INTERVIEWER

You’re known in publishing circles to be the only publisher who would say no to a book because another publisher wanted to do it. If you were told that Knopf wanted a book, you’d say, Let them have it.

ROSSET

Well, that makes sense, because if Knopf could publish it, then it was a Knopf book not a Grove book. Many of the books that we did were rejected by thirty or forty publishers. Some of the best books, in fact.

[from The Paris Review, “Barney Rosset, The Art of Publishing No. 2. Interviewed by Ken Jordan.”

It was with great sadness that I learned of Barney Rosset’s death, at 89, earlier this week. Long-time owner of Grove Press and editor of the Evergreen Review, he published and championed writers like Samuel Beckett, Jack Kerouac, Henry Miller, Malcolm X, Franz Fanon, Jean Genet, William S. Burroughs, Harold Pinter, Pauline Reage, Pablo Neruda, Kenzaburo Oe, and Octavio Paz, especially when no one else could or would. Eventually five would win the Nobel Prize.

He was working on his autobiography with Bradford Morrow, author and founder of literary journal Conjunctions. The title of the book, The Subject Was Left-Handed, refers to the extensive file the FBI kept on him, tracking deviant behavior that dated to grade school when he called Benito Mussolini the most important man in the world. His publisher, Algonquin Books, is expected to publish later this year.

His New York Times obituary of February 22 is titled “Defied Censors, Making Racy a Literary Staple.” But it wasn’t just the censors he was after, it was the status quo. He did not want to live in a complacent world; he wanted to get to the meat of things. Racy doesn’t merely refer to sexiness; he was out to encourage critical, politically motivated, experimental, and otherwise difficult literature and film. His battles against censorship are perhaps his greatest legacy, his dedication to publishing the rejected, outsider, and socially unacceptable writers and texts having taken him and his supportive team of lawyers, editors, and authors, to court several times in the 1960s and early 1970s.

In my five and a half years at the Borchardt agency I was surrounded with stories of Samuel Beckett and Rosset (who even named his son Beckett), The Story of O, The City of Night, and Grove Press. Our offices and hallways stacked with bookshelves full of these and similarly radical titles. Several important Grove titles were ones for which Georges and Anne Borchardt brokered deals and maintained contracts. When it seemed impossible to find homes for apparently ill-fitting manuscripts, when the advances were truly miniature, when distribution was more an obstacle than anything else, Rosset took risks and proved the merit therein. Taste, excellent sources, interesting connections, and even the historical context helped. Most importantly, the books found a home, and they’re still in print today.

His good friend Henry Miller may have been Rosset’s greatest inspiration, but his goal was ultimately about achieving what was right rather than demonstrating an affinity for obvious talent. Martin Garbus introduced him at the 2008 National Book Foundation ceremony (in a video you can see via Publishers Weekly, here) in which he was given that year’s Literarian Award, describing Rosset, like Miller, as “anti-everything, except what he was for.” Such a philosophy took him on a wild ride, and perhaps consequently he (and Grove) profited and lost in equal, great measures.

I have never heard Barney Rosset described as an easy-going person. In fact, he was by all accounts quite the opposite—quite difficult to work with unless one shared his vision and interests. With each success he reinvested in Grove, and in the end he lost it all. Under dire financial circumstances he sold the press in 1985, and he was fired by the new owners soon after.

As he said in his 2008 acceptance speech, “The freedom to read what we want… that no one has the right to tell us what we can and cannot read, has always been one that is dear to me.” Literature, he reminds us, is not just symbolic. Books aren’t purely entertaining or informative—they are political, bear weight. Publishers don’t just have a complicated task, they have a very important one.

Barney Rosset, the patron saint of those of us who are just as tough on ourselves as we are on the status quo. The devil over our shoulder, egging us on. Let him serve as an inspiration to us all.

In the past year the publishing industry has wrestled with issues of transforming their product from print to digital. Beyond issues of pricing, distribution, efficiency, marketing, and protection, we’re learning to apply our industry’s creative strengths to making the best possible publishing product.

And in the past year I’ve been writing about this “science-plus-art” discipline of user experience design, or UX or UXD, which overlaps boundaries with Interaction Design, Usability, and a few other agglomerations of initials. Here at Digital Book World, UX professionals have talked with me about how they find out what users really want, and how they approach the particular challenges of ebooks. We’ve looked at the page, the device, and the outside world for inspiration and fresh ideas about how to improve the digital reading experience. We’ve drawn up reading lists; informally researched readers’ likes and dislikes; and shown how UX principles can apply to ebook design.

Technology (meaning the makers of e-reading devices) took temporary control of the reader’s experience; in order to regain it we need to learn about UX now.

Yes, it requires us to think about our books in a different way from their presentation in print. For example, figuring out what readers want to see first, second, or third; alerting them to where they can find the material they want; doing what we can to either choose reading platforms or create digital files that offer a more intuitive, (not necessarily print-analogous) reading experience. There are far more possibilities than we have yet considered.
Most publishers have now dealt more or less effectively with backlist title conversion. The next step is to think creatively about new titles (either digital-first or simultaneous print-digital), new platforms and the possibilities contained in the new standards. Learning and applying UX design is the way to improve the publishing product: as Brian Solis has it, “UX packages efficiency and enchantment to deliver more meaningful, engaging, and rewarding consumer journeys.”

Why bother to cultivate consumers who may or may not come back to us? Because the way we market and sell books has been changing and will change even more in future. The conventional wisdom always held that customers didn’t shop by brand when it came to buying books (with exceptions for some series). But brand and publisher should gain importance as consumers are directly marketed to by interest area, genre, or professional focus. There are plenty of other good reasons to have our readers identify us as producers of great digital reading experiences, for which they will be happy to return for more; and maybe even to pay a bit more.

Quoting Solis: “The primary function of UX is the development of an architecture that creates a delightful, emotional, and sensory experience.” In book publishing, we have barely begun to explore the sensory/emotional experience in ebooks and digital reading. That sounds delightful to me.

Amazon intends to sell the Kindle in Brazil for R$199 (US$115) when it begins operations in the country later this year. The company is also considering selling the Kindle for as low as R$149 in a move to gain market share, according to people familiar with the negotiations being done with the company. To reach that price, however, remains a big challenge in a country with high taxes and, in general, very high operating expenses.

Read the full story at PublishNews Brazil.

Office Depot Announces Availability of Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet(TM) and NOOK Simple Touch(TM)

Device Assortment Includes NOOK Tablet – 8GB, the Newest Addition to the Popular NOOK Tablet Line

BOCA RATON, Fla., Feb 23, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) –Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), celebrating 25 years as a leading global provider of office supplies and services, and Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced the availability of Barnes & Noble’s award-winning NOOK Tablet – including the all-new NOOK Tablet – 8GB. The new Barnes & Noble products and accessories are available nationwide at Office Depot retail locations and online at www.officedepot.com.

“The introduction of the Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet and NOOK Simple Touch eReaders at Office Depot further bolsters our mission to provide our customers with the most cutting-edge products in the marketplace,” said Farla Efros, Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer for Office Depot. “We are pleased to be expanding our tablet and eReader portfolio with offerings that are at the top of our customers’ lists.”

NOOK(R) devices are the perfect choice for anyone who wants access to their favorite content anywhere they go. For customers who like to consume a variety of content on demand, NOOK Tablet features the world’s most advanced 7-inch VividView(TM) color touchscreen for enjoying the best in entertainment – from popular movies and TV shows to music and more. The NOOK Tablet – 8GB and NOOK Tablet – 16GB, are available for $199.99 and $249.99, respectively.

Customers seeking a simple-to-use, dedicated reading experience will love the NOOK Simple Touch – an ultra-light, portable 6-inch eReader with the most-advanced E Ink(R) Pearl display and the longest battery life of any eReader – all for just $99. With just a tap, it’s intuitive and simple to navigate, shop, and read.

With all NOOK products, customers can shop Barnes & Noble’s expansive NOOK Store(TM) of more than two million digital titles, including color and interactive books, magazines, children’s books and high-quality apps. In addition, Barnes & Noble always offers free in-store NOOK support for consumers to learn how to use their new device and even troubleshoot any issues face-to-face with friendly neighborhood NOOKsellers.

“Office Depot is a leading office supplies, technology and services retailer, offering consumers the most trusted and preferred brands in the U.S.,” said Chris Peifer, Vice President, Digital Business Development at Barnes & Noble. “That’s why we are excited to partner with Office Depot and offer our NOOK devices to Office Depot customers who love to read anytime, anywhere. With NOOK, customers will discover the most immersive, fun and easy-to-use reading experience, as well as gain access to a vast selection of popular books, interactive magazines, newspapers, children’s books, apps and more.”

To learn more about the products and services available at Office Depot, please visit your local Office Depot retail store location or www.officedepot.com. To become a fan of Office Depot on Facebook and receive exclusive content, offers and more, please visit www.facebook.com/officedepot. To follow Office Depot on Twitter, please visit www.twitter.com/officedepot.

About Office Depot

Celebrating 25 years as a leading global provider of office supplies and services, Office Depot is Taking Care of Business for millions of customers around the globe. For the local corner store as well as Fortune 500 companies, Office Depot provides supplies and services to its customers through 1,656 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs and global e-commerce operations. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $11.6 billion, and employs about 40,000 associates around the world. The Company provides more office supplies and services to more customers in more countries than any other company, and currently sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 58 countries.

Office Depot’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com and http://socialpress.officedepot.com/.

About NOOK(R) from Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble’s NOOK brand of eReading products makes it easy to read what you love, anywhere you like(TM) with a fun, easy-to-use and immersive digital reading experience. With NOOK, customers gain access to Barnes & Noble’s expansive NOOK Store(TM) of more than 2.5 million digital titles, and the ability to enjoy content across a wide array of popular devices. The new NOOK Tablet(TM) is Barnes & Noble’s fastest, lightest tablet with the best in entertainment from top services and everything you want in a tablet at a great value ($249). Both NOOK Tablet and the award-winning NOOK Color(TM) ($199) feature a stunning 7-inch VividView(TM) Color

Touchscreen to read all of the content you love, shop popular apps, connect via email, browse the Web and more. The NOOK Simple Touch(TM) ($99), is the fastest, easiest to use reader with the world’s best reading screen and the longest battery life. Barnes & Noble offers NOOK owners Always Free NOOK Support in any of its more than 700 bookstores, as well as free Wi-Fi(R) connectivity to enjoy the Read In Store(TM) feature to read NOOK Books(TM) for free, and the More In Store(TM) program, which offers free, exclusive content and special promotions. Barnes & Noble was the first company to offer digital lending for a wide selection of books through its LendMe(R) technology, available through NOOK eReading products. Find NOOK devices in Barnes & Noble stores and online at www.BN.com, as well as at Best Buy, Walmart, Staples, Target, Radio Shack, Books-A-Million, OfficeMax, Fred Meyer, P.C. Richard & Son stores, Fry’s Electronics, Systemax Inc. and Office Depot retailers.

In addition to NOOK devices, Barnes & Noble makes it easy for customers to enjoy any book, anytime, anywhere with its FREE NOOK Reading Apps(TM), available at www.nook.com/freenookapps. Customers can use Barnes & Noble’s free eReading software to access and read books from their personal Barnes & Noble digital library on devices including iPad(TM), iPhone(R), iPod touch(R), Android(TM) smartphones and tablets, PC and Mac(R). Lifetime Library(TM) helps ensure that Barnes & Noble customers will always be able to access their digital libraries on NOOK products and software-enabled devices and BN.com. Barnes & Noble also offers NOOK Study(TM) (www.nookstudy.com), an innovative study platform and software solution for higher education, NOOK Kids(TM) (www.nookkids.com), a collection of digital picture and chapter books for children, and NOOK Books en español(TM) (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooksenespanol), the first-ever Spanish language digital bookstore in the United States.

For more information on NOOK devices and eReading software, updates, new NOOK Book releases, Free Friday(TM) NOOK Books and more, follow us on www.twitter.com/nookBN and www.facebook.com/nookBN.

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS), the world’s largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 691 bookstores in 50 states. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, also operates 641 college bookstores serving over 4.6 million students and faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States. Barnes & Noble conducts its online business through BN.com (www.bn.com), one of the Web’s largest e-commerce sites, which also features more than two million titles in its NOOK Bookstore(TM) (www.bn.com/ebooks). Through Barnes & Noble’s NOOK(TM) eReading product offering, customers can buy and read digital books and content on the widest range of platforms, including NOOK devices, partner company products, and the most popular mobile and computing devices using free NOOK software.

General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company’s corporate website: www.barnesandnobleinc.com.

NOOK(R), NOOK Tablet(TM), NOOK Simple Touch(TM), NOOK 1st Edition(TM), NOOK 1st Edition Wi-Fi(TM), NOOK Color(TM), Reader’s Tablet(TM), PagePerfect(TM), Best-Text(TM), Fast Page(TM), NOOK Books(TM), NOOK Store(TM), NOOK Bookstore(TM), NOOK Newsstand(TM), NOOK Magazines(TM), VividView(TM), ArticleView(TM), NOOK Newspapers(TM), NOOK Comics(TM), NOOK Cloud(TM), NOOK

Apps(TM), FREE NOOK Reading Apps(TM), PubIt!(TM), NOOK Discover(TM), NOOK Kids(TM), Read and Play(TM), Read to Me(TM), Read and Record(TM), NOOK Digital Shop(TM), Read In Store(TM), More In Store(TM), NOOK Friends(TM), LendMe(R), NOOK Library(TM), NOOK Boutiques(TM), The Barnes & Noble Promise(TM), NOOK Books en español(TM), NOOK Study(TM), Free Friday(TM), Lifetime Library(TM) and Read What You Love. Anywhere You Like(TM) are trademarks of Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Follow Barnes & Noble on Twitter (www.bn.com/twitter), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/barnesandnoble) and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/bnstudio).

We caught up with James McQuivey, Ph.D., vice president and principal analyst at Forrester to hear about how publishing companies used to cope with digital changes in the publishing business and what they’re doing now.

“When publishers sit down and try to do this [digital], they suddenly realize, ‘oh, this isn’t just about marketing.’ …Go back to late 2010, early 2011, many of them thought, ‘oh, digital is a marketing channel or maybe a distribution channel.’ They didn’t understand that digital was a complete re-conceptualization of the whole product itself and the way that product comes to market.

“So they were really expecting that ‘we just have to get a website up and maybe a couple Twitter accounts and we’re done’ and bless ‘em for being so naïve. But they’re now in the middle of it, and they realize, ‘wait a minute, the very nature of the book itself, the path that we follow to make people aware of that book … has completely changed now and we don’t know what levers to push.’”

A joint production of Digital Book World and Astral Road Media: http://www.astralroad.com/. Founded by Rich Fahle, Astral Road Media is a full-service digital media agency, providing content strategy, design, video production, and other creative forms of social outreach for authors and content creators of all types.

– Bookboon ended 2011 with one million e-books downloaded in the U.S. It mostly traffics in textbooks.

– The company expects to lend out six-to-eight million books in the U.S. in 2012

– The company is employer-advertising supported. It derives revenue from collecting information (an email and the reader’s school and major or industry) and then using that information to customize advertising in the book from recruiters who may want to hire the readers.

PRESS RELEASE:

Free eBooks Revolutionize the US Book Industry

Bookboon.com is turning the US book market upside down with free eBooks.

Bookboon.com grew by 500% over nine months of 2011, and will not stop at that: in 2012,

Bookboon.com will reach a market share of over 10% in the USA.

LONDON, Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Bookboon.com is turning the US book market upside down with free eBooks. Bookboon.com grew by 500% over nine months of 2011, and will not stop at that: in 2012, Bookboon.com will reach a market share of over 10% in the USA.

Free eBooks take a huge chunk of eBook market

“We have seen an immense growth in the US over the last year with more than 500% growth in 2011, and we feel confident that we will reach a 10% market share in Q3 of 2012,” says Thomas Buus Madsen, COO of Bookboon.com.

eBooks made simple   

“When I found bookboon.com, I was amazed at how easy it was to get the eBook – it literally took me less than a minute from when I decided that I needed a book about presentation techniques until I had the book and started reading,” says Andrew Taylor, a lawyer at a NY law firm. According to Thomas Buus Madsen, this is the key to Bookboon.com’s success: “Our users tell us that they love the fact that they don’t have to register or remember a login to get the book they want, and they can read it on any device they want.”

Famous for its free eBooks

Bookboon.com has achieved online fame for providing free quality eBooks, ranging from free travel guides and free business eBooks to free university textbooks. “We are focused on providing free knowledge, and people love it,” says Madsen.

Growth of 500% in 12 months

Bookboon.com has grown globally by over 500% when comparing January 2011 to January 2012, and the company expects more than 50 million downloaded eBooks in 2012. Madsen elaborates: “We have experienced tremendous growth in the last 12 months. Our users feel our concept is worth sharing with friends, especially because all our content is free, platform independent and does not require user registration.”

About Bookboon.com

Bookboon.com is currently the largest publisher of eBooks in the world. Bookboon.com originates from Denmark where it was first established in 1988. Ever since it was founded, the company has focused on publishing education related books for business professionals and students. In 2005 the company made a strategic leap and became the first book publishing company in the world to focus 100% on free eBooks. Ever since, the company has been aiming to set new standards in the world of modern publishing based on readers’ needs. Bookboon.com is currently headquartered in London, and has offices in New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Paris, Munich, Amsterdam, Copenhagen & Stockholm.

The story of Amazon removing IPG clients’ ebooks from sale spread quickly yesterday. Among additional details, IPG president Mark Suchomel told Crain’s Chicago and the WSJ that ebooks comprise less than 10 percent of the distributor’s revenues….

…Then late last night, the New York newspaper with a full-time Amazon reporter weighed in as if no one had written about the story yet. They got agent (and former bookseller) Andy Ross “on the record” many hours after he posted a comment at PublishersMarketplace and came up with the striking observation that pulled IPG listed on Amazon include “a button to click to tell the publisher you would like to read the book on Kindle.” That’s big-time journalism for you.

Read the full story at Publisher’s Marketplace.

Reports are coming in today that the latest version of Requiem, an app that removes Fairplay DRM from music and videos sold via iTunes, will now also remove the DRM from iBooks ebooks. It may have taken a couple years, but Apple is now as safe to buy from as any other ebookstore. You don’t have to worry about losing future access to content that you buy there.

Read the rest of the piece, including Hoffelder’s theory on DRM here.

Thomas Nelson, Inc. Brings New eBook Sales Support to Christian Retailers

Company Partners with Signature Websites Network

(Nashville, Tenn.) February 23, 2012- According to Pew Research, ownership of eReaders and tablets doubled over the 2011 Christmas holiday. Showing its commitment to the Christian retail industry, Thomas Nelson, Inc. has partnered with Signature Websites Network to assist retailers in growing both their eBook and traditional, in-store sales.

Signature Websites Network will now provide the ability for Christian retailers to sell Thomas Nelson newly released and best-selling titles in eBook format. As a result of the partnership between Thomas Nelson and Signature Websites Network, more than 300 Christian retailers are selling Thomas Nelson eBooks and downloadable audiobooks through their personalized Signature Websites.

Not only can customers now purchase an eBook from their Christian retailers, stores are offering monthly “cost saving” promotions through online and in-store marketing. Whether customers prefer purchase of a physical product at the bricks-and-mortar location or through the retailers’ Signature Website in eBook format, they will receive the same discount.

“Thomas Nelson is committed to the success of the Christian retail channel in the launch and sales of eBooks, downloadable audiobooks and mobile apps,” said Robert Edington, vice president for Thomas Nelson Publishers. “With the tremendous growth of eBooks in the marketplace, we recognize their importance to retailers and Thomas Nelson alike. We will continue to provide strategic leadership essential for our mutual success.”

“The support of the Thomas Nelson team is enabling our retailers to develop their eBook business in addition to their core business, rather than replacing it,” said Larry Haege of Signature Websites Network. “We are confident that coordinating promotional efforts for both digital and print products, through in-store displays and online email marketing techniques will drive in-store sales simultaneously establishing Christian retailers as the source for eBook products customers can trust.”

“We are excited about having the great presentation of eBooks and audiobooks on our Signature Website,” said Bill Ballou of The Solid Rock Bookstore in Kearney, Nebraska. “Whether we are downloading books for our own Nooks or providing downloads for our customers, we are pleased with the great selection and convenience, all coordinated with our in-store promotions. We want the Sold Rock to continue to be the first choice for our customers.”

# # #

Thomas Nelson, Inc. is the world’s largest Christian publisher. The Company provides multiple formats of Bibles, inspirational books and digital content, with distribution of its products in more than 100 countries. Live Event Management, Inc., a Thomas Nelson company, is the nation’s leading producer of Christian live events. Thomas Nelson is headquartered in Nashville, TN. For additional information, please visit www.thomasnelsoncorporate.com.

Innovative, Inc. (www.thinkinnovative.com) is a leader in online and church marketing solutions for over 700 independent Christian retailers. For over 20 years, Innovative Church Marketing and Signature Websites have been the marketing solutions of choice for leading Christian retailers. For additional information visit www.signaturewebsites.com or contact Richard Hauhuth at (888) 747-4264 ext. 2024

Someone needs to build a CMS-style publishing platform similar to Pressbooks, for instance, that integrates seamlessly with any public library catalog and website.

Imagine that Jenny in Anytown USA wants to write a book. Jenny would log on to her public library website and “create a project.” She’d have a series of templates to choose from – paperback book, comic book, etc. When she creates that project (book) via her library, a record with a specific item type (work in progress) is automatically generated in the library catalog.

As she writes her book, other interested library patrons are able to watch and track the progress. They can comment and even participate if she invites them to do so; group authoring would be easy enough to support.

Most importantly, it would work like a Kickstarter for printing books. If a sufficient number of patrons felt the project had the merit to be published as a print volume, they could vote it up to the top, Reddit-style, and then commit real money toward publishing.

The community actually determines what gets published beyond the Web. Suddenly, those zamboni-sized espresso book printing machines make a hell of a lot more sense in the library than they do right now. Or, the community could be hooked up to Ingram’s Lightning Source or another print-on-demand service.

Once the book is committed to print publishing, it no longer exists only as an e-book in the library catalog, but there will be a hard copy at the library as well.

As for an economic model: Well, I can tell you that if you built this product and it truly integrated seamlessly with the integrated library system and website, libraries would buy it. That could get you started.

Catch Nate talking more on this topic in the panel discussion Making Stories: Libraries and Community Publishing at SXSW Interactive this March 10th in Austin TX, along with Char Booth, Amy Buckland, and Michael Porter.