SPAN's Small Publishers Journal - April 2008
Small Publishers Journal I got a lot of e-mails after SPAN took a position opposing I wrote the letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and the Amazon
April 2008
Small Publishers Association of North America - SPAN
In this issue:
Executive Director's Letter
Hello Everyone,
Amazon.com's new policy requiring print-on-demand (POD)
books sold on Amazon be printed by their subsidiary BookSurge.
Of the over 100 e-mails, 95% were supportive of SPAN's position.
I thank you all for your feedback, although I couldn't respond
to everyone.
Five percent of the e-mailers thought our position was a mistake.
This small group believes that, in a free market, what Amazon does
with their printing is none of our business. I can see their point of view
and I appreciate their comments.
Board opposing their policy because I am pretty sure their action
is not in the best interest of Amazon, historically a good partner
to independent publishers, and also because I am very sure the
policy is not in the best interest of SPAN members.You can
read my letter here: www.spannet.org/Amazon-POD.htm .
concerning the new Amazon policy in the Articles section
below.
How to respond
POD maze. Amazon's new policy affects authors and publishers
differently. In the short run, you need to find out what is going
on in your specific distribution channel. How is your print-on-
demand printer responding to Amazon's action? Have you been
contacted by BookSurge?
In the long run, the best thing for independent publishers to do
is to diversify their marketing mix of product, promotion, and
place. E-book, audio books, and other product spin-offs are a
potentially valuable part of the mix. Diversifying how you get the
word out is critical . Find your audience and and sell your
expertise with both direct contact and Internet marketing.
SPAN has two great tools to help refine your marketing efforts.
Both the Marketing Plan Workbook and the Conference CDs
are available in the "Members Only" section of the SPAN Web
site. Members can sign in here:
www.spannet.org/memberlogin.php .
Note: The "Members Only" password changed around the first of
the year. If you don't have the password, call or e-mail Kaye
(kaye@spannet.org).
Fighting corporations is a historically chancy endeavor. Rather
than counting on our grassroots efforts getting Amazon to
change, we need to focus on how to make lemonade from
the lemons Amazon has thrown at us. Diversifying your
marketing mix is one of the best ways to insure the
health of your publishing company into the future.
Scott Flora
Executive Director
Renew or Join SPAN Today!!!
Renew or join SPAN the easy way by signing up
online. Go to http://www.spannet.org/join.htm .
SPAN on Facebook
SPAN has started a "group" on Facebook. If you are
not already a Facebook member, join for free at www.facebook.com.
To become part of SPAN's group, search for "Independent
Publishing" under the groups link. See you there!
Articles
Apparently, Amazon had been quietly approaching POD
publishers for several months, applying pressure to switch
to BookSurge or have their "Buy" buttons removed from
their Amazon book pages. The news hit the streets in late
March with posts by Angela Hoy in her Writer's Weekly blog.
www.writersweekly.com/the_latest_
from_angelahoycom/004597_03272008.html .
Publishers Weekly Articles on Amazon POD
Amazon to Force
POD Publishers to Use BookSurge
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/ca6545772.html
Amazon Explains POD Move; Ingram Raises Questions
by Jim Milliot -- Publishers Weekly, 3/31/2008 1:56:00 PM
www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6546490.html
You can find additional articles on http://www.publishersweekly.com/
and searching for "Amazon POD". You can also find a trove of
information by going to Google news ( news.google.com/ )
and searching the same keywords.
Short Links
101 Fantastic Freebies from PC World Magazine
Whether you're partial to online services or to downloadable
software, PC World magazine has a great listing of the Web's
best free stuff to keep you productive, secure, and entertained.
Go to: www.pcworld.com/article/id,143642/article.html
Escape From Freedom
Escape From Freedom is a radio broadcast on the Republic
Broadcasting Network hosted by Nadia Shamsedin.
Escape From Freedom is also the title of social psychologist Erich
Fromm’s book which addresses humanity’s tendency to
escape the responsibilities inherent in freedom, and that people
do so by acquiescing to totalitarianism. Writers who examine
trends in government, politics, media, science, and social
trends are encouraged to be a guest on the broadcast.
Find it at: www.escapefromfreedom.com
bookhitch.com
bookhitch.com is designed to connect publishers, authors and
readers, cutting out the middlemen. This site provides a free
listing of your books and a link to your book sales Web page.
With over a million Web page visits in 2007, bookhitch looks
like a great place to showcase your books.
Visit www.bookhitch.com for more information.
Small Publishers Journal
is a service of SPAN, the Small Publishers Association
of North America. SPAN is a nonprofit professional trade
association dedicated to enhancing the image and profits
of authors and independent presses in the U.S. and
Canada. You'll find SPAN info and a membership
form at http://www.spannet.org/. Click on "Join/Renew".
1618 W. Colorado Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80904
Phone: 719-475-1726 Fax: 719-471-2182
Copyright 2008
posted by Scott Flora at
11:38 AM
1 Comments:
Hi Scott, thanks for your article on building one's expertise on Facebook. Interesting. Authorlink has nearly a million visitors a year. We're a news, information and marketing site for editors, agents, writers, and readers. We have had Yahoo and Google blogs for about a year, and have just now gotten serious about networking in MySpace, where we have added about 200 "friends" within one week. Please stay in touch and let me know how we can help.
By
Authorlink.com, At
June 12, 2008 11:36 AM
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