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| About CIPA | |||
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A Short History of CIPA: In 1992, this organization of independent publishers began from purely selfish motives. After I moved to Colorado from New Jersey, I wanted to meet some other self-publishers to talk to at lunch every now and then. I looked through the list of names in the Publishers Marketing Association directory and sent letters to all the Colorado members to see if they'd like to get together, just to exchange information. To my delight, I received a dozen replies. Six of us met for lunch at Nancy's Restaurant in Boulder on Wednesday, April 15, 1992. We showed our books and talked about what we did. It was very exciting. We agreed to meet again in a month in Denver, and plan some kind of open meeting to see if there were more self-publishers, would-be publishers and small presses around. And we created our name that day, the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. At the second meeting, we learned that Dan Poynter was coming to Denver in September. We decided to invite him to speak at CIPA's very first meeting and he graciously agreed. Then we organized an inaugural Dinner Meeting for September 12. That event drew more than one hundred people to the Marriott Hotel Southeast. What a thrill to see a room full of people all interested in publishing! The first Board of Directors was created after that meeting. I was the first president, and working with me were Cindi Duncan; Georgie Patrick; Steve Phillips, who designed our flyers and newsletters; Julie Baker, who masterminded our nonprofit status; Margaret Olsen, who actively recruited members; Dan Sitarz; and Ben McDonald. It was a dedicated and creative group. CIPA was in business. KIMCO Printing printed our first newsletter (ten years later Scott Laudenslager is still doing them, gratis). The first newsletter included our Statement of Purpose: "to encourage cooperative efforts and the free exchange of information, experience and expertise to help our members survive and prosper. CIPA's efforts help members market books through cooperative ventures, education and networking." Although the wording has been refined over the years, its message has remained the same. The first CIPA Conference was held on April 23, 1993, again in Boulder, with more than one hundred people attending this day filled with seminars and speakers. The conference became an annual event held in different hotels along the Front Range. That day, we also held a birthday party for CIPA for its first three years, toasting its ongoing success. The first CIPA book awards, created by Margaret Olsen and Alison Matthews, were given in 1994 with framed certificates as awards. The awards have been held annually since then, except for one year when the program was reorganized and no awards given. The quality and quantity of entries has grown every year. Award recipients receive stickers to place on their books and are finding book sales are increasing due to the prestigious sticker. After that first year, we held monthly meetings with speakers and panels on topics such as selling to libraries, designing book covers, marketing on the Internet, getting on radio and television, and much more. The meetings were often followed by informal lunches at nearby restaurants. We also created a pre-meeting group for beginning publishers, which drew more and more newcomers. We published the first Members Directory in the mid-nineties and also took cooperative tables at the Rocky Mountain Book Festival, Mountains & Plains Book Festival and other events to display members’ books. For CIPA's first decade, the bulk of the work was done by volunteers from the membership and the Board - and it was a lot of work. CIPA continues to draw on its own expertise, involving its members in helping each other as much as possible. Its slogan, appropriately, is Independent Publishers Working Together. I resigned as president in 1996 - I was tired! - and am still a member. It's exciting for me to see that CIPA is thriving and that the mission statement still holds true. The wonderful part about publishing is that we all reach different markets with our publications so we can share what we know and help each other. That's why it's such a helpful organization for all of us. | |||
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