A publisher should produce and distribute Advance Information sheets (AIs) for each title at least four months before publication. Copies need to be supplied to the publisher’s wholesaler and sales representatives, key accounts, overseas agents and anyone else in the trade who might be interested in the book.
The AI will contain the following information:
- publisher’s logo
- name of author(s), editor, illustrator, as appropriate
- title and sub-title, and series title where relevant
- publication date
- suggested retail price
- ISBN
- number of pages and illustrations
- format and binding(s)
- language
_______________________________________________________________
- two or three key selling points
- brief summary of contents, indicating localities where relevant
- brief details of the author(s) or editor: including where they are from and where they live
- intended readership
- promotional details: serialisation, press, TV & radio features, launches, etc
- reviews and recommendations: brief quotations from respected, named sources
- cover, author photograph or other appropriate image
________________________________________________________________
- publisher’s contact details
- distributors’ contact details
_______________________________________________________________________
Publishers should ensure that AIs include at least the ‘BIC Basic’ mandatory elements defined in Book Industry Communication (BIC)’s UK minimum bibliographic standard. These can be found at: http://bic.org.uk/
AIs should be:
- concise and simple
- targeted at the bookseller with little time and no specialist knowledge of the book’s subject
- on a single A4 sheet
- accompanied by a jacket or a cover rough.
Central Books offer a free, downloadable AI Guide, with template, at http://fp.centralbooks.plus.com/publisher/books/ai_guide.html Examples and advice can also be found in Alison Baverstock, How to Market Books (Kogan Page, revised 1999 edition).
Many AIs are published on the internet. Here are a few examples.
www.walkerbooks.co.uk/Downloads/Advance-Information-Sheet
www.noexit.co.uk/ai.php?id=291
www.serpentstail.com/trade?yyyymm=200710
Date last updated: 16 Oct 2007
