Peter Sackett Email and Phone Number

Set up Firecrest Books Ltd. in 1999 and had some bumps along the way. Am now managing two Firecrest international book packaging companies. A £2m investment in highly visual origination, mainly from reinvesting past profits, has produced a strong recession-proof backlist, with rights in 60 titles published in 35 different languages currently available for co-edition printing or for licensing deals (www.firecrestmedia.com).

Spent this year producing books for other publishers on a fee + royalty basis, and making plans to set up my own book packaging company once again. In this way I was able to set up and begin my new company on a no-overhead basis. Genius!

Set up a new children’s list for the parent company, Labyrith, but wasn’t given enough time to establish it. From now on I had better only work for myself.

Started and ran, once again, a very successful book packaging company, first from London and then from Oxford, this time for 13 years. Our main market was in the States where we worked with most of the top 20 publishers. My lack of man-management skills contributed to its eventual demise. Still plenty to learn.

Worked as a publishing consultant and packager with an Arab publisher, Dar al Moukhtar Ltd.based in Geneva which I had to visit for fortnightly meetings. It's a hard life!

When I started my first company I had no idea about business, didn't have any funds, and couldn't understand why my salary wasn't paid into my bank account at the end of each month. To run your own company you have to sell yourself as well as your product and your company. Not the place for shrinking violets. Learned the hard way, working 18 hours a day seven days a week for the first year to get the business off the ground. No exaggeration. Built up a successful group of four international book packaging companies and one publishing company. Blackwell Scientific were partners in the publishing company, Sackett and Marshall, and we were distributed and represented by W. H. Smith, who in addition only represented Usborne and Grisewood and Dempsey (now Kingfisher) in the UK at that time. W. H. Smith bought 10 to 20,000 copies of each of our titles firm, regardless of whether they sold out or not. Those were the days! When W.H. Smith's US distribution company failed (launched by Tim Waterstone) this little arrangement came to an end.

Publishing Manager of the Hamlyn Group’s Natural History and Practical Book Division. Then promoted to Publishing Manager of Hamlyn's Direct Mail and Book Club Division. Invaluable all-round experience. Now I was ready to set up on my own. I thought.

Production Manager and Joint Chief Editor, Purnell Children’s Books. My breakthrough from the organizational side of publishing to the creative side. Finally!

Production Manager, Janes’ Yearbooks. A hard slog getting these huge volumes updated each year. Once the presses were rolling there was no let-up.

Helped to launch two daily regional newspapers, the Luton Evening Post and the Watford Evening Echo, based at the printing works in Hemel Hempstead. Sounds more glamourous than it was. Effectively working out of a company car in the streets of Watford training kids to deliver and convert free sales to paid on the customers’ doorstep. A far cry from the Officers’ Mess.

I was lucky enough to quickly stumble into a job in publishing with local publishers Sampson Low, the oldest imprint in UK publishing. I learnt on the job and was very quickly promoted to Production Manager, something that couldn't possibly happen these days. Publishing is a bit of a closed shop, so once inside the fold I've remained in publishing ever since. In fact, just completed 50 years in the industry as I write.

I've got no sense of direction so I had slight misgivings about my chances of surviving the intensive 30 month navigator course. But somehow I did. After that I was off to an Operational Conversion Unit, so by the time I was operational 3 years had 'flown'​ by. I really enjoyed the training. It was varied and demanding. The camaraderie with my flying crew and fellow officers, and the sense of achievement were great. After all that variety and excitement, when I finally got my 5-year posting, life became suddenly dull. That posting was as a radar navigator in V-Bombers, as one of the 5-man crew of a Victor Mark II bomber aircraft, equipped with the Blue Steel air-to-ground H-Bomb missile. After 6 months on QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) at the height of the Cold War with Russia, I told my 139 Squadron Commander, Wing Commander Beddoes, I wanted to do something more creative, to maybe try publishing. His bloodshot eyes almost exploded, but I remained resolute and made my escape from the RAF. Newly married, I had to choose between my wife and the Air Force because she didn't take to it. We've just celebrated our Golden Wedding Anniversary, so that worked out well then.

Marking time while I waited to see if I'd passed the 3-day interview and aptitude tests at RAF Biggin Hill, which would see me taken on as an Officer Cadet, I thought I'd try my hand at teaching. Loved it, although I wasn't much older than the pupils I taught. Favourite moment there was when pretty 16-year old twins from my class approached me after school to say, ‘Please sir, we’re not doing anything tonight.’ I did the right thing and gave the girls some extra homework. Finally, I opened the RAF letter that I was waiting for, but was disappointed to be offered a commission as a navigator and not as a pilot. I briefly hesitated before accepting and signing on for 17 years.

My first job out of school, as a Trainee Manager with Littlewoods Chain Stores. Shop work was not for me, but the management training was useful. Now Littlewoods has a big web presence but no longer operates as a chain store company. My contribution to their demise was slight, so I can't take any credit for that.