Angling for a Bigger Piece of the Pie

"We have serious capacity issues now that we're publishing more than 200 titles a year," says Bedney. In addition, their recent success in selling to book clubs, e-tailers and others with tight shipping deadlines compels Bedney to keep searching for printers "who can deliver in our time frame."

Not only have the number of titles gone up. The average print run for Lyons Press books has gone from 3,000 in 1997 to about 10,000 in 2000. "With this kind of ever-increasing volume," says Bedney, "fast turnaround time from printers has become critical to our continued success."

How does Bedney handle such a break-neck speed and still get quality work out of his vendors? "Whenever possible and appropriate, I take a minute to thank the customer service reps with whom I've been dealing," he notes. "It's important to treat these heroes with the courtesy and respect they deserve. We're all on the same team."

At a Glance

The Lyons Press, New York City

Founded: 1984

Owners: Nick and Tony Lyons (father/son team)

Production Director: Steve Bedney

Annual revenues: $10 million

Employees: 25

Produces: about 220 titles a year

Primary book categories: fishing, outdoors, "The Quotable" series, cooking, travel

Interesting initiative: co-branded books with companies such as L.L. Bean, Orvis, and Field & Stream

A significant recent offering: Hemingway on Fishing, a collection of the great author's writings