Today In Book Publishing

Publishers limit their book sales when they see bookstores — bricks and/or clicks — as the only place through which to sell their books. If you want to sell 10,000 books through any retailer, you must get 10,000 people to go there and buy one. But if you want to sell 10,000 books in non-retail…

Open the iBooks trending searches today and you’ll see that the majority of searches start with the word “Free.” This is a word well beloved by consumers and deeply feared by publishers, who understandably want to protect their authors and investments. Yet for consumers conditioned to expect free online content, any paywall can be viewed…

As publishers increase their investment in digital printing, the need to more deeply collaborate with printing partners becomes imperative. Digital printing enables publishers to print shorter book runs and more accurately meet consumer demand. But that also means more frequent transactions with book manufacturers and a need for better order management. On top of that,…

Today subscription reading service Scribd announced that it is adding magazines like Foreign Policy, Time, People, The Atlantic, and more to its library of content. In addition to ebooks, audiobooks, and documents, Scribd subscribers can now access magazine articles and entire issues at no additional cost to their monthly subscription. “Time Inc. is excited to…

Last week Simon & Schuster announced a new podcast created in partnership with CBS Radio's Play.it podcast network. The podcast "Paper Donkey" will feature interviews with famous editors and authors about how books are created and how editors help bring authors' vision to life. “We want to give people the chance to eavesdrop on the…

Publishers are beginning to realize the benefits of digital printing technology. Digital printing makes shorter print runs more affordable, lending publishers the flexibility to react to market trends and test new ideas. This is opening up a wealth of opportunities for book publishers that were never possible before. Publishers can test new authors, formats, and…

On November 3rd Book Business's sister publication Target Marketing will host a webinar on the power of design thinking to improve customer experiences. As book publishers become more consumer-focused, launching newsletters, consumer-facing websites, and ecommerce experiences, it's crucial that they inject design thinking into their marketing and sales efforts. The webinar "Design Thinking: A New…

WASHINGTON — October 25, 2016 — Learning Objects, a Cengage company, today announced the full release and availability of its Competency-Based Learning (CBL) Platform. Streamlining the development of competency-based programs, the platform is an end-to-end experience including competency dashboards, personalized learning activities, extended transcripts and evidence portfolios.  Designed to support programs built around learning goals…

The world of digital content is changing so rapidly with the rise of mobile, video, AR, VR, big data, little data, that many publishers may forget that print content is evolving too. New technologies in the book printing industry are creating opportunities for publishers to streamline their operations, distribute their books faster, and develop new…

Book publishers face an interesting puzzle. The amount of time consumers spend with digital media is growing significantly year over year. According to comScore, U.S. consumers spent 35% more time with digital content in 2015 than they did in 2013. Yet in the book industry, ebooks sales are on the decline, as is overall revenue,…