Norman Goldfind, the former owner and publisher of Keats Publishing, has teamed up with Basic Media Group to form Basic Health Publications. According to Goldfind, Basic Health will publish approximately 25 titles a year in the health and alternative medicine areas with its first list set to be released next March.
Goldfind has been publishing in the alternative medicine segment for about 13 years, first with Keats, which was sold to NTC/Contemporary, and then as an editor with Avery Publishing, which was sold to Penguin Putnam. Goldfind will use his contacts both to acquire authors and to market his titles. The first list is a mix of new authors and authors Goldfind has worked with in the past. The spring 2002 line will be led by Cracking the Metabolic Code by James B. LaValle, while the fall list will be headed by The Sugar Craving Cure by Kenneth Blum. Most books will appear as trade paperbacks, although Goldfind will launch a mass market paperback series next year that will feature $5.95 reference guides on nutritional supplements. The series will be edited by Jack Challem, a contributing editor to Let's Live, one of three health magazines published by Basic Media. "I see lots of synergy on both the marketing and editorial side" with Basic Media Group, Goldfind said.
Basic Media will provide Goldfind with certain back-office functions, but Goldfind is overseeing all editorial and marketing efforts. Sales to the book trade will be handled by Athena Productions, while Goldfind will call on the major alternative outlets himself. He has no plans to hire any additional full-time staff, but will rely on a network of independent contractors. "That's the beauty of publishing. You only need a few people if you publish good product and market it right," Goldfind said.
