IVP - Andy Unedited - February 2008 Archives

Digital Dilemmas

Everyone agrees on one thing when it comes to the future of digital publishing. No one agrees.

Andrew Benneman, manager of the Digital Media Group of Chicago University Press (CUP), bravely lays out some thoughts on how publishers should think about their electronic future in a "free" webinar. (It's free in that while it won't cost you hard, cold dinaro, you will have to fork over your contact information.) If you have fifty-six minutes to spare, you can see the slideshow "Developing a Digital Distribution Strategy" with voiceover by Andrew here.

These were some of the highlights I took away.

Accounting Mysteries

The accountants I work with are some of my favorite colleagues. It's not their fault that accounting is backwards.

For example, "accounts receivable" is money other people owe you. And what does accounting consider this money to be that you do not have? An asset of course! And money you do have in the bank would seem like a good thing, right? Wrong. It is a liability if you have unpaid bills. No wonder eyes glaze over when accountants speak. (But as I say, it's not their fault.)

The Bible Is Serious about Humor

We publish a lot of Bible reference books for average people, students, scholars and pastors. As a consumer of Bible reference books, I find that I most often make use of them when I have to give a talk or a sermon. (Now that's a felt need!) Apparently pastors feel the same way.

Easy to Get In. Hard to Stay.

"It is easy to get into publishing. It is hard to stay."

I've mentioned this adage here before. The first half is drawn from the fact that virtually every facet of the publishing process can be outsourced with relative ease and relatively little expense. You can contract an author to write the book, a freelance editor to edit it, a typesetting firm to set it, a designer to create a cover, a printer to print it, a marketer to promote it, a distributor to sell it and an accountant to keep track of the money. You don't need any employees. All you have to do is coordinate what everyone else does.

Questions Editors Should Ask

Editors are responsible to bring new book ideas and proposals to the publishing committee. Previously I wrote about how weak books can kill strong books, especially if the committee has not been objective enough about a given project. Here are some additional questions editors can ask of themselves before they ever bring a book to the publishing committee.

The Voice of Experience

I believe it was The New Yorker that ran a cartoon depicting a stereotypical, balding, blue-suited executive sitting behind a large desk with an earnest, young, stubble-bearded creative-type standing in front of him imploringly. The executive says, "Your job is to propose. My job is to pooh-pooh."

"Why Don't You Just Publish Bestsellers?"

"Why don't you just publish bestsellers?" I think everyone in publishing has gotten this question at least once. And don't we all smile knowingly to ourselves that it is not quite that simple.

Of course, every once in a while someone comes along who thinks it is that simple. Here you will read about Jonathan Karp at Twelve who seeks after the Holy Grail of publishing.

Certainly he is to be commended for limiting his list to give every book the best chance possible (publishing only one title a month--thus the name of the firm). Every publisher knows that too many books can mean that each book does not get the editorial or sales, marketing and publicity attention it deserves. With over 290,000 new books published in the U. S. in 2006, all publishers have to ask if they are doing too many.

Of course, it is not necessarily the goal of every publisher to only publish bestsellers. For some the goal is to publish the best books of a certain genre and still stay in the black. Nonetheless, it will be worthwhile to check in with Jonathan Karp in three, five or seven years. For we can also lay alongside the common question noted above the dictum: "It is easy to get into publishing. It is hard to stay."

The Sparrow

I can't remember the last time I read a book a second time--except perhaps for Goodnight Moon.

But when our neighborhood book club decided to discuss The Sparrow, I was delighted to read it again.