2LEAF PRESS IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE that it has entered into a sales and distribution agreement with University of Chicago Press (UCP). Under the agreement, UCP will handle sales and worldwide distribution to the book trade for 2Leaf Press’ titles. This arrangement will commence August 1, 2018, bringing 2Leaf Press’ books to a larger marketplace through major online outlets and brick and mortar bookstores. It also means that 2Leaf Press books will be published through UCP’s digital printing center using the latest print-on-demand technology.
The University of Chicago Press, founded in 1891, is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, and is recognized as a leading state-of-the-art distributor of academic and independent small presses like 2Leaf Press. I strongly believe UCP’s marketing support, higher quality print-on-demand services, and our books’ inclusion in their catalogs and website, will help 2Leaf Press reach a far wider audience than what we have been able to achieve on our own.
Founded in 2012, 2Leaf Press understood from the beginning the challenge of small operating budgets and the struggle to have a voice in a world full of “The Big Guys with Big Wallets.” Our mission was and remains to support writers you’ve never heard of, writers who are trying out new methods of storytelling, and flexing literature’s narrative muscle in unexpected ways. Initially, one of the things the late Carmen Pietri and I tried to do was create an environment where writers had a greater say in the development of their books, and therefore ran the press in a DIY-egalitarian type manner. Unfortunately, that hasn’t quite worked out. In time, we both realized that for the press to become more fiscally responsible and financially successful, it would have to operate structurally within publishing industry standards as it maintains its unique and distinctive titles. It meant that we had to stick to schedules, and that writers would have to yield to specific guidelines and deadlines so that the press could benefit from previews and reviews in a timely manner. While the press has received accolades for its authors and titles, this simply has not been enough. In order to expand and grow, we needed to clean-up our act.
After Carmen’s passing, I began to investigate alternative ways to provide more structure to the press, widen our distribution efforts, and secure a higher quality print-on-demand service. Other changes included acquiring new vendors, finding better ways to help our writers promote their books, outsourcing more editorial, graphic, video and marketing tasks, and expanding our website’s capability to sell both print and ebooks direct. This, of course, took more time than I envisioned but, in the end, we are now on the brink of spectacular results. The team at UCP share 2Leaf Press’ vision and want to help the press move on to the next level. Make no bones about it, it’s also about the money. If UCP did not see the potential value in our press and saw it as an investment, we would not have succeeded in obtaining this distribution deal. It’s why I’m grateful to all of the folks who have helped sustain the press, making it possible for us to produce high quality work. This certainly played a role in UCP’s willingness to take us on as we meet challenges to sustain and grow 2Leaf Press.
In order to accommodate this new relationship, it required the rescheduling of forthcoming titles. Strength of Soul by Naomi Raquel Enright, and Dream of the Water Children by Fredrick D. Kakinami Cloyd have been postponed to Spring 2019. The Book by Gabrielle David, has been shifted to Fall 2019. This Fall 2018 catalog represents the last books that 2Leaf Press will be presenting on its own. Beginning Spring 2019, in addition to publishing our catalog, new titles will be listed in UCP’s catalog and website, with the full weight of UCP’s marketing department. This does not mean that our backlist is being left in the lurch, in fact we will be working closely with UCP to help promote these titles as well. Many thanks to the writers as we go through this transition and our readers’ continued support as we move forward.
2Leaf Press still has challenges to meet. The publishing industry continues to evolve. While print is not dead and will never return to what it once was, opportunities still exist in the medium. People like to read and are open to reading books on multiple platforms from different types of publishers, big or small, and indie authors. Marketing will be the primary challenge for everyone as costs on platforms like Facebook and Amazon Ads continue to climb. Small presses and indie authors with large backlists who focus on multi-pronged marketing campaigns will be the winners, and will experiment with new ways to connect directly with readers though success in these areas will likely take multiple iterations and time. We plan on spending time in the next year doing just that. Due to the dramatic increase of political and social discourse, non-fiction books will continue to dominate the market, and we hope to contribute to that market in the coming months. And while eBook sales have plateaued, audiobooks appear to be surging, a market that I would like to see 2Leaf Press tap into in the immediate future.
Next year looks like an exciting year for 2Leaf Press. I myself look forward to implementing these changes and new ideas that will help cement 2Leaf Press as the small press with big ideas. Happy reading.
— Gabrielle David, Publisher
