Cynthia Cleto

Registration is now open for Book Business magazine's first-ever Publishing Business Virtual Conference & Expo—Digital Content Day @ Your Desk—which will be held on Thursday, Oct. 29. The virtual show is free to all registrants and will offer a full day of interactive conference programming, including live and on-demand educational sessions and audio and e-chats with industry-leading digital-content experts.

A “slow, but steady decline” is how Rhonda Herman, executive vice president at reference publisher McFarland & Co. Inc., characterizes the market for reference books. “We are cautious about sales and will feel lucky if sales remain flat.” The reality of an economic downturn is starting to sink in—McFarland’s volume is flat, Herman says, “but actual income is down 2 percent. The reason for this is that we are experiencing higher than normal overstock returns, which is not surprising in this market.” Both direct and indirect costs are hitting the bottom line at the Jefferson, N.C.-based publisher. Higher fuel costs are forcing up the