This touches on a very important point: A growing number of book publishers and authors are discovering the benefits of creating an online experience or community around their new releases.
Roland Legiardi-Laura, president of The Odysseus Group, recently supervised the launch of a Web site highlighting the new book The Underground History of American Education, by John Taylor Gatto (The Oxford Village Press). "Our Web site has created a portal for us to an entire community of people with whom we would have otherwise no way to communicate," says Legiardi-Laura. "It is much more than a marketing tool—it is a platform for dialogue and education." At JohnTaylorGatto.com, not only does the viewer get to read segments of the upcoming book but can also take part in an ongoing, lively discussion about alternative education in a message board. The Web site makes the material in the book come alive by providing the interested reader with a personal experience, something the publisher hopes will be shared with others.