The BookMark is our free monthly newsletter featuring news and information of use to publishers, authors, retailers, and others involved in the publishing industry. On the fifteenth of every month, The BookMark will deliver useful tips, helpful news, and upcoming events directly to your electronic inbox. If you would like to receive a free copy of the The BookMark in your monthly
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Publishing Industry News
Marketing and Distribution
Trade Show News
Optimize your Content with BookMasters
Ever since Gutenberg’s press, the publishing world has revolved around the printed book. Technology may have considerably changed the process of making a book, but the action of holding a book made of paper and reading words made of ink has remained the constant. Now change has come and everybody’s talking about it. The eBook is here to stay.
Currently, most people still buy and read traditional books. Books are still being designed and printed, but the destination of those books has changed slightly to welcome in the electronic 
world. Now, the print-ready files which are the end result of a book’s journey through the editorial–design–production process, can be optimized and converted to ePDF, ePub, or Kindle files. The words remain the same, but the way in which they are presented to the reader gives the book a second life.
BookMasters Digital Services offers publishers and authors a route into the eBook world by streamlining the process from traditional book to eBook. We can take a manuscript through the production process and output both a print-ready file and the suitable eBook file for distribution over the Web. BookMasters Digital Services can also provide a marketing widget which allows a sample of your eBook to work for you, giving potential readers a taste of your book and the opportunity to buy it instantly. From bound book to eBook and whatever technology throws at us next, BookMasters Digital Services will ensure your words reach your readers in just the way you intended.
Book Marketing
Poynter's Pointers
(Excerpted - with permission - from Dan Poynter’s Fifteenth Edition of The Self-Publishing Manual: http://www.parapublishing.com. To receive Dan’s free newsletter, Publishing Poynters, go to http://parapub.com/sites/para/resources/newsletter.cfm)
You can wring maximum value out of your work by re-purposing your core content into other products. Those versions may be for Web-based downloadable books, eBook readers, compact discs, articles, special reports, compatible (non-info) products, seminars, consulting, and digital audio.
The electronic edition of your book may have even more features than the print version: color illustrations, sound, video, and hyperlinks. Your eEdition will take up less space, be even less expensive to produce, and will provide a richer experience to your reader.
Interior Designing
(Robert Goodman has published and packaged books for more than 20 years.
His web site is www.silvercat.com)
Authors and designers agonize over things like fonts, text, and photographs. And they certainly should. These are the "public" elements of an interior or a cover, the things that readers actually see. But what enables them to see are things they cannot see - the empty spaces that the visible elements sit in. Space creates the backdrop that gives the visible elements room to breathe and to thrive. Without enough space, text and graphics suffocate.
Many authors fill all the space with content as if every inch of space were an inch of missed opportunity. They don't realize that the content is measured by its impact, not its denseness, or that too much information is less effective than too little information if it is not actually read. Make sure your readers feel drawn to your message by letting your text and illustrations bask in the freely
flowing space around them. In text design as in so much else, less is truly more.
Author 101
(Excerpted - with permission - from Author 101: Bestselling Book Publicity, by Rick Frishman and Robyn Spizman; contact Rick at FRISHMANR@PlannedTVArts.com or www.author101.com)
Some authors mistakenly think that it’s unnecessary to promote books of fiction. They believe that once their novels, short stories, and poetry are published, literary acclaim, huge book sales, and big advances for subsequent books will automatically follow. Sorry to say, they’re wrong — very wrong.
The market for fiction is densely crowded, and the competition for readers is fierce. Readers of fiction have many options, including other books of fiction, nonfiction, magazines, newspapers, and the Internet. Without publicity, first-rate fiction can get lost in the crowd, languish, and not sell; it happens every day. Lack of sales can hurt authors’ careers because when publishers make their acquisition decisions, they consider how the authors’ prior books sold.
Pam's Publicity
(By Pam Lontos, Owner of the publicity firm PR/PR; pam@prpr.net;
sign up for free publicity tips at www.prpr.net)
Develop a Winning Media Kit. As you approach the different media outlets, you’ll need to send them a media kit. Think of your media kit as your resume; it tells the media professionals about you and your book. A professional media kit should include your short bio, a summary of your topic, and your contact information. Also include sample questions about your topic that the writer or host can use during the interview. Put all this information together in a professional folder and present it to media professionals before interviews.
Countdown Time for BEA 2009!
The premier event for authors and publishers is just around the corner. Join us May 29th—31st at the Jacob Javits Center for BookExpo America 2009. This year’s BEA is focusing on quality over quantity and, as always, striving to create a new experience for you.
And as for “The BookMasters Group,” we have tripled our show floor space, allowing our staff of experts the opportunity to discuss solutions with authors and publishers seeking answers to 
their manufacturing, digital, and distribution needs. Our in-booth autographing area will host a number of authors, including Tom Paxton/Peter Yarrow/Judy Collins (The Marvelous Toy) and Bruce “Cousin Brucie” Morrow (Rock & Roll… And the Beat Goes On).
BEA is your event—so make plans to attend and be sure to visit us at booth #3040-3055 and share your idea… your thoughts… a laugh… the BUZZ that BEA brings!
Enjoy a variety of new BEA features such as:
- BEA will be held in NYC, the publishing capital of the world, and will continue to return there until 2012.
- “Big Ideas at BEA” Conference offers 60+ focused sessions, allowing you an opportunity to meet industry leaders and learn about the latest trends and technologies within the Publisher, Retailer, Librarian, and Consumer communities.
- ABA Day of Education is on the BEA venue for a more convenient learning experience.
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Upcoming Events
London Book Fair
Earl’s Court
London, England
April 20-22, 2009
www.londonbookfair.co.uk
Society for Scholarly Publishing Annual Meeting
Baltimore Marriott Waterfront
Baltimore, MD
May 27-29, 2009
www.sspnet.org
Book Expo America 2009
Jacob K. Javits Center
New York, NY
May 28-31, 2009
www.bookexpoamerica.com
American Library Association Show
McCormick Place
Chicago, IL
July 9-15, 2009
www.ala.org
This calendar was up-to-date and accurate as of April 15, 2009. Information was culled from a number of sources. BookMasters cannot be held liable for the accuracy of the information within. Please visit the listed Web sites for more information.
