All Episodes
BTB #107: A Beach Day for Authors
An author herself, sales guru Janet Spurr offers this advice: “Think of yourself as a business consultant rather than a salesperson. You want a long-run relationship with the store buyer, whether it’s a book store, a gift store, a museum shop, or a boutique. And if...
BTB #106: A World of Information
At the recent SLA Conference, Chris Kenneally discovered that there’s more to research on the Web than just “Google-ing.” He spoke with Marcy Phelps, the new president of the Association of Independent Information Professionals, along with her AIIP colleague Linda...
BTB #105: BISG Trends 2009 Report
In its annual report on the book publishing business, BISG names the "leaders and laggards" for 2008, and looks ahead to 2009 and 2010 for signs of recovery and growth. Information “feeds the agile response" necessary to survival, say co-authors Michael Healy, BISG...
Best of BTB: For Small Publishers, Good Marketing Is Hard to Find
But look no further than the IBPA, which is set to launch an ambitious new membership drive. “These times demand publishers work smarter and work more efficiently when producing and marketing their titles,” notes Frank Gromling of Ocean Publishing, who is heading up...
BTB #104: Michael Healy on Authors Guild, AAP, Google Settlement
In his first public interview, the man expected to become the executive director of the Book Rights Registry (BRR) says that, “the involvement of Google in [the publishing] marketplace, and others, is going to be part of the transformational character of [the industry...
BTB #103: What’s In Your Catalog?
For mid-size publishers, the impact of the proposed Google Book Settlement is far-reaching, with upsides and down to anticipate aplenty. At a BookExpo America panel last month, David Marlin of royalty-solutions provider MetaComet notes the settlement, “provides a...
Best of BTB: Advice for ‘Accidental’ Authors
For one thing, says author/publisher/software developer Susan Daffron, “forget bookstores. People buy our books exclusively online…because that’s where people are shopping anyway.” Daffron shared with Chris Kenneally her provocative and insightful advice on what it...
BTB #102: Meet The Editor
What makes an author’s book proposal stand out? What is it about “American history” that makes the subject so appealing in 2009 to readers? Can a blog be a source of material for a book? Saunders Robinson of The History Press takes these and many other questions from...
BTB #101: The Piracy Project: A BEA Update
With digital content more available and more commonly distributed, fears of piracy and lost sales have grown among publishers. In 2008, O’Reilly Media began systematic research to measure the cost – or possible benefit – of “free” and “pirated” distribution. This...
BTB #100: Tracey Armstrong opens ‘Big Ideas’ program at BEA
Copyright Clearance Center CEO Tracey Armstrong has kicked off the all-day “Big Ideas” Conference for BookExpo America 2009 at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Center. Speaking earlier this morning on “Content Licensing & The Bottom Line: Up the Down Spreadsheet” with...
BTB #99: First, You Laugh
Improbable research is research that makes people laugh and then think. Improbable Research is also the name of an organization that publishes a magazine called the Annals of Improbable Research, and administers the Ig Nobel Prizes. Founder Marc Abrahams reveals all...
Reaching 100 and Ready to Go Beyond
To mark the program’s 100th edition, “Beyond the Book” from Copyright Clearance Center has announced the planned release of a presentation by Tracey Armstrong, CCC’s chief executive officer, at the opening of BookExpo America, Thursday, May 28, 9 a.m. In a recent...