Adventures of an Independent Publisher

May I Recommend...

2005-09-01T13:19:00.000-07:00

With talk of gas shortages and price gouging today, it may be a good time to suggest OILMEN AND OTHER SCOUNDRELS by James Day as recommended
reading (Barricade, Hardcover, $24.95). The book is an entertaining history of the oil industry and its scandals from its inception through the Enron debacle. The author teaches Oil and Gas Law and The Regulation of Energy at the Washington College of Law at American University.

A Little Thing Called Perspective

2005-08-31T13:48:00.000-07:00

I feel a little bit like Rip Van Winkle today, as I re-enter the blogosphere, a tad wobbly on unsure footing. And yet,

WE'RE BA-ACK!!

It's been an interesting summer - during a traditionally slow period in book publishing, we've managed to score lots of publicity for our newest books, including WHAT GOES UP: Surviving the Manic Episode of a Loved One, a memoir by Judy Eron (June 2005), SHARKS IN THE DESERT: The Founding Fathers and Current Kings of Las Vegas by Vegas Review-Journal columnist John L. Smith, and our forthcoming YOUR PLUS-SIZE PREGNANCY: The Ultimate Guide for the Full-Figured Expectant Mom (September 2005) by Brette McWhorter Sember with Dr. Bruce Rodgers.

Also, this entry from indie publicist Susan Schwartzman, on her new blog, Book Publicity News, prompted the first ever blog post from our Publisher, Carole Stuart [in the interest of full disclosure, Susan was hired by one of our authors to help publicize her book several years ago]. Susan's post (August 29) is below, Carole's reply follows:

Susan:

The hurricane preempted all the news media today, and monopolized producers' time all over the country, but fortunately, I did get responses to my pitches from some producers, so the day wasn't a complete exercise in futility. I was grateful I didn't have any authors scheduled for a morning show today who would end up sitting in the green room as the hurricane coverage preempted their interviews. That happened to an author of mine many years ago when a blizzard was deemed more important than his book, and the morning show never did reschedule his interview.

Carole:

I read publicist Susan Schwartzman's comment about the blizzard that bumped
her author from a show once. Was that whining I heard or merely self-centeredness?

Years ago, I was in St. Louis, waiting to be interviewed for a book I'd
written. While I was waiting in the green room, the local news was broadcasting
and announced that the Pope had just been shot. It didn't take an
Einstein to figure out I wasn't going to be on that show that day. And they
didn't rebook me.

Years passed, and Barricade Books, our company, was publishing a book about
Justice Clarence Thomas. Publicity was all set and then September 11th
wiped everything off the media. We weren't alone, many books flopped
because of lost media opportunities.

I'm an author and a publisher but I'm a human being too. And sometimes you
have to see the bigger picture: To paraphrase what Humphrey Bogart said to
Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, "In this crazy world, the problems of two
little people don't count much."

It's not always about you, Susan. There are bigger things in the world.

I've got no beef with Susan, and I am a publicist myself, but I do agree with Carole that a little perspective is in order.

- Jen Itskevich
Publicity Director

Readers Expo America - A Brilliant Idea

2005-06-07T11:26:00.000-07:00

Book Expo America (BEA) has come and gone (my first one!), and in place of commentary, novelist and blogger M.J. Rose offers (what I consider) a brilliant suggestion on her blog, "Buzz, Balls and Hype": Instead of holding a yearly convention for book industry professionals and booksellers, why not hold several conventions each year aimed directly at readers?!!

READERS EXPO AMERICA.

This is a traveling convention. It takes place every other month in 6 big cities a year. Six different cites each year. Different authors/different cities. Unlike a book festival, readers don't buy any books at this convention. Unlike a book festival it's not run by bookstores.

REA would be all about pre publicity buzz. Just like BEA is supposed to be. But in this case it's buzz aimed where I think we don't have it and where we desperately need it.

Buzz aimed at the reader.

REA is all about the reader. And it's all about the publishers and the industry coming up with ways to get those readers jazzed up and thinking even more about books in an even more exciting way.

REA works like BEA in that the reader gets a ticket that lets you into the whole show. And this show is a forum for readers to mingle with authors and to get advance reading copies of books coming out the next 2-3-4 months. It's a forum of panels where the writers and the readers get up on the stage and figure out what they want from each other. And publishers give parties at these conventions for the readers with as much energy as they give parties for each other at BEA.

M.J. has posted some really interesting ideas on her blog in the past, but I think this is her best one yet. And I hope that some influential folks in the book industry - like Sara Nelson of Publishers Weekly, Mitch Kaplan of the American Bookseller's Association, Bob Gray, bookseller and blogger extraordinnaire, and Jane Friedman of Harper Collins - will sit up and take notice.

I must admit that BEA appealed much more to the reader in me than the book industry professional. I was overcome by excitement - walking the aisles grabbing advance copies of books with glee - so many that I was barely able to get home with my heavy shopping bags filled with (free! gasp!) books. And I can't wait to dig in and start reading them and sharing them with my friends.

Sure, I enjoyed meeting with various editors and literary agents - it's always nice (and good for business) to put a face to a name - but for me, the excitement of BEA was in the books and the "buzz" surrounding them.

Now imagine if all of that energy was directed toward our ultimate audience - readers.

- Jen Itskevich
Publicity Director

Guest Entry: Scott Deitche, author of CIGAR CITY MAFIA

2005-05-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

With the paperback release of Scott Deitche's runaway hit, Cigar City Mafia: The Complete History of the Tampa Underworld (Barricade, $14.95) only a few weeks away, I asked Scott to weigh in on the blog and share his experience as a first-time author. What follows is Scott's note:

I'm getting ready for the paperback release of my book, Cigar City Mafia, in the next couple of weeks. It's the latest chapter in a whirlwind year.

My book was released in hardcover on January 18, 2004, just in time for my first signing. I should have known something was up when about 80 people came to the first signing and the store ran out of books. Over the next year, I did over 30 signings, appearances, and talks (yes, you can actually get paid to talk about your book!). In addition, I was interviewed by all the local TV stations (I'm now the de facto Tampa mob expert), newspapers, two Florida magazines, radio, The History Channel and the Discovery Channel.

Quite a whirlwind indeed. Of course, I had to politely brush off the "Wow, you must be rich" and "When are you quitting your day job?" comments - both woefully out of sync with reality! I still work full time - I’m an environmental scientist/marine biologist for Pinellas County in Florida.

I did learn a few things from being a first-time author with a fairly successful book. The first was to get an entertainment lawyer to help with contracts and ancillary deals. The second was to pace myself better in the future. I got caught up in the excitement of the book's success and ran myself ragged with signings. My wife and daughter forgot what I looked like. My future signings will be better spaced apart.

A lot of really cool things came about because of the book. First and foremost were the stories. When I was writing the book I couldn't get anyone in Tampa to talk to me. After the book was published, I was swamped with people telling me their personal stories of Old Tampa. But the best stories have been those of the mobsters themselves. Seven have contacted me, including two who are in federal prison. All have stories they want to tell. The local mob boss has read the book, and I heard through a friend of his that he hated it. No surprise there.

Recently, I was a "prize" in a big fundraising event for Moffit Cancer Center in Tampa. The winning bidder will have dinner with me and eight people at his house, prepared by a local celebrity chef. I think I'm going to be the winner that night!

Currently, I am working on a television project. I signed a development deal with a local production company, Tampa Digital Studios. Based on my expertise in organized crime, we developed a TV series idea- a crime show based in Tampa set in modern day. It was a lot of fun to flex my fiction muscle and we are currently preparing the pitch package for the networks. I'm realistic; there's a slim chance the show will come to fruition, but it was an offer I couldn't refuse!

So with the TV show, two current book projects, and a new batch of signings (June 4th at the Waldenbooks in Citrus Park Mall, Tampa is the first), I'm settling in for a busy summer.

They're Just Not That Into Them - And Neither Am I

2005-05-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

Over at his blog, BookAngst, "Mad Max Perkins," a pseudonym for a senior editor at a major publishing house, airs the grievances of two authors - one previously published, one as-yet-unpublished - unable to sell their current projects.

Mad Max responds:

As an editor, as a member of the industry about which both examples are ranting, I found myself reacting unfavorably - even (I confess) unsympathetically - to the Rants and their authors. My first impulse was to walk on by - neither respond nor to post them...It's not that I disagree with them wholly, or that I can't see merit in their respective perspectives. Yes, there are obstacles (lots) to access; yes, the publishing industry, like the culture generally, is disposed toward youth, hipness, currency, platform, etc., sometimes to the detriment of those with more experience and perspective but less likely, say, to win a guest-host's squat on OPRAH.

On the other hand, if these represent the ways in which (some) writers reach out to the publishing industry, and if said industry (represented by Max) is put off by the strategies these writers employ, then these strategies aren't working...And maybe (I'm not certain, but maybe) this justifies my turning the bright lamp of the Rant back upon its creators.

Funny, my first impulse was to rant myself - has either of these authors (or their agents) even considered submitting his or her proposal to an independent publisher??? Their rants left me with the impression that they hadn't. Or are they so hung up on "hitting it big" with a major house that they'd rather their latest work remain unpublished than stoop to the level of publishing with a smaller independent?

For a moment, I thought: should I try and contact these authors (I was particularly interested in the plight of the previously published author, and truthfully, the topic on which he or she writes) and offer them a chance? But no, ultimately, I'm just not that into them either. For now, I'm tired of ranting and raving about the many strengths of independents -the intimate working relationship, substantial author input in all aspects of the publishing process, no such thing as "mid-list" authors (at least at Barricade), agents welcome but not a necessity, etc. (Note to Ranting Unpublished Author - some independents actually make time to sort through slush! I know because I used to read unsolicited submissions as a Barricade intern, and, in fact, still do sometimes)

Anyway, I think we're moving closer and closer to the time when authors and their agents will get wise to this on their own.

- Jen Itskevich

A Touring Author's Thoughts on Book Tours

2005-05-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

Having wrapped up the publicity tour for the paperback edition of his book, Crossing California, author and Book Standard columnist, Adam Langer, offers some interesting suggestions regarding how to improve book tours, in particular, and the book industry in general:

#2 Develop an Interactive Regional Book Source. It would be quite convenient for authors, readers and industry types to have a resource where they could click on a specific bookstore and learn not only which author would be appearing there in the future, but also who had read there in the past, what they read, how many people showed up, etc. Publicists and authors on the road could contribute in a style such as:

Date- May 6
Place - Kishnev, Wisconsin
Attendance - zero
Overall vibe - 1.5 (Sucky)

After a while, one would have a pretty good idea of the venue, its customers, and its events.

Amen to that!

Langer's earlier dispatches from the road are also available on bookstandard.com.

- Jen Itskevich
Publicity Director

What Gives, Adam Moss?

2005-05-02T13:27:00.000-07:00

Has anyone else noticed that the last four or five issues of New York Magazine have featured a solitary, white male on the cover?

What's up with that??

- Jen Itskevich

The Trouble With Big Advances

2005-04-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

Keith: "Here's my story. I call it a cautionary tale about the trouble that big advances can lead to."

The author of four critically-acclaimed thrillers published by a major New York house explains why there is such a thing as a too-high advance and how it can spell demise for even the most talented of writers.

- Jen Itskevich

An Argument for Writers Taking Charge

2005-04-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

Every published and prospective author should read this article, written by the publisher of an independent press for AlterNet.org.

- Jen Itskevich

Study: Little-Known (Independent) Publishers Profitable

2005-04-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the lack of original thought accompanying this post - I've been sick and my creative faculties have not yet been restored fully. In the meantime, the results of this study are worth checking out.

More soon, I hope.

- Jen Itskevich
Publicity Director

No Dice

2005-04-04T19:12:00.000-07:00

I had a noteworthy email exchange with a literary agent today. I found the posting for the book/author he's representing on Publishers Marketplace interesting and emailed him to find out more. It wasn't until he wrote back that I realized that I'd been in contact with him before - he had previously sent me a proposal, which Barricade ultimately turned down.

Anyway, the gist of his email was this: whereas the author of the book we had turned down previously was seeking a publisher, any publisher, for his book, this new author was seeking a publisher who can pony up a considerable advance. I believe his exact words were "she's not going to write a book for the same amount of money she would get for writing a magazine piece."

Ouch.

I swiftly wrote back that I understood but that I hoped he and his client realized that the energy, enthusiasm, and effort (I coined them the three E's right then and there) that I could bring to this project was no small thing. Neither is hearing from your publicist every day as many of my authors do. He wrote back that he liked that - the three E's.

But he's still not sending me the proposal.

- Jen Itskevich
Publicity Director

Royalties in the Brave New World

2005-03-31T15:23:00.000-08:00

Today we ended negotiations for a book that at least a few of us were pretty excited about. Apparently the ultimate sticking point was the break where we pay reduced royalties for books that are sold wholesale. The idea is simple, and it is manifest in most publishing contracts. Basically, if we're selling a book at a deep discount, we really can't afford to pay full royalty on those books.

I've been waiting for this to become a big issue with authors and agents for about a year now. Though we haven't entered into this world yet, I think I see the writing on the wall that is going to require publishers to do more and more bulk selling at deeper and deeper discounts. I believe this will ultimately be a very viable means of survival for publishers. What I don't know is how authors and agents will cope with this.

I say with 100% honesty that we really can't afford to alter our contract much (at all really) on this front. The difference in royalty rates is not some sort of profit center for us. The real question will become what does the author want more: wider distribution or bigger royalties?

Anyway, as the industry continues to change dramatically, the last people to feel the change will be the authors and agents. But I also think that they might feel the change the most profoundly.

I'm sure some smart person somewhere will come up with a way for this to work. Hopefully, we'll be on the cutting edge of that change when it comes.

-Jeff Nordstedt
V.P. Barricade

Memoirs Abound, According to the New York Times

2005-03-25T14:07:00.000-08:00

Everyone has a life, and therefore a story that should be told and, if possible, published.

Okay, so I quoted selectively from the article. Sue me!

A few months ago, Barricade published songwriter Jack Lawrence's memoir, THEY ALL SANG MY SONGS, about Jack's long and brilliant career writing timeless music and lyrics, including the songs "Beyond the Sea" and "Tenderly." I guess that would fall into the showbiz memoir category (Jack's songs were sung by showbiz greats like Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Rosemary Clooney, and Nat King Cole, and have appeared in dozens of major films).

Our upcoming memoir, I FOLLOWED MY HEART TO JERUSALEM (September 2005), by Jewish-American Yale Roe, on the other hand, seems to belong in the spiritual journey/spirit-of-place/ethnic-identity category somewhat hazily described by NYT critic Grimes.

Yep, "some memoirs defy categorization."

- Jen Itskevich

The Tussle over Cry From the Deep Spills over into the office...

2005-03-24T14:51:00.000-08:00

So after debating the point for a solid 20 minutes (which, when you are the Production Manager, Managing Editor, and VP of Sales translates into 3-4 days in corporate publisher time) this morning, I felt the need to weigh in on the subject of the failure of "Cry From the Deep."

Knowing little about what actually went on in the publisher's office in regard to this title (though I could make a few good guesses) I tend to take Karin Gillespie's view that the book just didn't "capture the public's imagination."

What people need to understand is that the idea of stranding a book that has sold 1500 copies is a notion that is not fathomable in the business model of a small publisher like Barricade. It may not capture the public's imagination, but it would seem you could squeeze a few more sales out of the title before leaving it for dead. I think that was really Jennifer's point (though I shouldn't speak for her).

Due to in part to our small advances, doubling that number of sales could be the difference between the book being a dog and it making a profit (if only a small one). I understand the big publisher mentality of going big or going home, but that doesn't mean it doesn't seem crazy to me. It is certainly not something I want to be involved in. But that is how HC does business, and the author should have had an inkling that that is what he was getting into when he signed on.

There is a lot of talk about wanting to develop a new generation of "branded" authors--new Grishams or Kings. But the crazy thing is that those authors didn't happen over night, and if publishers continue to lose interest in authors that don't earn out their bloated advances immediately, they'll never develop that next wave of authors. I think it would be great for the industry across the board if everyone stopped paying enormous advances and invested the money instead in developing quality books and quality authors.

Being a rock and roll junkie, it reminds me of what Bono said (I can't believe I am quoting Bono - what a blowhard!) during his inductioon speech for the RnR Hall of Fame last week. He made salient point when he noted that if U2 were to come out today, they never would have gotten to the point where they were able to build a legendary career.

The good news is that the music industry suffers from much greater misdirection. Hopefully publishers can learn from the music industry's mistakes and right the ship before we are all forced to consume the literary equivalent of Ashlee Simpson - truly a fate worse than death!

A question: In college I took a class on the History of Rock and Roll. My professor, "Crash," traced the music industry's current problem back to the release of "Frampton Comes Alive!" A compelling point. I wonder if anyone out in the blog world can point out the specific book that marked the shift toward the current publishing morass.

-Jeff Nordstedt
Production Manager / Managing Editor / VP of Sales / IT Director / Resident Rock Historian
Barricade Books Inc.

Day Job

2005-03-23T12:53:00.000-08:00

I'd like to spend more time blogging, but a funny little thing called work keeps getting in the way. What a nuisance!

Today I'm working on scheduling appearances for Judy Eron, whose part self-help, part memoir, WHAT GOES UP: Surviving the Manic Episode of a Loved One, we're publishing in June.

Judy is a publicist's dream - she's an excellent writer, a driven promoter, and well, just a lovely person. WHAT GOES UP is her first book and though she's new to the publishing process, she's been a quick study.

Perhaps most importantly, Judy realizes that she has to work as hard, if not harder, than I do to get word of her book out there. And she's happy to do it.

More soon, I promise!

- Jen Itskevich
Publicity Director

In Which This Blogger Takes Issue With a Too-Easy Explanation for a Book's Failure

2005-03-17T12:35:00.000-08:00

Over at her usually very insightful blog "Diary of a Hype Hag", which I read every day, Karin Gillespie addresses the same Baltimore Sun article I commented on earlier this week (about the disappointing sales of Ramsey Flynn's Cry From the Deep: The Submarine Disaster That Riveted the World and Put the New Russia to the Ultimate Test).

Her comments disappointed me:

"The author was disappointed that it wasn't a bestseller, and the Baltimore Sun wrote an article about how tragic it was that this book didn't make it to the top, and how that's a reflection of declining book sales--the usual gloom and doom diatribe about the pub biz.

To me this is a obviously a niche book, appealing to only a small number of people. After all, it's about a submarine disaster in Russia. Hello?
You don't have to be a genius to figure out why this book wouldn't fly off the shelf. If the book had been about a cruise ship disaster in Florida with Jennifer Lopez on board, then maybe the article would make some sense.

The fact is, not every book captures the imagination of the American public. How well do you think a made-for-TV on this subject would have fared in the ratings? My guess is it would have sunk as deeply as that Russian submarine."

I'm sorry, but it's not enough to say that Cry From the Deep failed to capture the imagination of readers. Obviously, it captured someone's imagination at HarperCollins, otherwise it would never have been published.

So what happened?

My best guess is that the acquiring editor's enthusiasm did not extend to the publicity and marketing departments and so this book, like many others, slipped through the cracks at HC (something which, incidentally, is impossible at a small publisher like Barricade, where everyone is involved with an acquired book from start to finish).

Karin, how would you feel if your publisher put little or no time and effort into promoting your latest book and then you were left with the explanation that your book simply failed to "capture the imagination of the American public?" Would you be content with that?

Cry From the Deep is a book about Russian submarines like Seabiscuit is a book about horses, The Devil in the White City is a book about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, Candyfreak is a book about chocolate, and our upcoming book, The Investigation: A Former FBI Agent Uncovers the Truth Behind the Most Contested Will in American History (October 2005) is a book about the Howard Hughes Will. These books may appear niche, but capture the imaginations of large numbers of readers who simply enjoy a good narrative. The trick is getting the books into these readers' hands (the job of publicists, sales reps, and booksellers). In the case of The Investigation, we here at Barricade took a chance, believing that this book is such a good read that it will appeal to a wide audience, not just readers interested in Howard Hughes. And sure, those readers are not easily reached, but it's our job as publishers, editors, and publicists to reach them.

Truth be told, I had never heard of Cry From the Deep before the Baltimore Sun story, and I haven't read it, so I'm going to bat for a book that I know very little about. But I'm willing to bet that it's a well-written and compelling account, and that it would appeal to many more readers than just those interested in submarines and naval history if it got some good publicity.

Books like Seabiscut, The Devil in the White City, The Investigation, and, I'm guessing, Cry From the Deep, defy simple categorization - sure they're history, but they're also much more.

- Jen Itskevich
Publicity Director

Interesting Tidbit

2005-03-16T11:42:00.000-08:00

In a recent story on how books become bestsellers, USA Today reports that John Grisham's first book, A Time to Kill, "was published in 1989 with a print run of 5,000 copies," and that "Grisham bought 1,000 [of those] to peddle in bookstores and libraries."

Fast forward to 2005 and Grisham's newest book, The Broker, had a print run of 2.8 million copies and "all five of Grisham's recent legal thrillers entered the [USA Today] list at No. 1."

Now that's inspirational!

- Jen Itskevich

Sky-high Advances Vs. Disappointing Sales - Part 2

2005-03-16T11:25:00.000-08:00

This deal was posted yesterday on Publishers Marketplace:

"Foreign correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor and the Chronicle for Higher Education Colin Woodard's LIVES OF PIRATES: Blackbeard, Bellamy, and the Golden Age of Piracy, about how infamous eighteenth-century pirates banded together to form a quasi-republic of piracy culminating in a form of government in the Bahamas where blacks were equals, the rich were imprisoned, and a sailor could veto his captain by egalitarian means, to Tim Bent at Harcourt, for six figures, in a pre-empt, by Jill Grinberg at Anderson Grinberg Literary Management (NA)."

I wonder if this book will suffer the same fate as Ramsey Flynn's Cry From The Deep (see post below)...

A Publisher is a Partner, Not a Miracle-Worker

2005-03-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

That said, I feel there is a lot more that could have been done for Ramsey Flynn's book Cry From the Deep (HarperCollins, December 2004), about the Russian nuclear submarine that sank north of Finland in August 2000. Stories like this really aggravate me (thanks to Bookslut for the link).

I find it interesting that the Baltimore Sun article doesn't mention the publisher of the book, HarperCollins. According to the story, HC shelled out a $100,000 advance for Cry From the Deep, and then let it fall flat on its ass with no real publicity/marketing push. How does that make any sense? It doesn't - at least not to me.

I was expecting some conversation about mid-list books to emerge, but that angle was curiously missing. I'm almost certain that the sad truth of this book is that for one reason or another, it just didn't register very highly on HarperCollins radar last season and so, like many other so-called "mid-list" books, it floundered.

Of course, had this book been published by a small, independent press like Barricade, the outcome could have been vastly different.

Which brings me to a rant I've been waiting to make for a while now. You see, small publishers like us have no "mid-list" books, only (what are to us) big, important books. Sure, we have one or two "lead" titles each season (of perhaps 8-10 books total), but for the most part, every book counts and every book is counted (I was a Kerry/Edwards supporter, okay?). So why don't more agents and their authors come to us, not as a last resort, but as a first?

Probably because we can't offer a tenth of what HC or Random House or Simon & Schuster can when it comes to advances.

But you know what? We make up for it in the close attention we give each book and the close working relationships we have with our authors. Our authors are involved in every step of the process - from selecting a good title and working together to create the best possible cover, to securing endorsements and formulating a thorough publicity plan.

And for a small outfit, we have quite a bit of muscle. I work hard to get our books and authors the coverage they deserve - it may not be Oprah or Good Morning America (although I have and will continue to keep trying!), but it's effective nonetheless. Songwriter Jack Lawrence, the author of our recent book, THEY ALL SANG MY SONGS, for just one example, was featured in The Advocate, Connecticut Magazine, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Danbury News-Times, and Sheet Music Magazine, and was a guest on "The Leonard Lopate Show," among many, many other radio programs.

Authors either don't realize or forget that an advance can be a liability if not earned out. Why not accept a small advance and surprise everyone when the book becomes wildly successful? My boss, Lyle Stuart, likes to tell the story of a very successful book called The Sensuous Woman, which he published at his former company, Lyle Stuart Inc. The Sensuous Woman made millions for Lyle Stuart Inc. and the book's author. Guess how much the advance for that book was? $1,500. I'll wait until you compose yourself.

When a book comes nowhere close to earning out its advance, the odds of the author being offered a second contract or a similar advance with the same publisher are small. And at that point, the author becomes unattractive to even a small publisher like Barricade. Clearly, though, Ramsey Flynn hasn't learned his lesson yet:

"He still hopes to make back the money he spent to write the book. And he hopes to have the chance to write another book - next time he's hoping for an even larger advance".

On a final note, I'd just like to point out that the Baltimore Sun is bemoaning the ill fate of a book that the paper itself (though Flynn appears to be a Baltimore resident and was former editor of Baltimore Magazine) provided no coverage for until now.

- Jen Itskevich
Publicity Director

Should Book Review Sections Cover Books Only?

2005-03-14T14:13:00.000-08:00

"Just when you thought book review sections were all about books, The New York Times Book Review takes issue with the premise. At least, that was the message sent by the March 6 edition, in which four pages (a big chunk out of the 15 or so available for standard-length reviews, essays and the like) contained Franklin Foer's essay on federalism and a roundtable on the future of liberalism. Whoa, baby, what's going on?"

Thanks to the Book Babes for addressing this question in their most recent column on The Book Standard (although the column's title, "Should Book Review Sections Cover Books," could have been less stupid). I myself wondered the same thing two Sundays ago, before promptly skipping over the essay (and I follow politics) and moving on to the next review.

If Book Babe Margo Hammond is right, and "the reason one of the country's leading book sections would venture into the kind of political commentary typically found in perspective sections or on op-ed pages is [that]... they are desperate to attract readership, especially young readership..." then, in my humble opinion, the NYTBR miscalculated. Most young people a) aren't into politics, and b) don't read the Sunday paper (if ever), and a sleep-inducing roundtable discussion on the state of liberalism in America isn't going to change either a or b.

- Jen Itskevich

One Man's Refuse is Another Man's Treasure - Part I

2005-03-10T09:41:00.000-08:00

Kudos to independent publisher Berrett-Koehler for bravely and successfully publishing Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins. The book, whose subject is how the U.S. uses globalization to cheat poor countries out of trillions of dollars, was rejected by 20 some-odd publishers (more out of a reluctance to handle the controversial subject matter than anything else, or so I've read) before Berrett-Koehler finally took up the charge. (Incidentally, this is just the type of book that we at Barricade love to get our hands on. See Conversations with a Pedophile: In the Interest of Our Children by Dr. Amy Hammel-Zabin, which no other publisher would touch).

Though an early review from Publishers Weekly (scroll down) deemed Confessions "implausible," "emotionally flat" and "ultimately unconvincing," the book has since landed on the New York Times bestseller list (at #12 last week, #14 this week).

I have to admit that I had become somewhat disheartened following news that Doubleday would be publishing a book like The Al Qaeda Reader. I began to question the role of Barricade and other independent publishers in the present and future publishing climate - if the major publishers became willing to take on even the most risky and controversial subject matter, where would that leave us?

Suffice it to say, I have renewed faith that there is a real need for independents like Berrett-Koehler and Barricade. When it comes to taking chances, and airing all kinds of views, whether we agree with them or not, I believe we still have the edge. We, at least, have no one to answer to except ourselves.

-Jen Itskevich

Sleeping with the Enemy

2005-03-04T16:19:00.000-08:00

I hear ya, sistah!

Jen Itskevich

Howard Keel

2005-03-04T14:50:00.000-08:00

For those of you eagerly awaiting Howard Keel's memoir, ONLY MAKE BELIEVE: My Life in Show Business, which Barricade will publish in August 2005, you may want to check out these tribute Web sites in the meantime: The Online Howard Keel Scrapbook , Howard Keel Homepage, and Dallas Online Forever.

Howard played the role of Clayton Farlow on the hugely popular TV soap opera, Dallas. He starred in numerous Hollywood musicals, including Annie Get Your Gun, Show Boat, Kismet, Jupiter's Darling, and his personal favorite, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

ONLY MAKE BELIEVE, written with Joyce Spizer Foy, was completed just before Howard passed away in November 2004. It will be the first addition to our Legends series.

Jen Itskevich
Publicity Director

Publicity Blues

2005-03-03T12:04:00.000-08:00

Over at M.J. Rose's (terrific) blog, "Buzz, Balls and Hype" the queen of PR herself is conducting a survey, albeit an unscientific one, to find out just how readers today are finding out about books that interest them.

From her February 23rd posting:

"This week in my ongoing conversation about how readers like me are not being marketed to anymore, I talked with more than 20 avid readers. (Albeit it's not formal research but it was a varied group of men and women from
33-53 who all read more than 100 books a year and buy more than 50% of those books).

Other than word of mouth from friends, 70% of them said that they find out about most of the new titles they try online via blogs, newsletters & websites.

Only 20% said they found out about new titles primarily from newspapers or magazines anymore."

And today:

"I've been continuing my informal research with readers, trying to find out how readers really are finding out about books. Ten more readers so far this week. Only two find out anything about books from magazines or newspapers. Four said the web word of mouth. Four said the web and the library new release shelf or the new release table at the bookstore.

I mentioned to each of the ten a new book title that will be on the bestseller list this coming week for the first time. Not one had heard of it and I know that there have been dozens of ads for the book. Eight of the ten are the perfect market for the book.

I know this isn't scientific. But I've now talked to 30 avid readers in less than two weeks and these folk are not being marketed too."

I have to wonder: if this is true, am I soon to be out of a job?

Jen Itskevich
Publicity Director

A Brave New World

2005-03-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

As an independent publisher with a reputation for having a renegade spirit, we probably should have been on this whole blog thing a long time ago. But sometimes even renegade publishers take time to adjust to new things. The most important thing is that we're ready to dip our toes in the blog waters and see if a pirahna bites. Hopefully it will.

We're going to try to use this space to post developments on books we're currently publishing, books we'll be publishing in the future, and thoughts on the state of the industry generally. Hopefully the entire staff will use this opportunity to take shots at the world. It remains to be seen if any of us are technologically inclined enough to really enter this world. But we're going to give it a whirl...

-Jeff Nordstedt
Vice President