Silver Lake Publishing


Year Founded:

1997

Core Business:

Publication of newsletters and books

Revenue in 1998:

$500,000

Revenue in 2001:

$1.5 million (projected)

Employees in 1998:

3 (plus 2 freelancers)

Employees in 2001:

5 (plus 4 freelancers)

Goal:

To double revenues over the next 2 to 3 years by building its brand and selling subscription services on-line

Driving Force:

An aggressively do-it-your-self attitude, on the part of both the content producers and the buyers

Part of a new breed of L.A. publishers carves out niche in market for books, newsletters aimed at interests of small companies

The book titles say it all: “Negotiate Like the Big Guys.” “You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man.” “Get Your Claim Paid.” Many of Silver Lake Publishing’s titles are geared toward helping small business owners protect themselves against insurance loopholes, termination-related lawsuits and even natural disasters.

So it’s fitting that the first thing you’ll encounter at the Hyperion Avenue headquarters are two watchdogs.

Granted, Mozey, the rottweiler/pointer mix and the German-shorthaired Hannah, “the class of the operation” according to owner/publisher James Walsh, are about as mean as the company’s offices are corporate-looking. The converted two-bedroom red bungalow, which doubled as Walsh’s home when the company was founded in 1997, lacks signage or air-conditioning. Walsh has since moved his wife and three kids out, but the dogs and the business remain.

Silver Lake Publishing is one of a half-dozen small publishing houses to crop up in Los Angeles that are carving out various niches.

But whereas Angel City Press, UglyTown and Really Great Books produce pop culturally-related works like local guidebooks and murder mysteries, Silver Lake is all business. All of the topics covered in the company’s books and newsletters relate to economics, small business and insurance. “Even our softest stuff isn’t that soft,” said Walsh.

Silver Lake is projected to gross $1.5 million in revenues this year, half of which comes from its newsletters with subscriptions running from $189 to $490 a year. The newsletters are written in-house and by freelancers. Walsh uses his technical publishing background to author Risk Management News, while a contracted editorial board of accountants and attorneys write Protection of Assets Bulletin.

Consumer, academic markets

A few of the company’s book titles, including its Taking Control series on human resources, are sold as secondary titles for courses at UCLA Law School and UC Riverside. TEC International, an organization for entrepreneurs based out of San Diego, bought 4,000 copies of one particular title and distributed them to all its members.

Silver Lake was founded out of the ashes of Merritt Publishing, a technical publishing company based in Santa Monica that folded in 1997. Walsh used his company stock from Merritt, as well as cash, to purchase the rights to his division’s titles. He then assembled a small group of academics and professionals to form a freelance staff.

The small business title “Leap of Strength” was written by motivational speaker Walter Sutton. Illinois State professor David T. Russell wrote the insurance-related works, “It’s a Disaster” and “Insuring the Bottom Line.”

When Walsh approached Really Great Books president Mari Florence about a book concept involving sexual harassment, Florence agreed to author the project, and spent the better part of a year writing “Sex at Work.” “[Walsh] tends to have a group of people who really pride themselves in knowing what they’re doing,” said Florence.

Walsh, who started as a writer for now defunct California Business magazine, can attest to the hazards of running a small business. He cited extremely thin profit margins (“It’s analogous to grocery stores”) and 90-day payment terms.

“The way the books are sold has changed dramatically, from a few big publishers and thousands of small retail sellers to almost the reverse,” said Walsh. “The power and distribution has changed from the producers of product to the retail outlets.”

Walsh cites supply and demand as reasons the Los Angeles publishing scene still thrives. There is an abundant amount of local writing talent, though it is not always tailor-made for Silver Lake’s purposes. “I could bore you silly with all the poetry anthologies we get,” said Walsh.

Quick turnaround

Jan Nathan, executive director of the Manhattan Beach-based Publishers Marketing Association, said Silver Lake has a number of built-in advantages, including being able to turn a project around in as little as eight months.

And while Silver Lake has limited resources for investing in prime shelf space at the larger retailers, the disadvantage is fairly minimal. “In business writing, no one cares who publishes the book, they’re just looking for what they need,” said Nathan. “A [business] book will sell by its title.” The colder the economy, the better.

Walsh believes that Silver Lake has the potential to double its current revenues in the next two or three years. But he says he’s in no hurry, however, to partner up with a larger organization or sell out. “It’d mean giving up a lot,” said Walsh. “If you sell control, the voice goes away.”