The Savvy Self-Publisher, February-March 2009

Tip of the Month:

Have you published a new edition of your book, or written a
completely new book?

Go to Worldcat and look up libraries that hold
the first one in their collections. Then notify the collection
manager (or acquisitions librarian) of each library that the
new one is now available.

Contact each librarian individually by name. (Do not spam
librarians!) Be sure to mention that the library already has
one of your books, and where they can order the new one.

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Lead Story: Books are NOT Dead, but...

Educators and politicians often lament that young people don't
read enough, preferring TV and online entertainment.

But a new report from the National Endowment for the Arts says
that "literary" reading is growing, not shrinking, with 112
million readers:

http://www.nea.gov/news/news09/ReadingonRise.html

Likewise, many in the publishing world fear that the printed
book is fading away, as more people read in digital form.
But books are not dying either:

http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=8501

But bookstores ARE dying as more and more readers buy books
online. This trend is virtually certain to accelerate in a
time of economic crisis and high fuel prices. Why drive to
a bookstore when you can browse online from the comfort of
your home or office, saving time, money and natural resources?

Likewise, the traditional publishing industry practice of
printing and warehousing thousands of copies of each new
book is fading away, as "Print-on-Demand" grows more and
more popular.

The traditional publisher's habit of overprinting, then
giving up big discounts to wholesalers and retailers who
return unsold books for pulping is wasteful, inefficient and
environmentally unfriendly. It will be replaced by more and
more authors self-publishing POD books -- then selling them
directly to readers.

Watch for dramatic changes in the book world this year. Some
will result from short-term factors triggered by the global
economic crisis. Others are coming after decades of unsound
business practices by mainstream publishers and booksellers.

But at the end of the day, the book itself is very much alive.
And everyday people are still reading them. Only the methods
used to print and deliver books are destined to change.

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Podcasting: Revolution or Fad?

A podcast is like an audio book, except shorter -- usually just
a chapter. And usually they're free, intended to attract book
buyers. Podiobooks.com says that 45,000 podcasts are downloaded
daily.

Podcasting also benefits from the current trend toward delivery
of more and more "reading" material to portable devices, such
as the mighty iPod... and now the iPhone or Google Android.

For success stories of self-publishers who used podcasting to
land publishing deals, see the following article:

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1872381,00.html

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Snow Signs with Wiley & Sons

The Book Industry Study Group is pleased to announce that Danny
O. Snow has been signed as a contributor to its upcoming
publication Print on Demand For Dummies (R), due out in May 2009. The book is being published in partnership with John Wiley
& Sons, publishers of the popular 'For Dummies' (R) series, and
will be available exclusively from the BISG Web site.

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Reminder: Snow to Speak in NYC

"Print Publishing in 2009's Digital Landscape" is the topic of
an upcoming panel by Danny O. Snow at the 2009 Publishing
Business Conference, March 23-25 at the New York Marriott in
Times Square.

Adam Davidson and Alex Blumberg of NPR, plus a host of book
industry leaders will deliver a diversity of workshops and
panels on the hottest trends in today's fast-changing
publishing world.

Subscribers to this newsletter can get a free pass to Snow's
panel Visit http://www.PublishingBusiness.com then select
"EXHIBIT HALL + 1 SESSION." Use the discount code Snow09
to get a freebie courtesy of U-Publish.com.

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fellow authors and publishers. This is a fre@ resource that is
available to anyone in the book world upon request. We don't
accept paid advertising, endorse or guarantee products or
services, nor accept fees for mentioning them without full
disclosure. See http://www.u-publish.com/monthly.htm to join.

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Quotation of the Month:

"Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to
better." -- Richard Hooker (1554–1600)