Des Moines, Iowa

The old adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” may be sage advice, but the publishing community knows better—that it is an intriguing cover that catches the potential reader’s eye. Indeed, a title’s cover is its most valuable marketing tool—an integral part of the publisher’s and author’s brand. So it makes sense that great thought typically goes into a book’s cover design and production. So was the experience for Walter T. Shaw, a first-time author whose nonfiction book, “A License to Steal,” is being published this year by Omega Publishing Group and manufactured by HCI’s print services division in Deerfield Beach, Fla. The

Depending on which study results you stumble upon, somewhere between 60 percent and almost 90 percent of Americans don’t like their jobs. And somewhere between 1 million and 1.4 million people call in sick every day. Sure, a percentage of those people probably have the flu, migraines or other ailments, but many of them likely have a serious case of Ihatemyjobitis. Book Business’ first annual study on the “20 Best Book Publishing Companies to Work For” explores which companies in the industry rank highest among their employees for overall job satisfaction. Each company that was nominated by its employees was rated based on

Choosing a cover-material supplier or deciding to switch to a new provider can seem like a game that we don’t know how to play. Knowing what materials are available and which would work best for the look and feel you are trying to achieve for your next book project can be tricky ... and even risky. A bad decision can break a book—after all, aren’t books judged by their covers? Fortunately, representatives at most cover-material companies are available to walk you through the process helping you discover what qualities and features are most important for your needs. “So many questions have to be