From the idea to the printed book.
You have the story, you have the passion. You’ve written your book. You’ve taken it to a printer and have had it printed and bound. Now what?
Readers everywhere.
We can help you get your book into the hands of your readers. McNally Robinson Booksellers will stock your book. We have an active consignment program that stocks hundreds of books — fiction, poetry, memoirs, biography, picture books, children’s books — by Manitoba authors. Many self-published titles adorn our weekly and annual bestseller lists. Books in our stores are listed for sale on our website, and of course we ship website orders anywhere.
How to get started.
Once you have received your book from the printer, contact our book consignment manager to discuss your book and to set up an appointment.
In Winnipeg
Karen Hall, telephone 453-0424 ext. 288 or email karen@grant.mcnallyrobinson.ca.
For Kids and Young Adult consignment contact Margaret Saull, telephone 475-0492 margaret@grant.mcnallyrobinson.ca
In Saskatoon
Karen Millard by telephone 306-955-3599 or email karen@saskatoon.consignment.ca.
For Music and DVD Consignment Coordinator, Jamie Goldie by telephone 306-955-3599 or email jamie@saskatoon.mcnallyrobinson.ca.
Things to know.
Books must be professionally printed.
Determine your retail price.
You will be signing a contract with us that provides a standard industry split of 60/40. That is, we will pay you 60% of the retail price for each book sold. Remember that you are assuming all the costs associated with the publication of your book. If you intend to recoup those costs, you need to set a retail price that will allow you to do this.
Consignment.
Our contracts with self-published authors stipulate a consignment
arrangement in which you consign copies of your book(s) to us for sale and we pay you for the copies we sell.
We pay for books sold three times a year.
Initial placement
Once we accept your book, we commit to an initial placement of six months. After that, we will review the status of your book with you and discuss how we should proceed. (We do reserve the right to take any book off our shelves for whatever reason once the initial six month placement has expired.) We will also need an electronic image and description of your book to post on our website.
We confess a Manitoba & Saskatchewan bias.
We generally limit our consignment contracts to Manitoba or Saskatchewan authors or authors with strong Manitoba or Saskatchewan ties. If you would like to sell your book(s) at both of the McNally Robinson locations, please discuss this with your consignment contact. We manage contracts centrally, so that all of the paperwork is kept in one place. Please do not attempt to arrange separate consignment contracts at each store.
What is an ISBN?
An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is a 13-digit number that is unique to an individual book.
Do you need an ISBN?
You do not need an ISBN to have your book on our shelves. However, without an isbn we cannot for technical reasons post your book on our website. If you want to acquire an ISBN, the printer you choose may be able to help you. You can also access the Canadian ISBN Service System (CISS) on-line: www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ciss-ssci. This is currently a free service but it does require you to register.
Editorial matters.
We do not offer editorial advice on works in progress. Nor do we exercise editorial judgement on your finished book. However, we will not stock titles that we deem to be hateful or libelous.
Promoting your book.
Promoting your book can be as simple as telling your friends it is available at McNally Robinson Booksellers. Arranging media requires a little more work, but is not as daunting a task as it may seem. The internet, which offers the possibility of web sites, blogging and Facebook, can also be a way to let people know about your book. Remember, in the same way you are your own publisher, you are also your own publicist, but we can help.
Launch your book.
Once we have accepted your book for sale, we can help you promote it. The most effective way is to arrange a book launch. This is essentially
a celebration of your book for your friends, family, relatives and
interested parties. We will send out invitations based on a guest list
supplied by you. A launch will also give your book a dedicated
in-store display prior to your event.
For more information or to arrange an event.
In Winnipeg please contact John Toews by telephone 453-0424 ext 227 or email johnt@grant.mcnallyrobinson.ca.
In Saskatoon please contact Marcy Hildebrand by telephone 306-955-3486 ext 217 or email events@saskatoon.mcnallyrobinson.ca.
Depending on the time of year, we book at least 1-3 months in advance, so please contact us as soon as possible.
The Fine Print
Our events run Monday through Thursday, with occasional exceptions, and are held either at 7:00 pm in the non-restaurant event spaces, or at 8:00 pm in the Prairie Ink Restaurant & Bakery. We also run events on Sunday afternoons. We will help you decide which space is the most suitable for your event. The formal part of the event runs for approximately 20 to 30 minutes and can include a variety of formats such as an introduction, a reading, an interview, a question & answer period, a presentation, visual presentation, a talk or any combination of these. A book signing/reception typically follows, creating an opportunity to greet your friends as well as sell books.
We are open to alternate event formats and would be happy to discuss your ideas.
Author and book Information.
As soon as we’ve confirmed a date for your event, we will need an author photo and an image of the cover art of the book to use in our promotional material. Please send this promptly to events@grant.mcnallyrobinson.ca. We need it in the following format: minimum 4x5 at 300 dpi. CMYK colour preferred, but grey scale and RGB are also acceptable as we can do the conversion here. These specifications are very important, particularly if you are interested in participating in our print ads. In addition to images, please also send biographical information and a description of the book to, in Winnipeg - events@grant.mcnallyrobinson.ca or in Saskatoon - events@saskatoon.mcnallyrobinson.ca.
Basic promotion.
The basic cost for any event is $50.00. This cost is shared equally between McNally Robinson and yourself. Therefore, the minimum cost for you will be $25.00. This price includes:
- in-house tailor-made event posters placed throughout the store.
- an in-store book & poster display which goes up two weeks before the event.
- event listings in the following:
i) McNally Robinson events flyers - 500 are picked up weekly in-store
ii) The Bookseller - our bi-monthy newsletter is mailed to over 8000 people in Winnipeg alone. An additional 2000 copies are picked up in-store.
The Bookseller is now also available on-line at www.mcnallyrobinson.ca
iii) Prairie Ink Restaurant menu inserts
iv) Online events calendar.
- PSAs (public service announcements) sent to local media
- Electronic invitations sent to members on our mailing list
- Listings on our Facebook site and Twitter feed
- We create our own in-store promotion. However, any additional advertising material you may want to send (bookmarks, postcards) will be accepted. As well, we are always open to discussing other methods of promotion you may want to consider.
