Publishing has been, historically, an urban activity. Curious about whether the current growth of independent and small publishers is bucking that trend, I decided to import some data on US publishers into Google Maps. This is the result.
Have you ever wondered how hardback book binding works? David Granoff explains how book printers and binderies put a hardcover book together.
Even when consumer spending goes down, it is possible for book publishers not only to survive but thrive. Previous economic downturns have shown that people continue to spend on entertainment. In fact, movie attendance actually spiked during the Great Depression. Some have attributed this to the need to escape bleak reality, and what’s better escapism than spending a few hours with a book?
New publishers and self-publishing authors often spend a lot of time on the front cover design of their books, but not so much time and effort is made on the back cover. The back cover of your book is a valuable sales tool and should be used to its best advantage.
On the top of popular fiction charts sits the often disrespected romance genre, but these stories of love and happily-ever-after manage to keep many publishers afloat, as readers purchase from publishers both large and small.
Book publishers need to consider the market, their costs, and the perceived value of the book before arriving at a retail price for any title.
Are the major publishing houses we love and revile about to come tumbling down, undermined by a million e-bookers? Yes, says Smashwords’ founder Mark Coker, there’s a revolution afoot. No, says Berrett-Koehler’s David Marshall, the new publishing houses will just be different and better. The odd man out, publishing consultant Peter Beren, thinks the traditional publishers will not only survive, they will probably just absorb the current e-book craze and crazies.