AMERICAN GRADUATE SCHOOL CF INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT Vol II No It Jtm*2S,19S3 T-Bird alum organizes local talent by ConnUrnee Dugan Although the publishing iMMKry in Boy*- D* Mentc tat on a buckrt general is expanding. New WB City's aboard th* i; S Flllmor* chipping paint dominance as the industry's capital is on* early .Sunday morning In the IJ S oc waning. Publishers are establishing bran­ cupM Tokyo harbor, Mr paiwed t» read a ches in the West; some find, among other clipping his klater in Phoenix had writ him things. New York too expensive, and are Th* Arizona Republic article reported tb«- leaving the city aJl together. The top book opening of ACS1M Scrawled acrotw Ihr market is Southern California." remarked clipping tn hi* *istrr » handwriting read De Mente. 'A nut like you might want to go to a Oe Mente believes communication skills whool Ilkr this " are probably the most important skills a That WM Scpl . 1M> In 19S2, once hi- wan person in business can possess. -Those discharge from the U.S. navy Intelligence who go the farthest." said De Mente. department, l>r Mentr arrived In Phoenix generally have both good writing and ver­ to attend AGSIM and later to become a bal skills. 'You can overcome a tack of prolific writer surrMt.r»l mihliithrr and fcsr-ledge," he csuiiuueu. Failure to !hr founder of Arizona's Author*' Aiuocla- communicate is where most problems (ton begin." DpMi graduating, De Mcntr rrturnrd to For the business student who has excep­ Tokyo wb#rr hi* wan editor of Preview tional writing skills. De Mente suggests he Magazine, at that lime the leading and market his skills. The student might largest Rnglish magazine In Japan In demonstrate his writing skills in a one- 1955, he founded the Krmbun i lo iw and three page analysis on a market trend, a to hear") newspaper geared toward product or the market itself. The analysis, Japanese student* When the newspaper suggested De Mente, ought to include one couldn't make it commercially. Oe Mente Waves sometimes reaching 14 R. challenged De Mente and Cartin on board the amphibious or two new ideas his prospective employer and partner founded the Far East Jeep. could use. The analysis would then be turn­ Traveller at the same time he was ed in with his resume employed a* copy editor of Japan Times. he tries to abide by Sommerset In 1957, De Mente gave up his work and Maugham's rule of thumb for writing '«et hlx girlfriends free" to join Australian clarity, simplicity, euphony Ben Carlin io uiil «« «»*» UK? Pacific Ocean After receiving a constant flow of calls MRS. VORIS PAINTS COO* irom writers with questions on bow to structed a top for his M ft 7 in wide jeep. write and get published, De Mente. direc­ had already been through four mates when tor of Phoenix Books and Publishers, he met De Mente. decided to form the Arizona's Authors' BALLOON-RACE The jeep had a false prow for extra fuel Association (Triple A). Publishers and by Tony KireopouJos race. and a fan tail end that towed a cigar agents aren't typically in the education Mrs. Mavis Voris smiled as she reflected Of all the places the Vorises have been. shaped 16 ft. long fuel tank. business, commented De Mente. upon the fact that for the last thirty-four Beirut was her favorite. Mrs. Voris said From his experience, an ordeal unlike With membership at 370, Triple A has years since she and her husband were they "were contemplating retiring any he has had since, De Mente wrote his become the largest writers' organization married she has been oriented toward there....It's sad to think that now we can­ first book, "Once A Fool -From Japan To west of the Mississippi. The association, school life. For instance, before coming to not visit these places with safety." Alaska By Amphibious Jeep." which has become the prototype for other AGSIM to 1971. she was the President of She has fond memories of all the places associations, offers seminars that provide Faculty Wives at the University of Arizona she has visited. While living in Tehran, writers an advice-oriented approach to the while her husband was Dean of the Mrs. Voris said she got along well in Farsi. the art of getting published and making Business School. Since coming to AGSIM. However, she fared less well in Arabic: "I money. Writers today, said De Mente, her involvement has been extensive. once called for a taxi in Arabic, and the need to know about all aspects of the Mrs. Voris founded the Friends of driver answered me in French!" business in order to succeed. Thunderbird one year after she and Dr. Of their recent trip to China, Mrs. Voris The biggest obstacle in getting publish­ Voris arrived at the School. Many Valley was surprised to see that most of the ed, remarked De Mente, are the writers residents had expressed interest in being tourists there were Chinese seeing their themselves. They don't research their involved with the school. "The program publishers." Writers don't always realize began as a home-hospitality program for that 'Every manuscript must be able to be foreign students," explained Mrs. Voris. categorized or it won't be published." Fur­ "Soon, we were looking for a fund-raising thermore, it must also be in an area the function. Everyone was having a ball or a publisher already publishes successfully. garden party, but we wanted something "An agent is more difficult to get than a different. At one meeting, Mrs. Doris publisher," remarked De Mente. With ap­ Payne, the organization's first president, proximately 350 agents in the U.S., there came in and suggested a hot-air balloon just aren't enough to go around, he added. race.... There was only silence in the BoyeDe Mente De Mente considers Triple A as partially room." Bat after a hot-air balloon responsible for the growth in Arizona's demonstration, the Thunderbird Invita­ Eventually De Mente made his way back publishing industry: "Definitely we've in­ tional Hot Air Balloon Race was born. to Tokyo to take over the editorship of spired people and (Triple A) is why small The proceeds from the race go to the Importer Magazine, the first English presses have been established." Friends of Thunderbird Endowed Scholar- language trade publication featuring De Mente believes Arizona possesses the sup Fund. Japanese products made for exporting. ingredients to become a leading publishing Mrs. Voris now works mainly on the In­ Importer played a vital role in helping center. The infrastructure an active ternational Auction held the night Japan recover economically. The pool of writers with good manuscripts, preceding the race. Overseas alumni send magazine provided an advertising typesetters and artists already exists, to AGSIM pieces of art to be sold at the medium to small traders and manufac­ he commented. auction to benefit the fund. "This is where turers, such as Sony, thereby introducing De Mente admitted, though, that most of the money is raised," Mrs. Voris them to importing agents. Arizona lacks publishers that specialize in said. When De Mente realized be could live off printing books. Fifty percent of a book's In fact, Mrs. Voris has bought some the proceeds generated from his suc­ cost is in the paper, and a publisher must pieces of art at the auction herself to add to cessful book, Japanese Business Systems stock book paper or pay a premium for it. the Vorises' collection, consisting of , a field be said be had all The small publishing companies in primarily Middle Eastern and to himself, be resigned as editor and has Arizona, however, don't have sufficient Southwestern art. Also displayed proudly Mavis Voris and her painting: The aua remained unemployed ever since. capital to carry book paper. Of the 16 or so is much of Mrs. Voris's own work. OttuOO toC Nowadays, De Mente writes, on the publishers in the area, only 4 are of An art student, Mrs. Voris began her country for the first time. She couW see average, one book every year, acts as ex- substantial size. studies at USC and later finished at Cal. changes in the country, and described the ective consultant to The Importer, senior The three major universities, colleges, State Northridge. "I went back to finish up Chinese people as very warm. "Generally, contributing writer of Phoenix Magazine the climate and ambiance have all played and they made me study abstract. The in­ people all over the world are nice." and senior executive editor for the Far part in attracting writers to this part of the structors didn't like anything resembling The Vorises have two sons, one grand­ East Traveller. country, explained De Mente. realism. I had a hard time with abstract," son, and are expecting a second grand­ De Mente currently rewriting and De Mente believes the publishing in­ she said. I wonder what they (her instruc­ child any day now. editing his nu< .useript for bis next book dustry is more efficient today. It is taking tors) are doing now! When asked whether or not she plays entitled The Whole Japan Book, an ex- advantage of the economies of scale. Both For now, her art is limited to 'those lit­ tennis, Mrs. Voris answered: "Yes, I play, cyclopedic reader. De Mente. who said he B. Dalton and Walden Books open 50-80 tle balloons" that promote the balloon but not as well as my husband." is rarely hampered by writers' bloc, said new stores annually.