Talonbooks: Publishing from the Margins - A Business Manager is Hired

Talonbooks:
Publishing from the Margins

A Business Manager is Hired

When Karl Siegler joined Talonbooks in January of 1974 it was jointly owned by David Robinson and Gordon Fidler, and was being run by a staff of four full-time employees. Although the division of work was not firm, each employee had a specific area of responsibility. David Robinson did the general editorial work, and was also responsible for book design. Gordon Fidler looked after production through to the printing stage. Dwight Gardiner was Talon's poetry editor, and Beverly Matsu did all of the typesetting in-house. All of the staff were young: in their mid to late twenties.

With a staff that had grown up during the sixties, it is not surprising that Talon's entire decision making process reflected that era. Decisions were made communally, but very little attention was paid to the financial side of the operation. No systematic records of production costs were being kept, and as a result it was difficult to say with any certainty whether Talon was showing a profit or a loss. Sales revenue for 1974 was approximately $30,000 from the combination of Talon's backlist and their eighteen new titles. The two owner's salaries came from this revenue, with grants (totalling $26,000 in 1974) being used to cover the salaries of the other employees.

Karl Siegler was originally to have been hired by Talonbooks with a salary financed through a government LIP (Local Initiatives Project) grant, expected in January of 1974. The $54,000 grant was to fund both a business manager and a marketing position. When the funds were delayed until a spring budget was brought down, it became apparent that the grant would not come through. The only way for Karl's position to be funded, certainly over the longer term, was to have the company generate the money Ð a clear incentive for a serious examination of Talon's finances. He arranged with Talon to work free for four months, taking a community college "Accounting for Managers" course at the same time. At the end of that period, if they liked his work they would hire him full time. During these four months his only income was from Unemployment Insurance, so in a sense the position was being indirectly subsidized by the government.

This increased attention to finances which began with the hiring of a full time business manager marked a move away from what Karl Siegler refers to as Talon's "loose, drift in and out era." In an attempt to rationalize Talon's finances, one of the first things tried was to balance costs and income for each title. Talon's records revealed that the revenue generated by the poetry titles was not sufficient to cover the salary of a full-time poetry editor. Further examination of Talon's operating budget showed that professional typesetting would be more cost effective than doing it in-house. The steps needed to help Talon run a tighter financial ship were not easy ones, but it had become obvious that if Talonbooks were get its house in order, something would have to be done. Consequently in 1975 both Dwight Gardiner and Beverly Matsu were laid off.

Another important change instituted in 1974 was Talon's use of commissioned sales reps across Canada. Even though no advertising or promotion was being done, the effect of this move alone was to nearly double Talon's unit sales from roughly 20,000 copies in 1974 to about 35,000 copies per year within three years. This same proportionate increase was seen when Talonbooks arranged for U.S. distribution through Subterranean Company of Eugene, Oregon Ð having U.S. sales people representing Talonbooks resulted in an approximate doubling of Talon's sales in the American market. Although no longer represented by Subterranean , the U.S. market still accounts for 10-12% of Talon's total sales during peak periods.