I got an email a few weeks
ago from a printer that I work with. He informed me that one of the
publishers I'd sent to them called and offered to work directly with
the them: ie cut out the middleman, which happens to be me.
Since it wasn't a
publisher I worked with back when I was in the shop everyday, I
wasn't too upset. I love working with new publishers, but I treasure
the 75 or so that I chose to contact when I started Grub Street back
in 2007.
And since I have
publishers that I've worked with since 1979, I've gotten to know a
lot about them and I am always forthright with my printers and share
what I know about my publishers. In fact, my relationship with my
publishers is the reason why printers offer me preferred pricing. By
conveying what I know about your publishing company's history, skill
levels, credit worthiness, etc. to the printers when an order is
placed (never at the pricing stage!), I anticipate their
questions so they can get to work immediately instead of questioning
the viability of the publisher. They know I won't ever lie to them.
And I do get the best
pricing; just ask the printer I broke ties with last June when I
discovered that I was getting their normal day-to-day pricing.
But it bothered me a
little that someone didn't value my knowledge and effort,
particularly because their understanding of book making fundamentals
wasn't even something that could be described as basic.
Miscommunication and misunderstanding of book manufacturing
processes lead to incorrect assumptions and incomplete instructions.
Unfortunately, tracking a problem to its cause often leads to a
mistaken assumption by the publisher. That's where I come in. I want
you to get the exact book you envisioned and I try to make clear
precisely what needs to occur to make that happen.
The point is that yes, I
do get paid a small percentage. Since I pay for all of the charges
that a regional printing salesperson regularly passes on to his
employer, I cost my printers much less than hiring a salesperson
would. Grub Street Printing pays its own phone bills, internet fees,
postage, shipping, book-keeping, and vehicle maintenance. It buys its
own computers, laser printers, scanners, and smart phones. If I have
a chance to grab a cup of coffee or bowl of soup with a publisher I
don't turn in the receipt for reimbursement. I don't ask for someone
in the office to send me a report, I generate it myself.
What does all of this mean
to you? The ratio of Grub Street's pricing estimates that ultimately
convert into production orders is extremely high, much higher than
any shop I ever worked in.
And since all the pricing
from all of the printers crosses my desk, I know that Grub Street
Printing generally saves publishers well in excess of the amount the
printer pays us.
You see, I structured Grub
Street so that on the one hand I get to work with all my old friends
in publishing, and on the other hand I get to work with some of my
old friends in printing. Pretty cool, eh?
I know that makes my job
sound pretty cushy to you, and just to make sure you're really green
with envy I thought I'd share a couple of pictures of Grub Street
Printing's World Headquarters and our trusty delivery vehicle, often
seen traversing the roads and byways of Southeastern Michigan.
Eat your hearts out.
The
President's Office at World Headquarters
Our trusty
delivery truck
Great
Opportunity: Ann Arbor Indie Bookstore
Nicola
Rooney, owner of Nicola's Books, Ann Arbor's largest independent
bookstore, wants
to sell the store she has owned since 1995. There is very
inexpensive part time help available to start immediately.
New
B&N CEO Has Finance Background
Michael Huseby has
been named CEO of B&N after his latest stint running the moribund
Nook division. Although his
background is in finance, he says he
“has a lot of passion for this business”.
All
You Can Read Subscriptions
Avid ebook users
can get all
that they can handle from a few competing services. Amazon's
Prime membership offers 350,000 titles ($79/year, includes other
non-book features), newcomer Oyster
already claims 100,000 titles ($9.95/month), and Scribd
boasts of 40 million books and documents on hand ($8.99/month).
That
Which We Call a Rose by Any Other Name...
Now that all of the
important issues in Washington have been resolved, there's a move
afoot to rename
the Government Printing Office to the Government Publishing
Office. I suppose they'll need to find a printer to redo the
stationery.
Save
Indies, Ban Free Delivery
Concern over the
continuing decline in the number of small, independent bookstores,
the French Senate has voted to level the playing field by banning
free shipping of book purchases. Perhaps well intentioned, but I
can't wait to see the unintended consequences.
Photoshop
Does 3D
Adobe hopes to
attract more clients to its Creative Cloud subscription service by
enabling
CC Photoshop to work with 3D printers.
Can
a Building Without Books be a Library?
Since
the word library comes from the Latin word libraria
(bookstore), San Antonio coined a more accurate descriptor for
its new public
collection of digital only information, BiblioTech, a neat play
on words. The BiblioTech serves a barely literate clientele.
PBS
– The Next Oprah?
Twenty four hours
after PBS aired the documentary about Catcher
in the Rye author J.D. Salinger,
Amazon sales exploded, making
it their #1 title.
Of
Ebooks and Apps
Did you want to
publish an ebook or an app (along with your printed book of course)?
What's
the difference? It may define where your book will be sold and
who may or may not find it online.
No New Public Domain Works in 2013 (or 2014)
Thanks to the
efforts of Rep.
Sonny Bono (deceased) working at the behest of the Disney Corporation
(trying to protect its one trick mouse) no
books, drama, music, or art entered the public domain in the U.S.
again in 2013. Mickey remains in protective custody.
A Free Virtual Getty Experience
Having posted 4,600
hi-res images of some of its art last summer, the
Getty has more
than doubled that number plus posted all of its books published
since 1966 online with no user fees or subscriptions.
Ebook
Apostle
After
reporting that
printed books remain popular with 18 – 29 year olds Michael
Morris (Pew Research) goes on to speculate that some people, “are
going to stick to print for incredibly boring reasons” even though
the research he cited did not study why some people still purchase
books for reasons that are boring or otherwise. Michael apparently
discounted this
article on his iPad.
A
Wine Named Paper Trail
Every three years
Clampitt Paper sponsors a
contest for graphic artists to name a wine and design a label for its
bottle. The deign and execution of wine labels is an art
form in itself, involving paper
selection, artwork and design, foil stamping, die cutting and
even numbering.
This years winner
was for a wine
called Paper Trail.
Counterfeit
Super Bowl Tickets
I'm
impressed. Two
men
were arrested at a Bronx White Castle for selling
counterfeit NFL Superbowl tickets that were good enough to be
scanned at the gate for admission. The high quality printer that
produced the imposters? Kinkos!
Final
Thought
If
all printers were determined not to print anything till they were
sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed.
Benjamin
Franklin
Past
GrubStreetPrinting.com newsletters can be found at
http://grubstreetnews.blogspot.com/
