HarperCollins

HarperCollins announced this week it will no longer use its Regan Books name, effective immediately, for any of its planned titles, and will shut down the imprint in the wake of the controversy preceding and following the firing of publisher Judith Regan. An interim logo, HC, will appear on all books published in early 2007 that would have been under the Regan imprint, the company said Wednesday. In September, the HC logo will be discontinued, and the books will be assigned to other HarperCollins imprints. “We feel our authors will be best served by being integrated into HarperCollins,” said Michael Morrison, president and group publisher,

From developing Internet sites for faux companies, posting scripted videos and creating elaborate storylines that add to a novel’s plot, book publishers are finding the need to interact online with potential book buyers and readers like never before. Jeffrey Yamaguchi, HarperCollins’ online marketing manager, talks with Book Business Extra about the changing needs of marketing a book in today’s digital world. Book Business Extra: Why do publishers have to go to these lengths of creating an elaborate alternative reality to market a book? Jeffrey Yamaguchi: I think the online space allows you to do that, to really explore what a reader will find in

With the launch of Bowker’s Pubnet Instant Response this week, book retailers can reorder books more quickly from several of the industry’s largest publishers. General Manager Charles Halpin chats with Book Business EXTRA! about the benefits of this new ordering program. Book Business EXTRA: How is Instant Response different from what was available before for ordering? Halpin: Pubnet Instant Response is a new service for book retailers that is offered with participating publishers—today, Random House, HarperCollins, Penguin, Hachette, Simon & Schuster and Holtzbrinck. Instant Response is different because it is lightning-fast. Instant Response is available to any publisher that utilizes both Pubnet and PubEasy, Bowker’s supply

On Oct. 19, Book Business held its first webcast for book publishing executives. The webcast was on—what else—but webcasts. Titled, “Expand Your Brand: Webinars for Publishers,” it featured the following speakers: • Twila Bennett, director of marketing, Revell/Baker Publishing Group • Suzie Cross, assistant marketing manager, Revell Books • Sharon Linsenbach, director of e-learning, North American Publishing Co. • Noelle Skodzinski, editor in chief, Book Business • Jeffrey Yamaguchi, online marketing manager, HarperCollins. Book Business compiled the following tips, tactics and considerations for using webcasts as effective marketing and sales tools, based on its recent webcast. If you missed the live event, you can view it at <a

Google suffered another setback in its efforts to defend its digital book library when rival Yahoo declined to provide information to assist with an upcoming copyright infringement lawsuit revolving around its digital-book scanning program. Yahoo responded to a Google subpoena and objected to providing information for two upcoming court battles Google will face against the Author’s Guild and McGraw-Hill Companies. The plaintiffs accuse Google of digitizing material without prior consent from the copyright holder. Google had hoped to gain information about how its competitors had undertaken similar projects. Yahoo said in its Nov. 20 filling to the United States District Court in the Northern District of

“Expand Your Brand: Webinars for Publishers” (or just want to view it again), it is now available for viewing at http://www.BookBusinessMag.com The webcast explores how some leading publishers are introducing webcasts into their sales and marketing programs. Speakers included: • Twila Bennett, director of marketing, Revell/Baker Publishing Group • Suzie Cross, assistant marketing manager, Revell Books • Sharon Linsenbach, director of e-learning, North American Publishing Company • Noelle Skodzinski, editor in chief, Book Business • Jeffrey Yamaguchi, online marketing manager, HarperCollins. There is no cost to view the webcast, and it’s definitely worth checking out. Also, the December issue of Book Business magazine, which will be arriving in your

Despite reports of increased earnings in nearly all of New Corp.’s properties, first quarter profits for its its book publishing unit declined. HarperCollins reported first quarter operating income of $55 million, a decrease of $15 million versus the same period a year ago that included strong sales of several key titles. The decline occured despite having 33 books on The New York Times bestseller list, including two books that reached the No. 1 spot. However, News Corp., as a whole, saw an $843 profit. Although Rupert Murdoch, chairman and CEO of News Corp. did not directly address HarperCollins, his comments showed an increased push for growth

Can Sony do for electronic books what Apple has done for digital music and video? The electronics giant took its first steps in finding out, as it formally revealed its much-talked-about digital reading device and a dedicated online electronic bookstore. The company began offering both to bibliophiles in the United States in early October. Sony announced that its paperback-sized Portable Reader System (PRS-500)—which is a half-inch thick and weighs nine ounces—would retail for $349.99. The device, which Sony states is able to hold up to 80 electronic books without expanded memory, went on pre-sale on the company’s Web site and became available in

The good news is that book marketing professionals have more channels through which to promote their titles than ever. But with so many choices and decisions to be made, crafting an effective, far-reaching multichannel marketing campaign is more confusing than ever. Book Business spoke with several book marketing gurus to get their takes on what makes a multichannel marketing campaign work. 1. Take advantage of all available marketing channels. Noreen Henson, marketing manager for Demos Medical Publishing, says her biggest difficulty today is “the electronic revolution in information delivery”—and her constant challenge is to ensure Demos’ campaigns take advantage of this evolution. Among

14 percent The number of book publishers who saw e-book production as a sales opportunity rose from 10 percent to 24 percent from 2003 to 2006. Source: The Industry Source, October 2006 #1 According to a recent survey of 100 publishers, printing is the No. 1 area where book publishers face the most pressure to innovate. Source: Transcontinental 2008 & 2009 During its 2008 trade show, the Frankfurt Book Fair will feature Turkey as its guest country. In 2009, China will serve as the guest country. Top 10 Google announced the top 10 books searched for using Google Book Search.