The education of an author

Larry Baker has two financial goals for his new novel, 'The Education of Nancy Adams.”

'First goal: do not lose money. Second goal: any profit is good profit.”

To those ends, Baker, of Iowa City, has devised a unique strategy for the promotion of the book. With the help of his publisher, Steve Semken of North Liberty's Ice Cube Press, Baker has been working to ensure that the novel finds an audience without going in the red.

Baker's first novel, 1997's 'The Flamingo Rising,” was published by a major house and was adapted into a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie. But his subsequent books have come out from smaller presses - 'The Education of Nancy Adams” is his third from Ice Cube Press - and that has meant less attention in the media. That, in turn, has made it difficult to build an audience.

'My last two books ('A Good Man” and 'Love and Other Delusions”),” Baker said, 'got no national reviews ... . Publishers have to print anticipating sales, and if you guess wrong you're screwed.”

So this latest book was released with a limited run of hardcover editions, a no returns policy for booksellers and a decision not to sell physical copies online.

Just 200 hardcovers were released in April made available directly from Ice Cube Press or from Prairie Lights in Iowa City and New Bo Books in Cedar Rapids. By early May, Baker estimated only 30 remained.

The paperback will be released officially in June (though it also will be available at bookstore and library events Baker does throughout the month), and Baker will be happy to have booksellers far and wide carry the book. But those stores won't be able to return the books they don't sell to the author or his publisher. 'We'll sell to anyone who wants to buy a book,” Baker said, 'not borrow it.”

As for Amazon, sales of physical copies of Baker's previous books through the site were bringing in about 20 cents per book. 'There's no money on Amazon ... . We'll let Amazon do what Amazon does best, which is e-books.”

Though the early stages of Baker's plan have been successful, his approach has cost him just the sort of national attention he's been missing. A national magazine - Baker prefers not to reveal which - was planning to review 'The Education of Nancy Adams” in June. Upon discovering the early launch in Iowa the magazine balked. The book would no longer be a new release come June, they said.

Still, Baker is pleased with the sales of the hardcover and confident he's on the right track.

'This marketing strategy is not designed to make (the book) a best-seller,” he said. 'It's simply designed to find an audience and make money.”