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| Max Phelps |
Max Phelps is has
spent his life in service of books ~ he is the son of a lawyer/novelist, he was
an assistant in a Quaker library, he managed bookstores, and he’s been doing
the great work of getting our books out there for years as director of
marketing and sales. Now, he is director
of outdoor sales for the National Book Network (for Globe Pequot, FalconGuides,
and Lyons).
His great
presentation at the Wind River Outdoor Writers Conference was about what
happens in publishing and what a writer might expect if they went the
traditional route. He outlined what the
organizational chart of a typical publishing house might be, which sounds
boring but is absolutely fascinating to writers. He outlined the process a book goes
through. I’m not being facetious when I
say I was on the edge of my seat.
And as he was
talking about all these great people working in a house to get books out there
~ you know 30 or 50 or 100 ~ I kept thinking about how as a self-publisher you
have to do every one of those jobs. All
the more reason to appreciate all the help you can get, whether you’re traditionally
published or self-published or both.
And Max is such a
lovely person! I’m so stoked that I got to meet him and hope to run into him in
the future. You know that person in the
room that doesn’t say that much but when he does, everyone stops and
listens? That’s Max. I’m much heartened about the future of book
publishing when I think that people like Max are in the trenches. *Hand to
heart* Max!
Here is his bio:
I was born and raised in Southern Colorado, and lived in Philadelphia and Montana before settling in Connecticut. Occasionally I work for my wife and kids, serving as the pack mule for their backcountry trips and as their belay slave at the climbing gym or local crag. I am a regular source of motivation to cyclists in the region, giving them the impression that they are fast and strong. The nearby Long Island Sound is plenty raucous to test my paddling skills, and I noticed that there are lots of trees and birds in the area, so I am planning to learn the names of some of them. I have a ski problem and must always have a healthy supply of New Mexico Green Chile in my freezer.
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