John Reed Books Distribution

You are entering into this arrangement because you would like John Reed Books (JRB) to exclusively distribute your print book/s and you are appointing the ASA to facilitate this distribution service.

To access this service, you must be a Full member of the ASA.

1. In these Terms & Conditions, the following definitions apply:

(a) ‘Backlist Books’ means previously published titles that have a proven on-going track record of sale, subject to approval by JRB.

(b) ‘Consignment’ means that you are giving your Title(s) free of any charge into the care and possession of JRB to sell, but legal ownership of the Titles remains with you until such time as the Title/s sell at which point you become entitled to receive a percentage of the revenue from the sale.

(c) ‘New Book’ means a book first published no more than three (3) months prior to the date of submission to this service.

(d) ‘Term’ means the period from the acceptance of your submission until you cease paying the annual administration fee.

(e) ‘Territory’ means booksellers, libraries, library wholesalers and speciality retailers within Australia.

(f) ‘Title/s’ means those titles you have specified in your online submission form, in relation to which you would like to appoint JRB as your exclusive distributor. Such Title/s may be comprised of New Books and/or Backlist Books.

2. Throughout the Term and within the Territory, JRB will be the exclusive distributor for your Title/s. The Term may be extended if mutually agreed by you, the ASA and JRB.

3. No minimum sales are guaranteed by either JRB or the ASA.

4. If accepted pursuant to clause 7, your Titles will be:

• listed on JRB’s order forms and sold into retail outlets by the JRB sales force;
• listed on all major title databases;
• listed on the JRB website; and
• distributed to all outlets which place an order, at JRB’s expense.

5. You will supply the information required on the submission form to the ASA. You grant permission to the ASA to share all this information with JRB.

6. During the Term, you agree to JRB displaying your name, bio, blurb and book cover on the JRB website, catalogue and in promotional material for the purpose of promoting your Title/s.

7. JRB will review Titles submitted to the ASA on a monthly basis and may accept or decline your Title/s for inclusion in this distribution arrangement, at its discretion.

8. The ASA will advise you as to whether your Title/s has been accepted for distribution. Depending on when you submit your online form please be aware this process could take up to 4 weeks from the date of submission.

9. You acknowledge that the ASA is your point of contact and that all correspondence relating to the distribution of your Title/s must be directed to the ASA. You agree not to contact JRB directly unless permission has been granted by the ASA.

10. The ASA, on behalf of JRB, reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to decline or discontinue distribution of any Title in the following circumstances:

(a) after receiving an initial warning from JRB, you continue to be a nuisance or behave in a violent or threatening or abusive manner towards any JRB staff member, including over the phone or email; or

(b) JRB informs the ASA that, in its reasonable opinion, your Title contains unlawful, objectionable or defamatory content; or

(c) the ASA has advised you to exit the arrangement, and sales of your Title are consistently low or sales statements are in the negative.

In any of these circumstances, the ASA may immediately terminate distribution of your Title/s by written notice to you and will arrange for your stock to be returned to you or pulped.

11. You are responsible for the supply of your books to the JRB warehouse, including the cost of freight, on a Consignment basis. JRB, or the ASA on behalf of JRB, will advise you:

(a) of the minimum level of stock holding required; and

(b) if replenishment stock is required during the Term.

12. You remain responsible for your own marketing support of your Title/s.

13. It is understood that JRB shall not have the authority to create any obligation or responsibility, expressed or implied, on behalf of or in the name of the ASA or you or to bind the ASA or you in any manner.

14. Absolute title to all stock consigned to JRB shall remain vested in you until such stock is sold by JRB.

15. You agree to pay the ASA $75(inc GST) per Title per year as an administrative fee. his fee will be invoiced after acceptance of the Title by JRB pursuant to clause 7.

16. You acknowledge that:

(a) JRB will be responsible for invoicing of retailers and all credit collection; and

(b) the ASA will collect payment from JRB on your behalf for your share of sales of the Title/s and will pass such payments on to you.

17. Payment to you will be based on the retail price of the Title, excluding GST, at the time of sale, less 70% (seventy per cent) discount for each book sold. (Please see schedule 1 for a fuller explanation and worked example.) All payments will be made in Australian dollars and conform to the payment threshold detailed in clause 19. The ASA receives no commission on this payment and simply on-pays the amount paid to it by JRB.

18. You will be paid by the ASA, quarterly, 90 days after the sale was invoiced. The number of copies sold in the period, will be detailed on the remittance advice. Refer to Schedule 2 at the end of these Terms & Conditions to understand the timing of payments.

19. Payments will be made each quarter if they meet the minimum threshold of $25(inc GST). If the quarterly sales amount is below $25, the balance will roll over to the following quarter(s) until the minimum threshold for payment is met. A remittance detailing your sales will still be issued each quarter, regardless of whether a payment is made.

20. You may terminate distribution of your Title/s with JRB at any time by giving 3 months notice in writing to the ASA.

21. Upon termination you agree to either:

(a) collect or arrange for collection of stock from the JRB warehouse within that notice period, or

(b) advise the ASA that the stock is to be pulped.

If stock is not collected post-termination, the notice of termination grants JRB permission to pulp remaining stock.

22. Upon termination, all balances due to you by the ASA shall be promptly paid.

23. You warrant to the ASA that:

(a) your Title/s does not infringe the copyright or other right of a third party and contains nothing defamatory or unlawful; and

(b) your Title/s is not already being distributed by anyone else and you have the power to enter into this distribution arrangement.

24. You agree to indemnify the ASA against loss, damage or injury in consequence of any breach of the warranties at clause 24.

Schedule 1: Revenue Split

Example of a book with a retail of $24.95

• Deduct GST = $22.68
• Distributor = $15.88 (70%)
• Rights’ Owner = $ 6.80 (30%)

Why does the Distributor take the lion’s share?

Because they have to cover the following costs:

• Retailer discount (between 40 and 50%), which immediately reduces the distributor’s return by as much as half
• Sales team, the reps who travel from store to store securing orders for your books

• Administration, which includes invoicing the retailer, picking, packing and storing the stock, processing returns, and receipting payments

• Freight into stores, which is very expensive in Australia eg $10 for a single book through Australia Post.

If you are printing your Title/s through a Print On Demand Service, the cost of your print and freight may be higher than your 30% share of any sale. Unfortunately this may be unavoidable, but it is recommended that you obtain several print quotes for a short run of your book, (between 20 and 50 copies initially) in order to secure the best unit price that you can.

Schedule 2: Payments

Month of Sale	JRB pays ASA	ASA pays Author
January	30 April
February	31 May
March	30 June	14 July
April	31 July
May	31 August
June	30 September	14 October
July	31 October
August	30 November
September	31 December	14 January
October	31 January
November	28 February
December	31 March	14 April