Web-First Workflow: Confluence Proof-of-Concept

Back in May, Noah blogged about the potential for Confluence by Atlassian to work as a web-first xml workflow solution. His post put Confluence up alongside WordPress from SFU’s Book of MPub (full disclosure: I worked with John Maxwell in 2009 on Start With the Web and still do some related work today) as a contender. Really, any CMS/wiki can work, it’s just a matter of how well it works and whether it works for you.

SalesData Tip #11: From Tips to How-to's—A Cornucopia of Help Options

As we approach the fall, the industry’s busiest season, we thought it worthwhile to revisit the help options available on BNC SalesData. There’s nothing worse than being in a hurry and not knowing where to go for help. We, at BookNet Canada, are looking out for you and have provided you many, many ways to satisfy your hunger for help.

Slush Pile Onslaught Gives Publishers a Branding Opportunity

There is a lot to be afraid of when one considers the online book marketplace. When I read Laura Miller’s apocalyptic piece on the inundation of self-published slush pile submissions a couple of weeks back it made me incredibly depressed. The thought of the marketplace being full of subpar, unedited manuscripts turned into ebooks or printed on demand, thus making it impossible for readers to differentiate the good book from the bad, was a devastating one. Why? Well, we call it the slush pile for a reason.

Ontario Publishers Collaborate for E-Book Promotion

No surprise here: publishers of all shapes and sizes are making e-books. Still, making e-books is one thing; selling them is another. While direct e-book sales may seem like a dream come true for any publisher with their eye on the margins (no discounts, distribution, or inventory), the reality is that partnerships are MUCH more beneficial than going it alone, especially on the expansive interweb. Exposure and discoverability is key. By partnering up, companies can pool their resources for the greater good of the collective, get noticed, and hopefully see some returns on their technology investments.

Printed Catalogues Makin’ My Life Difficult

PubFight, publishing’s favourite pastime, is not all fun and games. It takes a hard-working Marketing Manager to pull together the master list for the Fakefurt Book Fair. I know, that sounds easy—but it’s not! It’s a pain in the butt, and I blame the printed catalogue.

Give the Backlist a Chance

Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. This has me thinking about backlist. We spend a lot of time talking about the future and worrying about the frontlist, but what can set a publisher apart from the rest is a profitable backlist and arguably what can set a bookseller apart from the rest is thoughtful curating of backlist titles.

Increase Sales and Lower Costs with Better Metadata

More and more digital platforms are sourcing their content from ONIX files, which makes it easy for publishers to take part without increasing their workload. The catch, though, is that the information needs to be in the ONIX files to be shared, and currently most publishers are not including enough information in the files they’re creating.

Midlist: I Will Survive!

Chelsea wrote about James McGrath Morris’s piece in HuffPo last Tuesday and made some really enlightening observations (“Every title is ‘face-out’ online’—Chelsea, you’re blowing my mind!).

It’s true that metadata, a.k.a. the ONIX files that publishers craft so carefully and thoroughly, can actually make midlist authors more visible online. This not only impacts ebooks, but regular books too.