A few years ago, trying to explain the difference between how books had weathered digital change compared to other media, I formulated the paradigm of the “unit of appreciation” and the “unit of sale”. The music business was roiled when the unit of appreciation (the song) became available unbundled from the prevailing unit of sale […]
Not all books and not all subscription services are created equal
Digital change has forced many book publishers to rethink the mix of their lists. The most obvious aspect of that is the need for increased vertical-, topic- or audience-consciousness. In the days when bookstores did most of the selling, all publishers could reach audiences in stores by being displayed in the right section (or sections). […]
Peter McCarthy and I have a new business and publishing has a new digital marketing service
Today Peter McCarthy and I are formally announcing a new business which is a partnership between us: The Logical Marketing Agency. What we’re doing is applying the most modern and sophisticated digital marketing techniques and capabilities to the challenges faced by book publishers and authors — and therefore agents — and, because the same techniques […]
Some things I will be looking to learn more about at London Book Fair
The London Book Fair is an every-second-or-third-year thing for me, going back many decades. From an English-centric perspective, it is like a mini-Frankfurt. All the UK players are there and a lot of US senior executives. But because it is so accessible to the Continent, you can get a taste of how things look to […]
Even the biggest and smartest publishers still have a lot to learn about digital marketing
Doing business development for my Logical Marketing partnership with Peter McCarthy (we are on the verge of formally announcing our new business) gives me repeated and continuing confirmation that Pete just knows more about digital marketing than anybody else in publishing. This is partly because he’s a damn smart geek with a marketing-oriented brain who grew […]