Year End News & Notes from the SSS
Business Plan Update
A 50-page first draft of a business plan for the SSS including SportSurf.Net was sent to insiders in early October.
The second draft, now available has an electronic book version and printed version. The third draft needs to be banker ready and should have plenty of financial history and projections for venture capital investigators.
Management team members need to get a one-page resume to Mark ASAP. The listing of the management team is on-line in the AUTO-RESPONDER, but it is password protected for insiders only.
If you want to see part of the plan and help to work to its eventual completion, and you didn't get a copy, contact Mark. We can send you part of the plan via fax or e-mail. The opening letter is three pages and the Executive Summary is less than five pages.
Authors Booked at Big Book Events
Kevin DeForrest was booked for two presentations at the Rocky Mountain Book Festival in Denver this fall, and Mike Collins got invited to the Sacramento Reads event.Judd Biasiotto had a book autograph session at the past American Booksellers Assn meeting in Chicago and three other SSS authors visited the windy city at that time.
The publisher attended Internet World in Boston in November.
Future events include:
MacWorld & MacActivity in SF in January
Chicago visit for ISHA in January
Visit to Denmark in January
The Sports SuperShow in Atlanta in February
Utah for AAA in March
Volleyball Clinics with The Sports Group - held throughout the first half of 1996
American Booksellers Association Show in Chicago in June
Olympic Games in Atlanta in July!
New Swim Book and Visiting Kona
Ruth Kazez, a world championship racer in the triathlon and IronMan Competitor, plus a brilliant painter, will be publishing a new swim book with the SSS in 1996. She was featured in an article this summer in Triathlete magazine as someone who has a life outside of the sport.Ruth's book will have a different format and its artwork is outstanding. Like all of our books, this one will let the author's personality exude from its pages.
Ruth made it to the IronMan in Hawaii in 95, turning in a great swim by the way, just as other books were being rushed to the event 2nd Day UPS. That book, The Road to Kona Never Ends is by Patrick McCary. Dr. McCary is on the IronMan Foundation Board and one day we hope to get his book into the organization's hands for use as a major fundraising tool.
If anyone wants to volunteer to deliver books to Kona, please let us know. There are no book printers in the state.
Equipment Arrives -- Installation Pending
We picked up a used 20-inch paper cutter recently -- all eight of us and in pieces at that. Presently, the massive, manual cutter is unassembled, but is expected to come in handy for many jobs in the future. Jerry O'Neil swears the cutter would make a great boat anchor. The off-on "switch" is 6-foot tall and weighs 140 pounds. Assembly is expected the next time our weightlifting friends come to town.Additional equipment includes 2 Multi presses and the regular assistance of Mr. David Smith, retired printer from Penn Hills.
News of Water Polo in Pittsburgh
A local newspaper, The Post Gazette, did a feature story on Bucknell swimmer and water polo player, Jay O'Neil. Jay was a team captain when Mark coached swimming at Plum High School. Jay played in the experimental water polo program Mark conducted. Both were mentioned in the article.Chapters have arrived in-house for the second water polo, a more basic book to accompany the existing technical one. Photos are being taken now in California.
Get an advanced peek at the pending book, Water Polo -- Learning and Teaching the Basics, by using our e-mail on demand AUTO-RESPONDER. SUBJECT: 6025
Note: You must type the 4-digits shown above into the header (SUBJECT) part of the e-mail message.
Monte Nitzkowski has been busy. Monte is the head of the World Water Polo Coaches Association. Many rule changes are about to impact the game and behind the scenes work is being done for the good of the sport. Monte has visited 20 different countries and states in the past 2 years, writing a new chapter for the next book whenever the opportunity exists.
See the testimonial letter from a customer / coach from the UK. His postal letter arrived to our office in September.
Radial Saw & Fixtures
In the heat of the summer, the offices were closed for custom construction of five birch, 7-foot-tall, free-standing book cases for the publishing office. Plus the mail-order table and room was finished. The self-help construction team continued the building fix-up and mastered the new radial saw and router. A production room was built in the past. Next job: Finishing the Publisher's Showroom.New Office Help Arrives
Three new office helpers have come aboard in temporary capacities in the past number of weeks: Linda Ryan, former librarian and customer service helper; Mary Byram, BS from RIT in photography and experienced desk-top-publisher is learning HTML and pdf; Chuck Farah is the printing, physical space and inventory/binding assistant."We are making some great progress, but we have a long way to go. Each person has a real chance of becoming a full-time employee," reports Mark Rauterkus.
Insider Newsletter
Insider E-newsletters, called Strokes, are now being delivered by the Sports Support Syndicate. Short, sweet and simple news goes out onto the net and via fax.The SSS is in a tremendous position and is embarking on rapid grow with a network of vendors, managers, investors, and insiders. Hopefully this news can extend our reach into your office and help to generate more business for us all.
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