Web Development

HarperCollins Publishers has announced the creation of an in-house Internet broadcast studio. The studio, modeled on a newsroom environment, has been developed to create author videos for sales, marketing and promotional opportunities, says the publisher. Marisa Benedetto, formerly of the Wall Street Journal, has been named executive producer of the studio. HarperCollins plans to produce about 500 videos—which will be available on HarperCollins.com author and title pages—per year. The publisher’s publicity and marketing teams will use the content to promote authors on blogs and Web sites, as well as to the media and to bookstores. “The studio allows us to be a

As the founder of Internet service provider Juno, Charles Ardai knows a thing or two about making a big splash on the Web. When Ardai sold his company in 2001, the entrepreneur and writer, then all of 32 years old, decided to pursue his dream of reviving the pulp-fiction genre by starting his own publishing company, Hard Case Crime. He knew from the beginning that success would require good online-selling tools. “It’s a pretty popular genre,” Ardai notes, “but it is a genre, and there is a certain fan base that loves this stuff. If you can find one of those fans, the

AUSTIN, Texas– April 23, 2008 – Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. has selected the LibreDigital Internet Digital Warehouse solution to provide readers with new ways to access Harlequin titles across digital channels, including online and mobile. Beginning April 2008, Harlequin will make some of its most popular series—such as Harlequin Presents and books by New York Times bestselling authors like Debbie Macomber, Heather Graham and Mercedes Lackey— available for browsing online. “Romance readers are having a love affair with digital,” said Brent Lewis, Vice President Internet & Digital, Harlequin. “With technology from LibreDigital, we can give readers an experience similar to walking into a bookstore and

PMA, The Independent Publishers Association, which represents more than 4,000 independent publishers, has issued a statement denouncing Amazon’s recent policy aimed at publishers who use print-on-demand (POD) technology to sell directly on Amazon.com. The online retailer has directed that these publishers must either print their POD titles exclusively through Amazon’s BookSurge subsidiary for fulfillment of orders placed through its Web site, or incur additional cost to print elsewhere and maintain inventory with Amazon. “This policy imposes a significant financial burden on tens of thousands of small and independent publishers who can least afford it,” says Terry Nathan, PMA executive director. “Without the opportunity to

HarperCollins imprint HarperTeen has partnered with MySpace to launch MySpace/HarperTeen. This new, interactive, online community provides teen readers with an opportunity to connect with one another on message boards and forums, as well as to interact with authors via author blogs and live chats. A “Weekend Read” bulletin informs readers of new releases, and, every Friday, users receive a book recommendation. Those who read the recommended title can then discuss it on the message boards the following week. (http://www.MySpace.com/harperteen) “With millions of teens spending their time online every day, it makes perfect sense for us to partner with MySpace to build

Social media is one of the tools book publishers need to have in their Web 2.0 arsenal. Web sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Gather not only draw millions of visitors, they also provide those visitors with a platform to converse and connect around shared interests and passions. On Gather (www.Gather.com), which President and COO Carl Rosendorf describes as “MySpace for grown-ups,” “Books” is one of 11 “essential” channels that visitors can navigate to find content and conversation of interest. Gather’s “Books” group boasts more than 45,000 members, who read, contribute and/or comment on original content such as book reviews, articles and

The rise of niche marketing in the book world has led to a new appreciation of the power of audiences to drive interest in featured authors, titles and subject areas. Publishers are discovering a variety of ways to create communities, whether by building on time-tested marketing strategies or crafting innovative online features to encourage participation and create buzz. This feature shares tips from several experts on developing audience-building strategies that work. TIPS FROM ... Linda Leonard, Director, New Media, Random House Children’s Books Random House Children’s Books recently relaunched Teens@Random (www.RandomHouse.com/Teens), a Web site for fans of young-adult literature that makes extensive use of

John Wiley & Sons Inc. has reached an agreement with Safari Books Online, an on-demand electronic reference and learning platform, to offer selected Wiley business and technology titles in Safari’s Books Online Library (www.SafariBooksOnline.com). As a result of the deal, Safari customers now will be able to access and search the contents of these titles, including Wiley’s “Bible” and “For Dummies” series. Sebastopol, Calif.-based Safari Books Online is a joint venture of two other technology publishers, O’Reilly Media Inc. and Pearson Technology Group. Safari’s library offers a fully searchable database of titles from these two publishers, as well as its other publishing

Barnes & Noble.com (BN.com) has announced two new partnerships that further expand its capabilities in the digital world. These partnerships come on the heels of a redesign of the BN.com Web site (www.BN.com), which the online retailer unveiled at the beginning of this month. Mobile commerce service provider Digby will market books, CDs and DVDs on BlackBerry smartphones through a newly established Barnes & Noble Storefront, which is available as a free download to all current Research in Motion BlackBerry smartphone users. The Storefront is updated daily and includes rich content, such as product descriptions and images; a mobile shopping

Barnes & Noble.com (BN.com) launched a newly designed Web site this week, with a host of new features and an emphasis on interactive content and community. The site has been in the works for approximately six months, according to BN.com CEO Marie Toulantis. The world’s largest bookseller partnered with New York-based agency R/GA to bring the project to life. After speaking with a number of potential agencies, “We selected R/GA [because] we felt they had the best experience in the interactive field, and they had done some really great work [in the past],” says Toulantis. “We thought they had a