A Clever Approach to Publishing

Like many entrepreneurs, Elizabeth Crary was frustrated by what was available in the marketplace and set out to create a better mousetrap; or, in Elizabeth’s case, a better parenting book. Based on her experience as a parent-educator at a community college and written on her dining room table, Without Spanking or Spoiling: A Practical Approach to Toddler and Preschool Guidance synthesized Elizabeth’s observations on and beliefs about parenting. Unable to find a publisher, Elizabeth self-published Without Spanking or Spoiling, housing the first 5,000 copies in her garage and invoicing customers from the dining room table. Sensing that there was an unmet market need, Elizabeth founded Parenting Press to bring other parenting-focused titles to market. Since Elizabeth published Without Spanking or Spoiling, Parenting Press has published more than 100 books. Parenting Press focuses its attention around four main areas: child guidance, problem solving, emotional competence, and kids’ personal safety issues.

In each of these areas, Parenting Press stresses practical advice for parents that builds “people skills.” Books are based on several different parenting philosophies and extensive field-testing. This emphasis on practical, adaptable advice and real world testing results in books that are timeless—a testament to this fact is that of the 100 titles published by Parenting Press only a handful are out of print.

Since its inception, Parenting Press has been notable for its willingness to tackle subjects—bullying, grief, death, divorce—that other publishers would not and be successful with them. A case in point is the publication, early on, of It’s My Body, which tackled sexual abuse. It’s My Body, which is still in print, is used to this day by pediatricians, professionals and parents.

Parenting Press also diverges from standard industry practices when it comes to marketing and operations. Of course, that’s not surprising given that Elizabeth typed the first manuscript on a computer that her husband built from scratch, warehoused the books in their garage, and used the dining room table for invoicing and packing.

Where most publishers use catalogs and sales reps, Parenting Press, like all great entrepreneurial companies, relies on non-traditional marketing tactics—outreach to preschool co-ops, email newsletters, activity plans, online press kits, and word of mouth —to spread the word.

Clever Parents thinks that the mission of Parenting Press and the books it publishes are hugely important to parents and we’re happy to announce that we are starting a new column that will spotlight books, authors and related information from the Parenting Press.

Learn more about Parenting Press and its books at www.parentingpress.com.