Barbara Saltzman had a book. Not just any book, but one penned
and illustrated by the 22-year-old son she lost to Hodgkin's
disease. The book is alive with engaging characters, lively rhymes,
sweet illustrations and hope for the children who read it. Before
her son David's death in 1990, Saltzman vowed she'd get his
book published, whatever it took.
But that was before she ran up against the New York publishing
establishment. They recommended shortening the book, editing out
the rhymes, and printing it on flimsy paper. Even for Saltzman, a
newspaper editor by trade, the "business end" of getting
published was a cold shock.
So, like a growing number of authors worldwide, Saltzman
published the book herself. With the help of her husband, Joe, her
older son, Michael, a $250,000 home equity loan and a loan from
friends, Saltzman printed 30,000 copies of The Jester Has Lost
His Jingle (The Jester Company Inc.). Since its October 1995
release, about 165,000 copies of the book have been printed.
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When she isn't traveling the country on promotional junkets,
Saltzman works tirelessly out of her home in Palos Verdes Estates,
California. Becoming a publisher has been hard but gratifying work.
"I work on this constantly," says Saltzman. "But
when I see the impact the book has on kids, it's really quite
tremendous."
According to Dan Poynter, founder of Santa Barbara,
California-based Para Publishing and author of The
Self-Publishing Manual (Para Publishing), Saltzman is in good
company. Poynter estimates there are at least 53,000 publishers in
the United States today. "Of those," he says, "maybe
23 are large companies; another 300 are medium-sized presses. That
leaves more than 52,000 smaller publishers."
And why not? Book sales have been on the rise throughout the
'90s, with estimated publishers' sales in 1996 of $18.5
billion, a 35 percent increase over 1990 sales of $13.7
billion.
More important, it's never been more feasible--or
attractive--to self-publish. What began as a do-it-yourself
movement in the 1980s is now a thriving, professional industry.
"Ten years ago, self-publishing was not the thing for an
established writer to do," says Mark Dressler, associate
publisher of Small Press and Publishing Entrepreneur
magazines and vice president of The Jenkins Group Inc., a Traverse
City, Michigan, firm that helps small presses produce professional
results. "Today, I'm working with people who were
previously published by the [major houses] and didn't like
it."
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