And traditionally, one of
the mainstays for marketing shorter run titles was the independent
bookstore. For those of us of a certain age who remember life when
Borders was an Ann Arbor bookstore and Barnes & Noble stores were
more closely regarded as campus bookstores, small book shops
inhabited old houses, storefronts just off the main thoroughfares,
and long, narrow spaces with at most two aisles stretching back from
the door in all manor of strip malls. Incense and/or pipe tobacco
frequently scented the atmosphere.
Many of them specialized
in stocking books for a particular clientele. I lived down the road
from a strip mall store that catered to Ann Arbor's science fiction
community. And I remember when Katherine Stern, whose Stern's Books
on the North side of Chicago specializes in psychology books,
expressed surprise that a community with the academic heft of Ann
Arbor didn't have a bookstore dedicated to similar fare.
The decline of the
independent bookstore has been well documented but the retail
marketplace continues to evolve.
Today some argue that the
ease with which small presses and self publishers can produce eBooks
and sell them across any number of websites bodes well for these
narrow markets. However, it's widely reported by those who search
Amazon for titles of interest that many of the small press titles are
pirated editions bearing similar titles to the original work but
crudely re-edited, or books that badly need editing (or even spell
checking!), and even books that are not formatted for ease of reading
whether on a printed page or a plastic reader.
So it was with some
interest I read this
story this morning of the struggle of Towne Book Center &
Cafe in Collegeville, PA to adapt, to evolve and reinvent itself into
a 21st century
bookstore.
I miss the time when
nearly every city, town and township had a bookstore supported by the
community, and not just because of my career path. I'd like to think
the rebirth of the independent bookstore has begun.
HMH
Reorganizes
In
what is expected to be a very short period of bankruptcy protection,
textbook (and Curious George) publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is
restructuring
debt as equity and hopes to emerge from the proceedings at the
end of this month.
Exporting
eBooks
International
sales of American publisher's books saw eBook sales of $21.5
million in 2011, up from $4.9 million in 2010, a 333% increase,
while conventional book sales rose to $335.9 million, up 2.3%.
Self
Publishers: Caveat Emptor
Although
they're not often called “Vanity Presses” any longer, the same
swindlers are out trolling for self publishers by
offering sub-quality products and worthless services.
Drupa
Down
The
world's largest trade show for printing equipment is held every four
years in Dusseldorf Germany. In spite of some paradigm changing new
technologies, attendance, while a still healthy 314,500, was
down 19% over the 2008 show.
Inkjet
Books?
Forget
about your old messy desktop inkjet printer. Two
new technologies were introduced at Drupa that combine high speed
throughput on inkjet presses. The Landa
press uses nano droplets of ink to coat a medium similar to an
offset blanket that then transfers the image to the paper. Rival
Xeikon's approach is believed to be electrostatic using a liquid
toner. Each promises reduced cost per page.
Claiming
that the police raid on the Occupy Wall Street Library last November
resulted in over 3,000
books being confiscated, but with just over 1,000 returned, OWS
has sued NYC (including the NYPD) in federal court. It's a strange
revolution that values its libraries.
Promote
Your eBook Online for Free
GalleyCat
lists sites for eBook publishers to promote their books online at
no charge. They're also good sites to search for eBooks to purchase.
After
the brouhaha over the recent Time magazine cover, Adweek selected the
ten most controversial
covers of the past few years.
eBooks,
eReaders, Tablets and Their Users
This
graphic provides information about digital books, readers, their
owners and how and where they use them.
In
Defense of “Legacy” Publishers
While
large publishing houses are derided
as “legacy” businesses, most have not only adapted to the
opportunities available through digital distribution, they also
possess a trove of content curated over the years to republish in any
forms the market desires.
Paper
Pricing Insights
Even
though paper prices are showing minimal movement because of spotty
demand, this
article offers insights on how prices are set and supply managed
to ensure profitability and avoid glutting the market.
Donnelley
Shutters Another Plant
RR
Donnelley announced that it is closing
its Danbury CT plant just days after announcing its purchase of
EdgarOnline for $38.6 million.
Donnelley's chronic identity crises continues.
The
surprise bestseller of the year (3
million copies sold in a month) the 50
Shades of Gray trilogy apparently began life
as a
racy take on the popular Twilight book series. Libraries
are debating whether to stock the title or not.
More
J.K. Rowling Success
Selling
Harry Potter eBooks on the new Pottermore website produced sales of
nearly
$5 million in it's first month of operation.
Final
Thought
What
holy cities are to nomadic tribes - a symbol of race and a bond of
union - great books are to the wandering souls of men: they are the
Meccas of the mind.
G.E. Woodberry
