Murderer's Row by Springs Toledo

This was a nice surprise to find on my birthday --! Thank you all for the kind words.

This forum is the only one on the planet that I ever devoted more than 10 minutes too. I was on it almost every day for years and am happy I was. I met the great Joe Rein (John Garfield) here and he became a great mentor to me as he was for so many others. But he's not all that was great about it -there are so many Classic posters, still here, who I am bold enough to count as friends despite the fact that I've never met them. I can't name them because there are too many, but what began with admiration for their knowledge became something better.

Anyway, thank you.

 

Mainstream publishers are not at all big on publishing boxing books. That's a fact. They know the following:
#1. Boxing fans are usually not readers.
#2. Literary types usually despise boxing.

That means that boxing books are a niche within a niche. Here's a little tip for anyone out here who wants to publish a boxing book. First of all, make sure you have the skill and the patience to craft it and do responsible research. Secondly, don't do it through a "boxing" publisher, unless you've already been published, sold over 30,000 books, and/or it's about Tyson or Ali and even then you probably still shouldn't publish through them because you may be able to get a mainstream publisher who can put an ad in The New Yorker.

The hardcover versions of my 3-book series went through a micro-publisher ("Tora") which was Harry Otty's outfit, which was the right move. He's an exception; he's as good a man and as honest a one-man publisher as it gets. He's in it for the right reasons. Case in point -- when Murderers' Row was optioned by a producer, I sent him a release. He didn't blink when he signed it; and wished me good luck. There was no angling for a %, no greedy ambitions, no baby games. That isn't always the case, believe me. William Carlos Williams was right: "There's a lot of *******s out there."

I did the 2nd edition paperbacks through Amazon. Why? Because it allowed me direct control over the product. I spent a bunch on a graphic designer for the covers because though I designed them myself, I have no computer expertise. It was worth it and I made the money back in no time. Better still, if I catch a misprint, I can go in to the Amazon publishing service and correct it. Within 24 hours, it's all set. That's a real boon for a perfectionist like me.

But the #1 reason, by my lights, is this ~ it doesn't make much sense to publish through the typical small "boxing" publishers. They're good to take 50%+ out of your earnings and can do next to nothing when it comes to your sales. Some will market your book, but what difference would it make? The market is a niche within a niche. It isn't getting bigger and it isn't found outside the IBRO, the BWAA, Amazon searches, and forums like this. So self-publish something good via Amazon (get it edited! Pay for a good cover! Think up a title that is worth a damn!), let those 3 know and tweet it, (maybe do a book trailer and a few ads like I did) and you're going to very nearly reach the max of the boxing-reader market --and you'll keep lots more of your money.

Oh, and if per chance, Hollywood comes a'knocking, you can rest assured that you are the beneficiary of your research, your craftsmanship, and your story without the publisher (who, again, didn't do much and doesn't deserve much) horning in.