First Issue

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?