E-publishing

9/25/00

By MARK VAN DE KAMP NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER mvandekamp@newspress.com

MaxIt Publishing, a group of local entrepreneurs ages 17 to 70, is joining the digital rush in the American book industry by plunging into the rapidly emerging electronic market.

The small company wants to link authors with readers by displaying and marketing books on the Internet in ways never seen before.

Formed in May, the company has offices in Solvang, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. Financed by five founders with approximately $100,000, the company is looking at a large infusion of venture capital this fall, partly to expand its 10-person staff, company president Jeff Little said.

So far, he said, the young company is promoting 10 books, is discussing a partnership with a large publisher, and is in talks with several authors of historical fiction. It's also marketing the historical book "The Annals of San Francisco" on a CD-ROM, which is capable of multiple digital formats.

MaxIt Publishing is trying to quickly secure a niche in the "e-publishing" field, which in five years will become a $2.3 billion industry, according to the American Association of Publishers. Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and Time Warner also want the action, as do hundreds of startup.coms.

"The field is wide open because the Internet is a level playing field," Little said. "As a new company we're not afraid to explore. If we don't fail, then we're not trying everything. Traditional publishing companies are afraid to fail because of their reputation. It's tougher for them to do guerrilla marketing."

Lots of other companies simply publish or set up a Web site and wait for customers to bite. MaxIt's online presence (www.maxitpublishing.com) is more aggressive.

The company combines the full scope of Internet technology to provide a book in all available print, audio and electronic formats, Little said.

For instance, customers can buy its product: "The Annals of San Francisco" on CD-ROM for $15.95. Then they can take that CD and read the book via either Adobe Acrobat PDF, Microsoft Reader, Microsoft Word Document, Wordperfect or Rich Text Format. Also on the CD, the text is in a Web page format for easy keyword search capability.

"We also will set up individual Web sites for our authors, and we'll market their books to specific markets through chat rooms and by targeting groups we know will be interested in their works, such as educational markets, professional groups and organizations," Little said.

MaxIt intends to make money by charging a flat fee to publishers and authors for its marketing services. It also will charge customers to read its e-books online.

Little says the company may recoup its startup costs by year-end, then start turning a profit.

Its diverse workforce includes a handful of college students and 17-year-old Nate Walter, who runs the company's information technology. Walter landed the job one day after graduating from Santa Ynez Valley Union High School.

Employees include author Carol Lacy of Santa Ynez, who has ghostwritten more than 100 books; author and News-Press columnist Noah benShea of Santa Barbara; and Will Simon, chief operating officer. Kendra Arimoto, David Hong and Jessie Condit are in Internet marketing, and Vince Odabachian is the Webmaster.

"We want to market our own books and other authors' books to specific markets," said co-owner and author Daniel Alef.

Alef is receiving strong reviews for "Centennial Stories," a 227-page book containing excerpts from two soon-to-be published novels, "Pale Truth" and "Measured Swords."

The book is historical fiction, telling tales of events, characters and conditions in San Francisco from the mid-1800s.

"Centennial Stories" was well-received at California's Sesquicentennial celebration in Sacramento this month. California was admitted into the Union on Sept. 9, 1850.

"This is the most exciting project I've done," said Alef, a former lawyer, rancher and chief executive officer. "Most publishers today are not giving much promotion to smaller authors. We can do that. We can take any book with merit and promote it effectively.