Perfect Bound is upending the way independent publishers operate their businesses, and it’s bringing big innovations to the industry by connecting title management, printing, sales and inventory tracking, royalties and rights management all into one central platform. The startup platform, founded by independent publishers Keith Riegert, CEO of Ulysses Press, and Alyson Forbes, publisher/COO of Catapult Books, has made it its mission to provide a comprehensive, cutting-edge suite of services—which started with their groundbreaking printing marketplace—for publishers of all sizes, allowing them to run their entire publishing company from one centralized spot.
“Independent publishers typically juggle multiple tools and systems, often at great expense,” Riegert says. “By managing everything through one intuitive platform with zero startup expense, they can streamline their processes, increase sales opportunities, cut costs, and minimize headaches.” The first iteration of Perfect Bound allowed publishers to solicit print jobs from printers on six continents—North America, Europe, Asia, and beyond—giving them the freedom to choose whom to work with and how. On the platform, publishers can track revenue, understand margins, and pay bills effortlessly as they create any product imaginable, from paperbacks and hardcovers to board books and decks. Now Perfect Bound is applying the same nimble tech to the rest of the publishing process. “Outside of the large, corporate houses, publishers have largely been left o their own devices in setting up systems for every facet of their business operations,” Riegert says. “That model leads to extraordinary redundancy. Perfect Bound seeks to eliminate inefficiencies, introduce cutting-edge automation, and transform the publishing house into a streamlined business that can operate effortlessly.”
Riegert and Forbes founded Perfect Bound in 2022, when pandemic delays and closures made it difficult to find viable printing options and fair prices. They were determined to come up with a better way to work with printers and speed up the quoting process. With Perfect Bound, the pair established the first viable “two-sided marketplace”—think Uber or Lyft—connecting vetted book publishers and printers and allowing them to work directly without a middleman. The company’s competitive bidding model allows publishers to create projects using customizable forms and to send requests for quotes to a network of printers in a single click. The printers respond with bids, often within 24 hours, allowing publishers to compare quotes and choose their preferred bid based on factors like price, turnaround time or payment terms—a game changer for the industry.
To date, Perfect Bound’s printing marketplace has moved more than one million dollars in business, the company says. Perfect Bound serves over 160 publishers—from established houses to emerging stars—and 60 of the premier printers around the globe.
Perfect Bound’s sales and inventory tracking is some of the most advanced in the industry, the company says. It has also revolutionized the complex processes of managing royalties and selling global rights. Furthermore, Perfect Bound’s partnership with Jon Malinowski’s firm, PubMatch, gives publishers the opportunity to market and sell subsidiary rights around the world and automate royalty payouts, all through one cohesive service.
Committed to making the platform a true one-stop shop, in 2023 Perfect Bound partnered with the Vimbly Group to expand the platform. In 2024, PerfectBound partnered with Simon & Schuster to offer distribution services. “Perfect Bound is built on a cutting-edge SaaS tech stack developed by our partners at the Vimbly Group,” Riegert says. “The advanced tech allows publishers to virtually automate various cumbersome manual processes. This means instead of needing a host of corporate divisions, the entire publishing process can be run by a single, centralized team.”
Their distribution partnership is equally advantageous. “We’ve partnered with Simon & Schuster to provide distribution services to any publisher using the platform,” Riegert says, “an opportunity that is critical to building revenue and clout for smaller publishers that have traditionally been locked out of global distribution.”
The benefits of Perfect Bound are many, but they may come down to profitability, efficiency, and the opportunity for community building. This fall, the Perfect Bound team will exhibit at the Frankfurt Book Fair (Hall 6.0 Booth C43), where they hope to connect with publishers and suppliers and discuss how Perfect Bound can help streamline their operations and create new relationships.
A version of this article appeared in the 09/30/2024 issue of Publishers Weekly under the headline:
