Soaring Sparrow Press

In the spring of 1998, I returned to the States after spending the better part (and the worse part) of fourteen years in Japan, and I was on a mission: to self-publish and promote my two satiric comic novels (The Champion of Reason and The Geographer) under the name Soaring Sparrow Press—without even trying to get them published by a major publisher. Sparrows can't soar; in the caged world of self-publishing, even eagles can't soar. The sparrow has flapped its wings furiously at times, sometimes almost beating itself to death, but it has learned the limitations of its 'encagement' and is dealing with the harsh reality of self-publishing, which is that survival and success has got to come from word of mouth. People have got to be impressed, really impressed. That has been happening, so much so that I'd have to be a bird brain to give up now. Word of mouth takes time, however, so we (the sparrow and I) have got to keep hanging in there and thinking about just one reader at a time. The motto of Soaring Sparrow Press is "Laughter is good for your health," and The Champion of Reason and The Geographer have proved themselves to be very healthy books. Making people laugh when they are all alone is not an easy thing to do, but we're doing it, and we derive a great deal of pleasure in doing it, and so we're going to keep on doing it.


We're not relying on book-store sales and on-line sales, because doing so would make the walls of the bird cage start coming in. In the world of self-publishing, the direct approach is the best approach. This sparrow can't survive and thrive by just sitting on its perch. On most Sundays, the sparrow can be found selling/signing its books at Portland Saturday Market. Jacob Lewin, commentator for Portland's number-one radio station, KINK FM, did a commentary in October of 1999 about me, a fellow selling novels, of all things, at this big arts & crafts market. People certainly don't go there looking for books, so we're there mainly for PR. We do much better at book fairs, with the two primary ones being "Bumbershoot" and "Northwest Bookfest," but the sparrow's feathers are pale in comparison to the plumage displayed by the highfalutin corporate BIG BIRDS, which have their beady eyes fixed only on the mass market and consequently produce far too many bird droppings. No, this sparrow is not going to soar, but it's got the heart of a hawk, and positive feedback has got it determined to keep on pecking away.
*Author biography*
Jim Riva was the class clown in his boyhood days in Illinois. He became a serious student of philosophy at the undergraduate and graduate levels, but lightened up with the firm belief that the best outlook on life is to take humor seriously. He is an off-the-beaten-track world traveler who has traveled extensively in Asia, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and Europe. During his fourteen years in Japan he wrote two satiric, comic novels: The Geographer and The Champion of Reason. He returned to America in 1998 with his Japanese wife. They and their daughter, born in 1999, live in Portland, Oregon. Contact soaringsparrow@inetarena.com for more information.