Buy Kindle, Love Jeff
Jeff Bezos's annual letter to shareholders is all about Kindle, casting
the device as "exemplif[ying] our philosophy and long-term investment
approach" as originally expressed in his 1997 letter (the year that
Amazon jumped from $16 million in sales to to $148 million).
He observes: "We also knew we shouldn't try to copy every last feature
of a book—we could never out-book the book. We'd
have to add new capabilities—ones that could never be
possible with a traditional book.
"The early days of Amazon.com provide an analog. It was tempting back
then to believe that an online bookstore should have all the features
of a physical bookstore. I was asked about a particular feature dozens
of times: 'How are you going to do electronic book signings?' Thirteen
years later, we still haven't figured that one out! Instead of trying
to duplicate physical bookstores, we've been inspired by them
and worked to find things we could do in the new medium that could
never be done in the old one. We don't have electronic book signings,
and similarly we can't provide a comfortable spot to sip coffee and
relax. However, we can offer literally millions of titles, help with
purchase decisions through customer reviews, and provide discovery
features like 'customers who bought this item also bought.' The list of
useful things that can be done only in the new medium is a long one."
Unlike WSJ columnist Lee Gomes, Bezos says "I value my
BlackBerry—I'm convinced it makes me more productive
The Most News that the Business Uses
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extra stories from during the week:
Cornwell Newspaper Serial
Sorenson In Advance
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Personnel News
At the Simon & Schuster Children's trade group, Anne Zafian has
been named deputy publisher of the trade imprints, comprising
S&S Books for Young Readers, Paula Wiseman Books, Atheneum,
McElderry Books and the not-yet-named west coast imprint. Zafian joined
Simon & Schuster in 2004 as director of distributor sales
& retail marketing. Publisher Rubin Pfeffer says she will "work
closely with our publishers to serve as a primary point person and
resource for our sales and marketing organizations, supply chain and
inventory planning, the scheduling and positioning of our books across
all sales channels, and finding new opportunities for us to connect
more closely with our growing customer base."
At NAL, Brent Howard and Kerry Donovan have been promoted to associate
editor.
Scholastic has hired Dr. Clayton Wilcox, superintendent of schools in
Pinellas County, Florida since 2004, as vp, education and dorporate
relations. He will be responsible for "building relationships with
district administrators, state departments of education and
non-governmental organizations, which will help to further strengthen
Scholastic's understanding of important education issues and help guide
the company in finding ways to better partner with stakeholders to
improve learning in schools nationwide."
Lots of New Jobs
We added another 6 new jobs to our industry-leading Job Board just
yesterday, the latest among about 100 opportunities still live in all.
For employers, we provide the unbeatable combination of the largest
circulation in the business by far, a total focus on book publishing
only, and the best prices anywhere.
And for job-seekers, we present great new possibilities every day and
conveniences like an RSS ping to keep you posted on every new offering.
Among the latest:
Image Manager - Amelt [Full Time]
Oxford University Press (New York, NY)
Associate Copy Chief [Full Time]
Globe Pequot Press (Guilford, CT)
Chief Operating Officer [Full Time]
Theatre Arts Publishing Organization (New York, NY)
Assistant Manager-Book Production [Full Time]
Time Inc. (New York, NY)
Sales/Marketing Executive [Full Time]
World Scientific Publishing Co. (Hackensack, NJ)
Acquisition Editor - Physics/Mathematics [Full Time]
World Scientific Publishing Co. (Hackensack, NJ)
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Book Sales Down 8 Percent at Courier Units
"Weak sales at Dover Publications and Creative Homeowner" led to an 8
percent drop in revenues at Courier's book publishing division,
registering $16.8 million for the second quarter. Creative Homeowner
suffered in particular from troubles in the housing market, but Dover
sales were also down "nearly $1 million." Pretax income for the
division was $202,000, versus $1.4 million last year.
Release
But Book Sales, and Profits, Rise at WH Smith
Reporting results for the six months ending February 29, UK retailer WH
Smith said that same-store book sales rose 2 percent compared to a year
ago, "with gross margin up year on year as we continued to implement
our strategy to rebuild our authority as a popular book specialist and
maximise profitability. We achieved further share growth versus the
general high street."
The improvement in books came even as overall comp sales at their high
street stores were down 2 percent. The company reported profits of 64
million pounds, up 8.5 percent, on sales for the period of 556 million
pounds, down 2 percent.
Release
The Most News that the Business Uses
Every day, we gather, report, recap and interpret the most publishing
news, deal transactions, and job offers anywhere. Today's Lunch Deluxe
includes these additional stories and links:
PFD Loses First Case Against Former Agent
Richard and Judy Will Continue, At Smaller Network
Publishers Sue Georgia State on Digital Reading
O'Reilly: Amazon Turning Into Microsoft
Film Options Flourish
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Personnel News
Kevin Doughten will join Viking as an associate editor. He was
assistant editor of Bookspan's Readers' Subscription Book Club. He will
work with executive editors Carolyn Carlson and Wendy Wolf.
Laura Bonner has joined Endeavor's New York book division as a
subsidiary rights manager, handle all domestic rights and working with
Rebecca Oliver on foreign rights. Bonner was in domestic sub-rights at
Farrar, Straus.
Tears and Trial Over for Now
Testimony wrapped up yesterday in the Harry Potter Lexicon trial,
though the battle of emotions may continue. JK Rowling said in court,
"I never ever once wanted to stop Mr. Vander Ark from doing his own
guide‚ never ever. Do your book, but please, change it so it
does not take as much of my work."
Judge Robert Patterson Jr. asked Rowling if she thought readers might
turn to the Lexicon for "entertainment value." She replied, "Honestly,
no. I think there are funny things in there, and I wrote them."
The WSJ notes that attorneys "revealed in court that they had settled
some sections of the suit that were not central to the copyright
infringement claim."
Lots of New Jobs
We added another 6 new jobs to our industry-leading Job Board just
yesterday, the latest among about 100 opportunities still live in all.
For employers, we provide the unbeatable combination of the largest
circulation in the business by far, a total focus on book publishing
only, and the best prices anywhere.
And for job-seekers, we present great new possibilities every day and
conveniences like an RSS ping to keep you posted on every new offering.
Among the latest:
Publicist [Full Time]
John Wiley & Sons, Inc, (Hoboken, NJ)
Assistant Editor [Full Time]
Avalon Books (New York, NY)
Marketing Director [Full Time]
Playscripts, Inc. (New York, NY)
Editor - Doubleday Religion [Full Time]
Random House (New York, NY)
Designer - Potter Craft [Full Time]
Random House (New York, NY)
Marketing Manager,
Harcourt Children’s Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group [Full Time]
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company (Boston, MA)
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Nelson Says No Thanks to BEA
Thomas Nelson has said the thing that trade show organizers fear the
most: "We have determined that, for Thomas Nelson, these trade shows
provide very little return," and they are pulling out of both BEA and
he International Christian Retail Show.
CEO Michael Hyatt says, "We have been discussing this move for some
time. But the current economic downturn is forcing us to re-evaluate
the expenditure of every marketing dollar."
Hyatt adds, "Historically, trade shows have played an important role in
publishing and bookselling. I have attended scores of them and have
very fond memories of connecting with customers, authors, and the
media. But the market has changed. Dramatically. We simply can no
longer justify the enormous costs associated with these trade shows.
Having inaugurated our own event, it's time for us to leave the past
behind and step into the future."
Nelson recently hosted its own two-day conference in Nashville for
their top 100 Christian retail accounts.
Judge Tells Potter Parties to Settle the Case
After the second day of testimony in the Harry Potter trial, Judge
Robert Patterson, Jr. urged the parties to settle, expressing concern
that the case is "more lawyer-driven than it is client-driven."
Patterson said, "The fair-use people are on one side, and a large
company is on the other side.
Scholastic's Suzanne Murphy testified as an expert witness for Rowling,
while former Random House executive Bruce Harris was the expert witness
for the defense. Harris testified "that he believed there was little
chance that Mr. Vander Ark's lexicon
Meanwhile, author of the Lexicon Steven Jan Vander Ark cried on the
stand. As the Times puts it, "It was an emotional culmination to three
hours of testimony in which Mr. Vander Ark gushed over Ms. Rowling and
her work like the devoted fan that he claimed to be, and disarmingly
preceded almost every answer to a question with an 'Um.'"
Rowling's reaction to his testimony by e-mail: "A fan's affectionate
enthusiasm should not obscure acts of plagiarism."
WSJ
Dylan for Kids
A picture book adaptation of Bob Dylan's 1974 song FOREVER YOUNG has
been announced for publication this October, illustrated by Paul Rogers.
A second-hand citation says Simon & Schuster's press release
calls it a "heartwarming and meaningful story about the importance of
doing good."
The Most News that the Business Uses
Every day, we gather, report, recap and interpret
the most publishing news, deal transactions, and job offers anywhere.
While there's plenty to read in this edition, today's Lunch Deluxe is
more comprehensive, including these additional stories and links:
Publishers Sue Georgia State for Copyright Infringement In Circulating Digital Copies
Book Sales Down 8 Percent at Courier Units
Jennifer Weiner in TV Deal
Top Authors Merchandises Table to Bookstore Chain
Another Reporter Tries to Get Answers from Beah
Books on a (Black)Berry
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Launches
Director of Big Apple Tuttle-Mori Agency Luc Kwanten is launching the
Paradise Literary Agency, devoted to representing Chinese and Southeast
Asian fiction authors to Western publishers. Based in Honolulu, Hawaii,
the new office is being run by Wendy King, Kwanten's step-daughter, an
MBA grad who has been working at Big Apple. They have 20 clients signed
so far, and are focusing on authors born after 1975. Some of those
clients have been published in China, "some cannot be published" there.
Kwanten says, "We don't want them to have grown up during the
upheavals in China. We want them to write about contemporary China."
Some
Joe Dolce has launched a new media strategy and branding company in
conjunction with journalist Davidson Goldin, called DolceGoldin. They
are promising to "help your authors get more powerful, coordinated and
long-term results than they're currently getting from the piecemeal
approach to marketing that publishers provide."
Personnel News
Falls Media, which specializes in funny, interactive, irreverent books and
entertainment properties, recently hired Robert Kempe as director of marketing
and publicity. Previously he was advertising and promotions manager at
Ballantine.
Lots of New Jobs
We added another 8 new jobs to our industry-leading Job Board just
yesterday, now with about 100 new opportunities still live in all.
For employers, we provide the unbeatable combination of the largest
circulation in the business by far, a total focus on book publishing
only, and the best prices anywhere.
And for job-seekers, we present great new possibilities every day and
conveniences like an RSS ping to keep you posted on every new offering.
Among the latest:
Director of National Accounts [Full Time]
Hachette Book Group USA (New York, NY)
National Accounts Manager-Sales [Full Time]
Hachette Book Group USA (San Diego, CA)
Senior Acquisitions
Editor, Political Science and International Relations [Full Time]
Westview Press (Boulder, CO)
Senior Business Analyst - Diversified Publishing Group [Full Time]
Random House (New York, NY)
Associate Editor, Triumph Books [Full Time]
Random House (CHICAGO, IL)
Senior Designer - AMELT [Full Time]
Oxford University Press (New York, NY)
Associate Online Editor [Full Time]
Oxford University Press (New York, NY)
Editor, Entertainment Group [Full Time]
Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA)
Publishersmarketplace.com/jobs
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