Has a Book Become the New Business Card?

With the advent of self-publishing, realizing the dream of writing a book has become a reality for more people.  Many guests on my nationally-syndicated radio show have been authors. I was fortunate to interview Sharon Lechter recently, and she brought up how a book has become the new business card.  Sharon, of course, is the co-author of the Rich Dad Poor Dad series and several best-selling books based on the recently re-energized Napoleon Hill Think and Grow Rich series.  Sharon is the ultimate example of a successful author.  Most authors do not have Napoleon Hill Foundation behind their work.  However, many have access to sites like Createspace and others to showcase their writing skills.

Years ago, Seth Godin, is a well-established author, made news when he decided to self-publish.  Godin had enough customer relationships that he no longer needed his publisher.  Publishers can offer a lot of advantages for a new author.  However, once an author is established and has identified their audience, they may not be as necessary. At that time, Godin told the Wall Street Journal, “Publishers provide a huge resource to authors who don’t know who reads their books. What the Internet has done for me, and a lot of others, is enable me to know my readers.” The Internet offers a platform that has changed publishing forever.

The popularity of self-publishing is undeniable. The old definition of what qualifies as a book or being published has changed. Books can include fewer pages than in the past, and they can be downloadable e-books.  They open doors for speakers and consultants.  They offer international recognition.  More than 725,000 self-published works were registered in 2015.  “As the field of self-publishing matures, the quality of both content and format for many of these titles is becoming indistinguishable from those published by traditional houses,” said Beat Barblan, Direct of Identifier Services at Bowker. “In recent years, the number of independent authors topping prominent bestseller lists is a clear indication that readers are embracing author-published titles.”

Has this made a book become the new business card?  Andrew Medal believed it had, as he explained in his entrepreneur.com article Books are the New Business Card in 2015.  This question has become an even more intriguing since that time. Books are a marketing tool just as a business card has been in the past because it establishes expertise, sets you apart, opens doors, and brings in new business.  It also begs another question: If everyone has a book, how has that impacted the value of having one?

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New Study by Krux Digital Shows Data Leakage on Popular Websites

 

image via media.marketwire.com

Data leakage occurs when an external entity, often without a publisher’s consent, collects data about a user while the user is on the publisher’s website. Krux Digital has recently released information from their study that found tracking tools on major websites were installed without the company’s knowledge.

According to earthtimes.org key findings include:

• 31% of all data collection was enabled by parties other than the publisher, often without their control or consent
• 55% of all companies collecting data on a Web site also brought in other companies to collect data as well
• 27% of all collection was conducted by parties that are potentially competitive to publishers in media or data sales
• 167 different companies were observed participating in active data collection across just fifty publisher sites, few of whom appeared to be doing so in the publishers’ interest or at their request

To find out more about these results, click here.

Why I Don’t Shop at Bookstores Any More – Barnes and Noble Needs to Learn a Few Things From Amazon

I have always loved to go to bookstores.  I preferred Barnes and Noble but they were all fun to visit.  I love books.  I used to love to go to bookstores so I could browse all of the titles.  I would sit down and page through the ones I was considering purchasing.  I usually would end up buying several books.

I still buy a ton of books.  Some rooms in my home are packed with different titles.  However, now I almost never buy my books from a traditional bookstore. 

Why? They don’t offer the kinds of books I can get elsewhere.  I buy most of my books through Amazon now.  I have never been a person to read fiction.  I look at bookstores as a good place for fiction books but if you want to really learn something or have any kind of real selection, they lag way behind in that  department.

Seth Godin recently announced he will not use a publishing house any more and made a big stir in the publishing industry.   He will be self-publishing now instead of using a traditional publisher. What does  self-publishing have to do with bookstores?  For one thing, the traditional book store doesn’t like to carry the self-published book. 

I am a big fan of the self-published book.  There are so many good writers out there that have a ton of great information to share that will never get picked up by a major publishing house.  Why  … Because they don’t have a platform.   Publishers want to publish books by authors who have a following through their speaking, their talk shows, etc.  If you aren’t already well-known for something, it is almost impossible to get your work published.  Because of that, a ton of good authors are being turned down and their work is not ending up in bookstores. 

Where can you find those books?  Places like Amazon carry a lot of them.  Most of my ordering is done through Amazon because of this.  I like to read a lot of “how to” books because I write a lot of “how to” books.  Amazon has an incredible selection of nonfiction books available.

One book that I read that I found really helpful was written by a man who is probably in his 80’s.  It wasn’t a fancy book and he probably hasn’t got a huge following, but his book was extremely useful and informative.  That is the type of book that appeals to me and it would never be found in a traditional bookstore.

I think the big bookstores need to make some changes or they are going to have some serious trouble competing.  Now that there are so many Kindle and Ipad devices, the traditional bookstore could offer more choices to their customer.  I envision sitting on one of their soft chairs, picking up an iPad or other reading device that is hooked onto the chair somehow. ..browsing through their selection of ebooks and regular books right there in the store.  If I found a regular book, I liked, I could either buy it there or have it send to my home.  If I found an ebook, I could download it right there. 

I think a lot of people like the social experience of the bookstore.  By doing business in this way, they could continue to keep the books they have but also have all of the selection that online stores have.

E-Textbooks and Ipad

In a previous blog, I wrote about e-books vs. traditional books. I personally have been happy with using an Ipad to view books and texts.  I guess I am not the only one.  Cost is still going to be an issue though for many. Check out the following from an NPR.org article:

For a few years now, people have been expecting electronic textbooks to take off in a big way: They’re cheaper than traditional textbooks, easier to carry around in a backpack, and seem like a natural progression for students who have grown up playing and working with digital devices.

Despite all that, traditional textbooks have prevailed — until now. The game changer, according to Matt MacInnis, may be a little thing called the iPad.

MacInnis is the founder and CEO of Inkling, a company that designs textbook software for the iPad. He says the iPad has allowed for the reinvention of the textbook.

to read the rest of the article click here:  npr.org