Monthly Archives: December 2008

CBI Seminar

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1

Eoin Purcell

With thanks to Flickr user ulle.b & cc

With thanks to Flickr user ulle.b & cc

Sensible decision?
I was going to write a post in the CBI Seminar on Children’s Publishing, but I think, David has it covered and rather than split the discussion I thought I’d direct people to it from here!

I’ll say these few things though:
1) I thoroughly enjoyed it
2) There is an awful lot of passion in Ireland about Children’s publishing
3) No one holds out any hope for picture books which distresses me enormously but is a reality
4) We have got to break open new markets (however we do that!) or our market will shrivel and die!

Feeling a bit more rested, definitely more energized and exciting about the forthcoming holiday (Chicago for a week! Whoop!)
Eoin

Houghton Mifflin publisher resigns

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Eoin Purcell

In what can only be described as the biggest unsurprise of the year, the acquisition pause @ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt brought about a departure at leadership level, (the AP has the story as does the NYT).

From the AP:

Saletan, ironically, had initially benefited when Houghton purchased Harcourt last year. Formerly publisher of adult trade books at Harcourt, she was promoted to head the combined adult trade divisions, winning out over Houghton publisher Janet Silver.

From the NYT:

Literary agents who knew Ms. Saletan were upset by the news of her departure. “I think that Becky is a woman of extraordinary integrity and had quickly become a terrific publisher,” said David Black, whose clients published by Houghton include the cookbook author Dorie Greenspan, the journalist Earl Swift and the sports columnist Ian O’Connor. “It’s a significant loss because I think that they need strong leadership now.” He added: “They now need to find leadership. They had it, they lost it.”

I’m beginning to think we are watching the prelude to the decline if a huge publishing house. Hopefully I’m wrong but I cannot see this ending well. Strikes me the only happy outcome now is a sale to another trade publisher. Otherwise HMH will limp along damaged by the “Freeze” and this new departure until it fails even more spectacularly.

I really do hope I’m wrong,
Eoin

Our Grannies’ Recipes – book sales!

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4

Eoin Purcell

Our Grannies' Recipes

Our Grannies' Recipes

I edited a book!
I might have mentioned it before, it is called Our Grannies’ Recipes and it has been on the market for 5 weeks. Somewhat amazingly it is selling very well and is currently sitting very nicely at Number 8 on the Food & Drinks list, just before Rachel’s Diary 2009 and just after Grandma’s Best Recipes (I’m pretty sure that is only selling because of Our Grannies’ Recipes but I’ll be damned if I can prove it!)

This is an incredible performance for a book that isn’t written by a celebrity chef (I’m very, very sure I don’t count as a celebrity) and isn’t massively illustrated with lavish photography. What it does have it is great recipes submitted by real people and wonderfully simple design.

I know I am biased but I think it is a wonderful book that makes an excellent present. What is more, every single copy sold means that Age Action Ireland will get €1*. If that doesn’t seal the deal, I don’t know what will.

Age Action sticker

Age Action sticker

Buy it on Amazon, Easons or Books Unlimited.
Go on, buy a copy or two, you’ll enjoy it!
Eoin

* I’ve given my full royalty to Age Action so I get no benefit from the book except extreme pleasure from being associated with such a nice product serving a good cause!

PS Sorry for the shameless plug but every now and then I think you have to!

Culture & New Media (with a side point on books)

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8

Eoin Purcell

A fine conference (after a fine meal)
There was something great about The New Media. New Audience? Conference run by the Arts Council last week. For one thing it was great to see Charles Leadbeater and Andrew Keen spar (no matter how mildly they did so). We rarely see clashes on such opposed viewpoints and when it refers directly to your own industry it is particularly interesting.

Leadbeater is the optimist and Keen, the somewhat posed pessimist. I say posed because you get the sense that he is in fact a personally shy man who would rather not be gunning up opposition the way he is, except that it sells books & gets him speaking gigs.

Its all about marketing
Which brings me to the over riding message I got from this fine conference. The strongest sense was that most Irish Arts organizations see the best way forward with the web in using it as a marketing tool with an allied with an almost overwhelming lack of clarity on how to do that.

There was an avoidance, especially in my panel session, of any discussion of the web and new media as a way to collaborate or to generate new and different arts. I found this odd until I realised that the vast bulk of the attendees had little exposure to the web as anything more than the home of Google and free content.

And why should they have. The tools of interaction are hardly the most widely advertised. Blogs have a bad pr problem that is only slowly being addressed. People at the panel feared the loss of control when their content went online. They wondered how best to reach audiences across all platforms.

Where does this point us?
There is a real need not for high talk of collaboration and new media, but for solid and basic ways to interact with audiences and potential customers online. It seems after the conference that there is much work to be done and embedding the arts world in the online world in a real and meaningful way.

That is not to say that there are not individuals and organizations with an excellent grasp of how the web can be used and who are working on exciting projects that deliver real and interesting results, just that for the vast majority, the web is not a friendly place!

A very worthwhile conference nonetheless getting people, at the very least, focused on these issues. That can never hurt!
Eoin

Thought of the day

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Eoin Purcell

The New York Times writes on the future of the book
Totally frazzled and worn out after two hectic weeks I had a nice thought reading this today:

What should an old-fashioned book publisher do with this gift? Forget about cost-cutting and the mass market. Don’t aim for instant blockbuster successes. You won’t win on quick distribution, and you won’t win on price. Cyberspace has that covered.

Go back to an old-fashioned idea: that a book, printed in ink on durable paper, acid-free for longevity, is a thing of beauty. Make it as well as you can. People want to cherish it.

What’s this you say, publish fewer, better quality books? How insane is that!
Eoin