Quotation for the Week of May 30

"It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument."
-- William G. McAdoo

Great Article from the IBPA

I normally post to this blog on Thursdays, but was so wiped out by my Book Expo America trip, I never got around to it.

Instead of my usual post, I offer this great article from the Independent Book Publishers Association.

"Marketing in Today's Turbulent Publishing Environment" is a must-read for authors. Be sure to check the list of tips at the bottom.

The future is coming much faster than anyone expected.

Quotation for the Week of May 23

"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones."
-- John Cage

Book Sales Data in an E-Publishing World

This announcement comes straight from Publisher's Lunch:

"After years of compiling separate but equally incomplete publishing industry statistics, the AAP [Association of American Publishers] and Book Industry Study Group (BISG) have finally found common ground and will pool their resources in the future. Their goal is 'to develop a new data model to track book publishing industry statistics and to dramatically improve our capacity to estimate the size of market sectors and the industry as a whole.'

"Over the next few months the two organizations will interview and survey their members and other interested parties to refine their plan. Management Practices, Inc. which has collected data for the AAP for years, will develop the new prototype data model.

"The organizations 'expect to have a comprehensive, joint statistical resource product in place by January 2011.' They anticipate this new compilation will replace the BISG's once-useful annual Trends report.

"As a result of the transition, BISG will not issue a Trends report this spring for 2009 data. BISG deputy executive director Angela Bole notes 'the importance of this critical data has not changed, but the requirements for its collection and dissemination have. Also, since we expect the joint AAP/BISG product to be in place by January 2011, we didn't see need to release Trends a mere six months earlier.' She underscores that 'we believe this collaborative effort will do more than update the data on book sales: it will provide new and valuable analysis of a rapidly changing industry.'"

I wonder how this new data model will track things like this:

Barnes & Noble to Launch Publishing Service for Indie Pubs and Self Publishing

Barnes & Noble pubit! Page

AmazonEncore: Unearthing Exceptional Books and Emerging Authors for More Readers to Enjoy

Amazon Launches Translation Imprint, AmazonCrossing

I'd say things are getting very interesting.

Quotation for the Week of May 16

"A man may be so much of everything that he is nothing of anything."
-- Samuel Johnson

E-Craziness and E-Reader Device Wars

Man! For something the publishing world hasn't taken terribly seriously (up until recently, of course), things are really hopping now in the world of ebooks and digital publishing. Mainly (and, perhaps, most significantly) among retailers.

Take for instance, the partnership between (of all companies) Hewlett-Packard and Barnes & Noble. They're putting their heads together to create a link between HP computers and B&N ebooks.

Here's the press release announcing the partnership.

Not only that, but Google and Verizon Wireless are working together on a tablet computer to rival the iPad.

But that's not all. Besides Amazon, Google and B&N, now Borders is jumping on the e-reader and ebookstore bandwagon. Borders is taking pre-orders for the Kobo eReader, which will be delivered to customers starting June 17. Borders also plans to launch its eBook store in June.

Whew! You need a serious scorecard to keep up with these players.

Quotation for the Week of May 9

"Save a little money each month and at the end of the year you'll be surprised at how little you have."
-- Ernest Haskins

More Fabulous Ebook News and the End of Days

This week got off to a bang with the announcement that Google is getting into ebook publishing. Its publishing arm, Google Editions, will jump right into the fray. Not only will Google Editions make ebooks available for an e-reader device to be developed, but its ebooks will be capable of being read on many devices, unlike Amazon's only-for-Kindle ebooks.

Here's an announcement on YouTube about this (taken from an Examiner article):



Now, what with Apple selling a million iPads, plus all the competition between Amazon's Kindle, B&N's Nook and the Sony e-reader, is it any wonder people are predicting things like this?

So publishing's going down in 2012? Isn't that when the world ends, anyway?

I'm not one to make exact predictions about such things. However, you really have to wonder how the publishing industry's going to survive the onslaught. What will publishers have to offer when authors can simply publish their own work online? Editing? No, you can hire a freelance editor for that. Formatting? Ditto. In fact, you can outsource pretty much any service a publisher could provide.

And distribution? No longer a problem. Online sales and distribution eliminates the one real benefit most publishers offer authors.

Reviews? A new breed of online reviewers is springing up to take the place of the old guard. (Mind you, we could use more of them.)

In any case, isn't good word of mouth better than a review, anyway?

Okay -- so is there any other reason for the traditional publishing industry to keep going? (Coffee table books, maybe?)

My Amazon Book Launch

At this moment, it's about eight hours until the Amazon book launch for IDENTITY CRISIS takes place.

For those of you who don't read my blog, here's how the Amazon launch works. On Tuesday, May 4, 2010, at around 8 a.m. EDT, I'll post a link on this blog (as well as Facebook and Twitter) which will let anyone who buys my novel IDENTITY CRISIS on Amazon confirm their purchase and get free bonus gifts. (Yes, free bonus gifts is incredibly redundant adspeak for FREE STUFF.) This FREE STUFF is valued in excess of $1,000. (Yes, that's a one with three zeroes after it.)

So, to recap, if you buy my novel on May 4, you can get FREE bonus gifts valued at more than $1,000. (Just like it says here.)

Just check in on this blog (you know, one of those others I write). And please buy my book, so it can (with any luck) reach #1 on Amazon.



Go! Go! Go! Shoot for the moon!

Quotation for the Week of May 2

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't the fine line between sanity and madness gotten finer?"
-- George Price