Attached article about Berret-Koeller, an interesting publisher, who actally likes authors.
Good business numbers on the publishing industry.
Getting on the Same Page“Zackheim is talking about an industry where $28.6 billion in 2004 revenues was split among 195,000 books. That’s just $146,667 per book. Factor in the cost of acquiring, editing, manufacturing, marketing, and shipping each title, and publishing begins to look like the inverse of Vegas: a place where the house usually loses.”
Ann Woolner does a good job of explaining the Google program to scan every book in the linked article.
Most of the stories I read come down on Google a trying to break the law. Tuat makes sense, most are written in publications that benefit from copyright materials.
There are hurdles to cross.. but we all benefit if Google scans. Amazon has a voluntary program now and I find and buy books based on what is buried on page 234 all the time.
If the courts rule that Google has to seek permission.. will they ever get around to asking me about my small number of books? Maybe not. And the world wouldn’t be able to find me that way (though I’m sure I could submit them to Google).
Copyright law exist for the public(reader) interest. The idea was that we’d get more books if writers were encouraged to publish. Hmmm.. Seems to be no shortage of writters wanting to publish today.
I think we’ll wind up with everything indexed. Personally, I can’t wait. I always want more stuff than I can find time to read, and this is one more way to find it.
Bloomberg.com: Bloomberg Columnists: “As the holder of a copyright on a book that fell a couple copies short of best-seller status and is now out of print, it excites me to think that Google might keep my work alive.”
A study by the Center for Customer Insights at the Yale School of Management on the effects of consumer reviews on online book sales concluded that this community content has an impact on consumers’ purchases.
The study, by professors Judith Chevalier and Dina Mayzlin, aimed to determine whether differences in customer reviews across the two US websites affect sales.”>Web reviews drive online book sales – vnunet.com: “Book reviews posted on the websites of online retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble have a significant influence on the ultimate success or failure of new titles, research has claimed.
A study by the Center for Customer Insights at the Yale School of Management on the effects of consumer reviews on online book sales concluded that this community content has an impact on consumers’ purchases.
The study, by professors Judith Chevalier and Dina Mayzlin, aimed to determine whether differences in customer reviews across the two US websites affect sales.”
The Ultimate Corporate Brochure: Your Book: “Strategy
Think of this as a different form of a corporate brochure. Unlike a brochure, being a published author will make you look look like a celebrated expert in your field. This separates you from the competition, boosts your perceived value, leads to much higher fees and more than your share of referrals as people become afraid NOT to hire you! Besides, when was the last time a prospect asked for you to autograph your brochure?”
HoustonChronicle.com – It’s not vanity: Authors pen self-publishing revolution: “‘Last year we assigned ISBN publisher prefixes to almost 11,458 new publishers. Of those, 11,344 were small publishers, meaning someone publishing one to 10 books,’ says Andrew Grabois, director of publisher relations at R.R. Bowker, the U.S. ISBN agency. (The International Standard Book Number is that unique 10-digit number on every book sold in any store.)”
Guinness World Records(TM) Stars on the Silver Screen in First in-Theater Advertisement for Best Selling Book: “Guinness World Records, the global authority on record-breaking achievement, today announced the introduction of the Company’s first national in-theater advertisement for its best-selling annual book. Premiering in theaters throughout November and December, the advertisement will be played before films including, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and The Chronicles of Narnia, the 30-second spot will support the release of Guinness World Records 2006 during the holiday season.”
