Wanderlust Featured in Times of India

BPNW member Beth Whitman continues to see coverage of her latest Wanderlust and Lipstick title about traveling solo in India. Check her blog for links to a Times of India article and other recent interviews.

Two Meetings in November

November 11
Making Book Trailers for the Web

November 20
Marketing Small Press Fiction

Each meeting takes place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside N., Room 221, Seattle, Washington.

Free for members

October 16: Print Production

Planning to produce a book in the next year? Short runs vs. long runs, new technology, and more.

Book Publishers Northwest's next meeting will be October 16 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside N., Room 221, Seattle, Washington.


Speakers include:

Victor Judd, Americas Press
www.americas-press.com
Americas Press is high-quality, short-run digital paperback book printer. The printing plant is located in Houston, Texas, and company began doing short-run printing for NASA in the 1960s.

More recently, Americas press has evolved into short run book printing. “We have been very successful in the Southwest and began expanding nationally last year. It is still a small family run company that focuses on quality printing and customer service,” said Judd.

“I have been a printer since I studied it in high school in the late 60's,” he added. “Over the years I have worked in every department in a print shop. I became the West Coast rep for Americas Press in early 2007.”

Craig Pearson
Global Fulfillment
www.gloful.com

On-demand digital printing, variable data and off-set printing are services offered to compliment both projects and long term fulfillment programs.

Two Pacific Northwest based companies, Karla’s Hand Bindery and Fulfillment Solutions, joined together in 1997 under the combined name of Global Fulfillment. The company currently operates in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle.

ASL Tales of Portland

New BPNW member ASL Tales of Portland, OR (www.ASLTales.net) publishes a line of children's picture books told in American Sign Language and English. The richly illustrated books are shipped with DVDs providing voice translation in 8 languages and interactive web tools. The books, performed by ASL storytellers, introduce ASL structure, vocabulary and Deaf Culture to hearing children, Deaf children, reluctant readers, children with language development challenges and children learning English as a second language.

The company, founded in 2008, has produced three titles so far. ASL Tales: The Princess and the Pea is available now. ASL Tales: Rapunzel and ASL Tales for Tots: Annie's Tails will be available for distribution December 2008.

Epicenter's Kent Sturgis on NPR

Local publisher Kent Sturgis started off this fall with the only biography in print of Sarah Palin. 500,000 copies sold later, he calls this unexpected windfall the publishing equivalent of a gold rush. Oh, and he's still voting for Obama.

Catch the latest on Epicenter's rollercoaster ride at NPR.

Layoffs Hit Lulu

Lulu.com, the website that allows anyone to publish easily, has been hit by the credit crunch. The company just announced layoffs based on the "frozen" credit market.

Recap of September Meeting on Pub U

Gail Sexton of Raston Publishing spoke to the members about her experience at Independent Book Publisher Association’s Publishing University. As the 2008 IBPA Scholarship winner from Book Publishers Northwest, Gail had her tuition waived and received a $500 stipend from IBPA.

Each year, IBPA provides one scholarship for a member of each affiliate association. Competition for the 2008 scholarship was fierce with numerous strong applications from BPNW members. Sexton's application was selected from the finalist by the IPBA Board.

At the Pub U, more than 100 industry professionals were instructors for the classes.

Some things Gail found particularly interesting and useful included:

1. Tips from the editors of Foreword magazine for getting your book reviewed in a major publication. (Gail distributed copies of the tip sheet; talk to her for more copies.)
2. When discussing your title, remember: It’s not about the boo – it’s about the benefits to the reader.
3. Offer yourself for free – e.g. teach a free seminar as a way to promote / sell your books.
4. Create cross buzz. That is, have multiple, self-reinforcing marketing efforts going on at the same time.
5. Speak! You are your book’s best advertisement.

Gail also had an opportunity to work the IBPA booth at BookExpo. When an Indian gentleman came by perusing the hundreds of books on the shelves there, Gail engaged him in a conversation and asked what he was interested in. He related that he was a buyer for one of the largest Indian book catalogs and showed her a sample catalog. She was able to talk to him about her title.

She also was able to talk to several experts about her book’s cover and got excellent and really focused feedback on how the cover could better convey what her book is about.

At the end of the meeting, Gail offered the following tips for attending Pub U or BookExpo:

·Go with a list of problems you want to solve and attend the classes, talks, etc. that will help you solve those specific problems.
·Tap the experts. Don’t be shy!
·Take comprehensive notes – especially for those “genius” ideas.
·Be really clear about who you want to talk to – both at BEA and Pub U.

This report submitted by Tom Masters

Constant Contact Local Seminars

Some people may have remembered anearlier free seminar about using Constant Contact for e-newsletters that BPNW hosted. This is the web-based program that Book Publishers Northwest uses for our e-newsletter and reminders.

If you're interested in learning more about Constant Contact, there are a number of free events in the area about this program. Check the Constant Contact web calendar for times and locations.