New History and Military Book Club Selection

I am going to brag a bit, so please pardon me for doing so.

For a small(ish)--we are growing fast--independent press, Savas Beatie has enjoyed remarkable success in placing books with the national clubs. In fact, we have placed so many with the clubs that I cannot with complete confidence name them without going to the lengthening book shelf and checking each spine.

So it is with great pleasure that we announce a new addition to the national clubs: One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, July 4-14, 1863, by Eric J. Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi, and Michael F. Nugent. (Release mid-August.) This book deserves the selection and recognition. As one reviewer recently noted, the authors have produced so much original material, in such a convincing fashion, that one can argue the battle of Gettysburg lasted from July 1 through July 14.

And this selection will irritate some in the publishing world. Keep reading.

Recently, a friend who works inside the marketing department of a sizable publishing house called to tell me about a meeting she had just attended. One of the bigwigs held up several book club catalogs and fliers, ticked off the names of several of our titles--and spat out the name "Savas Beatie" (mispronouncing the latter as "Beetee" instead of "Baytee").

"How in God's name," he asked through clenched teeth, "do they do this? A small publisher in Northern California places book after book with the clubs, and we can't? Why?"

The answer, sir, is really straightforward. We find, develop, enrich, produce, and distribute better books in our genres written by a higher caliber of author than most publishers.

And let me tell you, Savas Beatie authors work hard. They are routinely courteous, very helpful to others, and absolutely love what they do. And we screen them much more thoroughly than some probably even know. (A warning to prospective authors: one fellow was rude and short recently on the phone with one of our staff when he was told to submit his manuscript using the guidelines found on line. When he did so two days later, I immediately rejected his work. If he is rude about protocol, we don't want to work with him. And I told him exactly that.)

I write all this not from a position of arrogance, for that is not me. This is what our customers tell us. Over and over. Our books are fresh, original, cutting-edge, and they fill a void. We are humans, though, and book publishing is not an exact science, so neither we nor our books are perfect. But they are, if I might say so, worthy additions to the world's literature, and we are pleased to produce them.

All of this spills over into success in other areas, like with the History and Military book clubs. So if I call, the editors pick up the phone and listen because they know I don't waste their time trying to sell them garbage.

So Eric, J.D., and Michael, congratulations from all of us here at Savas Beatie. Your success is well-deserved, and your tireless labors to promote your work are appreciated, not only by your publisher, but by your readers.

--tps