Like most other university presses, the U of U Press has its potential titles approved by both outside readers and an advisory board. An editor must have two positive outside reviews in order to present a manuscript to the nine-member faculty advisory board, which meets quarterly. The bottom line is a constant concern. The rest we generate. Each book must cover its production costs in sales.
Distribution depends on the subject matter.
But the Press was able to sell 300 of the 500 printed copies immediately to a core group of scholars in that field. For other titles, however, readers may not be so easily identified, and the trade strategy of trying to sell to independent bookstores, chain bookstores, college bookstores, wholesalers, other retailers, and individuals is employed. The Press has sales representatives in every part of the country and handles Wasatch Front accounts in-house. Ritchie makes two trips to New York each year to pitch the new list to representatives of national chains and wholesalers. I think those are kind of counterproductive in some ways, unless an author is huge, like Stephen King or Martha Stewart.