I Street Press

I Street Press 2017-2018 Annual Report And Catalog of Titles Copyright © 2018, Sacramento Public Library Authority Cover Design by Tenaya Jacobson Interior Layout and Design Gerald F. Ward Printed in the United States Sacramento Public Library I Street Press 828 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814 [email protected] I Street Press is a service of the Sacramento Public Library and is not a separate publishing entity. High-quality, perfect-bound paperback printing is provided. Marketing, editing, design and distribution services are not currently offered Espresso Book Machine I Street Press I Street Press 2017-2018 Annual Report And Catalog of Titles i INTRODUCTION i I STREET PRESS iii Authors and Titles iv Books Printed iv Programming and Attendance v Publishing Appointments vi Receipts vii Significant Events viii CATALOG OF TITLES Anthologies 3 Art 4 Biography 4 Business 7 California – Description and Travel 8 Extraordinary Crossings 8 Cooking 9 Family History 9 Fiction 14 History 19 Literature 22 Mental Health 24 Music 25 Personal Narrative 25 Poetry 26 Sports 30 Science 31 Teaching 31 i Introduction For local authors, the easiest and coolest part of self-publishing is using the I Street Press to help finish and print their books. Conversely, the hardest part for every author is writing and revising their book. Library staff cannot help write or edit an author’s book. We can make printing their books as stress-free as possible. We do make suggestions on formatting and creating covers that speed the process. Staff of the I Street Press (henceforth known simply as Staff) strive to make the author’s experience in self-publishing as clean and rewarding as possible. There are five elements of self-publishing that Staff make every effort to achieve with every author. These five features make self-publishing with the I Street Press memorable. Simplicity – Staff have ample experience in the self-publishing industry, knowing the simplest route to help each author achieve a finished book. We have the tools available, the knowledge to teach authors how to format their books and the expertise to create simple covers that work. While some authors may demand a complicated interior, with charts and images, text boxes and side panels, most of those who use the I Street Press want a clean and uncomplicated interior. Staff stress the reasons for not having an interior that is distracting to the reader at it is presented on the page. We encourage a seamless layout and design so that the reader will focus on the author’s writing and not be preoccupied by a confusing presentation. Realistic Expectations – Most authors carry an expectation of the process without having the experience or the practice of making a book. They see the finished product, books done by other publishers, whether well-known or vanity presses, and expect similar results. What they do not know is that they will get to see the entire process, from formatting to printing and binding their book. With this experience comes a level of comfort in writing and finishing more books. First-time authors are impressed with the unexpected results, while those who have penned other titles printed by the I Street Press tailor their work for the final result. Reaction – Those who have worked diligently on their writing are always enthusiastic and happy when they watch the first copy of their book print right before their eyes. Staff have witnessed authors’ reactions ranging from giggling to tears of joy. Many authors appear stoic until they hold the first copy of their newly printed book. Their hard work has paid off. Concrete results – One of the goals of our Staff is to not take money until the author is ready to print. Having a concrete book, something they can hold in their hands and page through, gives each author a feeling of accomplishment. Authors get to pull the first copy of i their book out of the delivery chute. What had been a dream is now a reality and they will leave holding their book in their hands. Integrity – Usually the first book off the press is a proof copy meant to be carefully examined for errors in writing and grammar, in layout and design. It is the intent of Staff to never print books without the author’s full approval. Staff help authors achieve their goals by helping them self-publish. The I Street Press remains a premier service of the Sacramento Public Library, with a national and international impact on the self-publishing world. The Library and the I Street Press would like to acknowledge the work of a number of individuals, without whom the I Street Press could not have been as productive: David Henson Mary Ellen Burns Larry Fox Devon McMindes Melissa Lopez Natalye Abuan Megan Civitello Sally Bang Michelle Reeves Melani Adachi ii I Street Press The I Street Press began operation in October of 2011, moving into full book production by May of 2012. The I Street Press is a fee-based service of the Sacramento Public Library (SPL), using an On Demand Books (ODB) Espresso Book Machine (EBM) to produce quality, perfect-bound paperback books. Prospective authors attend free information sessions, presented twice a month, to learn what the I Street Press can and cannot do for them in helping them self-publish their books. After the session, Staff takes appointments with individual authors to assess their work to ensure the formatted documents can be printed by the EBM. Books printed may be for individual distribution to family and friends, or sold through retail outlets, online, and brick-and-mortar stores. Structured fees are set to meet the hard costs of producing a book. These fees include one of two set-up fees, per-book costs, extra services (e.g., help with cover design, ISBN, barcode, LCCN), plus tax. SPL currently has access to the International ODB database to upload books printed for wider distribution. Because of the unique service under the authority of SPL, the I Street Press can neither sell books locally nor distribute royalties to authors. When a title is uploaded to the ODB database, it may be printed by any outlet that has access to the database, but especially those places with an EBM. There are a number of criteria used to measure and evaluate the success of the I Street Press. These sources include: number of authors using the I Street Press number of titles uploaded number of physical books printed programming and attendance statistics publishing appointments receipts for services rendered iii Authors and Titles There are 462 titles in the I Street Press inventory by 360 authors. Subjects for books includes fiction, biography, self-help, poetry, religion, local history, children’s books, college textbooks and senior projects. Languages are not limited to English, but include Spanish, German, Finnish and Farsi. The number of copies of each title printed range from one to hundreds. Books Printed I Street Press has printed a total of 26,895 books, averaging 3842 books per year. In the fiscal year 2017-18 the I Street Press printed 3212 books. 2011 July to December 391 2012 January to June 1,397 Total FY 2011-12 1,788 2012 July to December 2,780 2013 January to June 1,719 Total FY 2012-13 4,499 2013 July to December 2,896 2014 January to June 1,665 Total FY 2013-14 4,561 2014 July to December 1,438 2015 January to June 2,347 Total FY 2014-15 3,785 2015 July to December 2,645 2016 January to June 1,937 Total FY 2015-16 4,582 2016 July to December 2,203 2017 January to June 2,265 Total FY 2016-17 4,468 2017 July to December 1,437 2018 January to June 1,775 Total FY 2017-18 3,212 Grand total 26,895 iv Programming and Attendance Since its inception, I Street Press has presented the services offered by SPL to more than 2,500 people. I Street Press offers two information sessions per month. Beginning in 2013 and continuing through 2018, Staff offered tours of the EBM process, traveled to off-site locations to speak with writers’ groups, and have begun offering classes on formatting the book and cover using MS Word, in addition to the information sessions. Programming and attendance has remained steady since inception. Average number of people attending a program per fiscal year is 364. 2011 July to December 0 2012 January to June 406 Total FY 2011-12 406 2012 July to December 132 2013 January to June 222 Total FY 2012-13 354 2013 July to December 213 2014 January to June 331 Total FY 2013-14 544 2014 July to December 173 2015 January to June 105 Total FY 2014-15 278 2015 July to December 155 2016 January to June 230 Total FY 2015-16 385 2016 July to December 135 2017 January to June 230 Total FY 2016-17 365 2017 July to December 119 2018 January to June 98 Total FY 2017-18 217 Grand total 2,549 v Publishing Appointments The number of publishing appointments is proportional to the number of authors and titles represented within the I Street Press inventory. Since its inception, I Street Press has held 1,972 appointments, each lasting an average of one hour. Often, an author will have two appointments or more before finishing and self-publishing their book. Some authors will come and use the I Street Press on a regular or irregular basis because they are publishing more than one title.

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