The New York Times

Offshoring has taken on new meaning in recent years. The Web, electronic file transfer, advancements in foreign technology and faster, better ways to communicate globally have all stirred the waters of opportunity for tapping the American marketplace from overseas. A global marketplace has swelled beyond what many expected. For some, this means greater opportunity, savings and growth. For others, it means the promise of more jobless Americans, more abandoned factories, more unfair labor competition. For many book publishers, specifically, it means more options for manufacturing books cost-effectively. It means new options for digital content creation, design and editorial. It means increased profitability, growth

After several reboots, e-book publishing is seeing signs of growth. Recent sales figures compiled by the Open eBook Forum (OeBF) have given publishers an indication of what the future holds. And that future might be now. For the first quarter of 2004, e-books posted double-digit growth (28 percent), and though revenue is projected to be a modest $13 million for the year, sales are rising, and the OeBF, an international trade and standards organization for the electronic publishing industry, began tracking sales of trade titles via a monthly bestseller list in March. Given all the optimism, publishers have taken a harder look at their

With an emphasis on computerized design and workflow; increased use of digital, on-demand and cross-media output; and populist—indeed, personal editorial standards, modern book publishing bears little resemblance to the craft practiced a generation ago. Some in the industry worry that the joined-at-the-hip crafts of publishing and printing are epochs approaching an end. In the future, anyone with an Internet connection and digital cash will be able to publish a nice looking (and, hopefully, nice reading) hardbound, softbound, or e-book. One, some, or all three. Readers will buy them online, for an e-pittance, in numbers unthinkable today, along with the classics, pop titles, textbooks,

As the world turns, so does the book manufacturing industry. International affairs brought both pessimism and hope to an industry still in the throes of a sputtering global economy. On the upside: a new Harry Potter title and Hillary Clinton's memoirs have legions of readers shelling out cash at bookstores nationwide. Indeed, the Association of American Publishers, Washington, reports U.S. book sales rose 5.5% in 2002, to $27 billion—proving once again that, no matter how bad things seem, you can't keep a good book down. Or a good book manufacturer. Despite competitive market conditions, high unemployment, war in the Middle East, a dearth of

Last summer, a book retailer on the Lower East Side of Manhattan produced a window display to promote Weekend Utopia, written by noted architectural columnist Alastair Gordon. It was a stunning display—dozens of copies produced a sea of sepia, orange and pastel blue. "How inviting," I thought. This beautifully stylized book by Princeton Architectural Press was not only an instantly successful seller, but laid the foundation for a modernist architectural renaissance. How did this happen? Was it due to the appearance of the book? Not entirely. Gordon credits the initial success of the book, in part, to the creation of

A Review of New E-Publishing Products From Adobe and Microsoft By Danny O. Snow New technologies may make publishers want to echo Robert Frost's classic lament, that a traveller can follow only one fork in the road at a time. Major new products specifically designed for delivery of online content have set the publishing industry abuzz, amid a flurry of controversy over earlier efforts to bring e-books more squarely into mainstream markets. Software industry leaders now offer e-publishers new strategies for the presentation of online content to readers -- but both systems must face the challenge of protecting intellectual property for the author and publisher. WebBuy and PDF

by Tatyana Sinioukov University of California Press book producers achieve success by attending to the nuances of design and production Since its inception in 1893, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, has become one of the largest university publishers in the nation, earning recognition for its diverse titles and creative approach to book design. Originally established to distribute the faculty research papers by exchanging them, for free, for papers from other universities, the University of California Press today serves as the university's non- profit publishing arm, creating titles from special editions of the classics to fine art books to historical studies to volumes of

by Tatyana Sinioukov The next big idea -- the electronic book--has materialized in this fall's releases of SoftBook and Rocket eBook by the two Silicon Valley companies, SoftBook Press, Menlo Park, CA, and NuvoMedia, Palo Alto, CA. BookTech asked some publishers their opinion about a possible onslaught of e-book products. Even those who don't believe it will lead to a sudden death of the paper book want to know how the e-book will read, how it will feel when held, how, if at all, it will affect the book-publishing and book-selling businesses and, ultimately, consumers' perception of a book. Is a book a

With two years of Web-creation experience under her belt, Kelly Maragni, director of marketing, has spent a great deal of time Web surfing for ideas, and notes that by now there are many impressive sites on the Internet related to book publishing. Here are a few of her favorites, which she offers to BookTech readers as sources for inspiration Newspapers/magazines, etc. 1. The New York Times "I like to scan the headlines daily and check bestseller listings for our books frequently!" http://www.nytimes.com 2. Granta magazine "I love the design and there's always something good to read" http://www.granta.nybooks.com 3. American Demographics "My favorite place for