Author House

Books below the Cloud and on the Ground at BEA
June 10, 2013

I have been assembling BEA take-aways from the lively and informative reports of seasoned observers and trade professionals, without having attended in person. These provided me a lot to chew on, along with vivid memories of sitting through panel presentations, hiking through the aisles and corridors, and schmoozing at the booths at the Javits Center. They have added more substance to what I otherwise learn working with new business development and online publication services each day.

Stirrings from the Old and New Publishing Scene out West
December 19, 2012

For 36 years, an undaunted Irwin Zucker, himself a public relations professional, has been hosting bi-monthly meetings of the Book Publicists of Southern California, bringing together at each event a hundred or so published authors and authors on the way: to share ideas, display their works, and to learn how to sell more books.

As with IBPA -- which started a few years later as the Publishing Association of Southern California (PASCAL), with then former PW Publisher Dick Bye as President and Jan Nathan as Executive director. It then became PMA and is now IBPA, a 3,000-member strong national organization -- Zucker reveled in the trenches of book publishing outside the mainstream channels. He brought enthusiasm, hope and know-how to equip authors with the tools to work around barriers to entry and, eventually, if they found a strong enough audience, to find their way into the mainstream; or, more often, to stay independent and pocket the proceeds and the glory on their own.

Publishing Business Street Team: In Which Our Intrepid Content Director Braves the Wilds of New York City
August 10, 2012

I'll admit that it still thrills me to walk past and gaze up, wide-eyed, at the Empire State Building. Nonetheless, no tourist am I (proven by the fact that three people so far have asked me for directions). I am here to do business.

We Book Business and Publishing Executive editors are a peripatetic lot. Earlier this week you heard from Jim Sturdivant reporting from New Bern, N.C. (Yes, he’s on vacation—what dedication!) Now I am in New York to meet with some of the speakers for our forthcoming Publishing Business Virtual Conference & Expo.

University of Arizona Study analyzes the wide world of self-publishing
July 1, 2012

“Self-publishing not only is changing the traditional publishing industry and the relationship between authors and editors, but also the ways readers are connecting with books.”

So say the results of a multi-year study lead by a research team at the University of Arizona’s School of Information Resources and Library Science (SIRLS).

BookExpo America Report: Book Publishing Begins Anew as a Startup and Growth Industry
June 8, 2012

Over the decades that I have been going to BEA and its predecessor, “The ABA Show,” a full regime of floor walking was at the base of the experience. This was followed by a full box or two of books that went out the expo door with the freight forwarder of the year. It became the ballast that found its way to my garage and shelves.

This year I came away with a USB stick in my pocket and 10 new titles on it in e-Book format. A few choice paperbacks in my carry-all.  No cartons of books—too much work. But I also noticed that something more important had changed aside from my take-aways:

In book publishing, there is no element of fundamental practice and best practice that is not simultaneously under siege by opportunistic practice.

Hollywood Execs Finding New Sources for Ideas in Self-Published Books
January 25, 2012

Author Solutions, Inc., the world leader in indie book publishing, announced it is offering a resource for entertainment industry leaders to quickly and effectively find, source and vet new content for film and TV development consideration. The ASI Hollywood Database is a first-of-its-kind online service that organizes the themes and ideas from books self-published through ASI imprints into a searchable database easily navigated by qualified entertainment professionals.

Digital Full Color Opens New Book Markets
June 1, 2006

While digital toner and inkjet based color has been available for years, Lightning Source’s announcement at Book Expo America of its four-color one-off production line exponentially expands the base for untapped publishing business opportunities for mid-range, independent and high-end publishers. It also shines the light on the transformation of manufacturing business models in the past 10 years, providing a price-list-based, sophisticated manufacturing service that simplifies the supply chain process without sacrificing quality controls. Buying color in Asia or Europe in sufficient quantities to bring the unit cost down and allowing for the weeks of turnaround time need no longer be a barrier to the