by Caleb Fort
Daily Lobo
UNM Press's sales are about 64 percent higher than they were this time last year - the latest in a series of successes for the publisher.
Last year the press made about $100,000. This year, the press is far ahead of that number, at about $500,000 said Luther Wilson, director of UNM Press.
The press has seen substantial growth since 2000 for a variety of reasons, he said, but mostly because of the staff and the authors they represent.
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"It's certainly one of the best groups of people I've ever worked with," he said.
For example, after the State Legislature made a New Mexico history class mandatory for high school students, pressure fell on the press to put together and publish a textbook in about four months.
"We had desperate calls from the State Education Department to put together something for them to teach with," he said.
The press sold about $900,000 worth of its 7th grade New Mexico history textbook in the last fiscal year, according to sales figures.
More aggressive marketing is another reason for the high sales, said Glenda Madden, a spokeswoman for UNM Press.
"We've gone to different meetings that have gotten our books more exposure," she said. "We set up events for the authors to go in and speak and do signings."
Increased sales of old books confirm the press's marketing has improved, Wilson said.
"Our backlist titles have picked up in sales," he said. "Which means to me that our marketing outreach is working."
In addition to marketing books, such exposure attracts authors, she said.
"The primary focus as far as I'm concerned is to let prospective authors see what we offer," she said. "We work very closely with them."
UNM Press gives authors postcards they can use to promote their books, she said.
"Not a lot of other university presses do that," she said.
One reason the press has increased sales is because it is attracting and keeping well-known authors, such as Rudolfo Anaya, she said.
"Our editors are going out and getting the right kinds of books that people want to read," she said.
The press produces about 80 titles per year, Wilson said. It also has a 700-title backlist, according to a news release.
In the late '90s, the press saw steady losses, Wilson said. However, it has been profitable every year since 2000, he said.
"Basically the press was kind of rudderless and insular," he said. "It was important to get us all pointing in the same direction instead of all of us pointing fingers at each other."
Both Wilson and Madden said the UNM Press will see another improvement when it moves to a 35,000 square-foot building in the University's Science and Technology Park in July.
It will be the first time in the press's 75-year history that all its departments will be under one roof, which will make it run more efficiently, Wilson said.
The editorial, sales, marketing and production offices are in a building almost two miles away from the customer service office, the business office and the warehouse.
"Being spread apart causes communications problems, and it's inefficient because someone has to keep running stuff back and forth," he said.
The press benefits from New Mexico's culture, he said.
"New Mexico is a pretty easy sell," he said. "An enormous number of tourists are attracted by the culture, and we offer books to fill that need."
Larger Than Life: New Mexico in The Twentieth Century by Ferenc Szasz and Mountains of New Mexico by Robert Julyan are both listed in the press's catalog of upcoming titles.
