I have a direct feed for Inside Google Book Search which I think all publishers, writers, editors, readers and booksellers should have too.
Today there was a new post, The best storyteller I ever heard, by Roland Lange, Strategic Partner Development Manager, Book Search. The post is a nice if short review of the work E.B. White, of Charlotte’s Webb fame. It also offers suggestions for reading and links and as you will see in the quote below, suggest buying the books:
If you loved Charlotte’s Web, but haven’t read any other fiction by White, check out The Trumpet of the Swan — you’re in for a treat. For works in the form he’s arguably best known for — essays — you can browse through Essays of E.B. White. They’re crisp and clear, topped with a dollop of wit — in other words, eminently enjoyable. If you’re an E.B. White fan like me and can’t get enough, you might also be interested in books that reference his part in the rise of the great New Yorker magazine. Take a look at the biographies not just of the author himself (E.B. White: A Biography by Scott Elledge), but also of founding editor Harold Ross (James Thurber — another New Yorker legend — has an interesting version called The Years with Ross). And of course, feel free to explore on your own — if you like what you see and want a copy of a book for yourself, the “Buy this Book” links will show you where you can get one.[My emphasis]
Posts like this one could potentially drive traffic to booksellers and authors websites and deliver real sales. I wonder what the traffics for the blog is. certainly it is not huge to date but over time it could become important and as the graph from Alexa.com shows it has had posts that have seen considerable traffic spikes:
This is not the first time Google have highlighted writers. Thought he last time was Shakespeare. I can only see this type of post increasing as it improves the image of Google Book Search and highlights its features while driving publishers sales. Perhaps at some stage it might even be worth buying these type of posts!
Filed under: Authors, Blogging, Books, Bookselling, Business, Future of Books, Future of Publishing, Innovation, Blogging, Business, Google Book Search, Marketing, Publishing Companies
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