When Esther Margolis decided to leave Bantam Books to establish Newmarket Press, one of her principal business objectives was to create branded series to which she could easily add titles. And after 20 years in business, Margolis is pleased with the niche Newmarket has created for itself in the film, television, health, and childcare and parenting fields.
Despite its small size, Newmarket is the dominant publisher of books that feature movie screenplays, and the Newmarket Shooting Scripts series has "ramped up" considerably in the last two years, Margolis said. The series was launched with The Shawshank Redemption, which Newmarket published a year after the film opened and which has sold more than 10,000 copies. Most of the Shooting Script titles today are released simultaneously with the movie. "We've learned to adapt to the film's schedule," Margolis said.
In choosing which films to add to the series, Margolis focuses on proven writers and directors. Among the titles on the Shooting Script backlist are The Age of Innocence, with a screenplay by Martin Scorsese and Jay Cocks, A Beautiful Mind by Akiva Goldsman and State and Main by David Mamet. New titles include screenplays by Charles Kaufman (Adaptation), Atom Egoyan (Ararat) and Paul Thomas Anderson (Punch-Drunk Love; Anderson's Magnolia is on the backlist). The Shooting Script series sells very well at colleges, and contributes to Margolis's goal of generating half of Newmarket's revenue from special sales and half from traditional trade channels.
Another important series for the company, the Newmarket Pictorial Moviebook, is also drawn from films. The line features full-color illustrated books that Margolis describes as companion pieces that hold a permanent record of a film. The line began with Dances with Wolves, which has sold more than 200,000 copies; other strong sellers include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Gladiator and E.T. Just out is Frida and coming in December is Catch Me if You Can, based on the Steven Spielberg film. To help defray the high costs of producing these titles, Margolis often makes a large special sale to the film's production company.
Outside of the entertainment area, Newmarket's most successful series has been Lynda Madaras's What's Happening to My Body? line. Its five titles have sold nearly two million copies since the original book was released in 1983. A sixth title is set for release next year. In the health area, The Female Stress Survival Guide by Dr. Georgia Witkin, first published in 1984, continues to be a steady seller and has spawned several other stress-related titles by Witkin. When signing a new author, Margolis looks for people who are willing to do publicity; the perfect example of this strategy is You've Earned It, Don't Lose It, the first title by the financial adviser Suze Orman. First released in 1994, the book has sold more than 500,000 copies.
Newmarket, which has a 200-title backlist, publishes about 20 new titles a year plus 10 reissues. A book that Margolis is particularly excited about this fall is Condi, a biography of Condoleezza Rice, which had a 25,000-copy first printing. Other upcoming books that Margolis is high on include Healthy Dependency and When Someone You Love Needs a Nursing Home, Assisted Living or In-Home Care, which Margolis thinks could launch a series of books on eldercare.
Another business characteristic that Margolis has incorporated into her company is flexibility. Newmarket has an in-house production staff that makes it economically feasible to produce the Shooting Script series while also doing packaging for other publishers. Newmarket's structure also allows Margolis to serve as the publishing consultant to Revolution Studios, headed by Joe Roth, in which capacity she sells book tie-in rights to the studio's films.
Despite the difficult market conditions, Margolis is very optimistic about Newmarket's prospects and has set a goal of reaching $10 million in annual sales by 2005. The company's senior management is stronger than it has ever been with veterans Keith Hollaman, executive editor, Frank DeMaio, production director, Harry Burton, publicity director and Maina Lopotukhin, publishing coordinator, complemented by such newer recruits as sales director Heidi Sachner. In addition, the company's distribution is the most stable it has been in years. After going through four distributors in 17 years—which Margolis acknowledges slowed her growth—Newmarket has been distributed by Norton for the past three years. Margolis has no particular exit strategy in mind, although she said that at some point she would like to have someone take over the day-to-day operations while she acts as a catalyst for new ideas.
