Finally, the book goes to the printer. All during this time, we'll be marketing it, showing it to potential corporate buyers, and perhaps taking drafts to trade shows. We're careful not to market a book too early, but we want the public to be prepared for it when it hits the stands. We now have some international offices, and worldwide distribution. We also have a department that sells books in bulk to corporations, and one devoted to textbook adoptions.
Marketing begins about six months before the book is supposed to be released.
Since we start to make promises to book distributors and put the book in catalogs, we really hate to let a book slip after that point. As the time for release approaches, we start an ad campaign. We use a lot of creative avenues for marketing. For instance, when I start a new series, we notify the editors of technical journals that this technology is here, and offer our authors as contacts. Sometime near the point your draft goes to production, you'll receive a long survey from marketing asking all sorts of professional questions about you.