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*** "U-Pdate" for June 2001:
*** Report from Book Expo America
This is a free e-mail bulletin sent from "U-Publish.com," the
website named for the revolutionary guide to new methods for
publishing and promoting books by Dan Poynter and Danny O. Snow.
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Please visit http://www.u-publish.com at least once each month,
for periodic updates of interest to writers and publishers.
Please feel free to forward copies of this message to fellow
authors and publishers. This is a free service, available to
to all publishing professionals upon request.
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*** Report from BEA 2001
The world's largest annual gathering of publishing industy pros
was held in Chicago, May 30 through June 3. If you couldn't
attend, U-Publish.com is happy to provide highlights.
Thousands of publishers and representatives from related fields
such as printing, computer hardware and software, distribution,
marketing, etc. converged on Chicago, with a flurry of new
products and announcements for publishing colleagues. To cite
just a few:
* The Book Industry Study Group (see BISG.org) announced that
a study has shown an overall decline in book sales during 2000
of 3.3%. Steeper drops were seen in key areas such as trade
paperbacks (14.2%) and hardcovers (12.9%) last year. Once
again, the importance of promotion and marketing can be seen,
and these areas will be expanded in the upcoming third edition
of "U-Publish.com" due out soon in paperback from Unlimited
Publishing, and as an e-Book from BookZone.
* Soft Skull Press announced that it would re-issue "Fortunate
Son," the controversial biography of George W. Bush that was
pulled from the shelves previously, in the wake of litigation
and alleged governmental pressure.
* ContentGuard announced that Digital Goods will refer its
e-Book content providers to ContentGuard for continued service,
following the termination of e-Book distribution at Digital
Goods in May.
* OverDrive announced the opening of its new eBook Technology
Center in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
* BookZone announced a new partnership with Unlimited Publishing
(producer of the current edition of "U-Publish.com") to provide
a comprehensive package of services for the publication and
promotion of both printed and electronic books from independent
publishers.
* U-Publish.com co-author Dan Poynter announced the publication
of his latest book, "The Older Cat." He has also finessed a
virtual lock on Web domain names related to feline gerontology.
To review a wide variety of press releases from BEA 2001, visit
our Web site:
http://www.u-publish.com/monthly.htm
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*** eBookNet to Return as eBookWeb
Glenn Sanders and Wade Roush, former editors of eBookNet (which
was closed by GemStar in April) have been working hard to start
a new, next-generation e-Book site. On July 4, they will launch
eBookWeb, a central source for news and information on all
aspects of electronic publishing and a community center for e-Book
enthusiasts and industry professionals.
U-Publish.com subscribers can get a sneak preview by visiting the
new introductory page at:
http://www.ebookweb.org
This site is highly recommended to authors and publishers who
are interested in e-Books and devices for reading them. Don't
forget to add this site to your list of "favorites" or "book-
marks" prior to the offical kickoff in July.
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*** Under New Management
"Buy Books on the Web" has recently changed its name to Infinity
Publishing and expanded its services for independent publishers.
To compare it with other systems, please visit:
http://www.u-publish.com/compare.htm
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*** Guest Editorials
We're pleased to introduce another new -- and free -- feature
from U-Publish.com, for authors and publishers:
Check out our guest editorial from Forrest Barriger, "E-books:
Where Do They Go From Here?" Now available online at:
http://www.u-publish.com/ed200105.htm
If you have an opinion about new methods for producing and/or
promoting books, feel free to submit your own commentary. Guest
editorials must be 400 words or less in length, and must include
permission for us to keep them on our Web site. Naturally, we
can't guarantee publication online or in print, but your input
will receive serious consideration.
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*** Quotation of the Month
"I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands
of fools. Let's start with typewriters."
-- Solomon Short
"And word processors!"
-- Dan Snow
The quotation from our last issue has now been attributed to
Mark Twain: "I apologize for the length of this letter, but I
didn't have time to make it shorter." Thanks to our readers
for helping to track it down.
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Don't forget to visit the U-Publish.com website at least once
a month, for new info of interest to authors and publishers.
Feel free to forward copies of this message to others who may
be interested. Subscriptions are available free upon request.
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