Publisher Profiles

Archived Posts from this Category

December 1, 2011

Pre-Christmas party time as Crafty Publishing brings out second book (and dips toes into e-publishing)

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Publishers, News, Publisher Profiles | Tags: , , , , , , , |
[10] Comments 
Crafty Publishing

Crafty Publishing

DECEMBER IS UPON US and the rush to Christmas has truly begun: how better to start the month than to join the celebrations with one of our smaller trade partners, Crafty Publishing, as their second book is released? Even better, both Young David titles are now available through CLC Wholesale. So without further ado, a warm UKCBD welcome back to Fiona Veitch Smith, author and publisher, who I’ve dragged kicking and screaming back to these hallowed pages…

IT’S BEEN THREE MONTHS since Phil found me in the gutter and elevated me to the dizzy heights of guest blogger for UKCBD [flattery will get you everywhere - Ed] (David and the Hairy Beast claws its way to market). Now in this second instalment of the trials and tribulations of a small start-up publisher trying to find space on the already overcrowded ladder, I can tell you that we’ve advanced at least one rung.

Young David Series

David and the Hairy Beast

David and the Hairy Beast

A few more bookshops have agreed to stock David and the Hairy Beast (the first in a series of quirky picture books about the life of the Young King David) and we’ve even had some orders through Bertrams. Internet sales through our website from individuals are also ticking along.

We’ve taken on a sales agent for the London area and are considering taking on a US dispatch agent as postage costs from the UK are off-putting for customers there. The London agent has approached a couple of dozen shops and most are keen to stock but wanted to wait for the second book to come out before they ordered.

David and the Kingmaker

David and the Kingmaker

David and the Kingmaker was expected to be published by the mid-to-end of October, but a change of project manager at our printer delayed production and we only took delivery of the book on 23 November. This is leaving it very tight for Christmas stocking but all but one of our ‘old’ shops have taken orders (and two of them have restocked the first book too). I also had appointments with two more shop managers this week.

However, sales have been encouraging enough to tell us we have a marketable product and that enough retail outlets are prepared to take a risk on us to make it worth our while. So we have started work on our third title, David and the Giant, which we intend to bring out for Easter.

More Authors and eBooks

The Peace Garden: an ebook from Crafty Publishing

The Peace Garden: an ebook from Crafty Publishing

It was always our plan to start with a series of books I had written to test our business model. If we felt it was workable, we would take on other authors too. It’s early days yet in our print range, but we have signed two new authors for our ebook line. For ebooks we are publishing adult novels. Again we have brought out one of my novels as a ‘test case’. The Peace Garden is a romantic thriller set in England and Apartheid South Africa. We have put it up on Kindle to start with but are in the process of rolling it out to other e-platforms through Smashwords. We hope that it will go ‘live’ on all platforms next week.

Marketing in this area is primarily, of course, online. I am arranging book giveaways and competitions through Goodreads and using Twitter, Linked In, Facebook and other social networking platforms to promote it. I approached New York Times bestselling author Ruth Downie (the Ruso series of Roman mysteries) to review it. Sales are slow, but improving.

The other two authors are writing a fantasy trilogy and a thriller respectively. Our adult range is not specifically Christian (although one of the authors is a Christian and his books have Christian themes) and we are targeting the general market.

Phil asked me why we had decided to go the ebook route. A number of reasons: firstly, our capital is currently tied up in the picture book series. Ebooks are of course far cheaper to produce. But secondly, ebooks have already overtaken paperback novels in the US and it won’t be long until the same is true in the UK. As our experience with the picture books has shown us, a small publisher such as we are, has difficulty physically getting their books to the US market. We don’t have that problem with ebooks. Also, to be honest, I’ve heard from other writer friends who have tried to self-publish adult novels in the UK, it is immensely difficult to get them into indie bookshops (Christian or otherwise). Will we ever bring out print versions? Possibly, if and if we do, you’ll be the first to know.

Disclosure notice: the links to Crafty Publishing featured in this post are affiliate links. If you click through and then proceed to make a purchase, Crafty Publishing will pay a small commission to the UK Christian Bookshops Directory. This is at no extra cost to you. Thank you.
 

August 26, 2011

Introducing Fiona Veitch Smith and Crafty Publishing: David and the Hairy Beast claws its way to market

Posted by Phil Groom under Author Profile, Christian Publishers, Guest Posts, People News, Publisher Profiles | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
[16] Comments 
Fiona Veitch Smith

Fiona Veitch Smith

I MET FIONA VEITCH SMITH online via the Association of Christian Writers facebook group, where she was telling us a bit about her experiences of trying to persuade Christian bookshops to stock her new children’s book, David and the Hairy Beast.

Curious to know more, I checked out her website where I found, to my delight, an excerpt — and loved it. Hopefully, you will too — and you might even find your customers like it as well, but there’s only one way to find out about that…

I invited Fiona to tell us all about it. She writes:

David and the Hairy Beast claws its way to market

When we read of bookshop chains shutting down, publishing contracts becoming scarcer than a footballer without a super injunction and the bogey man of the e-book market changing the way we consume books, then you would be forgiven for raising an eyebrow at a new company launching its pilot title – in hard copy. Add to that the fact that the pilot is ‘self-published’ and the more business savvy among you may well be tutting in disdain. And yet, that’s what Crafty Publishing is doing. My husband Rod and I felt called to start Crafty Publishing using some of the redundancy money he received after being ‘released’ from the NHS. Our vision is to test out the market and distribution chains with a series of children’s picture books that I’ve written and then, if all goes well, start taking on other titles.

But we’re not going into this blindly. I am not a wannabe author who is so desperate to see her name in print that I’d sell the family silver to see it happen. I am already published and produced in a variety of genre including theatre, film and books. I’m currently working on a non-fiction book contract with Lion Hudson and a devotional booklet contract with CWR as well as continuing to work on a series of ghost-written children’s books for the secular market. In addition, I have worked as a freelance editor for Tafelberg Publishing in South Africa as well as for a number of magazines (in the UK and SA).

So why am I publishing my own work? I got a taste for the business side of self-publishing about eight years ago. My first book, Donovon’s Rainbow, was published in South Africa by Vineyard International Publishing (who have subsequently discontinued their children’s line). The book was not distributed beyond Vineyard bookshops in the UK, so when I moved back here in 2002 I asked permission from the publisher to distribute it. Effectively then I took on the job of a self-publisher. I entered the book for the Writers’ News best self-published / independently published children’s book of the year award in 2002 and won. The award gave me confidence to tackle the market and I was able to distribute the book to around 20 bookshops in the UK (secular and Christian).

It was a steep curve and I quickly had to learn about things like wholesale discounts the pros and cons of sale or return, the horrors of cold calling and the shaky financial footing of independent booksellers. I also realised that the title I was trying to sell did not fit easily into existing age categories and that the cover made it look as if it was for a younger readership than it actually was. Despite that, the book went into profit, but we would not do it the same way again.

So when my husband and I decided to launch our own title this year, we had some background to draw on. In addition, since 2002, the internet has become a much more effective marketing tool and as he is a professional software developer, he has been able to tackle that side of things.

But it’s still a scary world out there for a new publisher, not least when dealing with some bookshop managers who consider any ‘retelling’ of a bible story with the same abhorrence they normally reserve for Satan (or Rob Bell). However, there are some great folk too and in the month since the title’s been launched, five bookshops have agreed to stock us and our online sales are ticking over very nicely.

David and the Hairy Beast

David and the Hairy Beast

Our pilot title is called David and the Hairy Beast (retailing at £5.99) and is the first in a series of six books about the childhood of King David. The illustrations are by my design partner, Amy Barnes. We’re working on the next book, David and the Kingmaker, now. It will be ready for distribution in October, in time for the Christmas market. We’ll see how sales go in the New Year before launching the third in the series David and the Giant.

To find out more, please visit www.craftypublishing.com

Fiona Veitch Smith
e: Fiona AT thecraftywriter.com
www.thecraftywriter.com
www.craftypublishing.com
facebook.com/pages/Crafty-Publishing/229271997105270

 

February 19, 2011

Lent Reading and more from St Mark’s Press

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Publishers, Publisher Profiles | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |
1 Comment 
Mark in 40 Days

Mark in 40 Days

LENT IS ALMOST UPON US, starting 9th March this year: are you ready? Are your customers ready? As always, there’s a lot of material out there, but here’s one you may have missed: Mark in 40 Days, from St Mark’s Press. St Mark’s Press are a relatively new Christian publisher based in Bedfordshire, last featured here for Christian Aid Week 2010: Give as you sell with St Mark’s Press.

Mark in 40 Days is written by Simon and Chris Danes: Simon is the director of St Mark’s Press and Chris, his older brother, is a writer and broadcaster, perhaps best known for his audioblog on bipolar disorder for the BBC’s You and Yours. Both Simon and Chris are former teachers and theology graduates from Oxford who have also had plenty of experience of adult education as well as writing books together on Christianity for young people. Over to Simon:

I don’t like blowing my own trumpet, but we’re very pleased with the way Mark in 40 Days has turned out. It’s a Bible study course, with comments and daily reflections, but it also introduces readers to what New Testament scholars have said about the Gospel. I’d hesitate to say it’s a similar sort of thing to the Daily Study Bible – I can’t claim to have Barclay’s brilliance! – but it’s that sort of style: both devotional and informative, you know the sort of thing.

St Mark’s Press are emerging as a key publisher of Barclay’s backlist with The Gospels and Acts (two volumes) and The Mind of St Paul already in print and a further three titles planned this year. The Barclay family are keen for them to publish more still, so a programme is beginning to be put together. Back to Simon:

It’s early days yet as we have to get the rights issues finalised and that can take time. We’ll let people know as soon as we can what the new titles are going to be. It’s likely that we’ll do two of Barclay’s books on the New Testament and one of his prayer books in 2011; we’d be interested in hearing from retailers if they have any preferences: whether they’d like more New Testament studies or more books of prayers, or whether they have favourite titles that they’d like to see.

The books that are out at the moment are doing well. The Gospels and Acts is in two volumes: the first covers Matthew, Mark and Luke and the second’s on John and Acts. It was one of the last things Barclay wrote before his death and it’s got a strong claim to be the best. They’re more detailed than the Daily Study Bible but every bit as good; I always find the depth of Barclay’s knowledge and his ability to put things across absolutely astonishing. An incredibly learned and wise man. The Mind of St Paul is an older and shorter work but it’s still very good; it’s an introduction to themes in Paul’s thought and, as usual, is accessible and readable.

All St Mark’s Press books are available direct (with good discounts!) or through STL, Gardners or Bertrams. Contact details and full bibliographic info as follows:

The Gospels and Acts: John and Acts
William Barclay
St Mark’s Press, 2010
ISBN 9781907062070
£14.95 

The Mind of St Paul
William Barclay
St Mark’s Press, 2010
ISBN 9781907062087
£11.95

Mark in 40 Days
Simon and Chris Danes
St Mark’s Press, January 2011
ISBN 9781907062117
£9.95, paperback

The Gospels and Acts: Matthew, Mark and Luke
William Barclay
St Mark’s Press, 2010
ISBN 9781907062063
£14.95

Contact Details:

St Mark’s Press
20 Close Road
Pavenham MK43 7PP

01234 824861 / 077907 13872
info AT stmarkspress.com [email address split to resist spambots]
www.stmarkspress.com

 

August 28, 2010

From Abuse to Freedom: Barbara Roberts tells the story behind Maschil Press

Posted by Phil Groom under Publisher Profiles | Tags: , , , , , , , |
Leave a Comment 
Barbara Roberts

Barbara Roberts, Author and Publisher at Maschil Press

Regular readers may recognise Barbara Roberts’ name as an occasional commenter here — but she’s also an author and publisher. Here she tells us the story of her journey from abuse through divorce and remarriage to freedom and the tough decision to publish her own book when no established publisher seemed willing to take it on board…

Barbara writes: Maschil Press came into existence when I couldn’t find a publisher for Not Under Bondage: Biblical Divorce for Abuse, Adultery and Desertion (ISBN 9780980355345; I offer great deals for small booksellers)

The subject of Not Under Bondage is a hot potato to say the least. Domestic abuse is heavy stuff, and the doctrine of divorce is likely to raise contention, with personal experience tending to colour whatever is read.

Maschil Press aims to expose and advocate against sub-biblical views which have caused pain and grief to the Christian community and the wider population. Why Maschil? It’s a Hebrew word which is thought to mean prudent or insightful and I hope that’s what I’m doing: giving insight into the little-understood scriptural dilemmas of the victim of domestic abuse, and how those dilemmas can be resolved when the scriptures are rightly understood.

How did I get into writing about domestic abuse? I wrote Not Under Bondage because there was a gap in the market. When I  left my abusive husband for the last time, I couldn’t find a book that adequately answered my questions about divorce for domestic abuse.

Not Under Bondage

Not Under Bondage: Biblical Divorce for Abuse, Adultery and Desertion

Here’s the back story: I became a Christian in 1981 but for a long time had minimal biblical teaching and lingering confusion due to a swag of new age beliefs I had soaked myself in for years. Becoming sidetracked into other areas soon after my conversion, I didn’t get to church for nearly 14 years. I wouldn’t recommend taking such a long time in the wilderness!

Unaware that Christians should avoid marrying non-Christians, I married an unbeliever in 1989 and we had a daughter. The marriage gradually became abusive and I occasionally took refuge in a women’s refuge. My marriage was the most common type of abusive marriage (according to the research on abusive marriages) –  my husband was violent several times a year, but there was an undercurrent of emotional abuse from him all the time. There were also elements that I’d categorise as social abuse (isolation from friends and family) and sexual abuse.

In 1994 I left my husband with the help of a protection order from the courts, and started attending church and reading the Bible seriously. That was when I became a professing Christian. A family court battle eventually led to me being granted custody and my husband granted fortnightly access to our daughter.

After four years my separated husband made a profession of faith and we reconciled as a married couple. The abuse recurred, this time with the added element of spiritual abuse, because my husband learnt to twist scriptures against me. I separated for the last time in 1999, divorcing a few years after that.

In 2001 the stress in my household diminished markedly when access visits between my daughter and her father ceased. It’s a long story.

We have a few chooks in the back yard and a cute black dog who has a lot more emotional empathy than some Christians.

I am working on a second book – a companion volume to Not Under Bondage – that will deal with other scriptural dilemmas which Christian victims of domestic abuse face apart from the divorce dilemma. I live in Ballarat, Australia, and am now happily married to a wonderful man who suffered domestic abuse in a former marriage. We have a few chooks in the back yard and a cute black dog who has a lot more emotional empathy than some Christians.

After praying not to become a publisher, I’m rather glad to be a publisher because I have full control of my work. When not writing, I’m advocating for victims of domestic abuse, and trying to educate the Christian world so they are better equipped to respond to victim/survivors. My website has lots of links and articles that are helpful for anyone dealing with domestic abuse in a Christian context.

Previous Posts (most recent first)

Not Under BondageNot Under Bondage
Biblical Divorce for Abuse, Adultery and Desertion

Barbara Roberts
ISBN 9780980355345 (0980355346)
Maschil Press, 2008
£11.95

Trade Stockist: STL UK

 

August 16, 2010

Introducing Dernier Publishing: Christian Youth Fiction that doesn’t suck

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Publishers, Guest Posts, Publisher Profiles | Tags: , , , |
[2] Comments 
Janet Evans, Dernier Publishing

Janet Evans, Dernier Publishing

JANET EVANS is another person I met online via the Christian Authors, Booksellers and Publishers facebook group — and she’s my kind of publisher: not satisfied with the usual round of advance info sheets, catalogues, emails or press releases, she posted an invitation on the Support your local Christian Bookshop group wall:

Any bookshops who have not already received a free sample pack of Christian youth fiction books from Dernier Publishing, get in touch and we’ll send you one! More info: www.dernierpublishing.com or find our FB page and contact us there!

“Yes, please,” I said — and within a couple of days an attractively packaged little bundle of books arrived tied up with a red ribbon. I’ll tell you more about them another time; for the moment, I’ll simply say this: if you’re a bookseller who has yet to respond, what are you waiting for? You won’t be disappointed.

I invited Janet to tell us more:

I’m nervous about writing this, it makes it sound like I have delusions of grandeur. “Oh yes, I started a new publishing company, for Christian youth fiction, you know.”

Mm. Well, if you’re still reading this, let me assure you that it’s only me, not to worry, it may be slightly embarrassing, but it’s true!

You know how an idea won’t go away? At first I ignored the call, it seemed too ridiculous (having three children and been in youth work since I can remember, I saw the need, I just didn’t think I could do it), but then a few years ago, my husband died, suddenly. The stark realisation hit me that none of us know how long we have on this earth… if the Lord had called me to publish youth fiction, then I’d better get on with it.

Dernier Publishing

Dernier Publishing

So I gradually got myself, and the business, together: Dernier Publishing was born.

Having started with two of my own books (just to make sure I didn’t ruin anyone else’s great stories while on that sharp learning curve), last autumn we released Beech Bank Girls, a brilliant chick-lit novel by Eleanor Watkins, a respected name in youth fiction. Now, nearly a year later, we have six books out, for 8-11s and 12 +, with three wonderful authors on our books and more in the pipeline! When I look back at how far we have come, I can scarcely believe what the Lord has done; it’s nothing short of a miracle, and by His grace alone … well, that grace does include an exceptionally gracious and wonderful team of people, including editors, production, design, IT and many more, for whose input I am extremely grateful.

So what’s so amazing about youth fiction? (I’m assuming you haven’t read our books… :) ) Well, for one thing, since Harry Potter burst on the scene, children are reading. According to an article in the Bookseller.com, 75% of children read for pleasure. That’s a lot of kids. Plus, Jesus told stories! Not fibs of course, not that kind of story-telling! He told stories to illustrate a truth. All were rooted in the culture he lived in at the time – farmers and seeds, bread and yeast, a Samaritan who was kind to a stranger. People could understand what Jesus was talking about because his stories made things “come to life”. That’s the aim of our books! One girl wrote to tell me that The Treasure Hunt (mystery adventure involving four Christian kids) was the best book she had ever read. Another 12-year-old recently came to know the Lord after reading our books. They loved our books, because they spoke to them, just where they are.

We can not overestimate the power of good stories to make kids think, to sow seeds and even change lives, and everyone can be involved; you don’t have to be a youth worker to give a child a present! (By the way, buy with confidence, we only produce excellent, fun, exciting novels; nothing threatening, cringy, preachy or boring.)

We also produce posters and prayer booklets – you can find them all on our website, www.dernierpublishing.com. And of course, you can buy our books from good bookshops everywhere! (Kingsway and Gazelle distribute for us.)

However, we only have a small window of opportunity before our children, grandchildren, neighbours’ and colleagues’ children, well, all children, grow up… freedom of speech is being eroded in our land too. Who knows how long we will still be able to freely distribute books to children that state that Jesus Christ is the only way? Our aim is to produce as many books as we can, while we can, to encourage and inspire young people in their faith and show non-church kids what they are missing. Every now and then we hear more depressing statistics about young people leaving the church; anything we can do to show them that it’s great to be a Christian has got to be good and according to Gavin Calver of Youth for Christ, three out of four committed Christians come to faith before they are 20, so we can’t afford to be complacent.

Our children’s faith is priceless. One day “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord.” We so want our kids to be there.

Coming Soon:

Beech Bank Girls 2: Making a Difference

Beech Bank Girls 2: Making a Difference
Eleanor Watkins

Dernier Publishing, October 1st, 2010
9780953696376
£5.99

Dernier Publishing
PO Box 403
Tonbridge TN9 9BJ

 

August 11, 2010

Sovereign World: Bringing People Together

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Publishers, Publisher Profiles | Tags: , , , |
Leave a Comment 
Paul Stanier: Managing Director, Sovereign World

Paul Stanier: Managing Director, Sovereign World

LATEST: New Trade Distribution Arrangement with CLC Wholesale

In line with Sovereign World’s heart for Christian mission and service to ministry we have made the decision to move our wholesale supply of books to CLC Wholesale. Sovereign World will also continue to serve shops direct and all our titles remain available from New Wine Ministries. In the interests of our new wholesale arrangement with CLC and New Wine Ministries we have made the difficult decision to no longer supply STL, who over many years have carried our titles. We acknowledge STL’s history with our company and we are grateful for their contribution…

>> Read more

If you’ve been involved in the Christian book trade for any length of time, you’ve almost certainly come across Sovereign World publishing — but what makes a company like Sovereign World tick? And has the company’s vision changed since its acquisition by The Christian Trust back in 2006? I invited Paul Stanier, Managing Director, to enlighten us:

It was August 1986 that Chris Mungeam first established Sovereign World Limited. Having enjoyed twenty-three years in Christian publishing, and now newly baptized in the Spirit, Chris voiced concern for reaching the church with books emphasizing a balance of the Word and the Spirit. The aim of the company was to specialize in books relating to the worldwide moving of the Holy Spirit. The focus was on subjects such as repentance, prayer, fasting, gifts and ministries of God’s Spirit, spiritual warfare, deliverance and healing as well as basic Bible study material. Twenty years later, in April 2006, Sovereign World Ltd was acquired by The Christian Trust, the Registered Charity responsible for the growing work of Ellel Ministries International, to continue the precious work of publishing outstanding Christian teaching. Ellel Ministries was founded in 1986, the same year as Sovereign World, and the future was a divine knitting together of these two organizations, both of which share the vision to proclaim the Kingdom of God by preaching the good news, healing the broken-hearted and setting the captives free.

Frida: Chosen to Die, Destined to Live
Sarah: From an abusive childhood and the depths of suicidal despair to a life of hope and freedom
Why Pray For Israel?

Today the vision for the type of books Sovereign World publishes remains unchanged. With the added dimension of Ellel Ministries we are now publishing powerful biographical stories of God’s transforming power to rescue and heal those in the darkest situations, as demonstrated in Frida, In Rebel Hands and Sarah. Out of Ellel Ministries’ extensive teaching in the healing ministry, more books are being produced that will help equip the Church to deal with a wide range of life’s most complicated, and for many, unhealed issues. Pastoral care is one of the most sought after needs of any congregation, yet so many churches are unable to meet that need. Sovereign World is a vital resource to enable this. For instance, our Truth & Freedom series opens doors of healing to many. It is our privilege to publish authors with deep experience in the faith and to help them spread the great hope found through Jesus Christ.

The world is changing dramatically, but God’s Word never changes. As we look to the future the relevance of Sovereign World has never been more important. We are on the threshold of an exciting new horizon. Scripture shows time and again that it is usually from a dark place that man most comprehends the magnificence of God’s redemptive work on mankind. God is moving in increasingly clear ways as this world’s darkness encroaches. As it gets darker, God’s light seems brighter and easier to navigate to. For times such as these I believe the message of God’s redemption of Israel can be applied to us. Christians need to join together in common truth and be willing to walk a path of holiness before there can be true unity. Zephaniah 3:9 (NIV) says:

Then will I purify the lips of the peoples,
that all of them may call on the name of the LORD
and serve him shoulder to shoulder.

We believe Sovereign World has been placed in a position on the front line of God’s agenda in giving people the tools they need. We want to help bring believers shoulder to shoulder – in unity to serve God. The fulfilment of Sovereign World’s vision is to see corporate transformation take place both within and outside the church. We are therefore looking to publish a broad range of titles with authors either known or unknown who want to partner with us in this vision. Our goal is to bring people together under the common truth of the Kingdom of God and see people healed and equipped to serve God for His purposes.

Our goal is to bring people together under the common truth of the Kingdom of God and see people healed and equipped to serve God for His purposes.

One of the greatest challenges facing Sovereign World is the sheer volume of Christian literature now being written and published. It is estimated there are 1000 new titles being released each month in the UK alone. Yet we believe our role in Christian book publishing is a discerning one. Please take the time to review the descriptions of our list of books. You will find that we are reaching into the very heart of the issues of the Church and Christian life today. As a company, we feel called to meet the needs of the church in a way we believe is vital.

In reaching out to you, the bookshops or reader, my hope is that you are envisioned by the possibility of equipping your local churches with Sovereign World books that can bring a wealth of fruit into their congregations – to bring renewal and transformation through healing, discipleship and holiness.

While holding fast to God’s calling on Sovereign World we rely on the Body of Christ to express support of our vision through the purchase of our books. This has a two-fold effect. Firstly, every book sale we make enables Sovereign World to publish the next book, thus continuing what we believe is an essential mission. Secondly, and most importantly, each purchase has the capacity to change lives and even communities. I am hoping you want to join with us in faith to see God work in this way.

Sovereign World Ltd, PO Box 784, Ellel, Lancaster, LA1 9DA, United Kingdom
Tel: 01524 753805 / Email: info [at] sovereignworld.com*

Discover More:

*Email address split to resist spambots

 

July 30, 2010

Simon Cozens Introduces Wide Margin Books

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Publishers, Guest Posts, Publisher Profiles | Tags: , , , , , |
1 Comment 

I met Simon Cozens via the Christian Authors, Booksellers and Publishers facebook group and he told me about his recent venture into publishing, Wide Margin Books. Intrigued, I invited him to tell us more…

Simon Cozens

Simon Cozens

My wife came home from visiting friends on a Saturday afternoon, and caught me hunched over a laptop in the living room: “What have you been doing all day?”

“I’ve been planning to start a publishing company,” I replied. Even despite my history of crazy ideas, this one managed to catch her by surprise. But I was being quite serious. There were a number of factors leading up to the formation of Wide Margin Books.

I’d been working as a missionary in Japan, and there been influenced greatly by an author and church planter, Mitsuo Fukuda. I really wanted to share what he was saying with the rest of the Church, and so I translated one of his books, Mentoring Like Barnabas into English and shopped the manuscript around a few publishers. The silence was deafening.

I’d also worked in technical publishing in the past, both as an author and an editor, and my experience was that publishers were people who worked with authors get their ideas into print, and that anyone with a good message, with the help of a good publisher, could produce a good book.

But here I was, being told that someone that nobody had heard of  (and, I suspected, with a name that was difficult for people to pronounce) would not be able to come up with a book that sold. That wasn’t true in the computer world, and I don’t believe that it’s true in the Christian world – in fact, the runaway success of books like The Shack from previously unknown authors rather suggests that it is not. It’s ideas that make great books, not speaking engagements.

As I write, 70% of the world’s Christians are outside the traditional Christian heartlands of Western Europe and North America. Equally as I write, 99% of the top-selling Christian books on Amazon.com are by authors from Western Europe and North America. (The one exception being Ravi Zacharias – an Indian-born Canadian-American.) While people from our own culture certainly have messages that are easier for us to understand, digest and apply, I believe that there are great ideas out there already in the Body of Christ, and that it’s imperative for us to be hearing those voices from the rest of the Church and learning from their experience – particularly in areas where the Church is growing fastest of all!

Once it’s out there, a book or a sermon is a monologue — there is little chance to be corrected or to interact with others.

While thinking about the idea of hearing the voices of others, I realised from my missionary work that writing books is like writing sermons: if you do it in isolation, you can end up writing things that are sometimes unhelpful, often untrue and almost always lacking the full picture, and once it’s out there, a book or a sermon is a monologue — there is little chance to be corrected or to interact with others. In the profoundly interconnected world we live in, that just isn’t good enough any more.

Christians and Catastrophe

Christians and Catastrophe

When writing computer books my work was always checked by a panel of independent reviewers to ensure that I had considered all the possibilities, and readers could send in errata for me to confirm and correct; what would it look like if Christian books were reviewed by a panel of independent experts with different points of view, and if readers could challenge the author on ideas that they thought were incorrect or miscategorised? That would certainly keep our authors honest, and they would probably produce better books at the end of it!

So Wide Margin’s main aim is to provide opportunity for voices to be heard, primarily through publishing books from non-Western and first-time authors. Our first book, Christians and Catastrophe is already available; look out for Mitsuo Fukuda’s church planting manual, Upward, Outward, Inward, which will be released in September!

Reviews of Christians and Catastrophe (most recent first)

 

July 24, 2010

Reintroducing Authentic Media

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Publishers, Guest Posts, Publisher Profiles | Tags: , , |
[2] Comments 

Recently a friend on facebook asked if I knew what was going on with Authentic Media since the collapse of the old STL: had they survived? The answer, I’m pleased to say, is a resounding yes. I invited them to bring us up to date:

Authentic

Authentic

Following the news of IBS-STL UK going into administration at the end of 2009, many were left feeling in the dark and uncertain about what the future would hold. It was a challenging and unsettling time for us all. On behalf of the Authentic team we want to express our gratitude for all your prayers and kind messages of support.

For those who are not aware, Authentic Media were bought by Koorong Books Pty Ltd, an Australian retail company, on 19th December 2009. We are working extremely hard to establish our new company with Koorong and whilst we still have some difficult decisions to make and various challenges to overcome, we are excited and look forward to strengthening our working relationship with you all.

Mark Finnie, Authentic Media’s Publishing Director adds:

The Authentic team’s strong relationship with authors and customers, its creativity, dedication and passion, combined with the sales and marketing expertise of Koorong, has ensured a great start for the new Authentic. With two awards at CRE, six new titles in the best-sellers lists and great coverage in the media we have valued the support of our loyal customers.

We are pleased to have reprinted many strong sellers this year, including Seriously Funny, Son of Hamas, Song of the Nightingale and Father Forgive and are working on the re-release of five D. A. Carson titles and six further A. W. Tozer books.

We are also pleased to announce that the popular International Children’s Bible is now available once again from Authentic. Unfortunately, due to contractual issues, we cannot say the same for the NCV Youth Bible. We are disappointed that we will no longer be producing this Bible, however, we are pleased to say that we are currently working on a new and exciting Authentic Youth Bible for Spring 2011.

In order for us to rebuild and strengthen Authentic it is important for us to maintain good communication with you all; your comments and feedback are invaluable to us so please do keep in touch:

info AT authenticmedia.co.uk*
www.authenticmedia.co.uk
authenticmedia.blogspot.com
twitter.com/authenticmedia
 www.facebook.com/authenticmedia

Once again, we thank you for your patience, kindness and support over the last year.

From all the Authentic team,

Rob Bootes: Executive Director
Donna Harris: Operations Manager
Mark Finnie: Publishing Director
Malcolm Down: Publishing Manager
Mike Parsons: Paternoster Commissioning Editor
Peter Little: Production Coordinator
Liz Williams: Editorial Supervisor
Sarah Gallagher: Marketing Coordinator
Becky Fawcett: Editorial Coordinator
Richard Durham: Data Administrator
Wendy Tyler: Accounts Administrator
* Email address split for spam prevention — Ed.
 

May 10, 2010

Christian Aid Week: Give as you sell with St Mark’s Press

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Publishers, Publisher Profiles | Tags: , |
[2] Comments 
Christian Aid Envelope Logo

Christian Aid: Pushing the Envelope

Christian Aid Week is upon us (9 – 15 May 2010) and the familiar red envelopes will soon be appearing through people’s letter boxes as thousands of supporters take to the streets to raise both awareness and money to help end poverty.

But there’s another way that we as booksellers and retailers can help too, and that’s simply by stocking the growing range of resources available from St Mark’s Press: for every textbook or CD sold, a £1 donation goes to Christian Aid.

If you haven’t heard of St Mark’s Press, don’t panic: they’re a relatively new publisher who have only been trading for just over a year. Alongside their own titles, they’ve taken over part of the William Barclay backlist and acquired some bestselling RE textbooks from Lion, which they’ve reissued in new editions. Simon Danes, pictured below, is their Director, and he knows his books, having read Theology at Brasenose College, Oxford, where — for better or for worse — he was a contemporary of a certain PPE student called David Cameron – ‘though I was two years above him and I don’t expect he remembers me!’

Simon Danes, Director, St Mark's Press

Simon Danes

Simon was in teaching for 20 years before setting up the company:

I used to be a head of RE and I did that for about ten years in a non denominational comprehensive school. I really enjoyed it, and then I did the same thing in a church school. Then I moved into senior management, focussing mainly on the academic side of school life. I didn’t want to be a head and so decided to do something completely different.

So why publishing?

Well, I’d had some experience of it. With my brother Chris, I’d written a number of textbooks for Lion. Two of them were really successful: Mark: A Gospel for Today and Today’s Issues and Christian Beliefs. They’re both GCSE textbooks.  Mark sold something like 65,000. Today’s Issues did even better: well over 100,000 and there were a lot of translations produced. I was a best selling author in Lithuania!

I asked Lion if I could take the titles and publish them myself and they very graciously agreed.  The syllabuses had moved on and they badly needed updating.  70% of our edition of our Today’s Issues is entirely new.

Mark - A Gospel for Today

Mark - A Gospel for Today

Today's Issues

The core of the business, then, was the textbooks. I then got in touch with William Barclay’s estate – he of the Daily Study Bible. Barclay’s sold an astonishing number; I’ve heard the figure of 17 million copies.  I’d always liked Barclay’s books and it was marvellous when we got the rights.

William Barclay's Gospels and Acts

William Barclay, The Gospels and Acts

We’ve started with The Gospels and Acts. This is essentially a two volume introduction to New Testament scholarship. Sounds dry and dusty but Barclay really makes it come alive. He’s just jaw droppingly good. He writes good prose, which isn’t usual with an academic, and he had an absolutely encyclopaedic knowledge, and not just about the Bible and biblical studies.  Amazingly learned. And then he’s balanced, generous, thorough – and his faith shines through.

The first volume’s out now; the second follows around July. And we’re doing Barclay’s The Mind of St Paul, a shorter book which gives a lot of insight into Paul’s thought. That should be out in July too.

What else is coming up?

More Barclays! I’m also writing a book for the non specialist on philosophy of religion:  the arguments for God’s existence, whether we can prove religion, that sort of thing. It’s partly a riposte to Dawkins, but this will be quite a fun book with lots of illustrations and some humour too.

St Mark's Press - Mark's Gospel CD

Mark's Gospel CD

We’ve got a really dramatic CD of the NIV text of Mark’s Gospel. We recorded that in a freezing studio in Cambridge with an actor called Peter Wickham.  He’s with the BBC Radio Drama Company and he’s done literally hundreds of audiobooks, so he really knows his stuff. We did Mark because it’s the most popular Gospel set at GCSE but I’d like to do the others too.

And what can you offer us as booksellers?

The Barclays and the CDs are proving popular. The textbooks are being stocked; the Lion editions were carried quite heavily by a number of Christian bookshops and we’re seeing that with our versions too. Teachers can pick up copies but they’re also useful for church study groups – and for students (and their parents!) who are anxious about their children’s revision. The Mark CD’s a popular revision aid.

All our textbooks and CDs carry a donation of £1 to Christian Aid.

If you’re with Fairway Marketing, we work with them and you can order through your rep. Otherwise, do contact us direct.

St Mark's PressTo find out more visit www.stmarkspress.com, email info AT stmarkspress.com or, if you want to chat with Simon personally, he’d be very pleased to hear from you: feel welcome to call him on 01234 824861.

 

March 24, 2010

Last Word Publications

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Publishers, Guest Posts, Publisher Profiles | Tags: , , , , |
Leave a Comment 

After the successful publication and substantial sales of his book, A12 to Heaven (June 2008), Phil Stoddart has now set up his own publishing company, Last Word Publications. Following an exchange of emails, I invited Phil to tell us his story:

Looking back, it still seems inconceivable that anything positive could come out of such tragedy. My wife and I were woken in the middle of the night in June 2006 by a phone call that ushered in a nightmare. I will never forget driving to the hospital and stopping on the way at the place where my two teenage daughters lost their lives. Three other people were also dead and a young man with far too much alcohol in his system was responsible for it all.

I didn’t understand at the time why God should speak to me so intently about the days ahead. It started in the hospital when my body was wracked with nausea and anguish. “There are three things you have to do if you want to get through this”, he said, “not to blame me, nor the driver and certainly not yourself.”

I didn’t even try to digest these things. I was so desperate for his comfort that I could only reply “Yes Lord.” We both knew I meant it. The result was an unbroken fellowship with him that in the year to follow became a soothing medicine for the pain in my heart. Time after time, he revealed things about himself and the life to come that my body could barely contain. The more I saw of him the more I wept at his beauty and sheer intensity of love. More tears flowed from these glimpses into his glory than the loss itself.

A12 to Heaven

A12 to Heaven

Out of these encounters I was compelled to write A12 to Heaven which came out in June 2008. My initial intention was to find a publisher but during the lead up to completion I received encouragement through prayer from others to publish it myself. More words came, even from people with no idea what I was doing, that extended the boundaries beyond the production of just one book and into the setting up of Last Word Publications.

It wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for the timely arrival in our church of a professional graphic designer from London. With a few others we have developed a vision to publish affordable, high quality materials new and existing authors that penetrate both Christian and secular outlets.

Life Issues

Life Issues

Thanks to national coverage of what happened on that horrible night and also our links into New Frontiers, we have now sold over 3000 copies of my book. In May 2009 we published Life Issues by Wendy Virgo. Wendy is the wife of Terry who pretty much began the New Frontiers church movement and her book is a series of practical discussions for women on building healthy marriages, homes and families.

He Loves Me Not?

He Loves Me Not?

In February of this year a third book was produced called He Loves Me Not? The author Joanne Robinson is a Christian counsellor and member of a Baptist church in Norfolk. It’s another title aimed at women but what makes it different to Wendy’s book is the focus on broken relationships. Jo has a wealth of experience in this area and uses biblical principles to show how God can heal the bruises and how to avoid getting them in the first place!

As for the future, we are currently working with another four authors, all of whom are leaders at the forefront of planting and building healthy churches. However, a major obstacle to our development is simply getting our books stocked in enough outlets for people to buy. This is where we need lots of support and goodwill to whoever is out there!!! To get more of a feel for us, please visit our website at www.lastwordpublications.com

 

Next Page »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,308 other followers