Best wishes,

Mark

Eric

This is a direct answer to Mark Peters’ good question about promoting books. Unlike most small independent specialty presses, Savas Beatie has a full time marketing director, whose job is to open new markets, help the author set up signings and speaking engagements, interface with our trade distributor, handle publicity issues, etc. Her name is Sarah and she does a grand job.

We also have a national distributor (Casemate Publishing) who opens the trade sales and does a great job there, and Greenhill does the same thing in the UK and in Europe.

However, as I have told every author I have ever dealt with, if you write for money and expect to receive much from trade sales–stop writing. I wrote an article on this for a local paper called “Write–From the Heart.” You can read it here: http://www.savaspublishing.com/tpsblog.html [no, it’s not a real blog, I know.] It talks a bit on this subject.

eBay, Amazon, the Internet, etc. have killed direct sales except for people who really want signed first editions (the smart people like all of us who have the virus). Every time someone buys a specialty niche book at a substantial discount from Amazon or elsewhere, he is taking another whack at a nail in the coffin of specialty publishing. But that’s another article. I should write it soon.

Many companies do not allow their authors to sell books for profit (other than for royalties). We allow our authors to purchase books at substantial discount and sell them to individuals. Everyone is happy (we are, the author’s make money, and individuals get signed / inscribed books). I have had one author sell as many as 55,000 copies and is still going strong; others sell as few as–zero. I had one author who was too lazy to take books to a talk. I hope he is reading this. I wish I could tell you his name.

We have had many authors in unique situations with terrific books that sit back and do absolutely nothing, and then complain when they receive their royalty statement: “All I get is $XXX?”
My answer is invariable, “Yes, and you left thousands of dollars, and maybe tens of thousands sitting on the table because you did not pay attention to what Sarah and I were telling you.”

Websites are a great way to promote a book, the author, and in this particular case, scheduling tours that complement the book.

I hope all of you will support Eric and JD by purchasing a copy of their fine new book from them. It is unique, outstanding in every way, has a lot of good original material and analysis, and of course, is a Savas Beatie book. That means, you will be proud to own it.

Thanks for all your support over the years.

Best regards

tps
Theodore P. Savas
Savas Beatie LLC
P.O. Box 4527
El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
916-941-6896 (voice)
916-941-6895 (fax)
http://www.savasbeatie.com

If you love heartwarming stories about baseball, WWII, destiny, character, family, and what a man does with a second chance (or know anyone who does), please read about our forthcoming book “Playing with the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, a World at War, and a Field of Broken Dreams,” by Gary Moore. Soon to be a major motion picture! Click here (or copy and paste this link into your browser): http://www.savasbeatie.com/pwte.html

The publisher certainly does a lot of the promotion – but as far as things such as book websites and such, that’s the responsibility of the author. Eric and I took the initiative on that. One of our publisher’s folks handles a good deal of the work involved in setting up book signings, talks, etc, but we as authors are required to do most of the footwork. So, it’s really a team effort for everyone.

J.D.

It is really the responsibility of both author and publisher. I make money when I sell books. I don’t much care how that happens.

Eric

Perhaps this is a naiive question, but I believed that it was the responsibility of the publisher to promote the sales of any books that come from their presses. I was surprised when I realised that it was you, and JD, who were taking the intitiative. Perhaps you could tell us if this a usual practice, or as a result of dealing with a more speacialist type of publisher.

Mark

Please send me a private e-mail and I will be happy to answer your question.

Eric

Really looking forward to reading about Stuart’s Ride.
Charles