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Writing and Publishing

Publishing requires a lot of paper

April 19, 2021 ·

But not everyone sees the amount of cardboard (or worse, plastic) that can be involved in getting a printed book into the hands of a reader.

There is no way to “offset” the waste we create.

We want to own that fact. However, we publish books anyways because we hope that the ideas contained within them can change the trajectory of waste overall—and we also take additional steps to reduce the impact our book work has on the world.

cardboard boxes full of books
Boxes of books in the Propriometrics Press offices

Here at Propriometrics Press we 

  • print our books on recycled paper
  • choose cardboard over plastic
  • break down our cardboard boxes and get them to where their material breakdown has direct, local benefits

Many companies recycle (hurray!) but we go a step further to put our waste to better use

Even as a small publisher, we still have a lot of cardboard, but we arrange for our employees to take it from the office to their various growning spaces so it can smother weeds naturally, as we work to grow a little of our own food or encourage the many flowers that go on to feed the pollinators, which help out local farms that feed so many people.

#PracticeWhatYouPublish is our company motto, and the way we handle our waste comes directly from the books we publish. Dawn Again author Doniga Markegard, is how important it is to feed the soil (have you seen her in the new documentary Kiss The Ground yet?).

Movement Matters author Katy Bowman inspires us not only to #stackourlife and add purposeful movement – but to reframe the idea that the labor of breaking down boxes and moving more for what we need is “for other people to do for us.”

Finally, Week 52 in Eat Well, Move Well, Live Well reminds us all that getting dirty in a growing space is good for our mind and soul.

using cardboard to smother weeds
photo courtesy of author Katy Bowman

Fans of Move Your DNA and Nutritious Movement understand the personal benefits that come from getting outside, gardening and growing your own food, and even from breaking down a few boxes by hand.

No plastic required

“I use boxes in my garden, but I wind up pulling a lot of packing tape out of the soil.”

– Katy Bowman, author of Grow Wild

Her shipping solution? To use a special packing tape from StickerMule that’s a gummed paper tape, water-activated, and as they say, “biodegradable and repulpable.”

compostable packing tape for books
Photo courtesy of NutritiousMovement.com

Propriometrics Press also passes on the plastic when we ship to our readers, and definitely skip those mixed paper and bubble wrap envelopes that can neither be recycled nor composted.

We use rigid cardboard mailers. No bubbles required.

#PracticeWhatYouPublish

At Propriometrics Press we try to live the messages we write about, and that goes far beyond moving more, wearing cool shoes, and sitting on the floor.

When it comes to our books, we want to honor and protect the earth that we love.

We want it will be clean and healthy for generations to come, which means taking steps to print on more environmentally friendly materials, ship as efficiently and sustainably as possible, and put any byproducts and waste to good use!


perennial vegetables by eric toensmeier

Interested in reading more about sustainability in your own garden while also helping it thrive?

Check out this excerpt from Eric Toensmeier’s book Perennial Vegetables – Turn Barren Soil into Black Gold: 9 Simple Steps to Sheet Mulching

Our books are now distributed by Chelsea Green!

March 3, 2020 ·

Starting this month, Propriometrics Press titles will be distributed by Chelsea Green Publishing! We are very excited to work together with Chelsea Green, who shares our commitment to engaging and educational books that promote healthy, sustainable, and nature-focused living.

“We are thrilled to be working with Propriometrics Press and representing their titles,” says Michael Weaver, Trade and Export Sales Manager for Chelsea Green Publishing. “Movement does matter—both for human health and for connecting with the natural world—and Katy Bowman’s books, and Propriometrics’ entire catalog, are a timely and valuable addition to our list. They’ve already taught me personally to see movement in a new way, and I’m excited to share that perspective with as many readers as possible!”
What does this mean for you? All of our titles are still available through all of the usual channels: your local bookstore, Amazon, and wherever you buy our books! You can also find all the Propriometrics Press titles on the Chelsea Green website! Visit it to learn more, and check out their fantastic catalog.

Propriometrics Press is seeking a new Publisher!

September 26, 2019 ·

As Propriometrics Press continues to grow and we gear up to launch a few new titles (keep up with our website and our Twitter and Instagram profiles for updates!), we are hoping to add a new publisher to our team—someone who can oversee projects, timelines, and big-picture stuff. See below for more information and our requirements!

Propriometrics Press is seeking a publisher for our dynamic and exciting non-fiction micropress. We want someone motivated, with keen marketing and business sense, excellent communication skills, and a lot of vision. This position will take approximately 20-30 hours a week, with flexible hours that accommodate busy periods and lulls. We are located in the Pacific Northwest; local candidates a plus. You would be overseeing a small team making a big impact; our backlist is full of bestsellers and award-winners.

Your tasks would include:

  • Managing budgets for backlist promotions, reprints, and new books
  • Liaising with our foreign rights agent, distributor, and printer on all tasks
  • Keeping big-picture schedules on track, including lead time for marketing and promotions
  • Managing our editorial, production, and promotions staff
  • Creating and leading marketing initiatives for front and backlist
  • Helping to plan and organize author events and book tours
  • Bringing new book ideas to the table

You have:

  • At least 5 years’ experience in book publishing, including at least 1 year in a senior management position, as a publisher preferred
  • A thorough and proven skill with book marketing and promotions
  • Contacts at major publications for review
  • A passion for making thought-provoking books that aim to shift our culture into a more sustainable, human-movement-based future
  • An understanding of the Propriometrics backlist and mandate, and a keen eye for next steps

Please submit a cover letter, detailed CV, and a thorough marketing plan you created and implemented for an existing book to Penelope at [email protected].

Move Your DNA: Dynamic Reading and Writing

April 24, 2017 ·

This special guest edition of the Propriometrics Press blog is written by our publisher and best-selling author, Katy Bowman. 

I identify as a mover, but I also write a lot about movement. I’m a mover who writes. I think the way I identify is key, as it influences how I get my writing done. Because I define myself as a mover, I’m rarely unmoving—even when I’m being productive in ways we think of as sedentary.

I’ve written eight books (EIGHT BOOKS!) in the last few years, so clearly I’m in a passionate relationship with my computer. Also, I love books. I love reading them, taking pictures of them, and discussing them. Books have been key to my life. They not only teach me facts, they teach me new ways of seeing the world. So, reading and writing. How do those go with movement when both seem so sedentary?

Move Your DNA (and also Don’t Just Sit There) are books that show how to infuse movement into the non-exercise parts of your day. The movements are smaller than large feats of exercise, but they’re movements nonetheless. Often, getting more movement (and moving more of you) comes down to positioning yourself differently.

When you hold up your own body instead of leaning it against the back of a chair, you use your core muscles more subtly than you do when holding a plank, sure, but you can do it while you work or read. Cycling through sitting cross-legged, sitting with your legs in a V, or kneeling while you chop your veggies for dinner is an easy way to stretch. Wearing minimalist shoes (or no shoes) gives all the muscles in your feet a chance to strengthen, even with no added “exercise” time. Standing up to email, working outside whenever possible so your body is responding to fluctuations in light, temperature, sound, wind velocity, and more—all these things add movements to your life you may never have considered before.

Propriometrics Press is a #practicewhatyoupublish company. Meaning, the books we publish infiltrate the lives of our staff and authors. Many of you have asked “what position do you read or work in?” so I thought I’d show you how all of us work with books on the move.

Our editor-in-chief, Penelope, nature lover, often works outside.

If she’s not outside, it’s likely blizzarding (anyone in Nova Scotia will tell you that should be a word). If stuck inside, she’ll create an obstacle course and walk it a couple times an hour because movement and creativity are related and really, it just makes us feel better overall.

Our book covers are all dynamic thanks to Zsofi and her dynamic workstation.

Note: Canine co-opting is a thing. You’ve been warned. #theydontcallitdowndogfornothing

Eat Well, Move Well, Live Well authors Galina Denzel and Roland Denzel are not only great at coaching many on how to fit more movement into their life, they’re also good at doing it themselves. Galina’s reading sessions look very similar to a workout:

And Roland can often be spotted walking and audiobooking (when I make up words, I tend to go for it).

Doniga Markegard, author of Dawn Again: Tracking The Wisdom of the Wild and Wolf Girl: Finding Myself in the Wild balances writing time with nature time by writing in nature. This is the cool thing about being outside while working: you’re being moved by your environment, even while sitting there.

Now and then our Dynamic Aging authors, Lora, Shelah, Joan, and Joyce come down out of the trees to work. Whether it’s a standing work desk, exercise-reading hybrids, or simply going outside, what you see modeled here are ways to move more of you.

Sometimes, oftentimes, it takes less to move more. Less leg (on the table) means more leg (positions not available in a chair, and use getting up and down from her lowered desk) for Stephanie, our Director of Operations.

And finally, some of my favorite read-exercise hybrids involve my piriformis and legs up the wall.

Some of my less favorite (or perhaps it’s just less productive) movements include working with my children, literally, on my back.

You can also watch this video of me working over a 60-minute period (it’s sped up to two minutes because watching me work is sort of like watching paint dry) to see how much movement goes into my “office” time—a time many perceive as mandatory stillness.

So there you have it. Books can move you. Not only your mind, but your body too.

By the Book: Eat Well, Move Well, Live Well

October 5, 2016 ·

It’s October, and here on the eastern edge of the continent, that means changing leaves, frosty mornings, and earlier nights. The urge to cocoon is strong—but the season also offers amazing opportunities to be outside, a literal farmers’ market’s-worth of fresh, amazing produce, a deep desire to batch-cook soups and sauces, and, if we’re being honest, a to-do list as long as my arm.

We’re readying new books for publication this fall, getting our spring list in order, and dreaming of future projects to share with you, too. It can make for long days in the Propriometrics Press office—and it’s work that we love, so it’s easy to lose track of everything else while our noses are to the grindstone.

Which is why I’ve been making a few minutes every day to really think about the wisdom contained in one of the books we’re bringing out this fall. We published Eat Well, Move Well, Live Well on October 1, and authors Galina and Roland Denzel will hold a launch party for the book on October 15 in Orange County. We’re pretty excited about that. We worked hard on this book all year, and we’re pumped that it’s available now in stores and online. That part is all great. But one of the true perqs of this job is getting to dive deep into inspiring material every day. With Eat Well, Move Well, Live Well, it’s the four key chapters identified by the Denzels as the ones readers should start with: The Sunday Food Ritual, Tame Your Sugar Monster, Walk More Today, The Dynamic Office.

It’s fitting this book is published in October, a perfect time to fully explore what these lessons have to offer. That Sunday Food Ritual chapter is about finding the time—making the time—to commit to setting yourself up for healthy food success all week by spending an afternoon or evening doing some batch cooking. img_2701In the example the Denzels give, you make a simple slow cooker pork pot roast with vegetables, which gives you enough for Sunday night’s supper, and two more suppers later in the week. Just the words slow cooker pork pot roast make me want to hit the kitchen—and thinking about having three suppers done and dusted in one go fills me with glee. Chilly October nights seem like a perfect time to get into this habit.

And I’m ever mindful that the holidays are approaching, with all their sugary delights, so October also seems like a good time to find a way to tame my sugar monster. There’s an abundance of fresh fruit to be had—plums, peaches, apples, pears, there are even still strawberries in my farmers’ market most Saturdays, though I’m sure there can’t be many strawberry Saturdays left. img_2705I’ve been savoring that fresh fruit as it comes in, and doing my best to can and preserve as much as I am able for the long winter nights to come. And with the cooler temperatures here, both day and night, Galina’s advice to sip a sweet-tasting herbal tea like licorice or rooibos feels like exactly the right thing to do while I contemplate my relationship with sugar, and why I want to be in charge, rather than letting sugar run the show.

And then there is the glorious exhortation to Walk More Today. It is the constant entry on my to-do list. No matter how much I walk, I can always walk more. This morning I kept my regular weekly appointment with a couple other writers at the central branch of the public library, downtown. Then I walked part-way home with one of the writers, stopping in at our local bookstore on the way, and chatting about our work as we went. We split off in different directions and I loped along, drinking in the impossibly clear, impossibly blue October sky, the heartbreaking reds and yellows and oranges of autumn leaves, the feeling of the sunshine on my skin, the expressions on the faces of the people I passed as I walked, and the company of my own thoughts. img_3457I concentrated on my gait as best I could, and then I just let my attention wander. I thought about the project I’m writing, and about the work awaiting me in the Propriometrics Press office. I returned to my desk feeling refreshed and nourished by my time outside, spent walking.

Speaking of my desk! I loved Roland’s chapter on The Dynamic Office. When I had a full-time media job, I sat for years and years, until finally one day I rebelled against the sit-down culture and made my own stand-up desk. Then I stood for years and years. Then I quit that job, and came to work for Propriometrics and started doing my work sitting on the floor, or lying on the floor, or while walking to the store, or standing in the kitchen, or—well, you get the idea. I’d do my work wherever I could, in as many different positions as I could. But not everyone has that kind of flexibility (if you will). Maybe you have to sit at a desk, and if that’s the case, Roland offers ideas and advice to make your desk time more dynamic, and, importantly, to make your non-desk time more dynamic to counteract all that undynamic desk time! fullsizerenderHis advice to keep a log of your daily time spent sitting was also world-rocking. I thought I was pretty dynamic—but there are always more ways to move.

And on that note, it’s time for me to get up, stretch a little, maybe get a cup of licorice tea, and walk to the store to get some supplies for supper for tonight and beyond. Sometimes the Sunday Ritual is really the Wednesday ritual. But as the book says, it doesn’t matter when you do it, so long as you get it done!

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Design by Lilt Creative.