Advertising finances

Jan. 6, 1984

Dear Jan:

We have considered the advertising situation at greater length, and have concluded that we would like to have the next ad put in The Science Teacher. Since this is primarily our choice, we propose to pay 2/3 of the cost, which will amount to $250, leaving ISUS with $130, which is about half of the figure quoted for the JCST. The reason why we are willing to spend the additional amount is that The Science Teacher has published reviews of two of our books, copies of which are enclosed. We were able to make good use of the recommendation of Beyond Newton, and we are inclined to follow the principle of “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” Furthermore, we still have to bear in mind that the journals which are not as hungry as SS&M may be intimidated by the scientific Establishment to the extent that they will turn us down, as the Christian Science Monitor did (fortunately). In that case it would be helpful to be dealing with a journal that has already published a review which says that my books “provide a distinct service to the community of physicists.”

I have settled the financial program for the new book with Rainer and his syndicate, so we are now ready to launch the advertising campaign for advance orders. One more point about this that I thought of after our conversation is that the draft of the advertising letter that I sent to you does not contain the full name of the ISUS anywhere. I was thinking in terms of using the regular letterhead of the organization. If you make this an issue of ISUS News, the full name ought to appear under the “ISUS News” heading.