Here’s a piece from today’s Publishers Lunch that will be of interest to anyone who hopes to get rid of their catalog printing bill. I’ve been interested in this for a couple of years now, but I haven’t yet found a buyer who really likes buying books on their computers. I currently show remainder covers on a laptop, with mixed results.

I think it may be possible to duplicate electronically the ease of use that a “p-catalog” offers the buying process, but I think high-bandwidth internet connections and more powerful machines will have to appear in buyer’s offices before that happens. As we’re still encouraging some folks to try out this new ‘email’ thing, this is a few years down the road. Read on:

Here Come the e-Catalogs
HarperCollins is the first to announce plans for an electronic sales catalog, which they will preview at BEA and launch in beta form over the next six to 12 months. Among the planned features: “Book covers, prices, on-sale dates, reviews, quotes and important media alerts will be updated in real time as soon as they have been entered. Booksellers will be able to create lists and place orders online as they review front list book pages, and an author’s entire backlist will be visible as well.” Catalog pages will link to other content, and “booksellers will be able to read a portion of a large selection of galleys and complete Advance Reader Editions for certain titles.”

For insights on a similar-but-different process, the case studies provided as part of last Friday’s Book Industry Study Group conference on experimentation and innovation include a description of Hachette Book Group’s efforts to reengineer and automate their catalog creation process.

I called Nat Herold at Amherst Books to schedule our fall frontlist meeting, and we got to talking about events- they’ve had 20 so far in April. Nat says April is the store’s busiest month for events, in part because the academic year winds down this month, and people want to get their book launches in before heading off for the summer. Another factor: National Poetry Month.  Many poets make their homes in the Pioneer Valley, and  they like to book events at Amherst Books.

I’ll be in to see them next June 26, along with Odyssey Books in South Hadley and Jeffery Amherst Books across the street. -Sean

Posted: 28 Apr 2008 03:30 PM CDT

Causten Stehle will now be selling New York area accounts. He will continue to manage Parson Weems and in addition will call on many New York City area accounts including independents and museums within Westchester County. Causten originally joined us to handle order processing and customer service related issues. Subsequently, he spearheaded the installation and management of our computer-assisted order processing system, SAILS, at which time he was appointed Manager. While continuing with these duties, he will now call on key accounts, with whom he has long-standing relations, thereby enabling Sean and me to travel deeper into the territory. Causten has worked in publishing sales and marketing for more than a decade and is familiar with trade and scholarly publishing, sales operations, customer service, and management information systems. He has an advanced degree in MIS, which we try to overlook. He will again be with us at May sales meetings and Book Expo.

Harvey Finkel of Clinton Book Shop, at Liberty State Park

We trekked over the Hudson to the Global Green Expo in Jersey City’s Liberty State Park Saturday to give Harvey Finkel a hand selling books. Harvey was the official bookseller for the three day event, and hosted signings by the event’s speakers. On Saturday afternoon Deirdre Imus stopped by to sign books after speaking about her efforts with husband Don Imus to prohibit toxins from the ranch where they care for sick children. Also on Saturday, the owner and chef of NYC vegan restaurant Angelica’s Kitchen spoke and signed books.

I helped out in the booth for a bit, and  did a circuit of the fair where companies were promoting energy-efficient home improvements (we got a free compact fluorescent light bulb!).

“So we’ll go no more a-roving*”
by George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron (1788-1824)
So we’ll go no more a-roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving,
And the moon be still as bright.

For the sword outwears its sheath,
And the soul outwears the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And love itself have rest.

Though the night was made for loving,
And the day returns too soon,
Yet we’ll go no more a-roving
By the light of the moon.

Net book sales in February rose 4.8% to $491.2 million and for the year have risen 6.2% to $1.2 billion, as reported by 79 member publishers to the Association of American Publishers. Strikingly in the current dismal economic climate, in February, adult paperback was one of the strongest categories while adult hardcover was the weakest. Also, higher education had a phenomenal month, but for the year is up just 4.5%.

Among results by category in February:
Adult paperback climbed 30.8% to $128.8 million.
Professional and scholarly rose 17.1% to $43.5 million.
Children’s/YA hardcover rose 8.1% to $40.7 million.
Children’s/YA paperback rose 7.2% to $37.2 million.
Adult mass market rose 0.4% to $59.5 million.

University press paperbacks fell 3.2% to $4.5 million.
University press hardcovers dropped 6.5% to $5.1 million.
Audiobooks fell 5.7% to $10.8 million.
Religious books fell 6.8% to $49.2 million.
Adult hardcovers fell 26.4% to $83.5 million.