Review Fix chats Cramer’s Choice: Memoir of a Baseball Card Collector Turned Manufacturer author Michael Cramer about his book.
About the Author:
Retired president and CEO of Pacific Trading Cards, Mike Cramer lives in Edmonds, Washington.
About the Book:
Mike Cramer’s first love was baseball cards. Before high school he had a mail-order trading card business. At age 30 he founded Pacific Trading Cards with money he made fishing crab in the Bering Sea. From 1980 to 2004, Pacific created more than 200 successful trading card products. In 2021, a Pacific Tom Brady rookie card sold for $117,000. Pacific’s cards remain some of the hobby’s most sought-after and other companies still emulate their innovations. Cramer’s memoir offers a behind-the-scenes look at the birth of a major card company, from one kid’s overgrown collection to every hands-on facet of building a business with hundreds of employees producing cards for retail stores worldwide.
Review Fix: What’s inspired this book?
Mike Cramer: This question is answered in the introduction in my book. Inspiration came from my daughter in law and granddaughter Shiloh. They were visiting with me and asking lots of questions and were mesmerized by my answers . Right there Kristine said I should write a book. I started book right after that. However the first person to mention I should write a book was former Major League Baseball player (and all around famous guy) Bob Uecker. It came up in conversation when I was having dinner with him.
Review Fix: What was the writing process like?
Cramer: I wrote most the book from memory one word at a time on my iPad in notes. Took a little over 2 years to get it down. I then had over 110 thousand words. I sent a copy to good friend who was the former CEO of Berkeley Publishing. He liked it but didn’t think it would get published. I went back and spent about a year cleaning it up and hired an editor to make sure all the grammar and punctuation was correct. We transferred my manuscript into google docs to finish cleaning it up. I sent the finished manuscript blind to Triumph Books in Chicago and got a call the day after they received it. They were reviewing it and wanted 14 days to make their assessment. After about 10 days they call and said my book didn’t quite fit with their line of publishing but suggested McFarland Books could have interest. I looked up McFarland and sent my manuscript now about 117,000 words to an editor there. He got back to me right away and said they were reviewing it and had interest. Within a week the editor notified me that McFarland was sending me a publishing contract. This was great news ,
Review Fix: What made this journey a special one for you?
Cramer: Got my story out there for family, friends and interested people to read. The fact that I followed through and finished it and then got it published after all the work I put into it was very special.
Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy this book the most?
Cramer: Trading card collectors, all around sports fans, Alaska crab fishermen . Family and friends
Review Fix: What else can you say about this book to entice readers?
Cramer: I have heard also from people that it inspires them to continue chasing their dreams.
Review Fix: What’s next for you?
Cramer: I have a couple books in my head however have not come close to finishing them.
Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?
Cramer: I still collect cards, have intact a collection of all most all of the cards made. Also collect PSA graded Pacific cards. Fun thing is my sons and grandson collect cards.
Review Fix: Where can people go to find out more about you?
Cramer: A signed copy of Cramer’s Choice can be purchased at my site. Www.unitedempireminiatures.com . If people google Pacific Trading Cards there is a google site on line.
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