Interview with WindRiver Publishing
By Wm | 12.21.06
Keith “JB” Howick Jr. of WindRiver Publishing Inc. kindly agreed to answer some questions from AMV. WindRiver is one of the new crop of small Mormon presses that have been started in the past few years.
What was the genesis of WindRiver Publishing?
Thanks to an education-oriented family, I graduated from the University of Utah as an Electrical Engineer in 1992. I spent the next 15 years in the electronics industry before deciding that the life of an engineer is a bit less glamorous than the brochures said it would be. I felt that technology management wasn’t creative enough for me and I wanted to learn new skills, so in 2003, my family and I decided to combine our writing, editing, marketing, sales, and management skills, along with a set of previously published and unpublished books written by my father, to create WindRiver Publishing.
Could you explain why you target the national, Christian and Mormon markets?
Each of these markets has challenges and rewards. Our business model needed at least two of the markets to succeed. The LDS market is small but it’s the one we’re most familiar with, so at present it’s our bread-and-butter market. The LDS market also represents our core beliefs, which we won’t walk away from. The national market is much larger (as much as 300X) and has much more profit potential for a small but aggressively growing company. However, it also presents larger risks and pitfalls. Our success in the LDS market is allowing us to grow into the national market.
The Christian market is important to us, but is also the most difficult market to break into. Some of our company’s goals are to help build the Lord’s Kingdom and to magnify His name. The scriptures teach us that we’re to take Christ’s message to the world. The Christian market represents for us the ultimate challenge for this mandate. Publishing the Lord’s message and the story of the Saints helps the world to better understand us and learn about the fullness of the Gospel, but the Christian market is very protected and filled with people who aren’t fond of Mormons. It’s a worthy challenge.
What genres do you think have the most potential to hit all three of the markets?
There probably isn’t a genre that can succeed in all three markets. It’s rare to even see a crossover from the Christian market to the national market (off the top of my head, the last one was Rick Warren’s The Purpose-driven Life: What on Earth am I Here For?). The reason for this is that the three markets have very different primary interests. Simply put, the national market is primarily driven by coarse entertainment and self-education, the Christian market is driven by protestant inspirational titles, and the LDS market by LDS entertainment and books by General Authorities.
However, while I don’t think there’s a specific genre that can crossover, I do believe that authors can enter the different markets. But it means they will have to learn how to write books that incorporate Mormon characters or LDS beliefs, rather than being about Mormons.
You’ll be coming out with a LDS Writers’ Market Guide soon. What kind of stuff is going to be in it?
This is an early announcement, but okay, you talked me into it!
Two of the difficulties facing the LDS market are growth, and organizing the efforts of new talent. There are plenty of LDS consumers, and they spend just as much money on entertainment, education, and spiritual products as everyone else; but if they’re not presented with a variety of quality LDS products, they’ll buy secular products instead. There are also plenty of LDS artists, authors, musicians, manufacturers, and developers who want to get products into the LDS market, but who lack the knowledge of where to start.
In most markets (including the national and Christian book markets), there are guides to help authors, artists, musicians, etc. We intend to produce the first comprehensive writer’s guide for the LDS market. Referring specifically to authors, our book will contain the following:
- A description of the book industry and the specific markets available to LDS authors and writers.
- Articles to help authors perfect their art and produce literary works of high quality.
- Contact information and submission guidelines for publishers, newspapers, magazines, online services, etc.
- Information about service providers (such as editors, proof readers, layout and cover artists, typographers, etc.) that can help authors either prepare to submit to publishers or publish a book themselves.
We’ll have much of this in the first edition of the book, but it will grow each year. If it’s not included in the first edition, later editions will contain information for musicians, poets, film and video personnel, artists, and illustrators.
People who want to discover more about the book, pre-order the book, or participate in the book, can do so on its website: www.ldswritersmarket.com.
You’ve received some press about the book Free Speech 101: The Utah Valley Uproar Over Michael Moore — how did that title come about?
Constitutional free speech is an issue that is near and dear to every publisher’s heart. When we were first contacted by Joe Vogel about Free Speech 101, it naturally piqued our interest. As we read the book, spoke with Joe, and learned more about the story, we discovered there was an issue that deserved more than just newspaper coverage. The book addresses the often violent intolerance our nation has developed toward free speech in the last six years. It discusses the relationship between institutions of higher education (mandated to educate people broadly to produce leaders and thinkers of the highest caliber) and their surrounding communities. These issues are not easy to address because they involve money, politics, morals, ethics, social needs, individual wants, and individual opinions. Free Speech 101 is so compelling that George Mason University has begun using it as a case study in its community relations classes. Publishers have a hard time passing up books like this.
From your project proposal form, it’s clear that you ask your authors to think long and hard about the market for their book. How has the response to that been? What will authors gain from publishing with you that they might not get from other publishers in the Mormon and/or Christian markets?
Our project submission form was developed over several years and reflects both our frustration with the general level of unpreparedness among authors and our needs as a small publisher. The questions are not intended to help us understand a given project—we have enough experience to do this on our own if necessary—they are instead geared to help us evaluate the author.
We are a small company and must therefore spend our marketing and promotion money wisely. This means we must be confidant that we have a professional and marketable package, and that includes the capabilities of the author. The answers to our questions tell us how much the authors know about the book industry, how much they know about the business of selling books, and how prepared they are to participate in promotional efforts.
The responses to our questions range from “I have no idea,” to verbiage that is lengthy and well thought-out. The average response, however, is general and uninspiring. For example, under inspiration we commonly receive simple one-word responses. Under target audience they write, “everybody.” Under competitive difference, they say their book is “unique” and “has no competition,” and under competing books they indicate “none.” (For the record, with the possible exception of the first category, all of these answers are incorrect.)
What authors will gain from us is a business partner that will work closely with them to create an excellent product. Unlike larger publishers, we’ll help our authors perfect their art, clarify their message, and complete their book, regardless of their genre.
What’s the biggest challenge WindRiver faces right now?
We face different challenges in different markets. Probably the biggest challenge right now is finding cost-efficient ways to promote our products in the LDS market. Unlike the national or Christian markets, the LDS market does not have many established media outlets that connect to large groups of Saints. This is especially true outside the Wasatch Front. The market has not yet developed to the point where there is a “Christianity Today” or “New York Times Review of Books” for the LDS market. As a result, we’re constantly looking for regional magazines and newspapers, online services, and other media organizations that we can use for advertising and promotion purposes. (Lest we forget, the book industry is primarily driven by reviews.)
What positive things would you like to see happen in the Mormon market over the next 5, 10 years?
As I just mentioned, the biggest hurdle in the market is a cost-effective way to connect with the Saints—in the U.S. and Canada, if not world-wide. I’d like to see an organization develop that can provide a marketing service that allows high-quality advertising and promotion to be delivered directly to the Saints. It would need to coordinate with the Church so that the Church’s desire to protect the Saints from unscrupulous commercialism would be respected while still promoting the necessary growth of the LDS market. I mentioned earlier that the Saints spend no less on entertainment and education than anyone else, and if they can’t find suitable LDS products, they’ll spend their money on secular products. This is the problem I’d like to see overcome in the next 5-10 years.
Thanks, JB!