Bookbuilders 2012 Holiday Party

Switching things up this year, Bookbuilders held a holiday cocktail party at Petit Robert Central in Downtown Crossing.


Carolers in Downtown Crossing


The change to a smaller venue and scaled-down event was appropriate for the times. Appetizers were hot and plentiful, and the service was terrific.

A $30 ticket price made it possible for many to attend on December 12, and the most notable feature of the party for me was the range of attendees. I spoke with several "newbies"--two of whom received Bookbuilders scholarships in the spring, and all of whom landed their first jobs in publishing just months ago. Founded in 1937, Bookbuilders continues to attract new members!

I also spoke with a former president of one of Boston's biggest publishing houses who later established several successful start-ups. Another Bookbuilders board member introduced us, and we are always happy to do this.

It was also very nice to see several printer representatives visiting from out of town. The Wednesday timing made this convenient, since New England trips can be scheduled for the business week around the party.

We are always working to make events accessible, fun, and productive. If you have comments on this or any Bookbuilders function, please feel free to comment below.

Production, Manufacturing, and Inventory Workshop Confronts Smaller Print Runs and New Formats

Sean Stanford, Wednesday night's second speaker, spoke about the promise of ink-jet web technology to advance goals in short-run color printing. P.J. Tierney later described a need to continue with offset printing for casebound books because of a lack of on-demand hardcover options.

The big news, though, is that print probably isn't going anywhere just yet. Larry Mallach discussed a strategy to support print costs with e-book sales, ensuring that print copies are available for the markets that need them.

Not that publishers want to take on inventory for any length of time, however ... some may be printing for as little as two months' worth of sales. Returns are still a factor in inventory models, though smaller up-front orders from customers like Amazon are changing the return cycle.

Beacon Press, according to P.J. Tierney, publishes e-books simultaneously with print. In academic markets, this may not yet be the case. In trade calculations, while e-sales eat into print sales, the result is not a zero-sum game. More copies are being sold overall.

Thank you to Quad Graphics, sponsor of this workshop.

Be sure to join us this week for the final Bookbuilders workshop of the season: Sales, Marketing, and Publicity, sponsored by Friesens. Advance registration is required.

Third Bookbuilders Workshop Generates Advance Interest

Over seventy people have registered to attend tomorrow's discussion of production, manufacturing, and inventory. Space is limited, so be sure to register at http://www.bbboston.org/.

Speakers are P.J. Tierney from Beacon Press, Sean Stanford from Quad Graphics, and Larry Mallach of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The evening's sponsor is Quad Graphics.

Speaker bio highlights:

P.J. Tierney

Has worked for Plenum Publishing and WW Norton in addition to Beacon Press. At Beacon, P.J. implemented a digital workflow, reducing manufacturing and production costs, and created a digital archive.

Sean Stanford

Provides manufacturing support to many Bookbuilders member publishers, including Pearson Custom, Merriam Webster, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and MIT Press. Sean is also a guest speaker for the Publishing and Writing program at Emerson.

Larry Mallach

Developed an attributes-based MRP (Materials Requirements Planning) strategy for HMH Trade that brings titles together in work groups based on production and manufacturing commonality. Larry will now develop a similar supply chain process at Hachette Book Group in New York.

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow night from 6:00-8:00 pm at Pearson (501 Boylston Street, Boston).