Linda Radke

Since 1985, veteran publisher Linda F. Radke, owner of Five Star Publications, has been ahead of her game--self-publishing before it was commonplace, partnership publishing before the rest of the world even knew what it was and producing award-winning traditionally and nontraditionally published fiction and nonfiction manuscripts for adults and children.

Radke's odyssey to becoming one of the nation's leading consultants in the areas of book production, marketing, publicity and distribution began simply enough with the desire to print a few books to complement the household employment agency she owned. For Radke, who, on more than one occasion, has been teased about having "printer's ink in her veins," the experience of publishing the books was exhilarating, prompting her to change careers and launch Five Star Publications without looking back.

Eventually, Radke added services and acted as a publishing consultant for other self-publishers, ventured into traditional publishing and pioneered partnership publishing to allow her to publish more authors and make them a more integral part of the creative process of publishing.

Among her many accolades, Radke is author of The Economical Guide to Self-Publishing (a Writer's Digest Book Club selection that is now into its second edition) and Promote Like a Pro: Small Budget, Big Show (a Doubleday Executive Program Book Club selection). She is a founding member of the Arizona Book Publishing Association and was named Book Marketer of the Year by Book Publicists of Southern California.