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BookMasters, Inc.
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Ashland, Ohio 44805
Volume 6, Issue 9 November 2008
The BookMark is our free monthly newsletter featuring news and information of use to publishers, authors, retailers, and others involved in the publishing industry. On the fifteenth of every month, The BookMark will deliver useful tips, helpful news, and upcoming events directly to your electronic in-box. If you would like to receive a free copy of the The BookMark in your monthly e-mail, please visit http://www.bookmasters.com/subscribe.htm and complete the subscription form.Publishing Industry News
Marketing and Distribution
Trade Show News
BookMasters, Inc., creates vertically integrated distribution powerhouse
BookMasters, Inc. (BMI) CEO Dave Wurster announced a reorganization of the company’s operating units designed to strengthen BMI’s sales and distribution offering to independent publishers.
Former PGW President, Rich Freese, will head up BookMasters Distribution Services (BDS), as well as AtlasBooks, which will continue to operate independently. Matt Wurster will lead Digital Services and Ray Sevin will continue in his role as President of Manufacturing. Wurster said, “Over the past 40 years, we have created a strong set of services around book production and distribution and this new structure will reinforce these core operations. Adding Rich’s experience and expertise is an outstanding opportunity for us to enhance our sales and distribution offering through print and digital channels across all market sectors.”
BMI is looking to capitalize on the combination of its existing strengths and the market opportunity presented by independent publishers’ appetite for flexibility and efficiency. Conceived as a one-stop shop for printing and binding, digitization, domestic and international sales and fulfillment, BDS offers full-service international distribution and promises savings throughout the publishing value chain.
The company, says Wurster, is proud to be "owner-operated" and is funding BDS from existing activities. “I’m happy to share our financials with prospective clients. This is not a speculative start-up as we already have high-quality production, fulfillment and distribution operations in place. We’re now bringing it all together to offer publishers a full menu of end-to-end services.” BMI’s state of the art warehouse is strategically located in central Ohio. BMI already boasts a 24/7 customer service team, 24-hour order turnaround, a client base that includes Pearson and Thomson, and a wholly owned $100m sister company that is a tier one supplier of toys and sporting goods to Wal-Mart and Target.
Freese has started hiring a team of top flight sales and marketing professionals to be led by BDS’ new VP of Sales, Jeremy Nurnberg. Formerly VP of Trade and Institutional Sales at Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., Nurnberg will bring his expertise in selling to the chains, independents, special sales and international markets. Freese said, “The integrity and expertise of BMI’s existing infrastructure provide a strong platform for us to set new standards in our industry. I’m confident that BDS will be a secure and effective partner for independent publishers looking to maximize profits in a challenging marketplace.”
Last Minute Holiday Promotions
by Jennifer GrahovacThough the holiday shopping season is already upon us and deadlines for getting books on the shelves of the top retail bookstores is long since past, there are still a few things that an author or publisher can do to boost their holiday sales.
Independent bookstores and other local stores have more flexibility with their holiday purchasing. If they see that an author is willing to promote and drive some holiday sales, they may still be likely to make a last minute buy. Also, the publisher or author could still promote to consumers and direct them to the AtlasBooks.com bookstore which will be open 24/7 throughout the holiday season.
As we’re heading into one of the toughest holiday selling seasons in memory, here are a few ideas for shopping promotions:
- Key into the “buy local” movement that is becoming more and more of a rallying cry, especially in small towns and communities. Remind customers that buying locally reinforces their commitment to the community and will help keep their local bookstores a vital member of that community.
- It’s hard to find encouraging, upbeat news lately, so why not offer customers a chance to escape for a long over due trip via the imagination? Books can offer a romantic, mysterious, or historical escape that can last over the course of many days.
- What better way to feel secure and content than to curl up with a good book and a cup of hot tea? It’s a fun and comforting way to escape for a few hours each day. Consider cross-promotions with other local businesses or products.
- How about helping your customers save money?
- Save money by cooking meals at home for the family instead of eating out. Look at all the great titles for beginning or advanced cooks. One family meal at a fast food restaurant is often more than you would pay for a new cookbook.
- Save money by giving the gift of a “how-to” book for home improvements. Learn how to do it yourself instead of hiring someone to have it done.
- Save money by learning how to make all those holiday gifts. Consider promotions for books on soap making, quilting, or woodworking.
For less than the cost of two tickets to a movie that only lasts a couple of hours, a book can be read, enjoyed, referenced, and passed along for years to come.
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Your Book is Your Business
by Sophfronia Scott“And then what?” I find myself asking that question a lot lately as entrepreneurs and speakers approach me about getting a book done. We usually get to a point in the conversation where I ask the person what they want to happen after they get published. They’ll often say something like, “I really just want to get the book out there.” Okay, we can do that, I say. “And then what?”
I ask the question because these days, especially where a business is concerned, you’re leaving a lot of opportunity and money on the table when you think of your book as just a book. If you take some time to think it through, you’ll see that your book can actually become your business. Jack Canfield has done really well at doing this. His latest book on the Law of Attraction just came out, but if you’re paying close attention to everything he’s doing, you’ll see the book is really an introduction to his new line of “Dream Big” products. You can do this too. You take the content or system you’ve created in your book and expand on it in a way that’s almost like the relationship between a movie and its merchandising. As the Mel Brooks character says in the film, Spaceballs, “Merchandising! That’s where the real money from the movie is made!”
At a very basic level, you can take the system you teach in the book and turn it into high-fee workshops or keynote speeches. It can become a series of products—or even a series of books when you apply the same system to different situations. Take The E-Myth by Michael Gerber, for instance: not only is the E-Myth a whole coaching program, it’s also a line of books for managers, medical professionals, and different types of companies. If you look at the material closely, it’s not all that different. It’s just been repackaged.
Why You Can Re-Purpose Your Material Again and Again
Some people might be concerned that if the material is in the book, why would they come to a workshop or pay to come see you speak? When people connect to the material, they usually want more, even if it’s just to see you in person. Don’t be afraid to re-purpose your material over and over again. If you need confidence, just look at how the big guys have been doing this for ages! Here are a few formats to consider. All or none may suit your purposes, but you get the idea, your book can be so much more:Workshops/Boot Camps
If you’ve done a good job of developing your material, there’s no reason it can’t translate really well into a 2- or 3- day workshop or boot camp. A workshop or boot camp can be a great moneymaker since you can charge as much as $5,000 for each attendee.Audio Programs
A benefit of CDs is that it helps people relate to you as a real person. They get to hear your voice and connect to you. They also hear your authority and your command of your material.Videos/DVDs
DVDs have a higher perceived value than CDs or books - you’re moving right up the media ladder! They also boosts your credibility because your customers will get to see the faces of the people you’re helping. Many speakers even record video testimonials from the attendees and include them in the product.Workbooks
Your first question might be, “How is a workbook different from the book I’ve already written/or am writing?” Never underestimate how much people want more. Many authors follow up popular how-to books with workbooks that allow readers to apply the method to their particular project. Writing the Breakout Novel was followed by the Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook. Likewise The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing was followed by The Marshall Plan Workbook.How Will You Broaden Your Business?
Choose the ways you would like to re-purpose your book material and how you plan to produce it or make it happen. Remember, be imaginative. You know your business better than anyone else. But I encourage you to think big and make the commitment to follow through and implement your ideas. You’re really stepping out in a major way here – make every moment and every idea count!Sophfronia Scott is Executive Editor of The Done For You Writing & Publishing Company. Get your FREE audio CD, "How to Succeed in Business By Becoming a Bestselling Author" and your FREE online writing and book publishing tips at www.DoneForYouWriting.com
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You're On The Air
(Benita Zahn, Noon News anchor and talk-show host on WNYT-TV, Albany, NY)Most of the time what interviewers are looking for are three big points. Understand that before going in. When they ask, “So, what are the big issues here?” you can say A, B, and C. Now you’ve begun to manage your interviewers. You’ve steered them into an area without making them feel foolish, without dictating terms per se. They want to bring out the best in you, and they want to look their best, too.
Interior Designing
(Dick Margulis, editor and book designer, New Haven, Connecticut. Contact Dick at dick@dmargulis.com)As a publisher, you want to budget a certain number of pages for a book. As a book designer, I have to respect your page budget. But there are limits to what you can reasonably expect readers to put up with in terms of tiny type and long lines. At some point, your budget may have to yield to readability concerns.
There are various ways of expressing a rule of thumb about line length, but what they all come down to is that beyond about 75 characters per line, on average, reading becomes more of a slog than an effortless glide through the text. A line length of about 55 characters, on a single-column page, is much better. If you do go with a longer line, you should increase the leading (pronounced ledding, from the lead metal strips used to space out lines of metal type) to make it easier for the reader's eye to slue from the end of one line to beginning of the next, rather than errantly wandering back to the beginning of the current line or even the previous line.
What this means is that the longer you make the line, the fewer lines you'll end up with on the page. In the end, for a typical 6 x 9 trade book, if you maintain reasonable margins, the maximum number of words you can get on a page without causing reader discomfort is about 425; and 350 is a much more comfortable target. You can force more words onto a page, but I try to discourage that. For a larger-format book, while you can't make the lines longer, you can make the text column or columns longer. A two-column layout on a large page can accommodate perhaps 850 words, although typically a textbook with that layout will also incorporate numerous graphics that reduce the available text area significantly.
BookMasters/AtlasBooks Attends 60th Annual Frankfurt Book Fair
Randy McKenzie, Amanda Dowdy, Paul Stevenson, and Deb Keets represented BookMasters/AtlasBooks at the 60th Annual Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, October 15th-19th. The Frankfurt Book Fair is the largest of its kind in the world with publishers from over 100 different countries exhibiting. This year the fair set a record for attendance with approximately 78,000 individuals present each day.
Each year the fair recognizes and features a “host country” with Turkey acting as this year’s featured country. A Turkish organization committee created various programs and a range of exhibitions and events to feature and represent the culture of Turkey for the attendees to enjoy. In 2009, the featured "host country” will be China.
AtlasBooks Distribution Services was a big hit, with many publishers meeting with the team to try and establish distribution and marketing outlets in the U.S., as well as in other global markets.
The team had a great time meeting with the new prospects, but also enjoyed the opportunity to meet and “catch-up” with many of our current foreign partners.
The team looks forward to next year’s trip to Frankfurt to see all the great people they met on this trip and to enjoy once again the wonderful food and hospitality of the city.
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Publishing Business Conference and Expo
New York Marriott Marquis, Times Square
New York, NY
March 23-25, 2009
www.PublishingBusiness.comBologna Children’s Book Fair
Bologna Exhibition Centre
Bologna, Italy
March 23-26, 2009
www.bookfair.bolognafiere.itColorado Independent Publishers Association College 2009
Red Lion Hotel
Denver, CO
March 26-28, 2009
www.CIPAbooks.com
London Book Fair-
Earl’s Court
London, England
April 20-22, 2009
www.londonbookfair.co.ukSociety for Scholarly Publishing Annual Meeting
Baltimore Marriott Waterfront
Baltimore MD
May 27-29, 2009
www.sspnet.orgBook Expo America 2009
Jacob K. Javits Center
New York, NY
May 28-May 31, 2009
www.bookexpoamerica.comAmerican Library Association Show
McCormick Place
Chicago, IL
July 9-15, 2009
www.ala.orgThis calendar was up-to-date and accurate as of November 15, 2008. Information was culled from a number of sources. BookMasters cannot be held liable for the accuracy of the information within. Please visit the listed Web sites for more information.
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