Distribution of books on revolutionary politics has also been an integral part of the activities of campaigners for the Socialist Workers candidates in the U.S. elections this year. The sale was originally scheduled to go through November 7, but has been extended to November 31. “This will help socialist workers and young socialists use the books to continue campaigning after the elections and follow up with those who have expressed interest in the Socialist Workers Party campaign platform,” said SWP national campaign director Norton Sandler.
Members of the communist movement worldwide are shooting to increase Pathfinder sales by 10 percent in the last six months of 2004 compared to the first half of the year. The goal is within reach. Making it, however, will require a concerted effort from now until December 31.
“As a result of the stepped-up election campaigning we’ve done this month, we have already exceeded $2,400 in Pathfinder sales for October—double our first six months’ average of $1,200,” said Eva Braiman, a socialist campaigner from New York. This followed sales of $3,400 in August and $1,800 in September.
Activists in Northeast Pennsylvania got an enormous boost in September from the response to the fire bombing of the Socialist Workers campaign headquarters there, breaking all previous records by selling more than three times their average in the first half of 2004.
Campaigners in Houston and Washington, D.C., went over their goals in September—each selling more than 100 books as part of campaigning for the working-class alternative in the November elections. Three weeks into October socialists in Houston already have surpassed their September sales having sold more than $800 worth of books, which is $200 above their goal for the month.
As part of the Militant subscription drive, socialist campaigners have also been pressing to sell Pathfinder books and pamphlets to workers in meatpacking plants, garment shops, and coal mines where they work. At the end of the sixth week of the subscription drive, 17 books and pamphlets have been sold to garment workers and 72 in meatpacking plants around the United States.
Although socialist campaigners in nine cities and towns across the Unite States sold at least 10 percent over their January-June monthly average in September, the combined total was still about $1,200 short of the $9,560 combined goals for that month.
At the same time, socialists in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, and Sweden all made their goals in September.
“A number of things have combined to make September the best month for Pathfinder sales in the United Kingdom this year, and we’re also doing very well in October so far,” said Jonathan Silberman, who works at the London Pathfinder Books. “Last month we sold over 600 books and pamphlets at three events in Europe: Fête de l’Humanité in Paris, PCE Fiesta in Madrid, and the Gothenburg Book Fair.”
Members of the Communist League in the UK have also been giving more attention to working with the League’s supporters to expand placements in bookstores and to get Pathfinder books into libraries, Silberman continued. “One major bookstore chain recently added three Pathfinder titles to their ‘core stock’ list, which means all the chain’s branches will keep them in stock,” he said.
Despite these positive examples in September, however, it was the lowest month for Pathfinder book sales overall this year. At the end of that month, which marked the campaign’s halfway point, total sales for July-September stood at just under $59,000—about 48 percent of the $123,400 six-month goal for the last half of 2004, or two percentage points behind pace. Sales in October, November, and December need to average about $21,500 per month to make up the remaining $64,450.
One reason for this is the relatively small sales to bookstores, libraries, and campuses in the United States. These kind of sales tend to fluctuate naturally from month to month. But this underscores the importance of consistent work to win new customers and convince long-term buyers to increase their orders in order to meet the July-December goal. The key to this is attention by the leaderships of the local units of the communist movement in each country to working closely with party supporters in their area to plan and carry out this effort.
October is shaping up to be a better month in this regard, said Ruth Cheney from Oakland, who helps coordinate this work among SWP supporters nationwide.
Party supporters have been expanding their efforts to get Pathfinder books into neighborhood and central libraries breaking new ground in several cities around the country, including Miami, Chicago, Oakland, and Detroit.
“We’ve been setting up meetings with local librarians and city-wide purchasing directors,” said Willie Mae Reed, who is part of a “library task force” that works with other supporters around the United States to get library placements. “Getting these books into local libraries is important because of the working-class and young milieu they reach,” she said.
Also in September, supporters of the communist movement broke a new record in book production. They delivered 20 Pathfinder titles that month, which had to be reprinted largely because of the success of the Super Saver Sale. They did so as they continued to streamline production to meet the expanding demand, Cheney said.