Associations – Worth the Fee?
October 6, 2009 at 8:10 am | In Book Publishing, Perspective | Comments OffTags: associations, Book Publishing, FPA, IBPA
In tough economic times, everyone seems to draw back from spending money. Sounds like a reasonable thing to do. Save what you don’t need to spend because the economy is so challenging and business is getting tighter.
Generally speaking, unless books are required for classes or business purposes, most books are bought with discretionary income. They are impulse buys, not necessities. Well, maybe they are “necessities” for some of us who just can’t live without a book in our hands or on our e-readers. But, for the most part, books get bought with money that is left after the bills get paid.
So, if the book publishing industry is being adversely affected by a down economy, it seems logical that publishers would take a second or third look at all outflow of money to make sure it is being spent wisely. Logical. Very logical. To a point.
I’ve been a member of the Florida Publishers Association and the Independent Book Publishers Association for over six years. Both of these associations have given me untold benefits over the years. I’ve gotten an education about publishing unlike anything possible in grad schools. Real life, hands-on education and experience have been shared generously by members of FPA and IBPA. One cannot get that sitting in a college classroom. Sure, the principles are taught there, but the experience? Not often.
My memberships in these two associations have meant the difference between success and failure for me. Lessons learned from one-on-one talks, networking, seminars, newsletter articles, Publishing University, online courses, conferences, and so much more have proven to me beyond a doubt that my membership fees are worth every cent and much more.
In fact, I think my dues should be higher! That’s right, higher. For what I have gained from membership in FPA and IBPA would have cost me thousands of dollars had I been able to obtain it through college courses or other sources. When most associations are charging members $300, $500 or more for membership, these two associations charge a pittance in comparison.
Now, more than ever, is the time to be a member of an effective publishing association. Now, more than ever, is the right opportunity for publishers to pull together to share, support, educate, and network for our mutual benefit. The best place to do that for maximum results is in an association of like-minded people.
When my memberships in FPA and IBPA come up for renewal, I won’t have a moment’s hesitation about re-upping. For me, it’s simple. I get so much from my memberships that I would be foolish not to renew them. Right now, more than ever, is the right time to get involved, stay involved, and gain as much as possible from them. And, it is the best time in the world to give back to those associations by being active, helping out where I can with what talents I can share.
Are associations worth the fee? You bet!
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
September 11, 2009 at 6:12 am | In Nature, Perspective | Comments OffTags: marine life, North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, Pacific Garbage Patch, plastic
An incredibly large garbage dump has formed in the northern Pacific Ocean at what is called the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, a clockwise movement of ocean currents created by a high-pressure system of air currents. Millions of pounds of trash, most of it plastic, floats around and around, forming perhaps the largest dump in the world, estimated to total 100 million tons of human-made and human-disposed trash.
Actually, there are two separate but connected trash dumps known as the Western and Eastern Pacific Garbage Patches, sometimes collectively called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Eastern Garbage Patch, estimated to be twice the size of Texas, floats between Hawaii and California. The Western Garbage Patch is found east of Japan and west of Hawaii. Each swirling mass of refuse is massive and collects trash from all over the world. The patches are connected by a thin 6,000-mile long current called the Subtropical Convergence Zone, which also has large amounts of trash within it.
Plastic makes up most of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is understandable when one considers that plastic makes up some 90% of all floating trash in the world’s oceans. In some areas, the amount of plastic outweighs the amount of plankton in the oceans by a ratio of six to one. About 10% of the world’s plastic production ends up in the oceans, with the majority of it sinking to the ocean floor, and some making it to coastal beaches. And, as we all know by now, plastic does not biodegrade, but it does photodegrade. This means that a piece of plastic willl be broken apart into many smaller pieces, which will remain in the ocean for years, each one breaking down into smaller pieces. These small bits of plastic end up inside marine life and birds, resulting in death and injury to thousands each year.
To learn more about this huge problem and what is being done about it, visit:
http://www.oceanfutures.org/of_blog.asp
Interns Make Sense
September 3, 2009 at 7:02 am | In Book Publishing, Perspective | Comments OffI am a big believer in the value of internship programs. In fact, my fifth intern started his program with Ocean Publishing this Wednesday and I am already impressed with his interest and ambition.
Intern programs benefit both the person doing the internship and the organization providing it. As most intern programs do not offer paid compensation, those willing to intern are clearly motivated beyond the allure of money. They seek learning and experience, and are willing to work for free in exchange for an education in the practical world of their chosen field.
My previous four interns all gained significant knowledge and experience by working in my book publishing house. Each of them has shared that what they learned, both from daily education sessions and opportunities to use their creativity and brain power, gave them a greater sense of achievement and confidence than they had imagined possible.
I think the key to a successful internship is to have a daily routine of teaching points for the intern. I spend 30-45 minutes at the start of every day talking about a different subject about publishing. I give the intern a personal notebook on the first day to use for all the materials I hand out and for notes made during the day. By the end of the internship, this very full notebook becomes a permanent reference for whatever direction the intern takes in his or her career.
In return for the daily education, I receive an incredible benefit from the intern. One of the best advantages for me is to have fresh ideas about everything we do. While we run our operation with certain systems in place, it is refreshing to have someone ask, “What if we did this differently, like maybe changing all of our paper to a greater percentage of recycled content?” This is invaluable for any organization which wants to remain vibrant and focused. Plus, interns can handle a wide variety of tasks if they are trained correctly right away.
If you aren’t now offering an internship in your business, do it. Young people will gain great knowledge and experience. And, as important, your organization will benefit in ways you have not yet imagined. All it’s going to cost you is a little time every day to share what you know about what you love — your business.
Guest on “Starstyle – Be the Star You Are!”
August 25, 2009 at 4:06 pm | In Nature, Radio Show | Comments OffTags: radio, right whales
On Thursday, August 27th, Cynthia Brian, known as the “Oprah of the Airwaves,” will interview me on her national radio show “Starstyle – Be The Star You Are!” on www.starstyleradio.com.
I will talk about my role as a research assistant in the Marineland Right Whale Project, why my publishing company focuses on niche marketing, and an incredible surprise announcement!
I hope you tune in. It will be exciting and fun.
Mark Coker to Guest on Cover to Cover
August 24, 2009 at 1:14 pm | In Book Publishing, Radio Show | Comments OffTags: Book Publishing, DRM-free, ebooks, Mark Coker, Smashwords, wnzf.com
This Saturday, August 29th, Mark Coker will guest on the “Book Publishing Rocks!” segment of my radio show “Cover to Cover” on wnzf.com at 11:30 AM Eastern.
Mark is the founder and president of Smashwords, Inc. And, in case you’re not familiar with Smashwords, here’s how Mark describes it on his web site:
Smashwords is a publishing platform, online bookstore and ebook distributor for indepedent ebook authors, publishers and readers. We offer multi-format, DRM-free ebooks, ready for immediate sampling and purchase, and readable on any e-reading device.
At Smashwords, our authors and publishers have complete control over the sampling, pricing and marketing of their written works. Smashwords is ideal for personal memoirs, novels, short fiction, non-fiction, essays, screenplays, newsletters, poetry, or other written forms that haven’t even been invented yet. It’s free to publish on Smashwords.
For readers, Smashwords provides an opportunity to discover new voices in all categories and genres of the written word. For registered members, the site offers useful tools for search, discovery and personal library-building, and each week we add new features based on feedback from Smashwords members.
So, I am excited about having Mark on the show this Saturday and look forward to asking him lots of questions of interest to my listeners who are authors, publishers, and others interested in the exciting world of books.
Join us Saturday morning, August 29th, at 11:30 ET/8:30 PT on www.wnzf.com.
Media Personality Cynthia Brian to Guest
August 10, 2009 at 8:53 am | In 1 | Comments OffTags: Book Publishing, radio, wnzf.com
Cynthia Brian, often referred to by the media as “The Renaissance Woman with Soul” and “The Oprah of the Airwaves!”, will be a guest on “Cover to Cover” next Saturday morning, August 15th at 11:30 ET/8:30 PT, on www.wnzf.com and WNZF AM1550/106.3FM in northeast Florida.
Cynthia Brian
Show host Frank Gromling says, “Having Cynthia Brian on my show is one of the most exciting possibilities because she brings so much talent, enthusiasm, and love to whatever she does! I am thrilled that Cynthia will share her new book and offer suggestions for how authors can be better at media interviews.”
Cynthia’s newest book is Be the Star You Are! for TEENS.
Gromling adds, “Cynthia’s dynamic life is an example for every person, just not those who want to be authors or publishers. She’s the living demonstration that a single person can have a positive effect, not only on those immediately around them, but the larger world, as well.”
Associations and Economic Downturns?
August 6, 2009 at 7:49 pm | In Book Publishing, Perspective | Comments OffTags: associations, Book Publishing, prolific government spending
Unless you’ve been in a cave for the past two years, you know that our economy, and that of the world at large, is in a very bad place. As the US Government ratchets up its spending and borrowing for a multitude of programs that are supposed to save us from economic disaster, the book industry continues to suffer along, greatly affected by cunsumers’ fears about spending what little discretionary income they may still have.
As an independent book publisher, I know what is happening out there in the economy. I see it every day when I look at sales results and wholesale orders. The numbers are down sharply.
Customers who formerly bought large quantities of books with each order are buying fewer copies and ordering less frequently. Individual orders on our web site are off by 50%. People are afraid to spend. This is a very tough time for everyone, well, maybe not so much for those we read about still getting big bonuses paid for from stimulus money. But, that’s another story for another time.
During this tough economic time I believe it is more imporant than ever to belong to a professional association. It’s not the time to save the little amount possible by not paying the membership dues. It’s time to spend it and get the most out of it you can!
I’m an independent book publisher and I belong to two professional associations, one at the state level and one at the national. I insist on getting as much from both of them that I can in order to maximize my company’s potential for success. Florida Publishers Association has a dynamite monthly newsletter that I devour voraciously. Its tips, leads, hints, contacts, how-to’s and more are worth the price of membership alone.
Then there’s the Independent Book Publishers Association, what I consider to be the penultimate in professional associations. This organization has given me more support, education, direction, friendship, advice, counsel, and yes, love, than any other organization I have ever joined.
So I say again to those of you who think you’re being smart and not renewing your association memberships or not joining a professional association so you can save a few dollars, you are making a major mistake that will cost you thousands of dollars and untold hours of labor. Smarten up. In stormy waters it’s the wise captain who refers to charts, the wisdom of seasoned sailors, and always has time to plan, prepare and execute a proper course. I know. I am both a sailor and a publisher, and I know the value of my association memberships. Every day.
Hand Crafted Books
August 3, 2009 at 4:38 pm | In Book Publishing, Radio Show | Comments OffNext Saturday morning, August 8th, radio audiences across America and around the world will have an oportunity to hear about an old artform that is alive and well in today’s high-tech world of book publishing.
Tom Tolnay, publisher/printer at Birch Brook Press, will join host Frank Gromling on “Cover to Cover” at 11:30 ET/8:30 PT on www.wnzf.com to explain how he is using historical printing teqhniques to make high quality books. As taken directly from the Internet site for Birch Brook Press, Tom describes it this way:
So, tune in next Saturday, August 8th, for an entertaining and educational half-hour about book publishing the way it used to be done and, in a small town inupstate New York, it still is.
Helping a Friend with His Memoir
July 28, 2009 at 8:06 pm | In Perspective | Comments OffTags: Book Publishing, books, friends, memoir
It’s hard to believe, but almost eight years ago I helped a long time friend write and produce a memoir about his life up through retirement from the Air Force in 1966. We’re talking about someone born in 1918, so he was a young 48 years at retirement and a spry 83 when he wrote the book.
My role, beside bugging the hell out of him to write the manuscript, was to edit and arrange layout, typesetting, and printing. Even though this memoir was strictly for family and friends, it was my first effort at making a book, and I loved it.
I had met Manny when I was a young Air Force captain in 1970, and we’ve been best friends ever since, despite the 26 year age difference. We’re peers; having had some of the same military and life experiecnes, believing in God and country, and knowing that good always trumps evil. Manny and Bernice, his wonderful wife of 66 years, are my best friends.
Manny’s first memoir (and I say first because we just finished his second) was a huge hit with everyone. But, they lamented, “It stops in 1966 and you’ve had so many exciting experiences since!” Well, now they can read about Manny and Bernice, and their family, from 1966 through 1987, when Manny retired again. I bet you’re thinking, “What about the period from 1987 to the present?” Manny assures me that, if the Good Lord is willing, he’ll pen the final phase.
I have to tell you, working with Manny to produce these two memoirs for his family and friends has been a cherished experience for me. We worked hard and long to make two good stories, but one of the most interesting parts of these times has been that he and I have never disagreed over a single item. Just as we have in life, our work together on his memoirs has been a time of respect and admiration. What more could one ask? A fun experience and a great time!
Thank you Manny and Bernice for sharing so much with me. I am better for it!
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