Dan Poynter fell into publishing in 1969. He spent eight years researching a project that was near and dear to his heart, a book on parachuting. But once the book was finished, he learned that most publishers would not be interested in a technical treatise on the parachute. This led him in a different direction. He went directly to a printer and self- published his work on parachuting. When the orders started pouring in, Poynter found himself serving as a publisher and thus Para Publishing was established.

A few years later in 1973, Poynter expressed interest in a new aviation sport, but had trouble finding a book on the subject. He promptly sat down and began to write one. After only four months of writing and intense research that took him from coast to coast, Poynter delivered the manuscript to the printer. At present, his book, Hang Gliding, has attained sales of well over 130,000 copies.

Continuing to write, Poynter has produced more than 76 books, many of which have been translated into Spanish, Japanese, Russian, British-English as well as German. Poynter spent many years developing his distinctive writing style which he uses to create fun and easy reading. Most of his books are filled with facts and figures as well as detailed inside information. To ensure the continued relevance of his books, each time Poynter takes his books back to press for additional printings, he make sure that each one is thoroughly revised. He has sold millions of books, including a number of best sellers, all of which produced ten of millions of dollars in sales. Many of his books sell at the rate of 10-20,000 copies per year, every year.

For many years, Poynter ran Para Publishing all by himself, stated by some as the "world's largest one-person publishing company." He was the author/publisher who handled all the writing, publishing and promotion, office management and shipping himself. Today, Poynter has staff, a number of products and services including books, reports, tapes, disks, seminars, etc. He operates from a large suite of offices.

Poynter's publishing efforts were eventually recognized by the Publishers Marketing Association with the Benjamin Franklin Award. He also received the Irwin Award for the best electronic promotion campaign by the Book Publicists of Southern California.

Dan Poynter's books have been reviewed in The Wall Street Journal, and his success story has been chronicled in U.S. News & World Report. The media comes to him because he is the leading authority on book marketing, promoting and distributing. Poynter travels more than 4,000 miles each week to share, inspire and empower writers, publishers and professional speakers through keynotes and seminars, so of which have been featured on CNN and other noted news networks.

Poynter was prompted to write The Self-Publishing Manual because so many publishers wanted to know his secret to selling so many books. He is one of the publishing industry's most energetic, experienced and respected leaders.