Welcome to TMR, Peter! Tell us how and why your press got started.

I started Vivisphere (not alone by any stretch of the imagination) six years ago. The idea for the press actually started with Gene Winick, head of McIntosh & Otis literary agency, and a conversation with Paul Orfalea of Kinko's (during a walk on the beach). That led to two initial investors (who asked not to be named in media, but without whose help none of this would have happened), later, a few vintage tipple-sessions with Tom and Gail Steinbeck, a wonderful writer named Peter Lord Wolff (A Silence in Heaven from Tor), John Paul Sinclair Lewis who heads up our historical imprint Epaulet Books (the grandson of the famed author, and now an author in his own right), and a lot of travel and work before we incorporated three years ago and then merged with NetPub two years ago.

Did you have a mission in mind when you began producing books?

The company was started based on two very simple philosophies. First, "Books Remember." While a short sentence, we believe it has tremendous ramifications both for society and the publishing industry. As you wander through our list, you will see books from 1850 through today. The old books have vital information, both on the way our ancestors lived (often day to day), and a view of the world that is lost today. That view is, in a word: non-electric. They looked directly at the world and translated it with their senses, whereas we tend to translate everything via some form of electronic equipment (from microscopes to television). Not necessarily a bad thing, but often removed from real experience.

This "Remembering" has impact on our list of new books. Our new writers have done what I personally feel is "their job." They've written their dream, been challenged editorially, and represent the community of their experience well. I keep having this recurring image appear, of people in space, 300 years from now, and how they remember earth from books they have with them. Some of them may never have seen earth or have any hope of seeing Earth, but books will remember earth for them, far better than I believe film will.

The second philosophical principle involves reducing the distance between writers and readers. The publishing industry has become so corporate, so driven by money, that many books that even the senior editors love, wind up never being published because someone in marketing vetoes that editor's decision. That becomes advantageous to small publishers like ourselves, because we are able to offer well-written, never before seen books, that add vitality to our list.

In what format are your books published?

Our books are physical, paper entities. We use both print-on-demand and traditional printing methods. One of the reasons we merged with NetPub was to allow us to have access to literally unlimited quantities of inventory. NetPub is the largest POD facility in the country, and if we received orders for a thousand or so books for next day delivery, it could be done. But it should be stressed that POD is just a manufacturing process that has received an unfortunate reputation in the industry because of people rushing books to market, or making money off authors instead of sales. We take pride in the content, the beauty (and appropriateness) of our cover art, and the fact that any profit we make from the books, it comes from the marketplace, not the authors themselves.

One other important note, if you don't mind. All of our books are returnable, we apply standard industry discounts for bookstores, etc. This is very important to us because so many bookstore chains have taken the attitude that POD publishers aren't worth having in their stores -- and yet, one chain in particular not only has a huge investment in a POD publisher, but also owns print-on-demand equipment for its own printing purposes. In other words, there is a system-wide misunderstanding of POD, misuse of POD, and ultimately, all of it working to the detriment of authors who have honestly done their part.

How does POD work for you?

For us, POD works very well. It didn't when we first started. We worked with one of the early POD facilities, which was aligned with a major distributor. We almost wound up going out of business because they kept changing policies, kept not being able to deliver promised services in a timely fashion (which killed planning for all intents and purposes). Thus, when it came time to decide between a joint venture with a major publishing house or merging with NetPub, we decided on NetPub because we would have immediate access to the manufacture of books. So it works very well for us, but I don't know of another publishng house that is allied as we are.

How are your books distributed? Do you get help from Ingrams or B and T, or are you on your own?

We distribute with Baker and Taylor. We also do "spot" distribution regionally and will expand that as our list expands (topic, specialty, etc.) At some point in time, NetPub will probably become a distributor in its own right. There are really wonderful expansion plans which include a national footprint, and international alliance (currently with Sweden and a developing link with England--and eventually the Far East and South America) whereby books ordered anywhere in the world will be printed at the nearest "Printway.com" facility, and delivered overnight. While that may seem far-fetched, it is currently happening between the US and Europe on a limited scale. When the printway.com is completed, the question of distribution becomes very, very different.

Tell us how you advertise. Where do the dollars go, primarily?

Our advertising currently is very specific. We support bookstore co-op in direct relation to author appearances, we mostly use PR via reviews and related organizations. That may change when NetPub goes public this year (re: budget), but all of our books have a very identifiable target audience. When you look at our history books, for example, we know who is interested in seeing these great titles. With regard to our list of mysteries, which is our biggest list of titles, we are developing a site which will be called "mysterystreet.net" which will be a kind of roadmap for mystery lovers to find--not just our titles--but associated mystery publishers, magazines, authors, etc. We don't have all the money in the world, but we have very clever, dedicated and talented people working on our staff.

Who are some of the authors you've contracted with? What releases do you have out or soon out?

We are very pleased to have such mysterious notables as Fran Dorf (Flight, Reasonable Madness), Dorothy Salisbury Davis (Pale Betrayers ), Elizabeth Spencer (This Crooked Way), Stanley Cohen (Taking Gary Feldman) and Kevin Robinson's "Stick Foster" series (Mallrats, et al), with sparkling newcomers like Patrick Murphy, Jeff Schneider, Mart Baldwin, and Howard Shank. You can't imagine how amazing it is to be involved with the range of writers we have been given the privilege to publish.

By the way, we pay royalties quarterly. It is our hope to eventually narrow even that margin. We also have a set royalty (unless the author asked for something different) of $2 per book., and sometimes this means we make less than the author (on amazon.com sales, for example), but since at this point in time we don't pay advances, we feel it's important the author make as much as we do per average sale. Also, our contract allows authors to take back the rights to print with 90 days notice. This was designed to counteract the sense that publisher's controlled what was a very important asset of the writer's, often in seeming perpetuity.

What is the price range for your releases?

Our books range between $10 and $30 dollars. But I can tell you that our $30 books are big (I think our largest book is 712 pages).

Do you have a website with available books and more information?

Yes, www.vivisphere.com, and of course, as mentioned above, www.mysterystreet.net will be operational in April, followed by www.sfstreet.net this summer.

Comments from several of Vivisphere's authors:

What led you to a small press?

Comments from Mart Baldwin, mystery author

Peter Cooper had earlier read my first mystery, Kill the Benefactor, which was published by a very small (miniscule) local press, now defunct. He contacted me about the possibility of Vivisphere including KTB, and other mysteries that I might write, in Vivisphere's listing. Sounded good to me. Vivsphere reissued KTB (new cover, new format) last year. Two new mysteries featuring my mountain hero, Hackett, are due out this year, the first in April. A fourth mystery in the series is in progress.

What does Vivisphere offer you that a traditional publisher cannot?

Comments from Dave Belden, whose sci-fi trilogy was initially published by Signet in the late 1980's and will be re-released by Vivisphere this year:

Peter believes in creating beautiful books, and keeping them in print. I sure hope he's a good businessman, but even if he isn't, if Vivisphere goes bust, the books will be on CDs in digital form and easily reproduced. Instead of a blitz of copies in supermarkets across America that lasts about one month and then declines to nothing, with no publicity other than the jacket blurb, I will have a spot on the Vivisphere web page, a chance for all my friends and relatives to buy the book, a chance to market it myself as best I can, a chance to let word of mouth build slowly over years. If I write a hot book in five years, these early books will be published, ready and waiting to be discovered by a large audience. I believe they are good enough, and full enough of stimulating ideas, real characters and action to eventually be remembered as some of the better science fiction of our time. I think Vivisphere gives their potential readership a chance to find them in a way that Signet did not, and certainly in a way that I could not have achieved at this point without Vivisphere.

What are the pros and cons of writing for a small press?

Comments from Karen Daniels, author of Dancing Suns: Book One of the Zaddack Tales

One of the great advantages is I'm a fish in a small sea so it's possible to get much more individualized attention. I have substantial input on coverart for instance and haven't been asked to change the storyline of my stories to any degree--other than making them the best they can be. Disadvantages: There has been very little distribution and that's frustrating. Also, in some circles it's not viewed the same as being published by one of the mainstream houses--for instance, I still can't become a member of SFWA even though I have a science fiction novel published.

Comments from Stanley Cohen, suspense author of 330 Park and Angel Face:

Based on my experience with Vivisphere, the directors and staff of a small press are much more responsive to phone calls and correspondence. With the mainstream houses, if your work is not an assured best seller, being handled by a major agency, it's often hard to get their attention. The midlist seems to be getting shorter and shorter these days. At Vivisphere Peter Cooper has been great to work with, not only for his interest in my work, but also for his exceptional editorial skills.

Vivisphere does an effective job of getting out promotional literature to libraries and book sellers, but one cannot expect the small presses to spend on lavish advertising and promotion campaigns the way the biggies do. Writers will have to tackle some part of this on their own. I have a couple of ideas I plan to try.

Peter, Mart, Dave, Karen, and Stanley -- thanks so much for talking with us! Readers, you can visit Vivisphere Publishing's website for more interesting titles. April 3, 2001