Making Information Pay 2010
Date: Thursday, May 6, 2010
Time: 8:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. ET
Location: McGraw-Hill Auditorium, NYC

URL: http://www.bisg.org/mip

Publishing Business Conference and Expo
Date: March 8–10, 2010
Location: Marriott Marquis Times Square, NYC
URL: http://publishingbusiness.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=1af1c1c1-b104-4d22-9da1-3f27bb48a3e9

BISG & NISO at ALA Annual Conference
Date: June 25, 2010
Time: 12:30 p.m.–4:00 p.m. ET
Location: American Library Association Annual Conference, Washington, DC
URL: http://www.bisg.org/events-0-511-bisg-niso-at-ala-annual-conference-2010.php

The Board of Directors of The New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association has written an open letter to Publishers and asked them not to cut Reps
It does seem to be a self-fulling prophesy. Publishers are cutting field reps because of dwindling sales with independent bookstores. However sales are likely to fall even further if you don’t have a person helping the buyer make sensible decisions for their store. It baffles me that publishers are cutting their sales staff now when a sale is even harder to come by. Until the day everyone is set up for web presentations there is nothing that replaces the face to face, deeply personal relationship that the sales rep has with the buyer.
The letter from NAIBA describes the situation perfectly:

We are alarmed with what appears to be a trend in the sales division of publishers–the removal of field sales reps to independent bookstores. This draconian move against our bookselling segment will be responsible for the disappearance of book culture.

Field sales reps are a crucial part of our business. Each regional independent booksellers association and Publishers Weekly honors an outstanding field rep each year. We can’t think of another publisher position that gets this recognition. We devote countless hours at conferences refining the sales rep/bookseller relationship. They are that crucial to us.

Restricting field reps to large stores will give publishers a skewed view of what is a very diverse world–independent bookselling. Sales reps take the time to know our stores, what our customers like, and what is on our shelves. They are the industry worker-bees, travelling the region, taking ideas and trends and pollinating other stores. We learn about other stores from them, what others are reading and loving; what is selling; marketing tips; event ideas; what the publisher is doing; and what authors have books coming out in the next season. They make fans for authors out of our frontline booksellers. They cut through the catalogs to make sure we carry what we’ll be able to sell, and their endorsements are why we buy what we might have ignored.

These reasons are why cuts in field sales reps devastate us. Have you really thought about what this stricture will mean to you? Fewer book sales. Without a doubt, we are not ordering as much through telemarketing. We are definitely not focusing on your backlist through tele-sales, and we definitely miss titles from the frontlist. We also don’t buy as much direct, which makes independent bookselling a less profitable business. The vicious cycle is that we buy less because we don’t have sales reps, and then you devalue our business because we aren’t buying as much as we used to.

We understand the corporate need to save money. There are more efficacious and less exclusionary ways to cut your budgets. You know what they are because independent bookstores have been telling you what they are for years. Cut multiple ARC mailings. Do away with promotional gimmicks that go from mailbox to garbage can. Consider publishing fewer titles, fewer hard covers, fewer copies. Take a hard look at celebrity advances.

We exist to sell your books, those unique and hard to place titles, not just the established authors. Field sales reps are the tools we need to do that for you. As much as you would like to think a tele-salesperson is doing the same job, you are sadly mistaken. A field sales rep is far more than a person filling in an order form.

Don’t cut our lifeline to your books.

http://www.apple.com/ipad/

Personally I liked the name Islate better but who am I to quibble with Microsoft.
iBooks
Here’s the books component:

“The iBooks app is a great, new way to read and buy books. Just download the app for free from the App Store, and you’ll be able to buy everything from classics to bestsellers from the built-in iBookstore. Once you’ve bought a book, it’s displayed on your Bookshelf. To read it, all you have to do is tap on it and it opens up. The high-resolution, LED-backlit screen displays everything in sharp, rich, color, so it’s very easy to read, even in low light.”
I’d love to know what people think of it.

Borders Group has undergone many changes in the new year that publishers should be aware of. One part is a management changeup, and the other is the sharp decline in their sales. Holiday sales for the nine-week holiday period ending Jan. 3, 2009 was only $868.8 million total consolidated sales. This is a 11.7% decline from to the same period last year. Here we will breakdown for you the changes and what they could mean for your business.

New Management Breakdown:

• Ron Marshall is the new President and Chief Executive Officer and will serve as a Director.
• Mark Bierley has been named Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Finance.
• Anne Kubek is now Executive Vice President, Merchandising and Marketing.
• The new position of Chief Administrative Officer has been given to Dan Smith.

Sales Breakdown:

• Borders superstore segment total sales for the holiday period were $652.6 million, which is a 13.6% decrease compared to 2007.
• The book category at Borders, on a same-store basis, declined by 11.0% for the period. Borders.com sales for the nine-week holiday period were $20.3 million.
• The Waldenbooks Specialty Retail segment total sales for the holiday period were $161.7 million, a 16.4% decrease compared to the same period one year ago.
• Comparable store sales for Waldenbooks declined by 8.0% compared to holiday 2007. 
• Borders Group was notified by the NYSE on Dec. 31, 2008 that they did not satisfy one of the standards for continued listing of its common stock when the stock was selling for less than $1.00 per share over a consecutive 30 trading day period. The stock remains listed on the NYSE under the symbol “BGP”, but the NYSE will assign a “.BC” indicator to the symbol to denote that it is below the listing standards.

Borders will be one to watch in 2009 to see if they can turn around these downward trends in their book sales.

We have just updated our website with more helpful publisher guides. Please take a look when you can for info how-tos on book ads, tip sheets, BISACs, comparative titles, cover images, and more:

 http://www.straussconsultants.com/resources/effective-tip-sheet-guide

http://www.straussconsultants.com/resources/major-sales-accounts-image-specifications

http://www.straussconsultants.com/resources/comparitive-title-guidlines

http://www.straussconsultants.com/resources/book-advertising

The Independent and Small Press Book Fair will be held in midtown Manhattan on Dec. 6-7 by the New York Center for Independent Publishing. The NYCIP intends to encourage optimum sales and exposure for independent publishers and small presses with this Fair as an excellent, cost-effective opportunity to sell and promote your press, as well as meet industry contacts. This event is free to the public and there is a 20% discount for NYCIP members who wish to present. Strauss Consultants will be there and exhibiting.

The Gossip Girl DVD with audio book goes on sale shortly, with an August 19 release date. The DVD set of the first season of this CW hit will include a CD version of the novel that inspired it by Cecily von Ziegesar, narrated by Christina Ricci. The audio book can be transferred to an iPod, for an ideal marketing fit with the show’s primary audience of females around 26 years of age.

Publishers are getting more savvy to the digital world, and how to capitalize on the successes of other forms of media. The New York Times reported that the 12 books in the series have sold 5.6 million copies; the three audio versions, based on the first three books, have only sold less than 1,000 copies a year. Because audio book sales of Gossip Girl have been dismal, publisher Hachette is hoping that hitching it to the DVD set in a format appropriate for its main audience, could prove just what the doctor ordered to boost sales.

Publishers should watch out for, or create their own opportunities, to creatively piggyback their struggling products to ones whose star are on the rise. The market for audio books has generally been drivers who listen while on the road, but this doesn’t translate well to young adults. Books for the iPod could better serve this audience. The sales and success of the Gossip Girl DVD with audio book will be something to watch in the coming months.

Could giving away free book samples drive more book sales, like giving away samples of deli meat makes grocery shoppers want to buy more? The cosmetics industry, for example, has used free samples of their products to grab customers for years, maybe the book industry should take note.

It is no secret that the culture inside a Borders or Barnes & Nobles bookstore is to hang around for hours in the comfy chairs reading books, like getting free samples before you buy. This has contributed largely to the popularity of these book chains, helped books sales and customer loyalty.

Now book publishers and authors can utilize the Internet for a similar effect. In his blog psfk, Dan Gould notes Neil Gaiman’s book American Gods, which was put up online in its entirety for free by its publisher, in an effort to promote his upcoming work The Graveyard Book. Despite being available online for free, actual book sales went up. The Internet is not killing print, in fact it can help if used in creative ways.

In the face of harder economic times and high gas prices, online sales are experiencing a nice boost. Retailers are seeing a drop in store sales, but an increase in online sales. So it seems online book sales could be recession proof after all.

While going into a physical retail location will always be a popular option, more people are turning to the Web for careful research on purchases, closest locales, and Internet-only offers. Gas prices are driving even computer illiterates to become more Internet savvy in order to save money. A recent New York Times article notes that e-commerce sales are expected to surpass $200 billion in 2008, up from $175 billion in 2007, according to Forrester Research.

Online book sales could see gains despite the recession. Publishers and book marketers alike should strive to capitalize on the Internet’s strengths. Internet marketing campaigns, search engine optimization (SEO), online social networks, and blog ads will prove particularly worthwhile in the times ahead.

The Great American Bargain Book Show (GABBS) is on from Aug. 1-2 at Atlanta’s Cobb Galleria Centre. GABBS is an overstock, remainder, bargain and value book show where you can save on new books and other products and gift items. The discounts on books range from
75% to 90% off of retail.