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Home / Washington Business - May/June 2007 / Member Profile: Peanut Butter Publishing (small is beautiful) |
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Member Profile: Peanut Butter Publishing (small is beautiful) |
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Written On: May/June 2007 |
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Written By: by Daniel Brunell |
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Elliot Wolf and his company, Peanut Butter Publishing, have been helping people tell their stories for almost four decades. Peanut Butter is one the oldest small publishers in the country, and one of the most productive. Wolf’s love of literature is evident in his office on the eastern shore of Lake Union—he is literally surrounded by hundreds of books, most of which he has printed. Wolf’s love of books is also shared by his wife, award-winning author Deb Caletti.
Wolf started out in the publishing business during his college days in the early 1970s, selling ads for event calendars at the University of Washington. After college, he took the same idea to other college campuses around the country. Wolf then moved on to publishing restaurant guides for cities and towns around the country, later branching out into one of his most productive concepts—specialty cookbooks.
Even someone with a keen affinity for cooking would get lost in the cascade of cookbooks published by Peanut Butter. For Wolf, it started with getting the best recipes from the best chefs in the best restaurants. Wolf took this concept nationwide, ultimately producing a cookbook for almost every major city in the United States.
Wolf has used this method for many other publishing projects, as well. "I’ve done cookbooks on every conceivable topic, ranging from the meals fed to heads of state at foreign embassies to the most popular dishes served aboard cruise ships," said Wolf. "It’s all about finding interesting niches that you want to share."
Cookbooks aren’t the only thing that Peanut Butter Publishing does. The company has also published more than 1,400 books on a dizzying range of topics, from a volume on local weather by KOMO weatherman Steve Pool to a history of the state Legislature by former Sen. George Scott. One of the most popular is a biography of J.P. Patches, the popular Seattle clown who had a local children’s television show for many years.
Since Peanut Butter controls the entire publishing process from editing to design to printing, they are able to produce books that are conspicuously fine. "Doing smaller projects allows us to maintain a very high degree of quality and make sure the author gets a book that he’s extremely happy with," said Wolf.
Peanut Butter differs from larger publishers in that the risk of publishing a book rests on the author’s shoulders instead of the publishing house, a business model that has its origins in the early days of the industry. This allows Peanut Butter to move into areas that larger publishers cannot—or will not—go. "We provide an outlet for books that fill niches larger publishers won’t touch. We do smaller, more intimate projects like books of poems or personal histories," said Wolf.
Wolf, an AWB member and HealthChoice subscriber, has witnessed firsthand a complete change in the publishing industry. "What used to take six months now takes six seconds thanks to computers and other digital technologies," said Wolf. Another thing that has evolved is the traditional relationship between publishing houses and authors. "Many larger publishers work with us to develop emerging authors or authors who just don’t fit with what they want, or to assist an author who wants complete control of their work. This arrangement allows us to use the same editors and resources of larger publishers. After all, the publishing community is a pretty small, tight one—we all wait in the same line at the printing house."
Even after 36 years, Wolf is excited about the next manuscript that will land on his desk. "Everybody has a story in them," said Wolf. "I have the greatest job in the world. People call me up and tell me their stories!"
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