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.

Sales, Publicity, and Marketing Rounds Out Workshop Series

Friesens was the sponsor for the last workshop in Bookbuilders' fall session, and about thirty people attended. Speakers were Gina Choe from Charlesbridge, Beth Ineson from Houghton Mifflin-Harcourt, and Roxanne McCarley from Pearson Educational.

The speakers provided a well-rounded view of the sales landscape across different segments of the industry. While trade publishers judge the impact of Borders store closings, higher ed companies increasingly rely on reps' relationships with professors and bookstore managers.

Gina Choe represented the special sales area, where printed catalogs and bound books are still necessary to make the sale. On the flip side, Roxanne McCarley discussed enhanced features of e-textbooks, including videos, apps, assessment, and course management systems. Many such add-ons are more suited to the iPad (tablets) as opposed to e-readers. Competition among the reader devices is closely watched by Beth Ineson, director of field sales and distribution clients at HMH.

One of the more timely questions from the audience had to do with direct-to-consumer sales. Direct engagement with customers (readers) is a buzzworthy topic at industry events: while some publishers consider it a growth area, the need to tread lightly and nurture reseller relationships is still strong.

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).

Spring Forum: Children's Publishing Today

Last night's forum on children's publishing was well-received by 100+ attendees gathered at Emerson College. Panel participants (l-r) were Amy Pattee, Associate Professor at Simmons and author of Reading the Adolescent Romance; Mary Wilcox, VP and Editorial Director of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Children and HMH Books; and Yolanda Scott, Editorial Director of Charlesbridge Publishing.

Yolanda and Mary described the various types of children's books being published, from picture books to early readers and YA (young adult) novels. There was also discussion of business processes at Charlesbridge and Houghton Mifflin, very different companies in size and scope. The core function of the editorial department as "list builder" (i.e., spring list, fall list) was common to both, as was passion for the material and adherence to high literary standards in acquisition.

Amy's overview of her recently published book was popular--the title focuses on an interpretation of the Sweet Valley High series for young teenagers. The analysis emphasized that children's literature often deals with dream scenarios that allow readers to experience lives others than their own. In some cases the dreams are designed by adults as models for the children, but in others the dreams express the children's own desires.

The Q&A portion of the forum was also popular, with interest in the following topics:

• E-books in the library setting (reference to Harper Collins controversy, new to me and very interesting)
• Weight of digital considerations in editorial process (currently not essential to acquisition)
• Simultaneous release of print and e-product (adopted by Charlesbridge)
• Concerns regarding piracy (in this genre, sometimes considered to enhance discoverability)
• Difficulty of bringing nonfiction titles (esp. backlist) to electronic form because of costly permissions
• Interest in Spanish-language translations (produced by both publishers)
• Concern about Borders' closing stores and decline of brick-and-mortar retailers

The question of brick-and-mortar viability comes up at almost every event I attend, and more and more in casual conversation as well. Publishers appreciate the importance of "hand selling" and hate to think of it going away. More to the point, they don't know what will replace it. Readers as well have a sense that the physical store, particularly an independent store, is a valuable part of their literary life. For an interesting demonstration of readers' commitment to an independent store in action, read about a proposed customer buyout of Buffalo Street Books in Ithaca, NY.