First Issue

Extending its dominion yet again, Amazon has acquired Shelfari, a social networking site for booklovers that allows readers to display a virtual bookshelf and share reviews. The announcement came through the Shelfari blog last week.

Earlier in the year, Amazon had chipped in $1 million in funding for the growing site.

The acquisition presents some interesting conflicts for Amazon. Just one month ago, the e-tail giant acquired AbeBooks, a online dealer in used, rare, and out-of-print books. AbeBooks — and now Amazon — is a 40% stakeholder in LibraryThing, a bitter Shelfari rival.

Will Amazon try to buy up the remainder of LibraryThing and merge it with Shelfari? Given the public animosity between the two sites, the more likely course may be for Amazon to divest itself of its LibraryThing holdings.

Whichever way it goes, authors who haven’t been using social networking sites like Shelfari to build word of mouth for their books online should get started. With further integration between Shelfari and Amazon in the cards, more online reviews could easily equal more sales.

USA Book News is now wrapping up submissions for their Best Books 2008 awards program. The deadline to apply is September 30.

Books are judged in 140 categories, including a range of non-fiction topics. Self-published and independently published works are welcome. The only criteria are that your book have an ISBN and a copyright date of 2007 or 2008.

Visit the website for more details and an application form.

Printing books uses a lot of trees. Short of going for a fully electronic release, here are some ways you can minimize the environmental impact of your book.

Know the 3 Kinds of Material for Making Paper

1. Virgin fiber: made from fresh trees
2. Pre-consumer waste: composed of the scraps generated at the paper mills during the paper-making process
3. Post-consumer waste: the material you put in your recycling box

Choose Recycled Stocks
From an environmental perspective, the more recycled content in your paper, the better. Avoid virgin fiber if you can. If you buy virgin stock, at least make sure it is certified as having been responsibly harvested and not from old-growth forests. You save one tree for every 90 books you print on 100% post-consumer recycled stock.

Pay Attention to the Bleach
The whiter the paper stock, the more chlorine is needed to bleach it, so choose papers that are less bright. For book publishing, papers that are less bright are better anyway because they’re easier on the eyes for long periods of reading. If you do want a brighter stock, look for papers that are certified “elemental chlorine free.”

Let Readers Know
Let your readers know you support and use tree-friendly printing practices. In North America, if your chosen stock contains at least 50% recycled content, with a minimum of 10% post-consumer waste, you can display the EcoLogo. In the United States, if you print on recycled stock, you can display a recycled content logo from the American Forest and Paper Association.

If want to talk up your book on the radio, here’s your big chance. There’s no budget required and no fussing with press releases or media contacts. Plus, you get all the time you want to say whatever you want.

No, it’s not a dream, it’s BlogTalkRadio (BTR).

BTR gives you the tools and the platform to have your very own Internet radio show – for free. The site’s FAQ sums it up nicely:

The web-based service allows you to host a live Internet radio show and take callers from the phone. [You] can copy and paste a Flash player on [your] site or blog so listeners can click to listen. The shows are also made available as a podcast via RSS and iTunes. Your audience can listen online or on any mp3-friendly device.

All you need for broadcasting is a phone and Internet-connected computer.

BTR is a great opportunity for authors to promote their books through discussion, interviews, debate, and listener participation.

A couple of the large publishing houses are already taking advantage of the publicity opps and have set up their own “stations” within the site. HarperCollins, for example, runs Authors on Air.

A recent article in Publisher’s Weekly made reference to print books as “slow media”. Given the never-ending proliferation of technologies that facilitate constant and instantaneous communication, the term — and the article — intrigued me.

Slow media, as I understand it, is about appreciating the time that goes into producing and consuming a piece of information. It reminded me of the Slow Food movement, which touts the leisurely enjoyment of an organically grown and naturally prepared meal.

I decided to do some digging, and sure enough, I wasn’t the only one to draw parallels between slow media and slow food. Blogger Matt Shepherd wonders if anyone is actively forming a slow media movement to underscore the value of printed books and handwritten letters.

While Matt acknowledges that “fast media” has its place, this blogger from the Rocky Mountain News sees slow media as an either/or proposition. In his or her opinion, choosing slow media is a conscious rejection of fast media — because you’re tired of fast media, overwhelmed by it, or simply unconvinced of its usefulness. You choose slow media because your “inner Luddite” is screaming to be free.

I disagree. I don’t think one delivery has to be valued over the other. Each has its place, its benefits, and its pleasures. Perhaps books in the form that we know them aren’t doomed for the dustbin of history after all. We just need to acknowledge that both the tortoise AND the hare have their place in the world.

Continuing its quest for world dominance, Amazon today announced in a press release that it has inked a deal to acquire AbeBooks, an online book retailer based in British Columbia.

AbeBooks deals primarily in used, rare, and out-of-print books, and most of its 110 million listings are from independent booksellers. AbeBooks will continue to operate as a stand-alone entity and will maintain all of its websites.

A search of the AbeBooks website reveals no mention of the news.

No purchase price has yet been revealed and the deal is still subject to regulatory approval.

What’s your take on the acquisition?

Spencer Johnson will soon have a new book on the market. The mega-bestselling author of Who Moved My Cheese? and The Present is set to publish a new title called Peaks and Valleys: Getting What You Need in Both Good and Bad Times.

World rights have already been sold and the English-language version will be published simultaneously in the U.S., Canada, UK and Australia, though no release date has been announced.

Who Moved My Cheese? has sold over 21 million copies since its release 10 years ago. Some interesting facts about Spencer Johnson and his publishing success, from his website:

• Amazon says that in its first 10 years of operation, Who Moved My Cheese? was its #1 selling title
• Who Moved My Cheese? is China’s all-time best selling translated work (2 million+ copies sold)
• In Japan, Who Moved My Cheese? is the #1 bestselling book of all time by a non-Japanese author (4.5 milion+ copies sold)

What do you think is the secret to the phenomenal success of this mouse-y parable on change?

Rate My Book Cover is a simple website that lets you view and rate cover designs on a scale from 1 to 10. I’d guess that most, if not all, of the covers are from self-published authors. You can even submit your own cover design if you’re interested in what others think.

I can’t say I agree with many of the rankings. Some downright hideous covers rank above 5 and some quite good ones are down in the 3s and 4s. I wouldn’t trust the feedback as market research into whether your design is any good or not — but the site is an interesting way to while away some time. Have a bit of fun with it.

Dean Hua of Sachi Studio recently posted a great article on how authors can use Facebook to promote their books. A shortened version of his 8-point tip list appears below. For the full article, visit Dean’s blog.

1. Create a “page” for your book. A page is a mini-site on Facebook that is dedicated to the product or service you are selling. You can post videos, messages, pictures, and links. Other Facebook users can click a button to become a “fan” of the page, and your page then shows up in their profiles.
2. Create a group around the topic of your book. For example, if your book is about wealth management, create a group that discusses wealth management tips and strategies.
3. Import your blog entries into your Facebook notes. This helps you capture a new readership base and adds more interactivity to your Facebook presence.
4. Keep your profile dynamic. Don’t just create a Facebook account, add 5 friends, and then wither away. Update your status regularly with news about your book or business. Post photos – think networking events, book signings, talks, conventions, and more. Answer wall messages and emails to be sociable (it is social media, after all) and stoke the fires of conversation.
5. Incentivize your outreach strategies. A few suggested prizes include a free, signed copy of your book, a special edition of your book, a free consultation, or anything that may be appropriate. Offering prizes and incentives helps expedite word of mouth.
6. Befriend members who read your book. Do a search for members who list your book as one of their favorites. This is one of the more time-consuming outreach initiatives that you’ll develop. If you have a lot of members listed, look for ways to filter down the list and add only those who are most important. Look for influencers.
7. Create events. Facebook allows you to create events that you may be hosting such as a book tour or speaking engagement. Create these events and invite your friends. But don’t just stop there. Encourage your friends to spread the word by inviting their friends to the event on Facebook as well.
8. Add a badge to your website and blog. Facebook allows you to create a badge (a mini-banner) that lets your website visitors know you have a Facebook profile. This makes it easy for visitors to find you and encourages them to connect with you.

Example of a Facebook badge

There’s a new e-book reader on the market … and it will wrap itself around your little finger. Literally.

The new Readius is made with a screen that folds up into a tidy package for carrying and is flexible enough to wrap around your finger.

The resolution and screen quality are comparable to the Amazon Kindle since both devices use E Ink technology. The Readius display is a little smaller than the Kindle — 5″ diagonal versus the Kindle’s 6″ — but the Kindle doesn’t fold up to the size of a cell phone. The Readius also lets you download email, which the Kindle doesn’t do.

Many e-book readers have launched and failed. Can the Readius put a dent in the growing Kindle market? While the Readius has a “cool” factor with the bendy screen, the Kindle has a big headstart and the Amazon infrastructure behind it.

The big downside of the Kindle and the new Readius is that they are essentially single-purpose devices. They read e-books. OK, they can both read newspapers too.

But where is the flexible screen that can do it all and won’t tie us down to proprietary file formats?

Years ago I read a prediction that said one day we would all carry a single, rollable screen that served as newspaper, book, web browser, e-mail reader and computer desktop. That’s the device I’d like to see.

So to the Readius, I say, “Good start.” Let’s see what you do next.