Cold Type

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The URL is http://spencepublishing.typepad.com/spence_publishing_weblog/atom.xml, or you may use the link at the top of the left-hand column.

Book Publicity

People in the publishing industry are wondering why our new publicity division, Spence Media, charges so much less for a media campaign than most publicity firms and freelance publicists. The short answer is that our fee per booking is based on the actual sales value of media placements, not on what the market will bear. The long answer is here.

Very often, even major media exposure does not guarantee big sales, as this article from the PMA Independent, the newsletter of the Publishers Marketing Association (a trade association of independent publishers), illustrates:

Two findings emerge clearly from your reports on the consequences of major media coverage:

• Important shows and magazines—including Oprah, Today, 20/20, Money, and The New York Times—do pay attention to books that PMA members publish.
• That attention doesn’t necessarily translate into sizable sales. Sometimes hundreds or thousands of copies move off the shelves; sometimes "nothing happens."

Interestingly, the same range of results applies to books from the huge New York houses, as publicists note off the record.

Read more.

Major Announcement

Spence Publishing is pleased to announce the formation of a new division, Spence Media (www.SpenceMedia.com), to provide radio and television publicity for publishers, authors, and organizations. We now offer clients the same vigorous and skillful media promotion that has allowed Spence Publishing—an independent publisher of serious nonfiction—to turn a substantial profit.

Was Darwin a Conservative?

We're pleased to announce the publication of Carson Holloway's new book, The Right Darwin? Evolution, Religion, and the Future of Democracy. An excerpt is available here.

As always, our new releases are available directly from Spence Publishing for half price. Shipping on orders over $30 is free.

You Can't Buy Endorsements Like This

One blogger's assessment of our work here at Spence:

Libraries and bookstores avoid [their books] like steaming heaps of tainted dog feces.

Read more.

About Cold Type

Cold Type is hosted by Spence Publishing Company, a commercial nonfiction publisher of books on culture and society, and Spence Media, a firm that provides radio and television publicity to publishers, authors, and organizations.

Posts will include news about our books, authors, staff, and company, as well as commentary on current events and the publishing industry. Our "Categories" sort our posts by the type of news in the post and by the names of our authors and staff. Our "Archives" sort posts by week.

In the right-hand column we feature several of our current titles. All of our books are at least 40% off on the Spence Publishing website. Shipping is free on orders over $30.00. We also have an overstocks page, where prices start at $5.00.

We may permit guests to post on our blog. Though Cold Type is paid for and hosted by Spence Publishing, therefore, nothing posted on or linked from Cold Type should be taken to represent anything other than the personal opinion or interest of the author of the post.