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Publishing News!

June 26th, 2014 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Wow, so much publishing news this week!

A huge deal was announced yesterday.  Hachette recently bought Perseus and then they sold the client services business to Ingram. The buzz is Hachette is trying to combat Amazon by beefing up their non-fiction titles.

Next… Barnes & Noble just dropped Nook.  As of March 2015, Nook is its own entity.

Look for more changes in the publishing world.

Have a great weekend!

http://www.npr.org/2014/06/25/325372745/hachette-book-group-buys-perseus

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/06/25/barnes-noble-to-spin-off-nook-unit/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

Mug Shot

June 24th, 2014 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Happy Summer Day!

I’ve been thinking about one “news” story for the last few days.

We live in a culture that is fascinated by celebrity and now it seems celebrity mug shots are becoming more popular.  Ever since Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan went to jail we all want to see then at their worse.

However, last week a very attractive man named Jeremy Meeks gathered a lot of attention.  His mug shot was published by TMZ and it was very attractive.  Women started to swoon all over the Internet.

Here is what I want to know.  Yes, he is attractive but he has a huge rap sheet!

This just keeps glorifying bad behavior.  Suddenly he mattered because he was attractive?  We gave him and his family a platform because he is attractive!  What!
Please let’s give credit where credit is due. With talented people!

Before you know it, Mr. Meeks will be the next Bachelor.

Oops, I hope I did not say that too loud.

The Heights Theatre

June 19th, 2014 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Here’s shameless promotion….

If you are a lover of classic movies and live in the Minneapolis area, try the Heights Theater in Columbia Heights.   Every Thursday night this summer they are showing classic movies.  Tonight is one of my favorite movies, The Women.

They also show independent films.

The theater is a truly original experience.  You walk in and see a tastefully decorated theater as well as golden chandeliers.  They have an organist and the organ comes out of the floor!

It is one thing to see a classic movie on TCM and another to see them on the big screen!

Do yourself a favor and go to The Heights!

www.HeightsTheater.com

 

Here is a great article from BookBaby.  Enjoy.

 

Sara

 

A couple of Saturdays ago in the concrete basement of the Jacob Javits Convention Center, I witnessed the future for our BookBaby authors. And it looks mighty bright.

This vision came to me while sitting behind BookBaby’s table during the annual uPublishU event, a  how-to conference for writers, both striving and thriving. It’s held in conjunction with the gigantic Book Expo America in New York City. Upstairs the usual book people strolled through acres of BEA exhibits on the main convention floor during the last day of the show. Meanwhile I was downstairs in the basement bunker with 800+ writers and exhibitors enjoying lectures and discussions by a who’s who of self publishing. I even moderated a panel featuring indie author superstar Hugh Howey that explored both traditional and self publishing paths.

BookBaby was one of about 20 self publishing organizations or companies attending uPublishU to meet these very entrepreneurial authors. Sitting behind our tables, lined up between huge meeting rooms on each side of the hall, we would chat with the attendees in the precious few minutes between sessions.

This year, however, we didn’t have the place to ourselves. BEA organizers scheduled uPubishU in some of the same space being occupied by a new show called BookCon. Like the other hugely popular ‘Con events  (think ComicCon) this new feature of BEA was filled with characters of all ages, nationalities, and interests – all with a passion for their favorite books or authors.

The throngs came to see literary superstars of old (John Grisham) and new (John Green, the author of The Fault In Our Stars). They came to see popular authors such as James Patterson, Carl Hiaasen, RL Stine, and Jeff Kinney.  Among the non-lit crowd were HBO Girls’ star Lena Dunham, comic super creator Stan Lee, and celebrity chef Mario Batali. TV was well represented by Tina Fey, Amy Pohler  and Jason Bateman.  Just across from the BookBaby table, a slightly older Dread Pirate Roberts himself, Cary Elwes, entertained an overflow crowd with snippets from his upcoming book about the making of Princess Bride.  Also holding court: Grumpy Cat.

I even shot a quick video of the masses from my table:

Brien McDonald, who curated the Con, told a journalist that “BookCon is where literature and pop culture collide.” That wasn’t the only collision of note.  Many of our fellow exhibitors in the uPubishU space were getting visibly upset at the overflow crowds of fans getting in the way of doing business. The show manager went up and down the line of tables, apologizing to the people at the Smashwords, Archway Press, and Vook tables among others.

They saw the thousands milling about our shared space as a nuisance or distraction. Here’s what I saw: Readers. Thousands of them. People who read, love and – most importantly – buy books!

Maybe someday one of our BookBaby authors will be the celebrity they’re lining up to see! But even if they don’t end up on the same bill as Grumpy Cat, the enthusiastic crowds that milled around our table is proof that reading is alive and well. Our BookBaby community, along with the thousands of other first-time published authors, have a virtually unlimited readership to entertain and enthrall in the years ahead.

If BEA is for the book people, then BookCon is for the book lover. And they love them enough to take the time to drive, fly, bus, train, cab or stroll to this concrete monolith in midtown Manhattan to rub shoulders with their heroes and heroines. This new ‘Con is the real thing.

——

Steven SpatzAuthor Bio:

Steven Spatz is the Chief Marketing Officer for BookBaby.com, but always wanted to be managing editor of a large metro newspaper. After a brief fun-filled, yet cash-short career in sports writing, Spatz joined his family’s direct marketing business, Pinnacle Orchards, which would eventually become one of the biggest food catalog businesses in the world.

After selling the business, he’s worked management roles in direct-to-consumer marketing for

Senior Tech

June 12th, 2014 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Hi all,

The following is a great article about senior tech items from Alert One and it was posted on Best Home Care’s web site.

I think it is interesting to see all the technology affecting seniors and helping them have a better future.

http://www.besthomecaremn.com/blog

Sara

Tips for Upcoming Authors

June 10th, 2014 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Good afternoon!

I wanted to take today’s post and discuss an issue in book PR that arise quite often.  Many times authors print or publish a book and assume their books will be on the stands at every Barnes & Noble.

This is not the case.  It’s not even the best place to sell books.

Here are some truths that every author needs to know:

1.  When you are self-published the chances of getting into the major stores are slim.  There are always chances but most likely it will be piecemeal v. in a lumps sum.

2. Bookstores or big-box stores will want a guarantee.  They want to take something that will sell.  Usually they will make the book returnable and this can cost authors money.

3. You need to promote and create a story before bookstores will be attracted.

4. Amazon is very dominate right now.  Sell books on our web site and try to combat Amazon.

5. Last but not least, create a connection with a person who is a distributor.  Do something for them.  It is always good business to help others.

 

Until next time..

D-Day and National Doughut Day

June 5th, 2014 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Tomorrow marks two historic occasions!  It is the 70th anniversary of D-Day as well as National Doughnut Day!  Now, one would think National Doughnut Day came after D-Day.  It must have been the brainchild of a marketing/pr agency.  However, if one researches the day, it began in the 1930s as a day to combat hunger during the Depression.

Tomorrow many doughnut businesses are offering free doughnuts with coffee tomorrow.

Go to http://donutdayusa.com/ for more information.

Celebrate the Greatest Generation while you enjoy a sugary treat!

Publishing and Amazon

June 3rd, 2014 | Posted by Sara in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Good afternoon all!

The following link is about publishing and Amazon.  This is a fascinating time in the book industry.  Michael Wolff is saying publishers are too late and they dug their own graves.  I don’t agree.  Times will continue to change put publishers must innovate and change.  Check out his article here:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/wolff/2014/06/01/the-battle-between-hachette-and-amazon/9761817/