My Books Are Not Dusty

I just read a post from Powell’s blog that referenced a post from guardian.co.uk’s blog…on dust jackets. I’m a fan of Powell’s on Facebook, so I periodically get updates from PowellsBooks.Blog, and this one about dust jackets caught my eye (how boring am I…?)

The Guardian blog post says that dust jackets are an unnecessary encumbrance, and states that books that are casewrapped with art on them are becoming increasingly popular in literary fiction. I can’t say that I’ve noticed this here (the Guardian is based in the UK), but then again, I don’t really buy hardcover books. And when I do, in most cases my textbooks, I always take the dust jacket off. The plan is to save it while I’m reading the book so it doesn’t get torn, and to put it back on afterward. But I usually leave it on a table somewhere, or put other books on top of it, and it gets ripped or smooshed anyway, and I recycle it. One of the only books I have that has retained its dust jacket is The Little Princess, the book I blogged about keeping in my last post. I think many people use the dust jacket as a bookmark.

Some of the arguments for removing the dust jacket are to reduce cost and increase shelf appeal. But I also thought it might be a good way for publishers to save a little paper, and publish somewhat more sustainably. Maybe this seems stupid, based on how much paper is used in any given hardcover book, but also think about how many thousands of books are printed each year with dust jackets. It couldn’t hurt to do away with a few extra sheets. There are those who will be upset if publishers stop covering their hardcovers with jackets, but I think I might be for it.

I’m searching for a profound point to make about dust jackets. I don’t really have one, but it is interesting to see a shift in the way books are produced and presented right in front of my eyes. And Powell’s blogged about it first, so it has to be interesting, right?

The Princess and the Keepsake

It’s really hard to think of one book that has changed my life. Reading through other blog posts, I see this is the same for many people in our class (one good reason to put off posting until the last day—you get reassurance from other classmates that you’re not way off base…). I, probably along with everyone else here, was an ardent reader. I remember being so excited about going to the library, because I could come home with a huge stack of books that I could greedily wade my way through. I would spread them all out on the floor, close my eyes, and pick one—just for the sheer delight of the surprise of which title I would come up with.

I looked at my bookshelf when I started thinking about this topic. I’ve moved so many times that I leave a lot of my books that I know I want to keep at my parent’s house. So much of my shelf holds books I’ve read recently, titles for school, and one’s I’ve borrowed from friends and am waiting to have time to get through.

But one title stands out: Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess. It’s a hardcover copy with lovely illustrations both on the dust jacket and interior. On the inside of the front cover, there is a handwritten dedication that reads: “To Katie from Grandma & Grandpa. May 16, 1991.” I got this book as a gift for my eighth birthday and still keep it on my bookshelf. I was never particularly into princesses as a child, and I don’t read middle-reader fiction today. I can’t pinpoint why I’ve kept this book. It would be easier to keep it at my folk’s house with the others that I want, but know I won’t read in the near future.

It’s not as though this is the one book that opened my eyes to the joys of reading. But my copy of The Little Princess was the first book that introduced me to the idea of books as keepsakes, those certain editions or copies that are special for whatever reason. I still prefer to read in paperback because they are cheaper to buy and easier to trade around with friends and family. But I always buy the hardcover edition now if the book is special, because I know how that one title can become a treasured possession.

I almost never buy anything online in response to an e-mail promotion. In fact, I rarely even open e-mail promotions, even when I have specifically signed up to receive them. My biggest problem is that I don’t have any money. So even when I do open the promotions and would like to buy something, it generally isn’t feasible.

I have, however, purchased Groupons several times. The company sends out daily e-mails with a coupon or deal for various businesses around Portland. I’ve wanted to buy the ones that offer deep discounts on things like spa days or chiropractic visits, but usually I buy Groupons for restaurants (getting $35 worth of food for $12, for example). Again, money is a factor here, but they do offer really good deals, and you know since they send out an e-mail every day that you will probably find something that you like. I don’t get the feeling that the company is spamming me with products I’m not interested in, even though I don’t purchase most of the deals.

The other e-mail promotion that I like is from a salon that I occasionally go to. It is just one woman who works in her own studio, and she is usually very busy. But when she finds that she has appointments available, she will send out an e-mail stating the times that she has open and usually a discount on certain services. I think this is a great way to let people know when she has rare openings, and she knows that the people she e-mails are already customers, so it doesn’t feel intrusive or really “advertise –y.”

I don’t typically even open e-mails like “Free Shipping When You Spend $20—3 Days Only!” I get those a lot from bookstores, but unless I already am looking to order something specific, I’m not going to go to the site and buy just from that offer.

I Love Literacy

I worked at Ooligan’s booth at the Love of Literacy conference in Salem this past Friday. The exhibitor’s room was set up in a specific conference room, and there were a number of other organizations with booths from Northwest Children and Family Services to a woman that has a whole program teaching babies sign language. We were there to promote our newest title, Classroom Publishing. As this was a conference for educators, it seemed the perfect venue to get the word out about this book.

It was interesting to see the ways different groups were exhibiting. Most of the booths had books and other goods for sale, although some were there to promote a program. There were a lot of brochures, bookmarks, free pens, and stress balls, and other collateral being given out to. Most people that went through the room took the free stuff being offered. Ooligan had some small notebooks that were blank inside, and had information about Classroom Publishing printed on the back.

What I noticed was that while people stopped to pick up free stuff, the booths they stayed the longest at were those that had some sort of media display as well. Several of the exhibitors had videos playing on their laptops from the Internet. One booth may have been playing a video on a small TV. But people were definitely interested in the visual displays. I think we should consider this when we are thinking about any kind of marketing, even if it is face-to-face. Of course, it is necessary to have a person there who can engage with the customer and answer questions, but we should remember that people still like to have something to look at. It is fairly simple to create (or find) a video on YouTube that relates to a product you are promoting—which can be used both in online and in-person marketing/sales.

You Have Time for This

I recently read You Have Time for This, a book of flash fiction stories from Ooligan Press. What is flash fiction, you ask? It has been dubbed short-short stories or fiction— meaning 500 words or less. Each story is a quick, but complete, read by a wide range of contemporary American writers, dealing with a variety of subjects in an obviously short amount of time.

If you have a full schedule like I do, this kind of fiction is perfect for a quick distraction, giving you many stopping points, so you don’t feel like you’re cut off in the middle of something important. You Have Time for This is great to read on the MAX or bus, or whenever else you have a bit of free time.

The book features some of the best flash authors such as Katharine Weber, Steve Almond, Aimee Bender, Robert Boswell, and more. They are incredibly deft writers when it comes to creating flash fiction; each story draws you in immediately, getting you interested in character and plot in a very short time, without making you feel like you’ve missed anything.

I definitely recommend You Have Time for This to readers in a time crunch, those who enjoy short fiction, or who are looking to read something refreshingly different.

A media bistro snack

I was browsing through mediabistro.com, which is a pretty good site, if you haven’t been to it. It is designed for people who are (or would like to be) in careers in the various media outlets. There’s tons of information, job postings, course listings (although I’m not sure if the courses are legitimate/accredited), a section for freelancers, tons of blogs, and more. It’s pretty impressive.

I was browsing through the job postings, as I often do, looking to see what’s available, and where I might have to move after graduation. I was pleased to see that a lot of the jobs that are listed are looking for the specific skills that are being taught to us in the book publishing program. I noticed that a lot of jobs that didn’t directly have to do with web design still wanted a familiarity or working knowledge of html and/or other platforms. As freaked out as a lot of us seemed to get after last class, I’m certainly aware that forcing myself to at least learn the terminology and basic functions of web design will greatly help me in working with programmers and web designers in the future. So thanks Marty, even though I’m still a little worried about our mid-term. But I digress…

One of the blog posts on the site was about Nike’s most memorable TV ad campaigns. It highlighted Nike’s relationship with Portland’s Wieden & Kennedy. A quote from the blog reads: “Nike has been one of those brands that worked out that it's better to influence culture than simply reflect it.” I thought this was interesting in terms of our discussion of brand and product marketing.

How might book publishers influence book culture rather than reflect it? It seems as though publishers, especially the big-name, longstanding ones, are constantly trying to react to changes in the industry, or to make their old strategies keep working (even when they clearly are not). I’m not sure what the answer is, but it’s certainly interesting to consider the ways in which publishers might go about changing the game, so to speak.

Brand vs Product Marketing

The big difference between brand and product marketing is clear in the names. For the former, a company is marketing itself, above and beyond, its particular products. For example, I used to work for a large Pacific NW law firm. Its marketing strategies were very brand oriented. It wanted to create awareness and a good reputation within the community. Few, if any, of its clients would simply see an ad in Portland Business Journal and call to hire an attorney. Publishing ads, as well as planning events and marketing in the community, helped the company to create awareness that translated into potential clients doing research and deciding whether to hire the firm’s attorneys.

Product marketing is the promotion of a product above and beyond the brand it comes from. Nike might market a newly developed running shoe. The commercials will focus on that shoe, and all its benefits and promises. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the shoe is coming from a well-respected and successful company. But the campaign would not focus on Nike as a company, but rather that particular new shoe.

Book publishers, for the most part, rely on product marketing. This is especially true of larger companies that have been around for a long time. Most consumers, though they will likely recognize the Penguin brand for example, will not buy a book they are not interested in just because it is from Penguin. So publishers must promote individual titles, in order to find the audiences that are interested in the particular subject or theme of those titles.

This is a little different for companies that publish for a very specific niche market. It is important for a brand like Timber Press to do some brand marketing, so that readers who are looking for horticulture books know that Timber is a company that can be trusted to produce a good product. If I want a book on tulips, I know that Timber might be a good place to look. But such publishers must focus their marketing plans on particular titles as well. They would want to make consumers aware that there is a new book on tulips, and simply putting out an ad for the press will not be an effective way to do this.

Overall, I’d say that brand marketing, while important for some publishers, is certainly not as effective in selling individual titles as product marketing.