Far East

Watch out EL James, there's a new writer out to steal your crown as a bestselling romance novelist - and she's only 17-years-old.

Like the 50 Shades author, Beth Reeks was snapped up by a publisher after her book was initially a hit online. Now her novel, The Kissing Booth, is set to be published in paperback which could see the teenager propelled even higher up the bestsellers lists.

Like James, Reeks' genre is romance but, befitting for her age and that of her target teen audience, she doesn't realm into the erotic.

You would think it was one of the best kept secrets in the publishing business. … It's not that publishers don't repackage and remarket returns and unsold inventory. It's that they don't want the consumer to know. "This is a secret because no one wants to talk about it. It is recycling at its best," says David Dunn, chairman of Dunn & Co., in Clifton, Mass., a self-proclaimed "book hospital" that repairs books and repurposes hardcover returns. If the public perceives such books as "recycled," the publishers would have a perception problem, and the consumer may reconsider the purchase. Traditionally, publishers deplete unsold inventory through discount

No region in the world is safe from piracy. That's the conclusion of Patricia Judd, executive director of international copyright enforcement and trade policy at the Association of American Publishers (AAP) in Washington, D.C. "Piracy is a worldwide phenomenon," Judd says. The AAP estimates losses to its members of more than $600 million a year in about 67 markets across the globe. As more book publishers explore their offshore book manufacturing options, foreign book manufacturers are boosting efforts to lure American publishers. It's all in the name of lowering costs. But does this offshore manufacturing activity put publishers at an increased risk of

Offshoring has taken on new meaning in recent years. The Web, electronic file transfer, advancements in foreign technology and faster, better ways to communicate globally have all stirred the waters of opportunity for tapping the American marketplace from overseas. A global marketplace has swelled beyond what many expected. For some, this means greater opportunity, savings and growth. For others, it means the promise of more jobless Americans, more abandoned factories, more unfair labor competition. For many book publishers, specifically, it means more options for manufacturing books cost-effectively. It means new options for digital content creation, design and editorial. It means increased profitability, growth

Integrated Book Technologies Inc. (IBT Global), a leading U.S. digital book manufacturer, is partnering with Biddles Ltd., one of Great Britain's top book manufacturers. The companies hope pairing their organizations will provide multinational marketing advantages. The cost of manufacturing and shipping short-run books overseas is around $2.50 per unit, decimating a title's earning potential. And the costs of managing unsold overseas copies make expenses even more onerous, says Mark Tracten, director of American operations for Crown House Publishing Ltd., in the U.K. Tracten was IBT Global's first customer, when he owned and operated publishing company Brunner/Mazel Inc., in the U.K., a decade ago. Tracten