Staff Added While Mapletree President Concentrates on Publicity

In an article in their September 5 issue, Publishers Weekly noted the recent trend in the development of "officeless publishing." Mapletree has discovered, along with a number of other publishers, that with twenty-first-century technology is it easy to run a publishing company from multiple locations. Thus, while Mapletree President David Hall handles accounting, publicity, and supervisory functions from his home office in the Denver area, production and design director Sue Collier does most of her work out of her Denver area home office, sales are handled by the distributor in Pennsylvania, cover design is done by Tami Dever in Texas and Monica Thomas in California, and editorial functions are handled by editors in several other states. It's a business model that allows some people who don't want to be out of their home—allows them to work and contribute, plus it allows the publisher to recruit from a deep, nationwide talent pool.

Following that model, Mapletree is pleased to welcome the following staff to the company, all of whom will be operating out of their homes and who bring great talent into the organization:

Meanwhile, Mapletree President Dave Hall has decided to concentrate on publicity, which is a job he has enjoyed for years in various volunteer capacities.

New Releases for Fall and Winter 2005
 

Mapletree released two new titles in September. Goodbye, Walter: The Inspiring Story of a Terminal Cancer Patient, by RuthAnn Hogue, and Shattered: Six Steps from Betrayal to Recovery, by Fay Klingler and Bettyanne Bruin. Both have been getting good publicity. Goodbye, Walter was recently featured at book signings in Seattle and Salt Lake City. Author RuthAnn Hogue has also been named the Barnes and Noble author of the month for the Tucson and Phoenix areas, with several events being planned for Barnes and Noble stores in Arizona. Shattered is also being promoted at book signing and other events in Denver, Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Phoenix, with plans being explored for events in Southern California, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, and Atlanta.

Set for release in early winter is Rev. Billy Crone's The Fulfilling Marriage: Eleven Steps Anyone Can Take to Get There. Rev. Crone is the founder of the vibrant Get A Life! International ministry.

Reflections on Mapletree's Mission as We Approach Our Third Anniversary

On October 24, Mapletree will celebrate the third anniversary of its founding. We're happy with how far we've come. Our titles are winning critical acclaim in leading review journals. With our first six titles we have received one review in Publishers Weekly, two reviews in Library Journal, and two reviews in Booklist including one starred review. We've been able to display our books at BookExpo America and regional shows, and later this month one of our titles will be exhibited in Germany at the Frankfurt Book Fair as we solicit international rights deals. Major bookstores have agreed to help promote our books. We're networking with influential people in the national publishing and bookselling community.

We have recently decided to simultaneously refine and expand our mission. The mission statement we adopted in August is "Publishing excellent books that gently promote religious values." We remain who we are. However, we will not confine ourselves to any one religious faith but will seek to cultivate authors of various faiths who can speak of values to a broad American audience.

As we have become more acquainted with the national publishing world, we have seen how great a need there is for publishers that promote traditional values. And we've met good people of various faiths who have struggled to find a suitable publisher. We're happy to be able to be an instrument in bringing their works to a national audience that is hungry for uplifting literature.

Publicity, Publicity, Publicity

Publicity is the way to sell books. Some who are new to the national publishing business feel that publishers should invest more money in advertising. However, if you survey the advertising that is done on the national scene, very little paid advertising is used to promote books. On the other hand, most talk show and news show guests are authors. Radio talk shows, articles, book reviews, speeches, TV and other appearances are the tools used by successful publishers and authors to move their books. That is the avenue Mapletree is pursuing. We are therefore quite pleased with recent publicity successes for our authors.

Shattered recently received a very positive review in Library Journal. Click here to read it. The reviewer complimented the book on its clear explanations and its pragmatic, down-to-earth advice, and recommended it for purchase by public libraries. We know from past experience that a good review in Library Journal can generate many sales.

Other Mapletree titles are continuing to receive publicity. After a number of radio interviews on local programs, Homeschooling author Terrie Bittner will be interviewed by Phyllis Schlafly on her nationally syndicated radio show on Saturday, October 22. Phyllis Schlafly's show is broadcast on 40 stations across the country. If there isn't a station in your area, you can listen on the internet. For details, check the Eagle Forum web site.

Shattered is also receiving broadcast and print media attention, with the authors receiving several bookings on TV news and radio talk shows, and was recently featured in a front page article in Meridian Magazine by author Fay Klingler. Fay is also being interviewed for a story in the Arizona Republic, and Bettyanne was interviewed for a story in the Sacramento Bee.