Download PDF - St. Catherine's College - University of Oxford

ALUMNI MESSAGES NEWS
of Polly’s publishing
expertise, my marketing
experience and Maeve’s
deep knowledge of the
snow sports world would
be a successful mix. We
set up as an independent
publisher (Traudl
Publishing), and set about
planning for an October 2011
launch. There were two main
strands of work to be done.
First, the publishing itself, which included
numerous further edits, setting up a bulk
print run for promotional purposes, and a
‘print on demand’ edition that we would sell
directly through Amazon without the need for
a large initial investment.
The other strand, equally important, was
the promotion of the book. Getting it into
print was only the first step – we needed to
get it in front of its intended audience. This
task included everything from planning the
launch party (complete with Glühwein and
reblochon canapés for an appropriately alpine
feel), stalking snow sports journalists, getting
the launch sponsored by ski gear brand
Dare 2b, getting a stand at the Relentless
Freeze Festival at
Battersea Power
Station, designing the
website and Facebook
page, designing and
printing stickers
and flyers, pulling
in favours from
everyone we knew
(including Tom
Bainton (1989,
History), who made a promotional film for
us), and, as our ultimate reward, planning
a two-week launch tour of six major Alpine
resorts.
Needless to say 2011 passed in a blur. War
& Piste became a full time job, and looking
back, I have no idea how we did so much on
top of our equally demanding day jobs. But
the book was successfully launched, was
featured in a number of key snow sports
publications, reviewed by numerous skiindustry
bloggers, promoted hard at ski shows
and started to pick up momentum…
We next took my van, appropriately stickeredup
and equipped with snow tyres and snow
chains, across to France, stacked with books,
skis and snowboards. The first sign of success
was when a man came across the van while
on our way through the Channel Tunnel and
immediately asked to buy a signed copy,
the book having been discussed on one of
the major online ski forums. We covered six
resorts, and were rewarded with epic powder
snow conditions at each – which of course we
took full advantage of.
Since the tour, the word has continued to
spread through the snowsports community
and beyond, and the author has spoken at
a TEDx event in Lausanne, and (along with
me) at University College, London (UCL) on
the subject of the new wave of collaborative
independent publishing that is beginning to
make waves in the publishing world.
As the sales figures grow into the thousands,
and War & Piste rides high in the Amazon
humour charts, we are looking towards
the next challenge of getting it into major
book shops now that we have proof of its
potential. Wish us luck!
Find out more at www.WarAndPiste.com, and
if you ever read a copy I hope you enjoy it as
much as I enjoyed getting it out there. n
ST CATHERINE’S COLLEGE 2012/41