Book sales up (thanks, Hunger Games), OWS library trashed

The annual winter lull book printers deal with each year is coming to an end and the printers we work with are reporting a sharp uptick in pricing activity and order entry. Look for schedules to start to stretch out a bit. You can assure that your title gets the best possible ship date by checking and rechecking your files before submission. Requesting an improved schedule only to get bogged down in pre-press is as frustrating to the printer as it is to you.

This month’s article on “The Beauty of Print” reminds us that graphic design wasn’t perfected in the last decade, or even the last century. The timeless beauty of the Bibliodyssey link displays paper and ink artwork from rich, textured Gothic to light, delicate Minimalist interpretations.

Book Sales Climb

The American Association of Publishers has announced a new monthly sales report, StatShot. In its first report, trade book sales for January were up 27%, Childrens/YA was up over 60% for conventional books and 475% for digital editions.

Black Liquor Tax Credit Lives

Black liquor, a paper mill by-product, has long been converted to energy by paper mills. A few years ago paper producers were surprised to learn that the conversion qualified them for energy tax credits. It was thought Congress would end the credit, but an Idaho Senator thought otherwise.

Shocker

Smart phones and tablets haven’t found their audience in terms of content yet, because social networking and games account for 74% of their usage. Content grabs just 11%.

Magazines Retail Sales Slump

As those in the book business attempt to analyze the fallout from Borders closing all of its stores in the summer of 2011, the magazine industry reports that newsstand magazine sales fell around 10%, with some like Vanity Fair losing over 20%, in the ensuing six months.

Novelist Discusses eBooks

Jonathen Franzen considers the value of paper and ink books in contrast to eBooks and concludes that eBooks are damaging society.

Dangerous Books

The re-established Occupy Wall Street library in Union Square was raided by the NYPD and virtually all of the books were confiscated just days after the library had re-opened after the last police raid.

McNally Jackson

One of my favorite publishers posted a link to a Soho bookstore that had purchased an Espresso all-in-one book making machine for self publishers. It ain’t cheap, but, hey, it’s NYC! McNally Jackson has also offered support as well as a meeting place for the Occupy Wall Street folks.

The Beauty of Print

I got an email from another printer the other day with the subject line, “Don’t make print as dull as digital media.” I was reminded of that when I discovered Bibliodyssey, a site so lush and large it will take a long while to survey its display of the creativity and beauty of paper and ink.

End of an Era

Once considered the sine qua non of reliable research for term papers ,the Encyclopedia Britannica has halted publication of its paper and ink edition and will only be available online. The 2010 edition, at 32 volumes and an impressive 129 lbs., is the final edition and is available, along with the companion 26 volume Student Encyclopedia, for $1,995.00. The “copy and paste” term paper is now inevitable.

Europe Revisited

Sometimes when a new title is reviewed, my first thought is, “That’s so cool! Why didn’t I think of that!” Douglas Mack’s Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day retraces his parents travel through Europe roughly fifty years ago, relying on Frommer’s Europe on $5 a Day as their, and ultimately his, trusted guide.

Tips for Freelance Writers

An editor for The New York Times Magazine offers tips on how to deal with editors who read, edit, and select freelance submissions.

Hunger Games Trilogy Book Sales

While the movie adaptation of Suzanne Collin’s book opened third best in opening week-end sales, (behind another adaptation, first place in opening sales, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part 2) the significant increase (see “Book Sales Climb”) in January’s YA book sales could be due to the nearly 37 million total copies sold since publication of Collin’s trilogy.

Final Thought

Having your book turned into a movie is like seeing your oxen turned into bouillon cubes. – John LeCarre

 Past GrubStreetPrinting.com newsletters can be found at http://grubstreetnews.blogspot.com/

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I've worked in book manufacturing for over 30 years, closing my company Baker Johnson, Inc. in 2005. Currently I work freelance with a large group of publishers, advising them on the printing options available to them as the book industry endures major restructuring.
My wife Cathy is a retired psychologist and spent most of her career working with the youth at Maxey Boys Training School. She is a small mammal rehabilitator with Friends of Wildlife.
Our daughter Whitney is a PharmD working in the Denver area evaluating the pharmaceutical requirements of nursing homes. Our son Eliot lives in Waterloo and is an editor at Mathematical Reviews in Ann Arbor.