Pressing Matters Face the University Press Market

“We should be reporting to academia more and get them at our workshops and conventions to understand our business better,” he says. “We run our press in Spokane, and the university is 20 miles away. In many ways, this represents the gulf of misunderstanding between us.”

Looking to the Future

O’Hare, whose press publishes 20 to 25 books a year, says knowing your niche still will be the best strategy for university presses in the next decade.

“As a Western press,” she says, “we don’t, for example, publish books about China or have an international list at all. You grow from your strengths, and that’s always been good wisdom in my 30 years in the business.”

Armato also sees online searching and pay-per-view programs being added into the mix, though he wonders how it will stand up to recent competitors.

“There are so many players to contend with, from eLibrary to Google,” he says. “That’s why it’s important that we keep up with the times, rather than watch technology leave us behind.” BB

Eric Butterman is a New York-based writer and creator of the seminar “Better Business Writing: From E-mails To Everything That Makes You Money.” He can be contacted at ericbutterman@yahoo.com.