Wandering Sage Publications (formerly Emerald Falcon Press)

[Stacia Kane]

Finally, I had a look at Wandering Sage's web site. After reading Stacia Kane's blog posts "Find the Right Publisher, Parts 1-3," except for the fact that WS has other things besides books, they seem to do everything right according to this article. They do at least look good on the surface. Do they really have all these "red flags" that everyone seems to be pointing out here, or should we give them a little more time to build a track record?

Hi Michael!

First, thanks for mentioning the blog and for apparently enjoying the articles and finding them useful. I appreciate it.

I do want to point out something, though. With the exception of the first part and some of the information in the last few posts (there were, um, six in all I think, six or seven) which is applicable to both, the Publisher series focused largely on epublishers, not print publishers. Things like distribution don't matter with an epublisher, because most ebooks are bought either directly from the publisher's site or from an online outlet like Fictionwise (and I do touch on that in one of the last segments).

However. Aside from the fact that, print or ebook, one of the major criteria I try to stress in the series is sales--which for a print book would mean, "Have you seen this publisher's books in stores?", which does largely answer the distribution question--I am in fact seeing a few red flags on the Wandering Sage site, some of which are things I did discuss in the Publishing series and some I didn't. Or at the very least, "pink flags"; things which give me pause.

Like:

*First, and most important, this is the website of what purports to be a publisher, yet there is really no focus at all on books. Yes, I understand that they sell other items as well, expanding into other sales areas or whatever it's called. And you know, I actually think that's kind of cool, or rather, it can be. And I see they have a few titles listed in a sidebar on the far right.

But a publisher should be a publisher first and foremost. Publishing is a complicated business and requires an enormous amount of time, work, and dedication; the amount of hours and skill editing alone can take is mind-boggling if you think about it.

You are looking for a publisher who wants to publish books, who will devote their time and care and attention to those books. Not who likes to sell the same pewter jewelry every other website sells, and decided to throw a couple of books together too. My books are important to me; I want them to be important to my publisher as well, and not just another product to toss up on the home page and see if it sticks.

Which is another important point, in fact:

*They do not show or list their books on their homepage, aside from a little sidebar on the far right for sale items, which does not appear to focus excusively on *their* books. Again, publishing appears to be a sideline for this company, not the reason it exists. I don't want to be a secondary income stream to my publisher.

*No submission guidelines

*NO previous publishing experience for any of the company's management; at least none I can see. Of course there are no bios listed. Which is another red flag I mentioned in Pt 1 of the Publishing Series; beware of companies that won't tell you who they are. (Now, in this case, the owners have made their names clear here, and I guess some pages are incomplete [see below] but still, it's something that makes me wary.

*Several blank pages which should be filled; there is no About Us. There are no FAQs. Their Store Policies are woefully inadequate, IMO, with no information about shipping and no real info about returns or credits or anything.

*Another one from the Publishing series: There are no excerpts on the website, only short blurbs (I haven't looked at many of the blurbs, but the ones I have looked at are not impressive). Excerpts are HUGELY important in selling books; why would you go with a publisher who isn't cognizant of this one extremely basic fact?

I wouldn't call this publisher a scam, at all. I don't get any sense at all that's the case. I'm pretty sure they're honest and well-intentioned, and given those other selling areas it wouldn't surprise me to see them remain in business for some time.

That doesn't mean I think they're a good publisher for your work, though. Not at all. I don't.



Does that help? Please don't hesitate to email me if you ever have any questions about the Publishing series or anything else on my blog. Really. I'm happy to hear from you.

 

[J.D.74]

This isn't to say that anyone running a micropress/small press needs to quit their job and work at it full-time, but it's sort of common sense that when it's not their first job it's not going to be their first priority.

I believe you mistook my comment of Dave going from job to job. Dave works full time for Wandering Sage. It's just in his position and with the way he chooses to work, he prefers to do the majority of the work himself to insure that it is done correctly and to the best quality possible. We do employ a staff, a sales team, a chief editor, and so on. It is not a one or two man operation.

I can agree that with the size of our company, the work load can become quite heavy, but we are not claiming to be a large publishing house. If anything we're between small and medium. But we do employ people and it's simply not Dave and I trying to do everything.

Thank you.

John

 

[priceless1]

We do employ... a sales team...

If you have a sales team, then I'm curious as to how Dave can be unaware of the difference between a wholesaler and a distributor. Not trying to be a PITA, but trying to get a better idea on this company.

 

[J.D.74]

*First, and most important, this is the website of what purports to be a publisher, yet there is really no focus at all on books. Yes, I understand that they sell other items as well, expanding into other sales areas or whatever it's called.

Right, if you looked at our website that we have up currently, you would most likely be a little put off by it. As I had stated in previous posts, this was our first website. Currently we are working with our developers to revamp it. We've decided to section off our website into various divisions for our company. There will be division that is focused on publications only, and not cluttered with sales for our merchandise.

*They do not show or list their books on their homepage, aside from a little sidebar on the far right for sale items, which does not appear to focus excusively on *their* books. Again, publishing appears to be a sideline for this company, not the reason it exists. I don't want to be a secondary income stream to my publisher.

Our new website will have a section devoted only towards the books publish, along with all of our authors and their bios. The one you looked at now, again, is not great, and that is why we are fixing it.

*No submission guidelines [/QUOT]

The new site has a page which has all of our submission guidelines.

*NO previous publishing experience for any of the company's management; at least none I can see.

It is impossible to start a new publishing company and have a wealth of experience. We all have to start somewhere.

Of course there are no bios listed. Which is another red flag I mentioned in Pt 1 of the Publishing Series; beware of companies that won't tell you who they are. (Now, in this case, the owners have made their names clear here, and I guess some pages are incomplete [see below] but still, it's something that makes me wary.

Right, the new website contains full bios on us, and our authors so that will no longer be an issue.

*Several blank pages which should be filled; there is no About Us. There are no FAQs. Their Store Policies are woefully inadequate, IMO, with no information about shipping and no real info about returns or credits or anything.

These are more issues that will be resolved with the launching of our new site.

*Another one from the Publishing series: There are no excerpts on the website, only short blurbs (I haven't looked at many of the blurbs, but the ones I have looked at are not impressive). Excerpts are HUGELY important in selling books; why would you go with a publisher who isn't cognizant of this one extremely basic fact?

I don't have direct knowledge of that concern being addressed, but I'm making a note of it now and I will address it with Dave.

I wouldn't call this publisher a scam, at all. I don't get any sense at all that's the case. I'm pretty sure they're honest and well-intentioned, and given those other selling areas it wouldn't surprise me to see them remain in business for some time.

Thank you, we hope to stay in business for a long time too. Your observations are noted, and we're glad to have your critiques. Most of what you've mention in your post we are aware of as far as the website goes. The comment about the excerpts though I will bring up with Dave tonight when I talk to him, and will find out if we are looking at ways of improving that on the new website.

I say in addition that Dave is devoted to the publishing aspect of the company. The additional sales work we do with the merchandise takes a side seat. Dave's primary focus is, and will always be towards getting our authors published which is one of the reasons why it's taken us a year and a half to get our store open. When it comes to meeting deadlines, doing prepress, printing, and privishing, that all comes first and foremost before everything else. It comes before me, the website, the store, everything.

Thank you for your post

John

 

[J.D.74]

If you have a sales team, then I'm curious as to how Dave can be unaware of the difference between a wholesaler and a distributor. Not trying to be a PITA, but trying to get a better idea on this company.

I understand, and it's a good question to ask. Dave will have to clear up that question for you. Again my knowledge level of publishing is not very great, though I am making the attempt to learn. The definition of "Distributor" is where I believe the confusion is at. Dave will have to explain what he meant by saying B&T and Ingram are distributors.

Thanks

John

 

[victoriastrauss]

It is impossible to start a new publishing company and have a wealth of experience. We all have to start somewhere.

True, but when starting a business, the best point to start from is one of experience and knowledge.

People who have worked in publishing or a related field have that experience and knowledge, even if they haven't run a publisher before. People who have only worked in non-publishing-related fields have, at the very least, an extremely steep learning curve ahead.

There's a high attrition rate for even the best-run independent publishers. Starting a publisher with zero publishing experience definitely increases the odds of failure--not to mention, poor contract terms and nonstandard business practices. (I'm speaking generally here, not about your company in particular.) That's something that authors very much need to be concerned about--because it's their rights that are in jeopardy if the publisher goes bust.

- Victoria

 

[allenparker]

The confusion is simple

Here's a good brief explanation of the difference between a wholesaler and a distributor.

- Victoria

While this is a great article and the people here are good at explaining the difference, the problem is in the public perception that wholesaler and distributor are the same. It is not that John or Dave are trying to deceive us, but that in the other lines of business they work, Ingram's fits the descriptions of a distributor.

The problem across the board is that most of what is said here can be summed up with the understanding that we have a failure to communicate. The language of literary world is different than the rest of the world. They are speaking English and we are speaking in Tongues. (Yes, I am born again, but God gave me the gift of Tongue-tied instead.)

One of the advantages of this board, and Lynn, Victoria, and others by extension, is to educate the the masses. both the authors and the publishers who wander into our place.

I know of several publishers who have adapted their programs after having visited here. Many have offered their own expertise as well.

I personally have been taught much from the beware, PA, and other threads and rooms. Thanks to all.

Damn. Don't y'all know I hate heights! Get me off this soapbox.

 

[priceless1]

It is impossible to start a new publishing company and have a wealth of experience. We all have to start somewhere.

Why? It's true that we all have to start somewhere, but how is it a good idea to be a complete neophyte? How is this good for your authors?

 

[victoriastrauss]

The problem across the board is that most of what is said here can be summed up with the understanding that we have a failure to communicate. The language of literary world is different than the rest of the world. They are speaking English and we are speaking in Tongues.

I agree that the language of publishing is arcane and not well-known to outsiders (one reason why ordinary lawyers are not a good choice to vet publishing contracts or author-agent agreements).

However, if you want to be a publisher, you need to learn to speak Publisher--before you open for business, not after. Not to beat a dead horse, but the distinction between distributors and wholesalers is a crucial one, not least because it involves an understanding of the value of a sales force and the importance of getting books into physical bookstores. A functioning publisher that doesn't grasp the distinction has a major knowledge gap.

Can knowledge be acquired at any time? Of course. But again, the time to learn the ins and outs of your chosen business is before you start doing business. Otherwise you are making your clients the guinea pigs of your learning process, and that's not good for anyone.

- Victoria

 

[Michael]

By your own admission you aren't experienced with this, so it goes to reason that you might take into account the opinions of those who do have experience in this.

Which is exactly why I asked. I appreciate you taking the time to clear that up for me.

DecemberQuinn:

Thank you for that. Yes I read it, but it seems like I didn't retain as much as I'd thought! I even forgot that it was focused on epublishers.

Thanks again everyone, and to Victoriastrauss for the link.

EDIT: Ahhhh. "...serving as your sales department, actively soliciting orders...." So why do Baker and Taylor call themselves a distributor if they're really a wholesaler?

 

[Unimportant]

It is impossible to start a new publishing company and have a wealth of experience. We all have to start somewhere.

Not true. Jim Baen managed it perfectly well. So did Samhain. And those are the kind of publishers I'd send my mss to.

 

[Stacia Kane]

Mr. Dexheimer,

I appreciate your responses to my post, very much. Thank you for not attacking me. And I appreciate your points about being in the process of building a new site. I'm glad my comments helped you there; I cannot urge you strongly enough to POST EXCERPTS FROM YOUR BOOKS. Yes, it is incredibly important. People are simply not going to buy a book from an author they don't know without being able to sample it. Post a decent-length excerpt too; the first chapter is usually best. Let readers really get a sense of what they're buying.

But that doesn't change the most important argument, which is that none of the staffers have publishing experience. You said:

It is impossible to start a new publishing company and have a wealth of experience. We all have to start somewhere.

It's true that everyone has to start somewhere, but in my experience, those who go on to success start by working for another publishing company, and learning every aspect of the business that way. It's been said here many times, by people with a lot more knowledge and experience than me, that "publisher" is not an entry level job.

I wonder if you and the mysterious Dave are making an effort to compensate for that by hiring experienced people? For example, what is the previous experience of your editors? Who acquires the books? Who does the cover design? The questions about distro are already on the table so I won't repeat them.

Certainly I wish you the best of luck; successful small presses are in everyone's best interests. And the fact that you haven't shown up here screaming at everyone and seem to be taking our comments on board bodes well, and again, I sincerely appreciate your response to my post.

But my concerns about the lack of experience of the principals hasn't changed.

 

[J.D.74]

True, but when starting a business, the best point to start from is one of experience and knowledge.

People who have worked in publishing or a related field have that experience and knowledge, even if they haven't run a publisher before. People who have only worked in non-publishing-related fields have, at the very least, an extremely steep learning curve ahead.

I have to agree with you on that point, it is always better to start off with some kind of experience. But doctors do not become doctors overnight. The fact that Wandering Sage Publications has been operating and making money for the past 7 years I believe shows that we know what we are doing. 90% of new publishing houses fail within the first 3 years. We've gotten past that obviously and we've expanded to have a number of good award winning authors. I'm sure for Dave, there has been a steep learning curve, he's explained to me some of the mistakes he's made and what lessons he's learned.

So you're right, 100%, it's preferred and better to have some kind of experience in the business, but it's not always a requirement.

Thanks

John

 

[victoriastrauss]

But doctors do not become doctors overnight.

This is true. But they don't practice on actual patients before they've learned how.

It shouldn't be any different with a publishing company. Opening for business before you've actually learned how to run the business is doing a major disservice to your clients.

- Victoria

 

[J.D.74]

Why? It's true that we all have to start somewhere, but how is it a good idea to be a complete neophyte? How is this good for your authors?

I'm not trying to be contrary when saying this, but to my knowledge there are not classes one can take down at the community college that will teach how to run a publishing business.

The only way to gain that experience is to otherwise work for a publishing house. Dave is the kind of person that helps people, that is why he was a medic in St Louis for a number of years. Sadly though, a medic in this society works hard, for not great pay. Dave is also an author and actor, and when he had trouble getting his own works published, that is when he decided to start his company to make it easier for authors like him to be given the chance to publish their work.

As far as starting a new company being a complete neophyte, look at Bill Gates. Again, you have to start somewhere, but starting at the bottom is not a bad thing, if anything you're more open because the standard business practices and methods are drilled into your brain, giving a narrow field of vision on how to run and operate your company. Wandering Sage does things differently than what you might find in traditional publishing houses, but that could be why we have been successful.

Dave was also upset with the way most publishers treated and paid their authors. That is one of the reasons why he was motivated to start Emerald Falcon Press, which was later changed too Wandering Sage. But Dave wants to give new and young authors opportunities that he was not given. I never knew now hard it was to get published until one day Dave sat me down and explained to me all the things he had to do, and the reason why he wanted to start his own company.

Good question though on your part, you do make a good and valid point about starting with experience. I hope you can see my point of view on it as well.

Thank you.

John

 

[J.D.74]

Not true. Jim Baen managed it perfectly well. So did Samhain. And those are the kind of publishers I'd send my mss to.

Well, if you have a "wealth of knowledge" about something, it's not really "new" to you.. yes? That was my point.

Thanks

John.

 

[J.D.74]

But that doesn't change the most important argument, which is that none of the staffers have publishing experience. It's true that everyone has to start somewhere, but in my experience, those who go on to success start by working for another publishing company, and learning every aspect of the business that way. It's been said here many times, by people with a lot more knowledge and experience than me, that "publisher" is not an entry level job.

Good point and I agree, having some kind of experience is preferred, but I argue about it being a requirement.

I wonder if you and the mysterious Dave are making an effort to compensate for that by hiring experienced people?

Ha! Yeah, the mysterious Dave, good one there. And to answer that question yes. The people we hire to work for us are not people fresh out of high school that we pay minimum wage too. I do not have in depth knowledge about what their qualifications are, as that not part of what "I" do for Wandering Sage. But yes, these are people that are professionals at what they do. And again, this company has been operating for 7 years now, so we're not brand spankin' new to the business. We have our roots firmly established and we are looking to grow and expand our operations.

Our strategy is not like the normal business model. Most companies are intently focused on just ONE aspect, like a laser. We go after various markets, publishing, distribution, retail, technologies, and so on. It is kind of a shotgun approach, and if you talk to any business major, they'll tell you that "Oh that method won't work, you'll FAIL!" Well, 7 years now and we're still going, so those educated blow hards in white shirts and ties are not always right.

For example, what is the previous experience of your editors? Who acquires the books? Who does the cover design? The questions about distro are already on the table so I won't repeat them.

Excellent questions, all best answered by Dave. I can tell you as far as cover and designs go we do have contracts with several artists that have worked with Marvel comics, good reputable artists who have proven their worth. As far as the other questions, you'll have to wait for Dave.

Certainly I wish you the best of luck; successful small presses are in everyone's best interests. And the fact that you haven't shown up here screaming at everyone and seem to be taking our comments on board bodes well, and again, I sincerely appreciate your response to my post.

You're very welcome, and like always, I thank you for asking good questions, I'm sorry that I cannot answer all of them for you. As I've said before, Dave and I strive to be 100% professional towards everyone, even our critics.

But my concerns about the lack of experience of the principals hasn't changed.

I hope once Dave finds the time to come to the post and spends a few hours catching up, that he may be able to go into greater detail about the experience we do have as a company and the people we have working for us.

Thank you again

John

 

[J.D.74]

This is true. But they don't practice on actual patients before they've learned how.

It shouldn't be any different with a publishing company. Opening for business before you've actually learned how to run the business is doing a major disservice to your clients.

- Victoria

Ah, this is true. But I'd say that Wandering Sage is past it's "learning" phase on how to conduct business as a publisher. But you're right, I wouldn't open up a burger joint without knowing how to cook the burger and fries. And while I was not with Wandering Sage at the very start of the company, I don't believe Dave woke up one day and said 'I'm gonna start a publishing company'. He is the kind of person that studies and does research, rather than jumping in with both feet. But like I've said, Wandering Sage has been around for a while now, we've shown that we make money, our authors make money, and we're not the blind leading the blind.

John

P.S. Wow, never thought I'd be a public relations rep! Heh.

 

[priceless1]

But I'd say that Wandering Sage is past it's "learning" phase on how to conduct business as a publisher. But you're right, I wouldn't open up a burger joint without knowing how to cook the burger and fries.

In all honesty, knowing how to make a burger is only half the battle. Knowing how to budget for the supplies and ensure you have a market who will buy those burgers is the important thing. You say that WS has been around a while, and I'm confused since it appears it's only been around for two years. Looking back in this thread (page 1), I see that Dave's company used to be Falcon Press. How long did that venture live, and why did it change names? I have to say that the comments were less than laudatory.

My problem is that he didn't have distribution then, and he doesn't appear to have it now. It seems that the only way either company can stay afloat is with the authors either buying their own books - which is standard for vanity/PODs, or the authors are your sales team.

You said that you employ a sales team, but I can tell you that unless you have large print runs, your authors have a presence, you do a ton of promtion work in the background, and those sales teams have fabulous relationships with all the genre buyers, those sales folks are going to be greatly hindered.

The first thing buyers do is they look at your catalogue. They also look at websites. Yours is difficult to navigate because you've hidden your books amongst your other goodies. Were I one of WS's authors, I'd be most unhappy. That this company has remained open is certainly something, given these tough economical times, but I can't help that, given the seeming lack of store presence or distribution, how that money is coming in. It would be tragic if your authors were bankrolling this company through buhing their own books.

 

[Sheryl Nantus]

yeah... I think Dave should show up soon.

just an idea.

 

[M.R.J. Le Blanc]

Our strategy is not like the normal business model. Most companies are intently focused on just ONE aspect, like a laser. We go after various markets, publishing, distribution, retail, technologies, and so on.

Ever heard the saying "jack of all trades, master of none?"

There's a reason publishers especially tend not to focus on too much - it's so they can put all their efforts and energy into what they do choose to rep. That's why you see so many publishers who'll only deal with a few genres, and only when they've become successful at doing that do they open imprints to expand. They don't start by publishing every genre plus start an imprint plus sell products unrelated to publishing plus technology stuff, etc. Where's your focus? How well can you possibly do ANY of that when you're spread so thin?

IMO, if you want people to start taking you a little more seriously as a publisher you should drop the other stuff. If you want to publish books, focus on that. If you want to get into technology stuff, focus on that. If you want to sell unrelated merchandise, focus on that. You and Dave have a VERY steep uphill climb ahead of you, you shouldn't be making it that much harder on yourselves by dipping your toes in many pools, so to speak.

 

[IceCreamEmpress]

As far as starting a new company being a complete neophyte, look at Bill Gates.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen cofounded Microsoft. Paul Allen had been working at Honeywell for a couple of years by then--Honeywell was, at that time, one of the largest high-tech companies in the US, and seen by many as IBM's biggest competitor. Many of the 20th century's biggest computer businesses were founded by ex-Honeywell employees, including Wang and DEC. Clearly, people who were working at Honeywell learned a lot about the then-current high-tech environment.

Gates and Allen also brought in other experienced folks at various phases of the operation.

What you guys are trying to do is approach publishing sideways, using another field's business models. Please think about at least bringing in a short-term consultant with some publishing experience--it will help your company and your authors.

 

[Michael]

The first time I looked at the WS site, there were all kinds of books for sale on the home page. I suppose they must be working on it, but now there is only the sidebar and this statement in the middle of the page:

"We are Always upgading our inventory so check back often."

"Always" is capitalized, "upgrading" is a misspelled typo, and the sentence seems to lack necessary punctuation. Aren't these some of the signs you said to look for, DecemberQuinn? I don't know what happened, but it looked better before...

Sorry, John. This is kind of trivial compared to the other matters discussed here. I just feel like kicking myself because I said "their site looks good" but now it doesn't.

If Dave were to address all those concerns and adjust the web site accordingly, as a writer I might be more inclined to submit. But I would want to see a page that lists the editorial staff and their experience, that WS has an actual distributor rather than a wholesaler (that calls itself a distributor for some reason), and submission guidelines (of course - although not a blatant call for submissions or an appeal to new authors about their "dreams"); just as everyone here suggests.

And as DecemberQuinn pointed out, she doesn't believe WS is a scam and neither do I. It just looks like an inexperienced company that doesn't have all its cards on the table - not because it's hiding the hand, but because it doesn't actually know which cards to show. There have been a few small presses that had nothing but good intentions and even good ideas go under recently, and their authors were hit pretty hard because of it. So you can understand why I might be reluctant to submit to Wandering Sage right now, can't you?

Just thought I'd give one prospective author's perspective on this.

 

[J.D.74]

I see that Dave's company used to be Falcon Press. How long did that venture live, and why did it change names?

2-3 years, and it was changed when Dave bought out his business partner because she decided somewhere along the line that she wanted to become a full time school teacher, "I believe." Don't quote me on that, specific part, but Emerald Falcon Press used to be co-owned between Dave and someone else. Priorities for the other person involved changed, and to reliever her of her responsibilities with the company he bought her portion of the company and renamed it Wandering Sage.

My problem is that he didn't have distribution then, and he doesn't appear to have it now. It seems that the only way either company can stay afloat is with the authors either buying their own books - which is standard for vanity/PODs, or the authors are your sales team.

You're entitled to your belief on how you think we make our money, but you're wrong.

The first thing buyers do is they look at your catalogue. They also look at websites. Yours is difficult to navigate because you've hidden your books amongst your other goodies. Were I one of WS's authors, I'd be most unhappy.

We do have a catalogue, and not to be a dead horse, I've explained many times about our website and how that is being changed. It's worked for us in the past to an extent, and now we are working on a new one to fix the various flaws evident to everyone.

To be a little blunt, you're not one of our authors, we had one of our authors come here (Shane) and he made it quite clear what kind of relationship he has with us and tried his best to make it apparent that Wandering Sage does good by it's authors. Our authors are happy with the work we do for the and the efforts we make to promote them and sell their works. We understand that we cannot please everyone, but for the writers we do work with, they are quite happy with us.

It would be tragic if your authors were bankrolling this company through buhing their own books.

Our authors do not bankroll our company, we pay our authors. It's quite easy to make assumptions such as that one, but really in the end they do no good.

John

 

[J.D.74]

Ever heard the saying "jack of all trades, master of none?"

Yes, as has everyone else. That is why we have various divisions within the company with presidents that have skills to promote their area of expertise. Dave works the publishing end of the company. I work the technology end of the company, two very different sides with different goals and needs, but we manage to get by.

That's why you see so many publishers who'll only deal with a few genres, and only when they've become successful at doing that do they open imprints to expand.

That is part of what separates us from the rest of the pack, is because we are not your traditional style of publishing house. That is what gives us an edge beyond the others. Great works of art and literature do not simply come from one genre, and we will not limit ourselves to only accepting works from just fantasy or sci-fi, though that is the company's bread a butter. But again, we've proven the normal business model wrong thus far by doing it 'their' way, but 'our' way. And we will continue to do so.

How well can you possibly do ANY of that when you're spread so thin?

Simple, we work hard, are devoted, and we think outside the box. You're comparing us to existing publishing houses that are set in their ways and that have ran the publishing industry a set way for many many years. Why is it so hard to believe that by working in a different mannor outside of the norm, that it's bad? It's not, it's just our way, and again, I point to the fact that it has worked thus far.

IMO, if you want people to start taking you a little more seriously as a publisher you should drop the other stuff. If you want to publish books, focus on that. If you want to get into technology stuff, focus on that. If you want to sell unrelated merchandise, focus on that.

Well you're entitled to your own opinion certainly. We believe though that you can do more than one thing at a time. That may be impossible for some, but it's not for us.

You and Dave have a VERY steep uphill climb ahead of you, you shouldn't be making it that much harder on yourselves by dipping your toes in many pools, so to speak.

You see that as a weakness, we see it a strength. Nothing wrong with your view on that, not everyone can do it. We are.

Good challenges there Thank you.

John.