This book is the result of a career spent in the creative, stimulating, enjoyable world of book publishing. The knowledge gained over the course of these years is the direct result of interaction with people far too numerous to count. To all of them, my heartfelt thanks for sharing their wisdom with me.
A few people deserve special mention and special thanks:
My wife, Elizabeth, for her design skills, patience, and uncanny ability to decipher my illegible handwriting.
Our children, Rebecca and Hannah, for putting up with my constant disappearances while working on this book and who are now well out on their own and thriving.
Howard, Bill, and Helen Fisher for their encouragement and help.
Cynthia Sherry of Chicago Review Press, for her encouragement to move forward with the fifth edition.
Dominique Raccah, for her foreword to this edition and for her inspiration to independent publishers everywhere.
And finally, I would like to remember Jan Nathan, the former Executive Director of the Independent Book Publisher’s Association, whose foreword graced the first three editions of Publishing for Profit. For nearly thirty years, Jan played a key role in guiding and elevating the professionalism of independent publishers across the country, as well as advocating for them among industry organizations. Her zeal and persistence helped the industry recognize the variety and economic power of independent presses.