Inner Traditions/Bear & Co. has published successfully for nearly 30 years with a strategy of moving out of niches into new areas once a segment becomes too crowded, explained Rob Meadows, v-p for sales and marketing. That tactic has led Inner Traditions, founded in 1975, to scale back its publishing programs in such areas as alternative medicine and traditional New Age. Although the company still publishes a number of titles annually in both categories, the output is much less than in the past. The new area of focus for the company is what Meadows calls "alternative Christianity."
IT has already published a few titles in this area—which Meadows defined as books that contend that Jesus' teachings "are more esoteric than has come down in the canon"—and is ramping up its efforts for 2005. Meadows credits the success of TheDa Vinci Code with sparking a growth in curiosity about traditional Christian teachings. Inner has already benefited from Da Vinci; two Inner Traditions books, The Woman with the Alabaster Jar and The Goddess in Gospels were both mentioned in Da Vinci and a reference was made to TheGospel of Mary Magdalene.Alabaster and Gospel of Mary Magdalene have done particularly well this year, selling 50,000 and 53,000 copies, respectively. More than half of those sales came in the first quarter and the slowing sales rate has caused Meadows to revise sales forecasts for 2004 from about 8% to about 4%. Still, Inner Traditions has grown about 30% over the last three years and Meadows is confident the focus on alternative Christianity will pay dividends.
A big book for March is The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity, which explores the role of James on early Christianity, and a book that examines the Jewish nature of Jesus's teachings, Rabbi Jesus, is set for next fall. Meadows thinks the house's big book for 2005, however, could be The Secret History of Freemasonry. Interest in Freemasonry also received a boost from Da Vinci and Meadows believes interest will intensify this November when the movie National Treasure is released. The film looks at the ties between Freemasons and the founding fathers, and an interview with Inner Traditions author Steven Sora has been filmed for the Treasure DVD. Sora's two titles for IT, Secret Societies of America's Elite and The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar, have sold 20,000 and 40,000 copies, respectively; a third book, The Lost Colony of the Templars, is due out before Christmas.
In addition to branching into new areas, Meadows said Inner's growth has been due to the strength of its backlist. "We're backlist driven," he said, noting that about 80% of its sales come from its 800-title backlist. The vibrancy of the backlist is exemplified by the fact that Amazon has sold at least one copy of 760 of the house's books. Inner has also had "considerable success," Meadows said, with packaging CDs and DVDs with books, citing in particular a DVD/book package for Thai Yoga Massage and a CD/book, Self-Awakening Yoga.
Meadows said the strength of Inner's backlist has allowed it to consolidate its sales and profit gains over the last few years without a major bestseller. The company continues to publish 60 new releases per year and has 34 employees. "Things are very alive around here now," Meadows said.
