Sheer luck in writing and selling almost three thousand independently published copies

by William Fuller
(Marion, MA, US)

Reckless Courage

While recovering from a cancer operation in 2002 my visiting nurse told me some stories about her father's exploits as a teenager in German occupied Norway.

They were quite remarkable and I asked her to write down all she could and to question other members of her family as I thought it would make a good memorial booklet and I would be happy to help put it together and bind (one of my hobbies) about 20 copies.

I decided to do some historical research for background and became fascinated with how important Norway was in World War II and how little recognition it has been given by most historians.

While doing the research, I had lunch with a long time friend whose family owned a small but well regards publisher in New York.

She said the story could make a great book and asked me to submit a proposal. Three months later I did but she questioned whether there was enough for a full length book and asked for a full manuscript.

I went to Norway to visit the sites I had heard about and three months later submitted a full manuscript.

I had some editorial help from two cousins who are writers and editors. My friend liked the manuscript and sent it on to the president of the publishing house with her recommendation. She said the firm's president was terribly busy at the moment but he promised to read the work. A month later I got a call that the firm, Walker & Co., had just been sold to the English firm, Bloomsbury, that published the Harry Potter books and the announcement would appear in the NY Times the next day.

This was just before Christmas in 2004 and I wanted to get the book in 2005, the 100th anniversary of Norway's independence from Sweden.

I did not have a contract and realized I would be at the end of the line for any consideration, all of which I mentioned to Sonia Shannon, one of the top designers at the Yale University Press, and one of my daughter's best friends. I had helped her husband in some career matters and Sonia offered to take over the whole project, setting everything up for a printing including maps, photos, all the design and specifications, etc.

When finished, she contacted four printers, got quotes and we ended up with Transcontinental of Canada who were wonderful to deal with and rushed production to meet a June 2005 deadline for 1,100 copies in softcover (unit cost about $2.30). I picked the cover from a book about the invasion, a boy about 13 against a large symbol of resistance painted on a wall: perfect for the story.

I had joined the Sons of Norway organization in order to meet Norwegians who emigrated here after the war and decided to run a small advertisement there. It is a monthly with a 60,000 circulation. The advertising sales person suggested I send a copy to their editor who annually reviewed and recommended five books in their November issue.

As luck would have it, my book got picked and with a good review, sales took off with stores specializing in Scandinavian products. I was contacted by several wholesalers (Baker & Taylor, Follett Library Resources, etc.) to be vendor and the first printing sold out by Christmas. I went to a second printing, a thousand copies which sold out a year later. The book was selected by Rennaissance Learning, Inc. for their Accelerated Reader Program which with a related quiz is used in about 56,000 schools in the US and Canada.

I decided to list it with the Amazon advantage consignment program. They take 55% and I have to pay postage but they do some minimal stocking of 5 to 10 copies. I have placed it in local book stores, one on consignment and others pay in 30-60 days. I try to give a little more discount than normal, about 45%.

Finally, after the second soft cover edition sold out I decided I wanted a first class hard cover edition and did order 750 copies in full cloth binding with sewn case, headbands, dust jacket and colored endsheets (cost about $7.40 per unit). It is slow but steady in sales and down to under 300 copies. I cannot say much for my marketing, just three advertisements in Norwegian related periodicals, talks with 5 local book reading groups, and three signings at events.

I have made a good profit but it has been really a labor of love and hardly applicable to other situations. Good connections is really the story, and at 78 I will probably not write another book, this being my first and only.

Visit William's site, The Taber Hall Press.