Publishing Technology

One form that the sharp competition in journals publishing takes is spirited auctions for the rights to the publications of professional societies. The head of a scientific society sometimes stumbles into this situation like a yokel coming into the big city for the first time. "They are really proposing to pay us that much? And with all these guarantees????" Yes, it is surprising to see what the commercial value of highly specialized research publications has become. The reason for this is that the largest publishers know very well what the prize is

The tide of retail is turning digital, and the book publishing industry, like most others, is being swept along. Research shows that consumers are increasingly turning to online sources to purchase books. In 2012, online book retail accounted for 44% of consumer books sales in the U.S., up from 39% in 2011, according to Bowker Market Research.

Publishers from Belorussia, Pakistan, India, Denmark, Australia, Malaysia, the U.S. and China were among the winners of the first London Book Fair International Book Industry Excellence Awards, given in association with the Publishers Association and presented at the fair yesterday.

For the past few years, the publishing industry has spent a long time gazing into an abyss of ever lower pricing and THE DEATH OF THE PRINTED BOOK. Doom and gloom abounded, and even when growth could be seen, there was tentativeness towards proclaiming the green shoots. However, in 2013, something altered. 

Boston, MA, April 30, 2013 - Publishing Technology plc (LSE: PTO), a leading provider of content solutions for publishers, has appointed Michael Cairns as COO, Online Solutions Division and member of the executive team. Replacing Louise Russell, Michael will assume commercial responsibility for the Online business unit, including product development, implementation and client management for Publishing Technology’s flagship pub2web hosting platform, the ingentaconnect portal and associated product lines including Information Commerce Software and the Heron elearning resource.

 Publisher–generated online communities, such as HarperCollins’ InkPop, Gollancz’s SF Gateway and Hachette’s Pick a Poppy, are set to almost double over the next two years, according to research by Bowker which was unveiled at yesterday’s “The Campaign Revolution: New Models for Reaching Reader Communities” seminar.

The report, presented by Jane Tappuni, business development director at Publishing Technology, showed that two-thirds of UK and US publishers already host reader communities, and that figure is set to rise to more than 90% over the next two years.

Selling directly to consumers is often viewed as an afterthought in this business, almost the sole province of niche publishers who can leverage brand recognition within their niche.

Last week at the Publishing Technology Executive Exchange in New York, Brian Holding, CEO of Champaign, Ill.-based publisher Human Kinetics, made a compelling case for why all publishers need to hone in on this area of their business.

“I won’t be talking much about the future, and I won’t use the word ‘publishing’ very often.” A funny way to begin a talk called “A Futuristic View of the Publishing Industry,” but Publishing Technology COO Randy Petway’s take on the topic at yesterday’s Publishing Technology Executive Exchange at the wine cellar of Del Frisco’s on the Avenue of the Americas in New York City was apt indeed, focused as he was on the way consumers discover and purchase content. That bit of semantic gymnastics on Petway’s part had to do with what he described as the difference between trends and realities. Trends are things that people think are going to happen; the "future" of publishing, however, is already happening—a reality—he explained.

Frankfurt, Germany - October 11th, 2012 HarperCollins Publishers today announced that it will roll out a new global publishing system, one of the largest undertakings of its kind to be implemented by a trade publisher.

Oxford, UK and Cambridge, MA, July 17, 2012 – Publishing Technology, the largest provider of software and services to the publishing industry, today announced two new appointments designed to lead and consult on the digital publishing strategy of customers on the pub2web platform.