Dish Up Literacy Night

Numerous Seattle restaurants are donating a portion of their sales on Sept. 26 to Page Ahead, a non-profit literacy program dedicated to fostering a love of reading in at-risk children. Every year Page Ahead distributes approximately 150,000 new books to nearly 50,000 children from low-income families in Washington. They also offer workshops and resources for parents and other community programs.

For more information: www.dishupliteracy.org

Carlson in USA Today and on CNBC

Linda Carlson consults to Northwest publishers, including the 28-year-old Parenting Press, where she has handled marketing since 2000. She is the author of 11 books, a contributor to the Publishers Marketing Association newsletter, a member of the Humanities Washington speakers' bureau, and a former board member of Book Publishers Northwest. She recently spoke on PR and marketing at the Business of Books. Linda just sent us the following update on her activities

It was fun to see my Company Towns of the Pacific Northwest (UW Press) mentioned in a page 3 story in USA Today on Tuesday in conjunction with my comments regarding company towns in general and Scotia, Calif., in particular. And today I was called by CNBC and scheduled for an appearance on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 19...at about 5 a.m. Pacific time.

The producer who scheduled me is being sent a copy of the book and she said the cover of it will be shown on air.

Linda Carlson
www.lindacarlson.com
info@lindacarlson.com
Seattle WA 98199

Member Review of New Business of Books

First let me say how much I enjoyed the BPNW publishing seminar last Saturday. I learned a lot and I am already incorporating some of the suggestions into my publishing/promotional/marketing plans.

PARA Publishing (Dan Poynter) offers newsletter space to authors who are seeking other authors to write reviews of their books on Amazon and Barnes & Noble sites. Would that be something BPNW might offer their authors? It would just be giving space for authors to list their desire for reviewers, with contact info and genre. Then interested reviewers would contact them to get a copy of the book. That way your BPNW members are getting much desired reviews on those sites, thereby improving their rankings. Is this something you might be able to do?

Thanks for listening.

(Ms.)Chris Salditt
Mother Love Publishing

Chris has a great idea. As an old PR pro, I'm a little uncomfortable with Poynter's restriction that this must be a four-star review. I think reviews should be honest--as a publisher or writer, I would want to know why a book doesn't connect with the reader. Might not agree with the review, but I would want to see it.

However, if BPNW members want to make offers to reviewers, I'm happy to post them on this website. Are there other marketing ideas that you think we should pursue as an organization? Feel free to comment below.

Rosemary Jones
BPNW Blogmaster

A Full Day at New Business of Books

The New Business of Books conference began with a welcome from Tom Masters, board president of Book Publishers Northwest and author of Blogging Quick And Easy. It was a terrific start to a full day of education for publishers.

Over the next few weeks, we will be posting information from the speakers who led the panels at the New Business of Books on September 8. If you have a question for them or any member of Book Publishers Northwest, simply post a comment or e-mail bpnwnews@aol.com.

Freelance Editing September 10

A Panel Discussion about the Seattle Editing Marketplace
When: Monday, September 10, 2007, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Location: Richard Hugo House on Capitol Hill in Seattle, 1634 11th Avenue (near Pine), Alice Room (second floor)
Cost: FREE! and open to anyone interested in the topic.

For more info: e-mail info@edsguild.org.

Are you a new editor starting a freelance career in Seattle? Or an experienced editor interested in expanding your clientele? Come find out about the diversity of the Seattle editing marketplace—our panel discussion will explore what type of freelance editorial work is available and what different industries look for in a freelance editor. We’ve invited people from local industries that regularly hire freelance editors to discuss how they work.

Panel will include representatives from the following sectors:
•Magazine publishing (Seattle Magazine)
•University (University of Washington’s Creative Consultants Network*)
•Advertising (Worktank Seattle)
•Nonprofit (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)
*The CCN is a network of freelance writers, editors, and designers who are screened and approved to do contract work for the university.

A member of the steering committee will moderate the discussion, asking questions and eliciting responses from each panel member. So come learn more about these areas of the Seattle editing marketplace, including what they look for in editors, what tasks editors perform, how often freelancers are hired, and what demands or challenges an editor might face.

Directions to Business of Books Conference

New Business of Books: 2007 And Beyond
Saturday, September 8, 2007
9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Discover U in Belltown (less than 1 mile north of downtown Seattle)
2901 3rd Avenue, Suite 150, Seattle, WA
To register, call Discover U at 206-365-0400.

Discover U's new Belltown campus is located in the black building stretching between 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue and bordered by Denny and Broad. Although the street address is 2901 3rd Avenue, Seattle, WA, you should enter the first floor Suite 150 from the 2nd Avenue side or through the garage elevators.

If you are driving, the building garage will be $5 for the entire day.

This site is also within one block of several Metro routes traveling along Broad, Third, or Second Avenue.

Updated Schedule for Business of Books

New Business of Books: 2007 And Beyond
September 8, 2007
Discover U Downtown Campus, 2901 3rd Avenue, Seattle, WA
9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
To register, use the link right to enter Discover U's secure page for Web registrations or call Discover U at 206-365-0400.

9:00 am - 9:50 am
Welcome from Book Publishers Northwest
Coffee and light refreshments, meet the publishers and other conference attendees

10:00 am - 10:50 am
Defining Your Genre: Publishers Talk About Their Niche

Children's books juvenile/young adult

General fiction/non-fiction

Travel books

Memoir/biography

Self help/how-to
Speakers include Tom Blaschko, Idyll Arbor; Margaret Doyle, Port Gamble Press; Sheryn Hara, Book Network; John Thompson, Illumination Arts; and Beth Whitman, Globe Trekker Press.

11:00 am - 11:50 am
Session 1: Marketing Your Title, Money Ideas
Panel A: Marketing Your Book

Traditional PR

Non-traditional marketing

Online PR
Speakers include: Erin Eaves, Amazon Advantage; Linda Carlson, Parenting Press; and Al Sampson, Seattle University

Panel B: Turning a Profit

Making your book make money

Subsidiary rights

Selling lots of books outside of the bookstore
Speakers include: Michael Duckworth, UW Press, Kent Sturgis, Epicenter Press, and Bette Filley, Dunamis House

12:00 pm - 1:20 pm
Lunch with the Experts (optional)

1:30 pm - 2:20 pm
Session 2: Legal issues, Distribution Via Web and Bookstores, More Marketing Ideas

Contracts and legal issues
Presented by Gary Marshall, lawyer

Organizing Events: book signings, author talks, and more
Speakers include Kim Ricketts, events organizer, and Al Sampson, Seattle University

Working with wholesalers and distributors
Speakers include Phil Garrett, Partners West, and Sheryn Hara, The Book Network

Design Part I: Cover and interior illustration
Two-hour design session with Shary Flenniken; Morten Nilsen, Z-N Enterprises; and Ray Pfortner, Pfortner & Assocs.

2:30 pm - 3:20 pm
Session 3: Marketing, Distribution, More on Production

Editorial: Proofreading and Indexing with Freelancers
Presented by Nancy Burkhalter

Printing Tips
With Sheryn Hara, The Book Network; Justin Smith, Bang Printing; Victor Judd, Houston Datum; and Bob Smith, BookPrinters Network.

Design Part II: Working with photographers and illustrators
Two-hour design session continues with: Shary Flenniken; Morten Nilsen, Z-N Enterprises; and Ray Pfortner, Pfortner & Assocs.

3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Closing & Wrap-up: Meet Experts for Last Q&A (3:30 to 4:30)

Sessions may be broken into more than one room. Times and speakers subject to change without notice.

Sell Books at Business of Books

Book Publishers Northwest is offering you the opportunity to sell your books at the Business of Books conference. We will have a table of books set up where participants at the conference can buy books. Here is how you can sell your book there:

1. Be registered for the conference AND be a BPNW member for 2007 or 2008 (you can buy a membership there).
2. Send the name of the book, the author’s name, and the price of the book to tom@Idyllarbor.com by September 4.
3. Bring copies of the book with you to the conference. Two or three books should be enough. You’re carrying them, though, so you can bring more.
4. Pick up books that are left after the conference. We don’t have a place to store them for later pickup.

It’s that simple. We will sell the books, keep track of the sales, and mail you a check about a week after the conference. It would be sooner but I’m leaving for another conference the night of the BPNW conference.

We’re taking a 40% discount on the sale price, the same as a bookstore discount, and using the proceeds for future BPNW educational programs.

If you have any questions, please email me at tom@idyllarbor.com or give me a call (360-825-7797).

Tom Blaschko
BPNW Treasurer
Idyll Arbor

Lunch Added to Business of Books 2007

Attendees to the Business of Books seminar on September 8 now can purchase a box lunch with speakers and the members of the BPNW board. The seminar cost is $129 and the optional lunch is $13.

To register, use the link right to enter Discover U's secure page for Web registrations or call Discover U at 206-365-0400. New Business of Books: 2007 and Beyond will be held at the downtown Seattle campus of Discover U.

The New Business Of Books: 2007 and Beyond
September 8, 2007
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Location: Discover U Downtown Campus, 2901 3rd Avenue, Seattle, WA
Fee: $129.00
Lunch (Optional): $13.00
Registration: 206-365-0400

BPNW Members Can Display TWO Books at PNBA Fall Trade Show

BPNW's Board decided that all members can display TWO books at the PNBA Fall Trade Show. This applies to all members who have paid for 2007 and all new members who join for 2007-2008 using the form located on the website. Memberships should be posted by August 30 so BPNW has enough time to process payment and collect books for the show.

BPNW Members Receive Discounts From SPAN

Did you know that Book Publishers Northwest is a participant in Span’s Partner Program?

BPNW members can join the Small Publishers Association of North America for $70, a savings of $35.

BPNW provides its members with many different discounts throughout the year. To join, just download the BPNW Membership Form.

Supreme Court ruling on prices and how it affects the book industry

On June 28, 2007 the Supreme Court decided (5-4) that manufacturers could adopt and enforce "resale price maintenance agreements." In essence it means that in some cases a manufacturer can forbid discounting.

I think this is an incredibly important issue in the book-selling community with implications for both publishers and booksellers, especially independent booksellers who can't get the same discounts as the big internet retailers. If publishers are allowed to set prices, the independents will not need to compete against discounts they can't match. The publishers themselves will be in a better position to fight discount demands, too.

This affects me personally with a book (Writing for Wellness: A Prescription for Healing by Julie Davey) that is coming out in October. The book, which describes how to use a writing program as part of healing from cancer, will be sold primarily for fund raising for cancer hospitals and cancer research. As such, discounted books on Amazon.com, for example, will reduce the value of the book as a fund-raising tool. My question for you is whether the Supreme Court ruling applies to this book and how I should notify Amazon and others who are selling the book at a discount that they may not do that.

I'm hoping that the various perspectives will provide the best information on how to use this major change in the way the US does business.

Tom Blaschko
Idyll Arbor

Special Sales "Webinar" Given by SPAN

"What is Special-Sales and How Can It Increase Your Profits?"
hosted by Brian Jud

July 18, 7:00 pm Eastern Time

Sell more books and make more money through non-bookstore sales.
Nation-wide expert, Brian Jud will tell us how to sell through the military, airport store, catalogs and many more profitable markets.

The class is limited to 30 people, so sign up early.
SPAN Members: $30 Non-members: $40

For more information and to sign up: http://www.spannet.org/webinar.htm
You can also sign up by calling the SPAN office at 719-475-1726

SPAN is Small Publishers Association of North America. SPAN is a nonprofit professional trade association dedicated to enhancing the image and profits of authors and independent presses in the U.S. and Canada.

Italian Cooking Class Draws From Biography

Franca Mercati and author Diane Kinman are going to be featured at an “Italian Cooking” class on August 17 and 18 at Diane’s Market Kitchen, 1101 Post Alley, in Seattle. “Diane is no relation to me, but a great teacher!” said Kinman, the award-winning author of Franca’s Story: Survival in WWII Italy.

The class runs from 6 to 9 pm and students get to eat whatever they have just learned to make.

Many of the recipes are from Franca, who will talk about the food situation during WWII and how her family managed to survive.

To learn more about this book and BPNW member Wimer Publishing, check out www.wimerpublishing.com. To participate in the cooking class, call (206) 624-6114

New Members in June

Book Publishers Northwest welcomed the following new members in June:

Detour Farm
Walla Walla, WA
Publisher of books, CDs, and articles by Sam McLeod (shown right).


Van Patten Publishing
Vancouver, WA
Publishing gardening, hydroponics, and cannabis books since 1990.

To learn more other Book Publishers Northwest members, click on the Member’s Directory in the right hand column.

New Title From Dogwise

When Pigs Fly! Training Success with Impossible Dogs
Author: Jane Killion
Price: $17.95
Binding: Paperback, 192 pages, 180 B&W photos, Indexed
ISBN: 1-929242-44-1
Available: Immediately

Distributed by: Dogwise Publishing, Ingram, B&T
Intended Audience: Pet Dog Owners, Dog Sport Competitors, Trainers, Veterinarians, and Vet Techs

More about BPNW Member: Dogwise focuses on creating humane, understandable and scientifically sound books for people who work with, live with or care about dogs. To learn more about this publisher and other Book Publishers Northwest members, click on the Member's Directory in the right column.

DIY 2007 Focuses on Poetry, Fan Fiction and Zines

The 2007 DIY Book Festival organizers announced that they will place a special focus on the poetry, fan fiction, unpublished stories, and comics/zines categories in its annual event honoring the top independent authors and small publishers. Special reduced entry rates, exclusive category cash prizes and special spotlights for select entries are among the plans for these categories during the sixth annual competition. Details at www.diyconvention.com.

Jan Nathan

Book Publishers Northwest notes with sorrow the passing of Jan Nathan, past executive director of PMA, the Independent Book Publishers Association. Nathan, 68, passed away June 17, 2007.

A memorial service in celebration of her life will be held at Green Hills Mortuary at 1:00pm on Thursday, June 28, 2007. In lieu of flowers, her family asks for donations to be made to Heal the Bay (www.healthebay.org) or City of Hope (www.cityofhope.org).

Ingram Digital Supplies Microsoft

Ingram Digital will become an outsource partner for Microsoft's Live Search Books.

In a recent press release, Ingram Digital announced they would provide book scanning, content acquisition, metadata management, and account management for print book content submitted for inclusion in Live Search Books, as well as manage digital files delivered by participating publishers.

Creating Buzz for Books: Contests

During yesterday's lively meeting of Book Publishers Northwest, many members discussed how entering contests can help boost a book's visibility. The most cited contest was PMA's Benjamin Franklin awards (see pma-online.org for more information), not only for their size but also for the feedback given to all entrants.

One visitor to our group commented that she was disappointed by the IPPY awards, which did not seem to include any such feedback.

We're always interested in hearing from other publishers about what works or doesn't work about entering contests.