AddMe - Search Engine Optimization Book Printing Forum: June 2006

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Bringing Books To Life

There is a fundamental shift in the nature of books being announced by the University of Ulster, according to the “Futurist” magazine.

In the July-August issue it says, “No more waiting for the movie version of your favorite book. New multimedia technology, combined with language processing, will allow books to be translated automatically into 3-D animated images. Software developed at the University of Ulster understands natural English-language input and maps it into 3-D multimedia presentations. The potential applications range from bringing a children’s story to life to creating interactive city maps. Filmmakers could also use the technology to produce vivid animated storyboards from screenplays so that directors may experiment with different angles before live actors are brought to the set.”

For more information, see the website: www.ulst.ac.uk .

This announcement marks the first fundamental change in the functionality of a book in over five hundred years. Books have always been the vessel for ideas and entertainment that drives the imagination of the reader. E-books provide a different type of delivery system for the content (an electronic reader versus a paper book) but are still only words that were seen and interpreted by the reader’s imagination. This new software creates 3-D images for the reader, taking imagination out of the equation.

What problem is this solution attempting to solve? Yes, it is a cool technology—both astounding and amazing. Will it reach mainstream readers, however, or be relegated to filmmakers and story boarders?

Does this device solve the illiteracy problem? People younger than 30 years old are reading less. Other media (TV, movies, the Internet, iPod, Xbox, etc) consume more time for youngsters than reading. Experts say that children favor images to words. Illiteracy is on the rise in this age group.

There remains a basic flaw in the adaptation of the software by users—both young and old. The software requires an intermediary computer to render the images—today a PC, tomorrow possibly a hand-held device. Will readers want an intermediary between them and the words? Traditional readers will not. They are fewer and fewer in number, however. Will younger readers want an intermediary? Probably not. There are too many other choices of electronic devices to capture their attention for entertainment.

Furthermore, the software lacks interactivity and variability. The 3-D software interprets the written words as they were written. It is linear. This cannot compete with the interactivity of video games with their multiple scenarios and interactivity for younger users.

It is not clear what problem this new software development solves. It is clear, however, that anyone interested in the printing, distribution, marketing or reading of books should keep an eye on this technology to see where it leads.

If you enjoyed reading this, please forward the URL to colleagues who might also enjoy it, http://bookprint.blogspot.com.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Opportunities for English Language Books in China

The Chinese are obsessed with English. Up to one fifth of the population (260 million people) is learning the language. Gordon Brown, the British finance minister, observed on a trip to China in 2005, in two decades China’s English speakers will outnumber the native English speakers in the rest of the world.

The appetite for English language materials seems insatiable. It is estimated that $60 billion a year is spent in China on materials comprising books, teaching materials, tests, teacher training and language schools.

So what? This thirst for English-language materials may be a windfall for book publishers of all types. Macmillian has sold more than 100 million school textbooks in China with its partner FLTRP, which has a fifth of the market and is the leading Chinese publisher of English-language books. Pearson subsidiary Longman, Oxford University Press and HarperCollins have popular bilingual dictionaries. Thomson Learning has licensed its teaching materials to People’s Education Press.

Who among the publishers with whom you work is ready to take advantage of this market? Which books are both simply written and interesting enough for the Chinese market? Perhaps there is a fiction book or series of books that would interest the Chinese.

Will it be easy to sell books in China? Undoubtedly no. It requires finding a partner such as FLTRP or a Chinese publisher to help you navigate the terrain. Fortunately, the Frankfurt Book Faire is coming October 4-8, 2006. This is the largest book fair in the world for buying and selling foreign rights and establishing partnerships. It requires preparation and planning for a publisher to meet, negotiate and execute a deal at the Frankfurt Book Faire. Engaging the services of an experienced rights agent may be a worthwhile investment. One with whom I have dealt is:

Godfrey Harris
THE AMERICAS GROUP
9200 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 404
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(310) 278-8037 telephone
(310) 271-3649 fax
HRMG@AOL.com

If you enjoyed reading this, please forward the URL to colleagues who might also enjoy it, http://bookprint.blogspot.com.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Is Print Where Words Go To Die?

Print is where words go to die.

I heard this statement in a lecture the other day. It’s a great catch phrase. Is it true, though?

A first reaction is no. Non-fiction books have revised editions to keep them fresh and contemporary. Fiction books have series. Given the lead times to bring a book to market (anywhere from six to 18 months), however, how fresh and current is the content? I believe the speaker referred to the immediacy of the information, not the core content.

Other, more current technologies provide more immediate information. These include wikis, blogs and instant messages (IMs).

The first question a book printer may have is what is a wiki and a blog? Wikis are relatively new and blogs have been around for several years.

A wiki is a user editable Web site. It is comprised of many pages covering different topics. The idea behind a wiki is that one user posts some information on a subject and others add to the knowledge base. Some of the information added may be inaccurate or incomplete. That’s part of a wiki. Another user simply goes to the incorrect wiki page and corrects it. At all times, users can hit a “revert” button that returns the wiki to the last saved version. Sounds chaotic, doesn’t it? It is.

How did the wiki get its name? Wiki is Hawaiian for quick. You may have seen the vehicles in Honolulu called Wiki Wiki cabs that ferry tourists from the airport to the beachfront hotels. The wiki’s inventor, Ward Cunningham, wrote a few lines of code to create a place for co-workers to collaborate—quickly.

Blog is short for web log. A blog is a site where an author, such as myself, posts ideas on a particular subject of interest or expertise. Others may add comments to each of the blog postings to further elaborate an idea.

What are the differences between a wiki and a blog? Wikis and blogs are dynamic. Both leave a “memory” on the Web. That’s where the similarity ends.

Blogs promote the identity of the person writing the blog and the users who contribute. A blog is also one single web page. After a few postings accumulate, they are archived for future reference. On my blog, for instance, I accumulate the postings by month and year.

A community of users, on the other hand, creates a wiki. It suppresses the identity of the originator and all contributors. No one knows who wrote what. A wiki is also a complete web site with multiple pages covering multiple subjects or subtopics.

Why are wikis, blogs and IMs better than print? The lecturer contends that the instantaneousness of wikis, blogs and IMs make them more flexible and dynamic than print. Print is a legacy technology. These other technologies surpass it because each marks our lives as they happen.

Yet wikis, blogs and IMs have their limitations. Instant messages are well suited for synchronous decision-making or information disseminating. “Meet me at Tutti’s at 5,” is a perfect use for an IM. Instant messages die, however, once the user deletes them. Wikis and blogs, while they live indefinitely on the web, are hard to search and index for reference.

What, then, is the role of print? Print is good for memorializing thoughts, ideas and events. Print lends credibility. One often hears the phrase, “if it’s printed, it must be true.” More and more frequently one hears, “memorialize that statement” in business-speak. For now, whenever something must be kept for future reference, print is the medium chosen.

Ironically, one of the great sales opportunities for book printers is blogs. Many bloggers want to publish their blogs in a more permanent form, books. Searching out prolific bloggers and contacting them may be a way for a book printer to capture more business.

If you enjoyed reading this, please forward the URL to colleagues who might also enjoy it, http://bookprint.blogspot.com.

Monday, June 19, 2006

2006 Book Summit

For centuries, a book was a book was a book—ink on paper. Today, digitization and indexing of books has done more than shift printed material into bits and bytes. We are seeing the unbundling of content, creating new access and sales opportunities—and new concerns about author and publisher rights and copyrights.

The daylong 2006 Book Summit on September 27 in New York City will examine the impact that Amazon, eBay, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo have on publishing from the perspective of authors, distributors, printers and printing services companies.

The second annual Book Summit promises to be more provocative, more controversial than last year's. I am, once again, honored to be the moderator of this historic event. Our distinguished panel of experts will address the impact of new entrants into the publishing space and offer insight into the direction of the industry.

We will host the event in the Small Press Center in Manhattan. Seats are available in the gallery for spectators interested in this year's topic. See the website, www.booksummit.com, for details.

If you enjoyed reading this, please forward the URL to colleagues who might also enjoy it, http://bookprint.blogspot.com.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Indicators of Repeat Printing Business

Which books sell best? Book printers want to know because it means repeat business to them. Unfortunately, there’s really no way to know for sure. Who would have thought “What Men Know About Women” (a blank book) or “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” would sell as well as they did?

Evaluating a book potential for repeat business is challenging. It is more of an art form than a science. While there are no hard-and-fast rules, here are some statistics to remember.

A breakdown of book sales by genre looks like this according to the Romance Writers of America:

39.3% Romance
29.6% Mystery/Thriller
12.9% General Fiction
11.8% Other Fiction
6.4% Science Fiction

Women buy 72% of all books (An even higher percentage if you examine book sales of novels. Men buy non-fiction, as a rule).

It’s clear what sells—romance or mystery thrillers. A novel with a woman as the leading character helps sell books since women are the primary buyers.

The big publishing houses, such as Random House or Simon & Schuester, will have the big name authors like Sue Grafton, Tony Hillerman or Michael Crichton. The big publishing houses print with the big printers. There may be little hope of landing an established author of this magnitude.

There is, however, a chance to catch a rising new author, such as Louise Gaylord (Anacacho and XS) or Steve Burt (A Christmas Dozen and Odd Lot). These authors print hundreds and thousands of their books (as opposed to the tens and hundreds of thousands sold by the established authors). This is good printing work, when you can get it.

Be on the lookout for authors who write in the popular categories above. Look especially for those authors who appeal to women—the book-buying public. When you find on, you’ll increase your chances for repeat business dramatically.

If you enjoyed reading this, please forward the URL to colleagues who might also enjoy it, http://bookprint.blogspot.com.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Established Publisher Marketing Text

This is the third posting of marketing text I created for my friend at Sir Speedy in Newtown, PA. Any printer can insert a name where it reads Sir Speedy.

Providing Profitable Alternatives to Publishers
Finding profit in publishing today is more difficult than ever. Vexing problems such as keeping back list titles in print, reaching niche markets and the impact of digital printing offer profit opportunities. Let Sir Speedy show you solutions designed to maximize profit.

Advances in printing technology have created the custom book printing revolution, and Sir Speedy leads the way in bringing on-demand technology to you.

With digital printing it’s never been easier to keep a book in print. Whether the demand is 100, 200 or 2,000 copies per year, Sir Speedy can provide cost-effective printing solutions.

Similarly, reaching niche markets—no matter how small—is easy using Sir Speedy’s digital print capabilities.

Sir Speedy never sacrifices quality. Each book is prepared with an eye to quality and detail, and includes a full-color, laminated cover, perfect binding and rich text, graphics and photographs.

Let us demonstrate the range of solutions we offer publishers. For help, call us, email us, send us your file, ask for a quote or stop by.

If you enjoyed reading this, please forward the URL to colleagues who might also enjoy it, http://bookprint.blogspot.com.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Established Author Marketing Text

This is the second posting of marketing text I created for my friend at Sir Speedy in Newtown, PA. Any printer can insert a name where it reads Sir Speedy.

Providing Options to Established Authors
As a published author, you know there is more money to be made than the meager advance most publishers pay. Let Sir Speedy show you how to make the most of your next book. Whether you want to make more money, retain artistic control or speed a book to market, we can help.

Advances in printing technology have created the custom book printing revolution, and Sir Speedy leads the way in bringing on-demand technology to you.

With our digital technology and flexible ordering options you can write a book and print just the copies you need, in quantities of 1, 100 or 1,000. Each book is prepared with an eye to quality and detail, and can include a full-color, laminated cover, perfect binding and rich text, graphics and photographs.

Our custom design services help you prepare your book cover to compete with the large publishers. Use our layout and design artists to create one-, two- or four-color covers that set your book apart from the competition.

Use our technology to deliver books to market quickly and economically. Take advantage of our exclusive Sir Speedy MyDocs® Online Ordering System, and your customers can place orders online for your book and have it delivered to their door.

When speed is of the essence to get your book to market, let Sir Speedy show you how we can produce your book quickly without sacrificing quality.

For help, call us, email us, send us your file, ask for a quote or stop by.

If you enjoyed reading this, please forward the URL to colleagues who might also enjoy it, http://bookprint.blogspot.com.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

New Author Marketing Text

A friend in the printing business had a marketing piece for selling short-run, digital books. The text was provided to him by his franchisor. I told my friend the text tried to appeal to too many people. When you try to appeal to too many people, you end up appealing to none. He challenged me to come up with something better. I did. The next three posts are the result of that effort. Any printer can insert a name where it reads Sir Speedy.

Simplifying Choices for New Authors
The choices confronting a first-time author are staggering. Let Sir Speedy make your printing choices easier for you.

Advances in printing technology have created the custom book printing revolution, and Sir Speedy leads the way in bringing on-demand technology to you.

With our digital technology and flexible ordering options you can write a book and print just the copies you need, in quantities of 1, 100 or 1,000. Each book is prepared with an eye to quality and detail, and can include a full-color, laminated cover, perfect binding and rich text, graphics and photographs.

Our custom design services help you prepare your book cover to compete with the large publishers. Use our layout and design artists to create one-, two- or four-color covers that set your book apart from the competition.

Use our technology to deliver books to market quickly and economically. Take advantage of our exclusive Sir Speedy MyDocs® Online Ordering System, and your customers can place orders online for your book and have it delivered to their door.

For help, call us, email us, send us your file, ask for a quote or stop by.

If you enjoyed reading this, please forward the URL to colleagues who might also enjoy it, http://bookprint.blogspot.com.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Industry Pundit Predicts Short-Run Book Printing in 1999

Charles Pesko, Jr. writes in “Print On Demand Business” magazine, “For on-demand print providers wishing to add book printing to their range of offerings, this is a great time to enter the market.” He goes on to say, “…today’s on-demand printing technologies also change the dynamics of the book printing industry. For printed books, book-on demand solutions, such as Lightning Print (sic), allow printing in quantities as small as one. …books never need to go out of print. The good news for printers is that market potential for on-demand book printing is huge. In many cases, this opportunity is limited only by the unwillingness of publishers and printers to change old workflow or traditional work patterns.”

What makes Mr. Pesko’s comments so interesting is that he wrote this in 1999!

Since then, book print runs have been getting progressively shorter. Fewer books are selling as many copies (see the April 14, 2006 post for 2004 Book Scan sales figures).

Despite this, there have been few changes in the book printing landscape in the United States. The same players dominate the market for book printing. There have been some changes to be sure. Phoenix Color, for instance, has returned to being a components manufacturer instead of a full-service book printer. Few national chains, however, have stepped up to capitalize the changing dynamic. Individually, certain franchise printers, such as Sir Speedy Whittier and Sir Speedy of Scottsdale, have embraced this change. Even these franchises, however, are limited to their geographic locality, for the most part, because books are heavy and expensive to ship. No chain has developed a way to overcome the tyranny of geography when it comes to printing books. Even the 700 lb. gorilla in the market, FedEXKinko’s, has not leveraged its leadership role to include short-run, digital book printing.

Now, Charlie Pesko’s market potential predications may be changing, again. At this year’s Book Expo of America, the buzz on the floor was about e-books. When the market leaders in publishing begin to embrace this technology, the dynamics of book publishing will change again.

Does this mean there is no longer a need for a printed book? Of course not. The printed book legitimizes information in a way an e-book cannot. The adage, “off-line is where the trusted information is” still applies. So printed books will always have a place in the publishing pantheon.

What it does mean, though, is that print runs for books will continue to shrink. E-books may gain in importance, but the e-book is still based on the actual digital files used in printing. Hence the book printers can capitalize on creating the e-books in addition to the p-books (printed books).

Seven years later, the market is once again moving towards the short-run, digital printers. Unlike in years past, the question remains, who will rise up to meet this challenge?

If you enjoyed reading this, please forward the URL to colleagues who might also enjoy it, http://bookprint.blogspot.com.

Monday, June 12, 2006

E-Paper's Effect on Book Printing

Reuters reports that some of that the world’s top newspaper publishers are planning to introduce a form of electronic newspaper that will allow users to download entire editions from the Web onto reflective digital screens said to be easier on the eyes than light-emitting laptop or cell phone displays. Flexible versions of these readers may be available as early as 2007. Production costs are expected to be low enough soon for publishers to consider giving away such devices with an annual subscription.

“This could be a real substitution for printed paper,” said Jochen Dieckow, head of the news media and research division of Ifra, a global newspaper association based in Germany.

E-newspapers would cut production and distribution costs that account for 75 percent of newspaper expenses.

A substitute for printed paper? What implication does this have for book printers? How soon will it be before this technology migrates to book publishing? See the April 29, 2006 positing about the Sony Reader. Sony’s device uses the same screen technology from E-Paper as described in the Reuters article.

The entire book publishing paradigm is changing. Newer technology will come along to challenge paper’s role as the preferred medium for a book. There was talk about the changing paradigm at Book Expo of America. After all, printed books have had a good run—500 years or so.

For the foreseeable future, though, printed books will have a place. Printed books lend credibility to the author. Take Chris Anderson, for example. He is the editor of “Wired Magazine.” He wrote a terrific article entitled The Long Tail for the magazine. The article was written three years ago. During that time was Chris Anderson interviewed on his thesis? No, not really. It wasn’t until he wrote a book, by the same name, that he was interviewed in magazines such as the “Economist” and appeared on the talk-show circuit. His article, his ideas have not changed. The only difference is now he has a book.

Book printers are well served not to forget this example. No matter what the technological changes, there is always a need for a printed book.

If you enjoyed reading this, please forward the URL to colleagues who might also enjoy it, http://bookprint.blogspot.com.