Archive for the ‘Digital Shift’ Category
Publishing 2.0
October 12th, 2009 by J A HeinleinAbout Me
Since, this is a bit of a reintroduction, following is a little about me.
I am a proud father of three very talented and accomplished now-grown girls.
I am “passionate about books” and publishing!
My personal experience as a Publishing & Marketing Professional now spans over 20 years– I have the grey thin hair to prove it! I have had the privilege of working with several top Christian publishing companies including Word, Nelson, The United Methodist Publishing House, NavPress, and concurrently, my independent ongoing enterprise.
My particular chosen focus and background has been on marketing & sales, and the various and evolving communications media.
I like many today, am a social media enthusiast.
As part of the Believers Press Team, it is my goal to help with objective of facilitating the new “Publishing 2.0!”
It is a very good day to be in publishing! I am loving life and meeting the new challenges!
Why I am interested in being a part of the BelieversPress community
Helping to bring the inspired and encouraging words of talented Christian communicators is an honor and privilege.
Simply, BelieversPress is an idea “which time has come!” I believe that it is truly a “Spirit-initiated” idea.
“…new way for Christians to publish books — a gathering of Christian authors and publishing professionals collaborating to reinvent the way books are published and sold.”
Objective of Publishing
In my opinion, producing quality and valuable content will always be the prime objective of publishing, and the future of the business will be determined by how that content is delivered and experienced by the various mediums/platforms, and by how each of those mediums/platforms is monetized and paid for…
The newly leveled playing field resulting from current technologies and broad access to both those technologies and broad direct access to the ultimate end-user market, is allowing publishing to return to its roots.
One thing that has changed dramatically, in particular, and for the positive, is that the two main viable options for publishing experiences no longer need be exclusive from the other. That is in the past, an independently published new author might have been quickly passed over [and, likely with some disdain] by a brand name publisher. The brand name publisher held all of the cards.
Now, as the big guys focus on trimming down and better efficiencies, it has actually become a strong positive to be able to bring to the table an established success in the marketplace.
The independently successful author is in a much stronger bargaining position, and can make an informed and deliberate choice, based on their own publishing vision and personal financial objectives.
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Interview with Publishing Titans Jane Friedman and Larry Kirshbaum
August 13th, 2009 by Nick CiskeA candid and varied look at publishing’s past and future from the former CEOs of two of the largest publishers (HarperCollins and TimeWarner respectively). Well worth a watch!
Some highlights:
Larry Kirshbaum:
More and more authors are finding that even if they are published by a brand name big publisher they still have to an awful lot of the work themselves.
You have to come with your own publicity ideas, and often your own publicist, you have to do your own marketing, you have to go out and meet bookstores.
We used to look down on [vanity publishing] … now the dividing line … is getting blurrier and blurrier…
Jane Friedman:
… I’m very bullish on self-publishing today …
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Is the end (of book trade shows) near?
May 8th, 2009 by Nick CiskePublishers are cutting their trade show budgets way back, as evidenced by these announcements at Making Information Pay, a BISG conference.
Trade Shows Targeted in Cost Cutting, Along with Catalogs and More
Speaking at yesterday’s Making Information Pay conference, Sterling ceo Marcus Leaver declared, “I’m not going to Frankfurt. I’m going to send a very reduced team to Frankfurt. The trade show is over.” Though he enjoyed visiting relatives while in London for the recent book fair, “I’m not sure what I achieved.” Overall he reported that the company has “taken about $1 million out of our trade show, exhibition and sales conference budget” and in turn has “increased our title-by-title marketing spend 33% in a year.”
In the preceding speech Sourcebooks ceo Dominique Raccah indicated that she, too, has reduced her trade-show budget by $250,000 and eliminated in-person sales conferences entirely as part of a larger revamping to “create the next iteration of business as usual.”
In an earnings interview yesterday, Simon & Schuster ceo Carolyn Reidy expressed similar sentiments, saying that “we have definitely looked at our participation in trade shows” and are “cutting back dramatically our booth and participation at Frankfurt.” She says their presence at this year’s London Book Fair was already curtailed and, though “our booth at BEA was already paid for” this year, participation there is being scrutinized as well.
Source: Publishers Lunch Email
What is the takeaway for independent publishers?
- Big trade shows and aren’t working for mainstream publishers anymore, so they are even less likely to work for independent publishers (if they ever really did).
- Paying for placement at a trade show is a an even bigger gamble than it was previously.
- Paper catalogs and Advance Review Copies (ARCs) will start disappearing and will be replaced with digital catalogs and PDF ARCs at a faster rate.
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Your life as a whole must reflect its Christ-centered nature. No other focus will serve. No values other than those of the Cross can remain at the core of your being, or that dichotomy will be apparent in your writing. Any desire for income, recognition, or popularity must be subordinate to your longing to be used by God to further His kingdom.
— , Writer to Writer
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