Friday, December 28, 2012

Grub Street Printing Newsletter #44, December 2012

I suspect that few of you are aware that I've not posted a new edition of Book Biz in over a month. I try to post early each month but was unable to this December.
I had no sooner emailed the newsletter to my publishing printing clients than we got an important telephone call from my daughter in Colorado.
As of December 2 we were officially grandparents.
We packed up the Conestoga wagon in record time and took advantage of the perfect weather (ie. dry) and arrived just hours after the mother and child got home from the hospital. Although I wasn't able to stay in Littleton as long as my wife, it was a celebration of naps and nursing, cooking and cooing, diapers and...well more diapers
Initiation into grand-parenthood was seamless and painless.
Below, Myles Jacob Greenman is presented as my sole excuse for submitting my work after the deadline.

And if you actually were aware that the newsletter hadn't been posted as usual, God bless you. I'd always hoped that someone out there was reading this.
 
Bonehead B&N Reaction
In what has to be the most misguided effort to thwart eBook piracy ever, B&N has removed eBooks from customer's eReaders after the credit card they were purchased with had expired.
Given the missteps of the two largest eBook sellers in removing purchased eBooks from their customer's readers, I often wonder how many people understand that, as of now, they can't actually own the eBook that they paid for.
Digital Only Has New Requirements
Spurred by Newsweek's conversion to digital only format, the Alliance for Audited Media has imposed new rules on what options their print edition subscribers are due after digital conversion and new circulation reporting requirements.
Twitter Fiction Festival
Ahhh, the power of 140 characters. Read the best of the submissions at the Twitter Showcase page. Interesting, but not exactly haiku
Government Work That's Actually Government Work
Occasionally a print shop employee needs to have something printed for himself or his family. Often these little jobs can be run in a waste area of a sheet so there's virtually no cost. Some employees refer to these jobs as “government jobs”.
But real government jobs have real costs. In Wisconsin, 64,600 Blue Books are printed every two years as a fact book about the legislators and information about the state: high school yearbook meets Info-Please-Almanac. Senators get 600 copies to give away, Reps only 350. Order your copy now for $7.30 plus shipping. The total cost to the state? $328,000.
In Mississippi the path to print shop profits was a little more obvious as Rep. Kevin McGee directed 258 contracted state printing jobs to his family's printing company over a five year time period, amounting to nearly $350,000. McGee has resigned from the legislature and is negotiating the amount of restitution he owes the state.
Colbert on Copyright and First Sale
Stephen Colbert explains “first sale” copyright law to Colbert Nation.
The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Judge, Jury & Executioner - Copyright Law
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogVideo Archive

BEA Tackles Flagging Attendance
In an attempt to recapture some of the bustle from days of yore, next year's BEA will allow anyone (aka Power Readers) to spend Saturday browsing the exhibit floor in the Javits Center for a mere $49.
BMW Prints
Relief printing was probably the first print method to mass produce graphics without a pen and ink. BMW shows how it's done in the 21st century.
The End of Printing Presses?
This month's “The End of Something” award goes to this writer who contemplates digital delivery of all media.
What Sandy Taught Us About Digital Delivery
Superstorm Sandy reminded New Yorkers (and the rest of us) about what we lose with digital delivery and the benefits of paper and ink.
LightningSource News
While Grub Street doesn't work directly with LightningSource or CreateSpace, we understand that they offer dirt cheap ultra-short run pricing (50 copies or so) and some ancillary benefits as well. LightningSource has just announced new capabilities.
Trees in Trouble
Rich Romano, the guru of the printing industry, points out that climate change is posing a serious threat to the world's lumber/pulp supply.
Simon Schuster To Assist Self Publishers
Simon & Schuster is partnering with Author Solutions to offer self publishing services. The division will be called Archway Publishing. Simon & Schuster describes Archway as offering premium service at a premium cost. Self publishing for the 1%?
Thoughts on Self-Publishing Costs
Media Bistro/GalleyCat asked self publishers about their production costs and found zero was a common expense.
Final Thought
No person who can read is ever successful at cleaning out an attic. Ann Landers 

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Grub Street Printing Newsleter #43, November 2012

I just read an email that contained an updated publisher's "fact sheet" revealing trends and patterns that are developing in our industry. It's an interesting list for a lot of reasons, but the thing that struck me first is how different it was than statistical analysis of ten or fifteen years ago.
Dan Poynter (Para Publishing) has probably assisted more people publish their first book than anyone else. He hasn't updated his online page of book industry statistics in a few years, perhaps because so many metrics have changed. I used to print out his “publishing facts” when I taught adult ed publishing classes and if you intend to do the same, check your paper tray first: it's a very long survey.
But Poynter's snapshot of the industry, updated in 2008, presents the industry as I knew it, as I learned it. Publishing Executive magazine's scope includes quantifying apps that smartphone users purchase per year, an interesting number but not one I couldn't live without.
Book printing and publishing have changed more in the last 15 years than the previous 150 years. It makes no sense to critique today's industry as better or worse. It's as vibrant as ever and presents new challenges in presenting and monetizing content. No sooner had publishers adopted spreadsheets and databases than desktop publishing, Photoshop, web sites, PDFs, and XML demanded their attention and it continues to get harder to see the forest for the trees.
 
You Can Own a Book, Just Not an eBook
An Amazon customer in Norway recently had her entire eBook collection wiped off her Kindle by Amazon. Apparently she bought books which Amazon had no rights to sell in Norway. Think she'll get her money back?
Merger News
Penguin (Pearson) and Random House (Bertelsman SE) are discussing merger plans. Combined they account for roughly a quarter of US publisher trade revenues, and scale becomes more relevant as heavy hitters like Amazon try to dictate market terms and conditions.
Profit Centers
In an effort to capitalize on its storehouse of intellectual property, Random House has signed a deal with Fremantle Media to develop and produce television shows. Random began working in movies in 2005, although the publisher/media business model hasn't totally proven itself yet.
Kobo Goes Indie
Although not as well known as Kindle and Nook, the Kobo eReader has 10 million registered users and offers over 3 million eBook titles. A new agreement between the ABA and Kobo will make Kobo eReaders and books available at participating indie booksellers (400 have already signed on) and create additional and unique revenue streams for those enrolled.
Going Paperless is Eco-Friendly?
Some years ago at a BEA seminar on ecologically responsible practices, most publishers proudly announced they were working toward a paperless office. I pointed out that electronic device recycling was virtually non-existent with crude dis-assembly in the third world causing major ecological damage. Now a New York Times study reveals the eco-cost of data-centers.
Paper may prove to be a cleaner alternative for data flow and storage, but I think the debate has already ended.
How Long has Print Been Dying?
While the digerati are anxious to throw the last shovelful of dirt on the coffin of the print industry, it needed to be pointed out that it's changing, not expiring.
Kodak Down But Not Out
Kodak has been a major player in supplying pre-press consumables and digital presses for years and continues to serve the print industry even as its consumer division struggles through bankruptcy. Kodak was a major exhibitor at last months Graph Expo trade show in Chicago. 
How Printers Think
When the demise of Newsweek was announced a few weeks ago, printer's reaction was 1.) who printed the magazine and 2.) how would they survive? Turns out Quad Graphics, headquartered in Sussex, WI was the printer and they're just fine, thanks for asking.
French Critics Hate It, French Readers Love It
Selling 75,000 copies per day, the French translation of Fifty Shades of Gray has broken every sales record for just released titles. So much for the myth of innate French fashion sense.
               Are You a Writer That Uses Plot Outlines?
I've never been good with lists, outlines or budgets but admire people who can organize their life with such tools. If outlines help you write, here are five tools that can help you along.
A New Meaning of “Content”
While sorting books donated for the Porter County (IN) Library book sale an employee made a startling discovery when a small pistol was found hidden in a pocket carved into the text of the book.
eNewsletters and Me
I still feel a little guilty about switching from paper and ink to email for this newsletter, but I send it to three times more people now than then, and email is much less time consuming and hyperlinks make context so accessible. But this promotion of eNewsletters talks about clicks and openings? I should include coupons and start contests? Strange days indeed!
Final Thought
Until writing was invented, man lived in acoustic space: boundless, directionless, horizonless, in the dark of the mind, in the world of emotion...The Medium is The Massage, Marshall McLuhan, 1967

Friday, October 5, 2012

Grub Street Printing Newsletter #42, October 2012

After reading and writing about the popularity of the Jaipur Literary Festival in India last February I've become increasingly aware of hugely successful Book and Literary Festivals in locations that I may not have considered conducive to such celebrations. I've traveled to the Chicago Printer's Row Book Fair/Lit Fest a number of times and found an energy level that confirmed the Windy City's reputation as a hub for book authorship, publishing and printing much like London's Grub Street in the 16th century.
But a few Sundays ago the local paper covered a wildly successful Brooklyn Book Festival which began its annual gala in 2006 after the Manhattan “New York is Book Country” Festival was discontinued. I suspect more than a little hyperbole when Brooklyn is said to be experiencing “a golden age of a literary community, comparable to postwar Greenwich Village or Paris in the 1920s,” but the point is taken.
Another article on that page was about the upcoming Texas Book Festival in Austin from October 27 – 28 which is expecting to draw 40,000 visitors. The event traces its roots back to 1996 when it was founded by gubernatorial First Lady Laura Bush who remains active in its production.
Locally, Ann Arbor has a June Book Festival, a September Kerrytown Book Festival and a spring time (May 19, 2013) Antiquarian Book Fair. Local authors, publishers, printers, and dealers keep their affairs focused on the area's historic and still evolving literary heritage.
I'm curious if you have attended Book Fairs of merit in your area or while traveling. Much like attending the BEA, it's a refreshing day spent with people who share your passion for books. Please email information to me about Book Fairs that you've attended that offer enrichment and entertainment. I'll put your recommendations together for the January Newsletter when we all have blank calendars hanging over our desks.  
The Business of eBooks
While four out five publishers are producing eBooks, 36% of them report “double digit annual eBook revenues.”Further, 68% make their books available on Amazon, 58% through the Apple iBookstore.
Amazon Warehouse
WalMart Drops Amazon Kindles
In what can only be described as a financial epiphany, someone at WalMart realized that Amazon was a major competitor and a much less important supplier, causing WalMart to discontinue sales of all Kindle products.
Fake” Reviews Doom Book
When activists disagreed with some facts in Daniel Halperin's book Tinderbox they flooded Amazon's customer reviews with one star ratings and successfully slashed sales.
Amazon Pays Sales Tax
Amazon has a goal of same day delivery for many of its products and so needs to build many more warehouses across the country. While previously known for its strong arm tactics to evade paying state sales taxes, Amazon has reversed course and will pay said taxes for items shipped in state from its expanding supply chain. Amazon's California warehouses were deluged with orders as the tax deadline approached.
Art History Without Art
Students at Ontario College of Art and Design feel ripped off by Pearson Learning Solutions after purchasing a required Art History textbook that had blank spaces where the artwork would have been represented. The students were told to study the artwork online. A college spokesperson blamed print permission costs of copyrighted material for the blanks and argued that the book would have cost $800 instead of $180 if the artwork had been included.
Unreadable Rowling
Anxious eBook readers who ordered J.K. Rowlings first adult title The Casual Vacancy were upset that the text displayed was unreadably tiny, or, as in the Kindle edition, you could adjust it to be extremely large. Fixes commenced immediately. Remember last month's piece (Too Quick to Press) about rushing manuscripts for online availability?
First CoursePacks, Now eReserve
A decision in a four year old lawsuit will be appealed. The court ruled against three scholarly presses, AAP and the Copyright Clearance Center, finding that Georgia State University did nothing wrong by directing faculty to use the library's eReserve system to make resources available in lieu of the more traditional course packs. GSU's eReserve system uses “Physical copies of books, audio CDs, or videos. (Library owned or personal copies may be submitted).”
Open Source Textbooks
The State of California will finance production of 50 lower level open source college textbooks which can be freely edited for the 2013 school year.
27 Things to Consider Before Going to Press
I'm not sure I agree with all 27 points, but as a small press publisher I can see how they deserve consideration before production planning has begun.
One Story, Two Editions
Harper Collins has simultaneously published Eric LeGrand's story Believe in two editions; the adult trade edition subtitled "My Faith and the Tackle That Changed My Life," and a Young Adult edition subtitled "The Victorious Story of Eric LeGrand."
The Ig Noble Prize for Literature Goes to...
...John Perry from Stanford University for his treatise "How to Procrastinate and Still Get Things Done," Other winners presented here.
Graph Expo Next Week
If you'll be in the Chicago area next week, the annual printers trade show Graph Expo will be happening at McCormick Place. While generally a printer centric event, seminar R-3 on Sunday morning is entitled E-Profit 101: A Publisher's Guide to E-Book Production. Register here.
Recommended Book Blog
Last Words
My purpose is to entertain myself first and other people secondly. John D. MacDonald

Past GrubStreetPrinting.com newsletters can be found at http://grubstreetnews.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Newsletter #41, September 2012

As I finished proofing the September newsletter, eBook news stories started popping up in my various email accounts . On Thursday it was announced that three major publishers had settled price-fixing lawsuits with Maryland, Ohio and Texas to the tune of $69 million. Later, attorneys generals in Florida and California also announced settlements with Hachette Book Group, Harper Collins Publishers LLC and Simon Schuster Inc.
Then on Friday, Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen announced that the agreement was negotiated with 54 (?) state's attorney generals and that Connecticut eBook customers could share as much as $1.26 million of the settlement. Apparently the $69 million was for everyone to share, not just the three aforementioned states.
Finally, Boston.com speculated that the agreement may herald lower eBook pricing, perhaps by as much as 30%.
That seemed to be quite a game-changer in the wonderful world of eBooks, but then Amazon's east coast publishing company, Amazon Publishing New York adult trade announced that it will offer its eBooks in other formats such as Kobo, Nook, and iPad through retail outlets served by Ingram. Barnes and Noble has hasn't decided if they will in fact carry these eBook titles in their stores. The Amazon publishing arm on the west coast did not enter into this agreement.
How much any of this is related to the Department of Justice investigation and suit remains to be seen, but with all this happening in just a two day time period certainly makes it seem as if all the concerned parties were highly incentivized to act quickly and decisively
I think that anyone who thinks there's anything about eBooks that's carved in stone will continue to be surprised and contradicted for quite some time.
P.S. And thanks to Abe Books for this interesting email this morning. I'm constantly amazed at how much I don't know.

 
Google (Non)Settlement Drags On
Google and the Association of American Publishers (AAP) may be nearing an agreement to settle (again) the lawsuit against Google Books over the twenty million books Google has digitized (with four million posted online thus far). Now Google has asked that the other suit by the Author's Guild be dismissed because “authors don't own copyrights”. Reaction has been predictable.
Banned Book Week
Celebrate your freedom to read and enjoy the ALA censorship videos Sept. 30 through Oct. 6.
Book Buying Trends Changing Again
The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) reports that eBook customers who purchase eBooks exclusively has fallen from 70% to 60%. The study also points out that the Kindle Fire is now more popular than the iPad, but as more eReaders are sold, the market share for all Kindles has fallen from 48% to 35% in the past year.
(As of late August, the Kindle Fire is no longer in stock, but a replacement is due to be unveiled by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on September 6. Could this new tablet be Amazon's much anticipated double-sided reader with an LCD screen on one side and an e-ink screen on the other?)
New Words
Merriam Webster has added ten new words to it's next dictionary edition. Here they're presented with videos in a political context for our election year.
Too Quick To Press?
The ease of self-publishing and the immediacy of social networking is allowing good writers to go to press and publicize poorly edited books. Counter to current advice and conventional wisdom, social media is demonized as a “time-sink”, time that could better be used polishing the manuscript.
Bodhi Tree Bookstore
I've been fortunate to have visited (and shopped) at some of the most iconic bookstores in America, many of which have unfortunately closed. While Bodhi Tree Bookstore in Hollywood, CA is shuttered while looking for new owners, these pictures remind us how bookstores looked before MBA retailers created the cookie cutter bookstore.
Texas Judge Cites Steinbeck
A Texas judge turned down an appeal to delay the death penalty for a Texas convict with an IQ of 61 based on the judge's understanding of the character “Lenny” in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.
30 Writing Tips
Beginning with Hemingway's “There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”, at least a few of these 30 writing tips and observations by famous writers will remind writers of their own frustrations and success.
Ten Toughies
Back in 2009, the millions.com website identified a number of English language books that were difficult to read. Now, ten titles have been selected as the most difficult. Comments after the article are Publishers Weekly snarky.
Kerouac's On The Road Cover
A 1952 drawing by Jack Kerouac has surfaced and is believed to be a proposed cover for his book On The Road as he shopped it to a number of publishers.
Kobo Offers Higher Commissions
Self published books offered through the Kobo Writing Life platform published this fall will enjoy an extra ten percent commission (80% instead of 70%) through the end of November. Writing Life was launched at June's BEA and is responsible for a 700% increase in the sale of self published eBooks for Kobo.
Online Book Marketing
Online book marketing has become so technologically complicated I don't see how a small press could utilize all the tips in this article and still have time to edit, produce and distribute any books.
Reading Comfortably

A silly look at the problem of finding a comfortable position in which to read while in bed.
Final Thought
Books are delightful society. If you go into a room and find it full of books - even without taking them from the shelves they seem to speak to you, to bid you welcome. William Ewart Gladstone

Friday, August 3, 2012

Grub Street Printing Newsletter #40, August 2012


It's always been true that the technology a printer has in the shop defines the products that can be produced most efficiently. Now the digital age has redefined “short run book printing” by introducing technology that expands the meaning of “short run”.
When I started in book manufacturing in 1979, Michigan, and especially Ann Arbor, was known as the “Short Run Book Capitol”. There were seven companies from Chelsea to Saline to Dexter known as Ann Arbor book printers jostling for a piece of what seemed to be an ever expanding pie, a market that national printers pretty much ignored.
And while Ann Arbor book manufacturing goes back to the 1860s with Dr. Chase and his steam press in the building at the corner of N. Main and Miller, it was a little before the turn of the century when Thomas and Daniel Edwards began mimeographing and selling their law school lecture notes that trade book publishing began in Ann Arbor.
As Edwards Brothers grew, some of their employees saw the volume of work available and left to start their own shops. Today there remains five companies in eight Washtenaw County locations dedicated exclusively to making some of the highest quality, most affordable books in the world.
We're all aware of the changes that are occurring in all aspects of printing. From over 50,000 print shops in America at the turn of the century there are fewer than 30,000 now, and adapting to the digital revolution has not been easy for the Ann Arbor book industry where multimillion dollar investments in state-of-the-art presses and bindery equipment efficiently produce 1,000 copies of a book but don't adapt well to fifty copies.
But one of the most informed print industry observers claims that the same need for short run books that originally powered the Ann Arbor book manufacturers still exists, albeit with the new interpretation. In fact, Frank Romano (lecturer, author and professor at RPI) claims that ultra short run book manufacturing may keep the printed and bound book relevant in the future. So as he traces the history of digital printing he points out that there has always been a need for ultra short run book manufacturing and that unmet process has breathed new life into the form.
So long as the next best sellers like Harry Potter and Fifty Shades of Grey are being written and sold there will be a need for conventional offset book printing, but that market is changing and is rife with over capacity.
Ann Arbor may or may not be the Short Run Capitol of America anymore because everyone's still adapting to the new definitions of short run. But currently, everyday, over a hundred tons of books are loaded onto semi-trailers headed for warehouses and distribution centers across North America from Ann Arbor. 
 
Books Live, but Publishers...?
In response to an article that argues for the continued existence of the book form, questions are raised about the future of publishing as it's practiced today. I was quite amused by the comment that BEA exhibitors were “terrified” about Consumer Day at BEA. Once publishers went to BEA to sell books and everyone in the booth knew how to do that.
I wish they would get the BEA Expo out of NYC where the legacy publishers live.
Weekly Reader Euthanized
Just months after purchasing Weekly Reader, Scholastic has announced it's shutting down the print version but planning an online edition. Former executives claim Scholastic bought the Weekly Reader for its circulation information and by closing it now has only one competitor for its Scholastic News.
...and The Writer Goes “On Hiatus”
After 125 years of publishing, The Writer magazine will cease publication and search for a buyer. The Writer fueled dreams and fantasies for many of us with its writer's contests, tips and directories.
The Rise of Self Publishing
Some time ago I was castigated for using the term “self publisher” in a newsletter. I explained that the term no longer was seen as derogatory. Not only has the University of Arizona just released a study of self publishing, Media Bistro serves up a weekly Self Publisher Top Ten list and Penguin (a division of Pearson) has just purchased Author Solutions to actively market services to self publishers. The acquisition has provoked some criticism.
eBooks: Less Experiment, More Business
Defining when a new product is no longer a fad but a marketable, profitable product is no easy matter (think Facebook). Perhaps the time has come to quit debating the viability of eBooks and concentrate on the content, creation, piracy, and marketing of them.
Pirating eBooks
Fascinating but grim thread on Reddit discussing eBook piracy and all the rationalizations that people use to justify it.

Thomas Nelson/Zondervan Are Merged
Having recently closed on the purchase of Thomas Nelson publishers (Nashville TN), Harper Collins just announced it was merging it with its other Christian publisher Zondervan (Grand Rapids MI). Thomas Nelson can trace its origins to Scotland in1798 and was the first publisher of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Zondervan began in Grandville MI in 1931, started by two nephews of publisher William B. Eerdmans.
LTL Freight Rates Rise
Damaged Books and Freight Claims
Over the years I've received many phone calls reporting damage to a shipment of books that had just been received. This is a comprehensive overview of the applicable laws. My advice? Whenever you sign a freight receipt add the comment “Subject to Inspection” beside your signature. Also, keep a small camera wherever your books are delivered to immediately document the damage (before unbanding the skid).
2012 BEA Attendance Up
After years of falling attendance it's great to see an increase this year, although exhibitors and rights personnel still greatly outnumber the book buyers.
Progressive Hotel”
Sensing that the Gideon Bibles in their guestrooms weren't being used, the Damson Dene Hotel in England's Lake District has replaced them with copies of Fifty Shades of Grey. Sure, but will they lull you to sleep?
Bookstore Map
Publishers Weekly has provided a scalable map of bookstores in America and identified each, including closed Borders stores. I know they missed a few because some independents that I know aren't included.
Final Thought
Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and feel the wind blowing. ~ Iris Murdoch

Friday, July 6, 2012

Grub Street Printing Newsletter #39, July 2012


I intended to email this month's newsletter on the 1st but then...
A good friend of mine passed away on the 1st And it only matters to you because if you printed a book with me from 1980 through 2005, Diane Burkhart probably burned the plates for your title. And if you had proofs, Diane burned and folded them too.
None of this is remarkable, except in this digital age, not many craft people like Diane exist anymore.
Diane came up through the pre-press ranks. She could strip covers and text and run both ends of the camera when needed, so if she was waiting for a new neg and no one was around to help, she'd shoot it and strip it in herself.
Even better, she'd catch everyone elses' screw-ups. If you owned a dog and got a few stray hairs on your negs Diane cleaned them, burned the plates, then hunted you down to let you know that she expected better. If you windowed a page a little short and left some type covered up, she'd pull the flats off the burner, haul it over to a light table, open the window, check it for opaque, roll it back up and make the plate. If you labeled your flats wrong, windowed them wrong or listed them in the wrong burn order she'd probably catch it. It was rare that a pressman would catch a problem that Diane had missed.
God forbid you used the plate frame in her absence and left some telltale signs that you neglected to clean up after yourself. The sign in her work area was always the same: “I'm NOT your mother! Clean up after yourself!”
I wasn't always glad to see her at my door. If the exposure times on the plate frame grew inordinately long she let me know we needed a new bulb, which wasn't always at the very top of my to do list. Then she'd become a reliable daily visitor to let me know that I was paying her extra money to stand and wait for plates to burn because I hadn't ordered a new bulb yet.
We were a tight group back in the day. The annual Graph-Expo print show in Chicago generally saw a contingent from our shop spend a day or two walking McCormick Place by day and exploring the night life of Chicago after dark. (You probably knew that going back at least to Ben Franklin's days printers had an appreciation for ale.) Diane loved the show and always returned with bags of colorful posters that were printed and dispersed by the press companies. Back at work she'd set them on a light table to share with everyone.
When her only son Jon died in an auto accident her life changed dramatically. Her laugh was not so spontaneous. She never joined the gang after work for a quick beer. She spent a lot of time driving to see her mother in mid-Michigan, frequently bringing her along for a week-end at Jon's house in Black Lake.
Diane was a professional. She knew how a book was printed and did her part with technical skill typical of the best crafts people I worked with.
And she was just a nice person. I knew her when we were all young and beautiful, and I knew her when our hairs turned to gray.
She leaves behind a brother and his family and a wide network of friends and co-workers who called her DiBaby. 

 

New Google Tablet Targets Kindle Fire
The fight for dominance in the tablet market gets even hotter with Google preparing to take on Amazon. Is there an underdog in this fight?
Authors Guild vs Amazon at DOJ
The Authors Guild has filed a letter strongly objecting to the Department of Justice's proposed settlement of the eBook price fixing lawsuit. The point by point presentation of Amazon's monopolistic tactics deserves thoughtful analysis, but expecting that from the DOJ may be foolhardy.
Consumer Federation of America Sides with DOJ
The Consumer Federation of America, best known as a shill for the genetically engineered food industry, has sided with the DOJ's price fixing agreement.
Library Budgets Stabilize
56.9% of libraries reported flat or decreased funding this year, down from last year's 59.8%. Overall library funding is expected to fall 4.9% next year.
Print Lives
Disparaging the argument that “print is dead”, this industry consultant argues that print is alive and well, and that publishers are the ones struggling with the digital transformation.
Novelist Russo Also Argues for Print
Pulitzer Prize winning author Richard Russo's next publishing project will not be available digitally or online, saying, “Readers can't survive on e-books alone”.
As Does Steven King
Best-selling author Steven King has also announced his next book, due out in one year, will only be available in paper and ink editions. King said he “loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid”.
eBook Best Sellers
It's frequently pointed out that tracking eBook sales is difficult because they are sold through so many disparate channels. Now Media Bistro is attempting to report the top independently published eBooks by reporting weekly Top 10 sales from three different sellers.
Toshiba's No Print Day
Just back from selling print equipment at the Drupa trade show, Toshiba has shown it's commitment to the industry by declaring Oct. 23 as National No Print Day. Toshiba's reasoning is skewered by the print industry commentator at Dead Tree Edition.
Late word: Toshiba has surrendered and canceled No Print Day. In the words of Emily Litella, “Never mind.”
One (Comic) Book, 56 Different Covers
IDW Comics issued Mars Attacks #1 with 56 different covers, each cover gracing 1,000 copies, plus a boxed set of all 56 editions with a bonus 57th cover included. 55,000 of the 56,000 printed have been sold so if you see one at the newsstand...
Disappearing Ink
In a very strange promotion to encourage readers to explore and enjoy newly published authors, an Argentinian publisher has released a book printed with ink that disappears two months after being exposed to light and air.


Bankrupt Dorchester Backlist to Amazon
3D Paper
HP, 3M and UC Santa Clara are co-developing a paper that will show printed graphics in 3 dimensions. For instance, by looking at a picture of a flower from different angles the background and shadows will move correspondingly.
eBook Espionage
Did you highlight a passage in 50 Shades of Gray on your Kindle? Did you give up on finishing Killing Lincoln on your Nook? These are some of the simpler bits of data uploaded from your eReader.
Final Thought
To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life. W. Somerset Maugham




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