Al Canton’s Bakers Dozen of the Most Influential People in the Independent Press Sector

A Saturday Rant 8-28-99

AL CANTON’S BAKERS DOZEN OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN THE INDEPENDENT
PRESS SECTOR

Because there are (always) new entrants to our sector of the industry, I
thought I would again publish my semi-annual list of who’s-who in the
industry. This list is in no particular order, and of course, contain my OWN
personal observations. Your mileage may vary.

1. Dan Poynter – He’s still the big kahunna in the business not because he
is the most knowledgeable (I know more than he does ) but because he is
just plain &^%$ing nice. He gives away more consulting than he ever charges
for and is always happy to spend a few minutes on the phone with a newbie to
answer a question that may not be on his (new Bookzone) website. And he is
only too willing to write a forward to a book that will compete with his
Self Publishing Manual. That shows class. Dan is one of only a few people in
this biz who understands how technology is going to really impact us. I
don’t always agree with him, but I always listen to him. If you really want
to get on his good side, send a cat-treat or toy to Cricket, his beloved
feline reprobate.

2. Pat Bell – While some are driven by business concerns, Pat is driven by
ethical concerns. Pat should have never been a publisher but instead taken a
career as an arbitrator or labor-relations negotiator. If I were ever in
court, I’d want her on the jury judging me. No one in this business is more
highly respected as "the voice of reason" than Pat is. She thinks, ponders,
cogitates (since she is really an old coger herself!) and then speaks her
mind. When she addresses an issue in publishing, you know that she has given
it a lot of hard thought. She also maintains one of the best web sites for
new publishers… Pat’s Cat House…. opps, I mean Tool Shed
www.catspawpress.com.  If you new people have a question, you can’t go wrong
by asking Pat for an answer. And you can’t go wrong getting her
PrePublishing Handbook… the second (of only two) books you ever have to
read in this business to be successful (the first is Dan’s). I love Pat
Bell. Yeah, we disagree, and we fight over issues, but I love Pat Bell. One
more time, I love Pat Bell.

3. Jan Nathan – Jan is the Executive Director of the Publishers Marketing
Assn., and by virtue of her title alone, she wields great power and
influence in the industry. With Jan it is not just "title." She knows books,
she knows this business, and she is taken seriously by the big publishers
and vendors alike. While there is ample (and deserved) criticism about how
her staff runs the smaller PMA events (look at how they dropped the ball for
the St. Louis chapter’s mini-U… or how they screwed up on the Virginia
Book Festival) when it comes to running a big-show like the BEA Publishers
University, no one does it better. Since PMA has abandoned its role in
running an online-forum, I think its influence in the industry has started
to wane. If you’re NOT a member of PMA, you can still be very successful as
PMA has little that it does that differentiates itself from other
organizations. I’ve always said that they should merge with AAP and/or
become more of an advocacy organization. I will gladly pay my dues for an
organization that stands up for me, but I am getting more and more lukewarm
to one that just accepts the status-quo… and won’t even let me vote for
the directors or officers.

4. Mayapriya Long – She’s blond, she’s good looking, and she’s very smart…
not an oft-found combination. And she has a hard-to-spell/speak first name.
Ms. Long is a book designer, publisher, and packager who has held just about
every job in this business that there is (over 20 years, before she went
independent.) There are a lot of book designers out there. But there are NOT
a lot of CREATIVE book designers out there. Most designers have a "style"
such that all their covers look a like (You can always tell a Robert Howard
or Tim Neil cover… that is not a bad thing IF you like their style…
which I don’t! Same for Lightbourne… but not as much anymore… they must
have some new talent there… years ago every new-age book they did looked
like the last one, IMHO) Go to www.bookwrights.com  (designed by our own
primo webmaster Eric Anderson www.blainesoft.com.) and you will see a range
of talent and creativity that you won’t find often. Mayapriya does work for
some of the largest houses in the world, as well as some of the smallest
(like mine!). And what separates her from the rest of the pack is that she
is so easy to deal with… she doesn’t have the ego associated with most
artists… or Rant writers!  She’s not cheap, so if you want cheap, you have
to go elsewhere. But for a few bucks (and only a few) more you can have one
of the best in the nation. You don’t have to believe me. Look at her client
list. You’ve all heard of Judith Applebaum (How To Get Happily Published…
probably in its 103rd edition!)? Judy can get anyone she wants to design
books for her clients. Who do you think Judy goes to?

5. Marcella Smith – This woman is the small press buyer for B&N. I have not
spoken to her in a year or two, but I hear from others how helpful she has
been to small publishers and I know for a FACT that she is the MOST
knowledgeable person in the ENTIRE industry. No one knows books like
Marcella. She has a sixth sense about what will sell and won’t. Whatever
they pay her at B&N is not enough. She serves on a number of boards and
committees in the industry and I hear that all who work with her just can’t
say enough good things about her. I hope one day Len Reggio will take his
millions and go away and that Marcella will take his place. She is good for
our industry and for our sector in it.

6. Mary Westheimer – Mary is the owner of Bookzone. Mary is all business.
When you think of the stereotype of the hard-driving executive, Mary is it.
This is not a woman with a lot of personality, warmth, or much of a sense of
humor. With Mary it’s all about money. And this is fine. She has many
hundreds of satisfied web clients and there is no doubt that she and BZ are
an "influential force" in the industry. Mary has done a good job in getting
herself on various boards and committees (on the board of PMA for example)
although I don’t know specifically of any contributions she has made… but
I’m sure there are some. I’ve always found her "dark" and moody, but perhaps
that is just my affect on her. Be that as it may, you can’t take away from
her the success that she has worked so hard these past 7 years to earn and I
have no doubt that she will become an even bigger "mover and shaker" as the
Internet and perhaps e-books become more of a reality for more and more
publishers.

7. Jerry Jenkins – No one is neutral about Jerry (or me for that matter!).
You can often measure a man by the enemies that he has and to me, Jerry has
all the right enemies. Jerry is not a status-quo type of guy. He is always
looking ahead to TNBT (the next big thing). He is not afraid to take a risk
nor is he afraid to tell people who are idiots that they are idiots! When it
comes to plain old hard-ball knowledge about how to sell books, Jerry is the
man…. especially when it comes to sales to special markets. When I need
marketing advice, Jerry is the guy that I call. I’m sure he could sell ice
to Eskimos. Jerry is not a deep thinker (like Pat Bell). Jerry is too busy
doing what others are just thinking about. And because he tries more things,
he strikes out more often. So did Babe Ruth.

8. Marilyn Ross – Marilyn (like Dan) goes back to early COSMEP days and is
the founder and leader of the Small Publishers Assoc. of North America
(SPAN). I always thought that Marilyn would give PMA a real run for its
money, but instead SPAN decided to be a copy-cat organization and thus has
not offered a lot of incentive for people to join. Still, they have some
1,000 members and that is nothing to sneeze at… when  you realize that PMA
only has 4,000 [but there are some 35,000 publishers in the US so it stands
to reason that if these organizations "did more" they might be able to get
more members... I say they should ADVOCATE on our behalf, not just offer
benefits]. Marilyn has a new book out called Jump Start Your Book Sales
which I plan to review in an upcoming Saturday Rant. BTW, I spoke to Marilyn
a few weeks ago and she told me there was no truth to the rumor that SPAN is
for sale. Of course, that would be the stock answer even if it was for sale,
but I take her word for this.

9. Shel Horowitz – No matter where you turn in this biz, Shel pops up. Shel
is one of the leading publicists in our industry and succeeds in getting as
much press for himself as for his clients. Since he has repeatedly called
for PMA to ban me from what is now the Gundry list, he and I have had a
rather rocky relationship. But while he says some foolish things from time
to time, Shel has a good heart, is always willing to give away some of his
time and talent to a good cause, and people recognize him for the writing
skills that  he his in the publicity arena. I don’t know if Shel is smarter
than other book publicists or if he just outworks them. But he DOES get
results for his clients, he IS good at his profession, and when he is on his
medication (just a joke) he seems easy to get along with. But if you anger
him, you will see an entirely different picture from his public persona. I
know. I’ve seen it when he sent terribly nasty posts seeking my expulsion
(which he was successful in when Gundry took over.) Yet, to put the record
straight, Shel left the "Hitler" list on his own accord (he was not drummed
out like others) and you have to admire a guy who puts his beliefs and
principles before what is good for his business. I do and I’ve told him both
in public and private.

10 Pat Gundry – By virtue of hosting the largest online publishers
listserve, Pat Gundry has achieved a certain amount of power and prestige in
the industry. She is an authoritarian personality type, which probably arose
from her strict Christian beliefs. She used to be well-known in
anti-male/pro-feminist Christian circles as she has authored several pieces
on women in the Church, but seems to have given that up to write/publish
cookbooks. Still, she runs her list like a Nazi storm-trooper, banning
anyone who speaks out against what she believes in, what she thinks is
proper for her list, and for just "being." Thus, her list is as bland as
processed white bread and has become pretty much a "newbie" list. There is
not much in the way of lively discussion of issues and there surely is no
disagreeing with the list owner. That said, there are some 500 publishers
who LIKE it that way… a no-nonsense, business-only, "how do I get and
ISBN" type of board, so who am I to quibble with that. I would probably
contribute to it from time to time (as a "give back") if I were not banned
from it and if it were run by someone else. Both Mayapriya Long and I are
not allowed to join the list for reasons that have been discussed and
debated in the past. And I still have difficulty dealing with publishers who
continue to contribute to it… and some of them are good friends. Anyway,
you might want to check out what I call the "Hitler" list if you are looking
for one that is pretty basic and concerned with nuts-and-bolts issues on a
very low-experience level. Just be careful what you say over there, and
whatever you do, don’t mention my name!

11 Mardi Link – You might have heard reference to Las Dos Amigas of the
publishing business. These are Ms. Mardi Link and Ms. Victoria Sutherland
who are the editor and publisher of ForeWord Magazine. In the year that it
has existed on the planet, I have watched it grow, prosper, and improve to
the point that I believe that it is on an even par with both Publisher’s
Weekly and Independent Publisher in terms of content and status. While I
don’t read PW all that often, I do get the both IP and FW and always enjoy
both. But I find that Mardi and company are looking to branch out into all
sorts of new venues and are seeking to expand their "influence" in the
industry more than their competitors seem to be doing. There is room for
three magazine in our industry and I can see the day when FW becomes a
weekly or at least a bi-weekly. If you don’t subscribe to ForeWord, than you
should, if for no other reason than to support the good work of these women.
Jenkins can "subsidize" his IP magazine with revenue from other sources and
his magazine is only a small percentage of his business. But FW is the
"whole enchalada" for these book-babes. Everything is on the line with
them… their bank accounts, their houses, and their hearts. And you can
tell from the quality of the work that they put out. Spend the $30 and do
the right thing and subscribe. Or advertise one of your titles. These women
ARE successful. You want to ride that train with them.

12. Dominique Raccah – I’ve never met Dominique in person but having the
vantage point I do as a long-time commentator on this industry, I constantly
hear her name mentioned as a "mover and shaker." She used to own Login
distribution as well, but I don’t know if she still does. Anyway, she is
looked up to, even idolized, as a mentor and role model for many publishers.
I’m told she has a wicked temper and is not a pleasant person to be around.
No matter if that is true or not, she  has built a huge company from her
kitchen table, and has inspired others to do the same. I’ve tried to contact
her many, many times over the years, hoping to bury the hatchet between us,
but she has never replied. Asi is la vida.

13. Ben Domminitz – Ben is the founder and owner of Prima Publishing. Ben
and his wife are the stereotype self-publisher success model. They started
with one book that Ben wrote on a manual typewriter, back in 1984. They have
grown over the years to the point where they are a $30 million dollar
company doing some 300 titles a year, mostly in the computer game genre.
When the media goes hunting for someone to interview who seems to have done
everything right and who seems to know what the future is going to bring,
Ben is the guy they find. We’ve only met a few times, but since his company
is just outside of Sacramento, I have been able to follow the growth of this
company over the past ten years. If you are looking for the success model,
Prima is the one you want to study.

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

Boy, for a cheapo- $99 program my PUB123 owners want a lot!!!!!!!!!!! I
sometimes think I should price this the way bras are priced (went shopping
with wife yesterday in "that" department and learned a lot.) The A bras are
cheaper than the D bras. Maybe I need something like PUB123-A-Cup,
PUB123-B-Cup, etc. "A" would be real small and bare bones and priced cheap.
"B" would have a handful of features at a higher price, and "C" would have
it all and cost the most. The only problem is that when I got phone calls
for support (interesting word in this context) I’d have to ask "Are you a
‘C-cup"? I can see how THAT would go over real well!!!

Which reminds me of the story of when I was 18, a brand new freshman at U.VA
and went to the drug store to buy my first condom. No, not that I needed
one, but all the other guys in the dorm had them so I figured I gotta have
one as well. The guys on the hall told me exactly what store to go to and to
make sure to ask for Sam.

Sounded easy to me, but I was pretty apprehensive as this was way, way
before the days that condoms were hanging on a rack. So I went to Rexall and
asked the guy behind the counter for Sam. He yells, "Hey Sam, a condom
customer for you." Well that was embarrassing enough until Sam came out…
who was actually Samantha, about 26 years old, a body like Jane Fonda, and a
major babe.

I was ashen, but I couldn’t back away now. She said in a dreamy tone "Wha
hello there, can I hep you?"

I croaked "I… I … I … I want a box of ForeX (a common brand then)."

She looked at me and said in a matter of fact southern voice (new to my New
York Jew ears) "Wha sure, hon, but what size would y’all be?"

Oh great! No one in the fucking dorm ever told me about sizes! I was
sweating and felt faint. I had no answer and could not breathe. The store
was closing in. I was going to die, right there. The obit would read "died
buying a condom." It would kill my mother!

A second or two later she smiled at me and said "Well, hon, y’alls surely
not a "large" so I’ll just give you some of these "smalls" and maybe y’all
grow into them, OK?. That will be two dollars, please."

I walked back to the dorm ready to beat the crap out of everyone on the hall
who had sent me down there without telling me about sizes. When I got back,
I found that all of THEM had been "set up" by one of the upper classman and
that Samantha was in on it. I couldn’t wait to "set up" my roommate.

The epilogue to the story is that I didn’t have use for the condom until two
years later (not for lack of trying, mind you!). I don’t remember the name
or much else of my first girl (except that she had a face like 30 miles of
bad road), but I sure remember Samantha!!!! I’ve had nightmares about
Samantha. I think she became the Blair Witch or something!!!  Or maybe it
was Pat Gundry. She sure scared the hell out of me!!!

What does this have to do with publishing. I don’t have the first clue.
After you work a few weeks with 18 hour days, your mind turns into something
resembling green Jell-O. And if you are not a blond, good-looking book
designer, you have no excuse.

Alan N. Canton
Adams-Blake Publishing
Fair Oaks, CA

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