The Idea Logical Company consults to publishers and their trading partners, primarily around issues that relate to publishing’s digital transformation.
Our Specialties
* Industry education, including public conferences and white papers as well as private presentations through our network of executive contacts
* Research and strategic analysis
* Introduction of new technologies and commercial propositions to publishing industry leaders
* Marketing planning for individual projects and services
Current clients include a leading global publisher, a leading global wholesaler and distributor, and a distributor of books to non-trade accounts.
We also consult to our partners at OptiQ.ly, the first Marketing Engine Optimization company.
Our tool kit includes:
* The Shatzkin Files blog, whose more-than-monthly posts each reach several thousand industry professionals
* Readership from and interaction with the leading executives in trade publishing and their trading partners, including retailers and wholesalers, agents and packagers, and service providers of all kinds
* A superior network of contacts with industry leaders and followers among the press, academics, and industry associations, as well as former executives at all of the industry’s major players who will provide insight and knowledge, and, when needed, extra hands and heads to execute a project
Among our noteworthy activities over the past several years:
* Programming of the Digital Book World annual conference for its first seven years, 2010 through 2016, inclusive
* Assisting the development of new licensing programs and their introduction to publishers for Copyright Clearance Center
* Program development and marketing for new digital download offering from Recorded Books
* Initial introduction of the NetGalley service to the publishing community
In the deeper past:
* Electronic Publishing & Rights, the first digital book conferences for trade publishers, 1992 and 1993
* VISTA’s “Publishing in the 21st Century” research and conference program, 1994-2000
* “Publishing 2010”, at the London Book Fair in March, 2000
* “Digital Asset Distribution”, White Paper and conferences, 2007, sponsored by Klopotek and delivered with Mark Bide of Rightscom
* “Experimentation and Innovation”, White Paper and conference, 2008, in conjunction with The Book Industry Study Group
* “StartWithXML: Why and How”, 2008-9, sponsored by codeMantra, Klopotek, and Jouve, working with Magellan Media Consulting Partners, THA Consulting, and LJN Dawson, with support from BISG in partnership with O’Reilly Media
* “Shifting Sales Channels”, research report and conference, 2009, in conjunction with The Book Industry Study Group
* “Enhanced eBook University”, White Paper and webinar series, 2010, in conjunction with F+W Media
* Conceived and created West Broadway Book Distribution, a specialty book distributor with an automated vendor management solution, for clients The Butterick Company and Soho Publishing, late 1990s. The business still operates today.
* Built and administered Supply Chain Tracker, a service converting sales data delivered by accounts to publishers into actionable reports, 2002-2007.
* Created BaseballLibrary.com, a baseball history web site built on the content of a book Mike Shatzkin created and edited called “The Ballplayers”; the book was published in 1990 and the site was created under Sportsline.com in 1996 and moved to its own servers in 2002.
* Co-developer of PBS series “Sewing Today”, 13 episodes with 3 tie-in books, for The Butterick Company, 1992.