Editor's Note: Big Ideas Make Book Publishing Go Round
Book Business is in the ideas game. Everyday we scour the internet and our inboxes, comb through conference notes, and transcribe interviews with leaders in the book industry. We take all this information and try to extract the most important ideas, distributing them in articles, webinars, events, and videos.
The Book Business “Big Ideas Issue” is all about hearing ideas in their raw form straight from some of the most creative minds in the industry. For the second annual edition we invited thought leaders in the book industry to share the Big Ideas they believe will shape the future of publishing.
By Big Ideas, we don’t necessarily mean the most earth-shattering ones. But certainly they’re important ones. And often these Big Ideas are ideas that have been around for a while but need to be rediscovered, cast in a new light for a new age.
As BISG executive director Mark Kuyper puts it, he’s looking to uncover the Big Ideas and simple truisms that “allow for a broad and yet specific application as to how business will evolve.” Kuyper comes around to the idea that efficiency and customer value are the undercurrents of the change underway in the book business. Track these forces and you’ll likely be able to anticipate where the industry is headed.
So take a spin through the Big Ideas feature, where our contributors dig into author-publisher dynamics, university press collaboration, discoverability, ebook design, exploding marketing vertical, and consumer behavior.
This issue also boasts a special section on book manufacturing, featuring the return of the Top 20 Book Manufacturers ranking and an exclusive report on digital book printing. No matter where the industry is headed, customers continue to value printed books.
And that proves some things change and some things stay the same. Actually, despite the immense disruption affecting publishing and media, I’d argue more is the same than not. It’s just a matter of sorting out which is which.
Hopefully the ideas throughout this issue help you manage some of that sorting. People in the book industry are passionate about what they do, and they’re particularly passionate about making it better. We’d love to hear your ideas for changing and improving the industry. Shoot us a message if you have something up your sleeve: dwilson@napco.com.
Related story: How Book Marketers Can Move Beyond Verticals
- People:
- Mark Kuyper
Denis Wilson was previously content director for Target Marketing, Publishing Executive, and Book Business, as well as the FUSE Media and BRAND United summits. In this role, he analyzed and reported on the fundamental changes affecting the media and marketing industries and aimed to serve content-driven businesses with practical and strategic insight. As a writer, Denis’ work has been published by Fast Company, Rolling Stone, Fortune, and The New York Times.