Schiffer Publishing celebrates 50 years of steady growth

Schiffer Publishing, based at the Book Farm in Atglen, Pennsylvania, has gone largely unnoticed since it was founded by husband and wife Nancy and Peter Schiffer in 1974. But today the arts and crafts publishing company is an independent success story. The company, now under the leadership of Pete Schiffer’s son, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. On August 3, a party was held at the company headquarters, bringing together nearly 220 employees, authors and other guests at the farm, which, in addition to book production, also raises a variety of animals and crops.

“It was a pleasure to celebrate Schiffer’s first 50 years with our dedicated team and creative writers,” said Pete Schiffer PWadding that it is rewarding to “bring passions to life and inspire readers.” “I am grateful to all of our partners who have been part of this journey and those who will be part of our future.”

Although the publisher has chosen to keep a relatively low profile, Schiffer has been quite active in its efforts to expand the company over the years. Last fall, it launched Schiffer Craft, a new imprint that includes books on ceramics, textiles, floral design, glass art, woodworking, metal crafts, jewelry, and leather. Schiffer already has about 1,000 titles in its craft category and is using the new imprint to promote both its frontlist and backlist titles.

In March, Schiffer assumed full ownership of Better Day Books. Founded in May 2018 by former Fox Chapel and Leisure Arts editor Peg Couch, Better Day Books began as a book consulting and packaging company. In August 2019, Couch signed a co-publishing deal with Schiffer that provided her with funding to start a small publishing company focused on adult coloring books, crafts, personal development, and children’s books. She published her first book, Watercolor painting made easyin January 2020 and now has 56 titles in print. Couch will continue to run the imprint for Schiffer and publish books under the Better Day Books name.

Pete Schiffer acknowledges that many people still think of the company as an antiques and collectibles publisher (and it does have a catalog of around 2,000 titles in that category), but Schiffer has actually branched out widely. Today, the company employs around 50 people across 10 publishing houses and distributes around 7,500 nonfiction books, with military history and mind-body-spirit among the other largest categories. Pete Schiffer said it’s the breadth of the catalog that has helped Schiffer Publishing remain independent for 50 years — and growing.

“The thematic and demographic diversity of our publishing houses allows us to weather the ups and downs of various trends and brings stability to the overall business,” explained Pete Schiffer. “In each of our publishing houses, we look for titles that are new and fresh and have specific areas of interest that we can connect with.”

Of particular note, Schiffer has used acquisitions to build the company. Pete Schiffer points to the 2009 acquisition of Cornell Maritime Press/Tidewater Publishers of Centreville, Maryland, as an example of how targeted acquisitions have helped the company grow by adding new categories while increasing its presence in specific market segments. In the case of Cornell/Tidewater, the acquisition added consistent best-sellers in the maritime academies and industries, regional adult and children’s titles from the Chesapeake Bay region, and historical books about the Mid-Atlantic states.

To reach a growing audience, Schiffer has built its own distribution network that extends well beyond the traditional bookstore market. To that end, e-commerce through online retailers and its own direct sales operations are an important sales channel, Pete Schiffer said. And in brick-and-mortar retail, Schiffer is very active in specialty markets such as gift and museum shops, which Pete Schiffer sees as important ways to reach customers who may not be looking for a book that matches their specific interests in a bookstore.

At the same time, the company is not losing sight of traditional bookstores. Pete Schiffer says that the stores that make the most money from the publisher’s titles are those that “add a local feel to their assortment.” The final piece in Schiffer’s distribution puzzle is international, as many of his topics are of interest to the global community.

Pete Schiffer also acknowledged the family’s desire to keep a relatively low profile in the industry. “We have always focused our efforts primarily on creating and promoting our titles to support the work of our authors,” he explained. But after decades of growth, Pete Schiffer said the company is now trying to raise its profile by helping its authors reach more readers.

While he still believes that the author or subject is far more important to a reader than the publisher when purchasing a book, the success of the Schiffer brand in the niche communities the publisher serves has given it a boost that bodes well for the next 50 years. “Ultimately, our goal is to successfully connect our authors’ works with readers,” Pete Schiffer explained. “Their success is ours.”