Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Corrigendum

On Sunday I wrote enthusiastically about the report of a new Chairman of HarperCollins UK. It turns out that the story was a mistake caused by Publishing News's assumption that HCUK could only mean HarperCollins. This email from David Worlock's daughter, Kate:

Even though it was lovely to see a picture of my esteemed father in your blog today (and I'm sure he appreciates the compliment too!), the news has in fact been misreported.  He's been made non-executive Chairman of HCUK, a producer of online event management software (http://www.hcuk.net/home.asp), rather than HarperCollins. However, since people seem so keen on the idea, perhaps we may soon have HarperCollins knocking on the door as well.

Apologies if anyone was upset by the misreporting but I can't help feeling that HarperCollins could do a lot worse...
 
As it's Summertime and many people flock to France for their holidays, this video is worth watching, both to improve your French and to get an understanding of the French view of the digital future - deux oiseaux avec une pierre.
 
And here's another vision of the future.
 

This is, as one of our marketing people pointed out, either a coke machine or a digital content delivery system. It has been developed by the Laverna Group and is described by them as:

The Felix kiosk is a multi-level marketing device running on ADSL networks and offering a range of functions including Everyone’s a Winner game, Mobile Top-up, Digital Purchase library and ATM. Certain kiosks may also include an Instant print Photography unit.

Perhaps independent booksellers should look at installing one by the cash register.

Independent booksellers should also be interested in the row between Bloomsbury and the supermarket chain, ASDA. This is what a forthright Bloomsbury have had to say:

Asda’s latest attempt to draw attention to themselves involves trying to leap on the Harry Potter bandwagon.  This is just another example of their repeated efforts at appearing as Robin Hood in the face of controversy about their world wide group which would suggest they are perceived as more akin to the Sheriff of Nottingham. 

 Asda may grandstand all they like in their attempts to use poor Harry Potter to lure the public into buying a bag of their groceries but they seem to attribute no value to Bloomsbury’s very serious environmental mission, clearly stated, in printing this Harry Potter book for the first time on part recycled paper which costs more not less; and to fuel surcharges.  As people are slowly realizing, there is a price to be paid by the consumer for environmental best practice.

 It is self-evident that most multiple retailers deliberately to choose to sell Harry Potter at a significant loss in an attempt to attract customers who will buy their other products, such as a £20 bag of groceries.  Loss-leaders were invented by supermarkets and have nothing to do with Bloomsbury Publishing or Harry Potter and we deeply regret being dragged into their price wars.
#    |  Comments [7]  | 
7/17/2007 7:22:36 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
But of course Bloomsbury are only too pleased to see Asda take something like half-a-million copies of HP7.

The publishing industry is full of hypocrisy : the pompous arrogant words re HP7 marketing from Nigel Newton when recently 'speaking' to TheBookseller.com Willie Anderson deserved better than to see his HP7 marketing suggestion so glibly passed over.

All this waffle about HP7 being produced in an environmentally friendly manner : if Bloomsbury really were concerned about the environment they would have made *all* supply *firm sale* to cut out all those wasted journeys out of and back into MDL.

Within five years I expect to be buying all books on a nett unit cost basis, just the same as I buy the bin ends. The ludicrous cover price inflation will be a thing of past : the sham rrp will be removed.

And yes, Bloomsbury have deliberately cover-price inflated HP7 ; much in the same manner as Penguin have done with recent Jamie Oliver titles. Cover prices inflated to ensure that Bloomsbury and MDL can feed from the HP7 trough and still make their full quota, expecting every super-seller was going to loss-lead with the book.
Clive Keeble
7/17/2007 8:33:03 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
I keep coming back to this blog with India centric events and it is no different today. Only difference is that Im just trying to use a raging Indian debate over a book to understand the psyche of a publisher especially in the context of biographies or autobiographies.

Lady Pamela Mountbatten has come out with a book titled "India Remembered: A Personal Account of the Mountbattens During the Transfer of Power". This book has generated interest and has also sparked off a debate as it talks about "Love between Nehru and Edwina Mountbatten". Though, only one section of this book- appropriately titled as "A Special Relationship" is devoted to this.

I am curious to know if chapters or sections dealing with private lives of celebrities are a deliberate attempt on the part of publishers to talk up the sales or is it plain story telling!
Alok
7/17/2007 11:53:20 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
"Loss-leaders were invented by supermarkets and have nothing to do with Bloomsbury Publishing or Harry Potter and we deeply regret being dragged into their price wars."

Well, maybe not giving them, apparently, 3 years credit would have been a good place to start.
Jonathan Main
7/17/2007 3:39:44 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Is MDL responsible for the leaking of Harry Potter onto the internet...?

http://www.threadless.com/profile/392398/deathcabfortom/blog/241136/Don_t_press_this_if_you_read_harry_potter

(for instance)
John McDermot
7/17/2007 4:49:58 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
Leak or no leak, www.threadless.com is a gr8 site/blog!If he is who he is, wonder what he plans to do when he grows up?
CORY
7/18/2007 10:43:35 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
Are they not going to install in bookshops those kiosks I've heard of that will have access to about a million books, you select one, put £5 or £10 in and - ta-daa! - out it spits it beautifully bound and printed?

I've heard about these things so many times. When are they coming out? And will you be able to choose the typeface/etc. You'd be surprised how "little" features like being able to choose the size of type or the physical size of the volume will make a big impact on the device's popularity. If and when it ever does come out.
Gledwood
7/18/2007 11:57:41 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
BTW I agree with you 100% about the ridiculous Harry Potter discounting. Honestly I cannot see how the precedent this has set can be good for the publishing industry.
Gledwood