several overseas distributors for our titles, including

  • Turnaround Publisher Services, for UK & Europe/General titles
  • Deep Books, for UK & Europe/Body, Mind & Spirit titles
  • Brumby Books, for Australia/Body, Mind & Spirit and Gift titles

SCB CATALOGUES
We print 2 general catalogs and 3 specialty catalogs every year -- and also offer our sales reps catalogue apps for more efficient selling. Our catalogue subject areas include

  • SCB's bi-annual general catalogue
  • Ascent Books: Higher Paths to Health, Spirituality and Adventure, our collection of Mind, Body & Spirit titles
  • Art Book Collection, our catalogue of visual arts titles
  • Revel Books, a catalogue of erotic titles

BOOK FAIRS AND CONVENTIONS
SCB commands booths and SCB principals -- along with many of our publishers-- attend the world's major book sales shows and rights markets, including

  • Frankfurt Book Fair
  • London Book Fair
  • Book Expo America
  • the biannual library show, the ALA

SCB also takes booths at shows and conventions related to our special interest catalogs:

  • The New York Art Book Fair
  • INATS, the International New Age Trade show
  • the biannual ILS in Las Vegas
  • the Los Angeles and NYC Gift Shows
  • and more

We seek every opportunity to show and sell your books at SCB. In addition, SCB titles are represented by our great sales reps at all the regional book fairs which occur in North America throughout the fall season.

IS SCB RIGHT FOR YOU?
If you believe that SCB and your independent publishing company are a good match, please call Aaron Silverman, the President and owner of SCB, at (310) 532-9400. He will be pleased to speak with you.

15608 South New Century Drive
Gardena, CA 90248
(800) 729-6423
(310) 532-9400
fax (310) 532-7001

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