This trade association of the book publishing industry spearheads the eBook Publishing Standards Initiative, which was undertaken in partnership with Andersen Consulting. The initiative explores digital rights management, metadata and numbering. For more information, next surf on over to DOI.org - the International Digital Object Identifier Foundation - as the AAP/Andersen Consulting report has recommended the adoption of DOIs as one of the main components of an international eBooks identifier system. This numbering standard system is being developed because of the unique nature of ebooks: One can purchase chapters or even pages from an existing ebook, in many different formats. Under the current system each of those options requires a unique ISBN identifying number. But we're running out of numbers, and the ISBN system doesn't really work for digital matter, anyway. The DOI system would assign one identifying number per book, with a series of prefixes and suffixes to denote formats and subsets of the publication.
We've been touting the business Web log for quite some time as an easy and autonomous way to communicate with your customers without having to beg the tech department every time you want to make a change to your site. If you still haven't gotten around to setting up your own business blog, you might want to check out the business blogging tool from email newsletter provider iMakeNews. Named DirectBlog, this is a blogging tool built specifically for business use. Utilizing the email list management capabilities of iMakeNews, organizations can not only publish blogs, but can also email customized and personalized weblogs to highly segmented groups. Check the site for pricing details.
The latest and greatest newspaper business news and trends are shared in Editor & Publisher Online. It covers the newspaper industry in depth, including business, newsroom, advertising, circulation, marketing, technology, online and syndicates. E&P Online offers breaking news free to all visitors in the Top Stories section. Each week, selected proprietary stories from E&P staff are made available free to all visitors, but the majority of the analysis, industry news, features, columns and trends are restricted to E&P subscribers. A subscription runs $99(US) per year, or you can access the online version only for $7.95(US) per month.
Equilibrium's proprietary MediaRich Publishing Platform removes the last remaining barrier from database-driven site production - the ability to streamline image production. This solution automates the entire process of manipulating, preparing, and personalizing media assets for the Internet. Projects that once took an army of graphic designers months to complete can be accomplished more quickly with less resources, while creating interactive shopping simulations that were previously not possible. Clients include Bluefly and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The "Book Marketing Wizard" just keeps getting better. Do you want to sell more books? Do you need a good marketing strategy, maybe like the one that took Deepak Chopra from a vanity press author to a bestselling dynamo? John Kremer, author of "1001 Ways to Market Your Books," is your man. A consultant in the areas of book marketing, publicity, direct marketing and pricing, Kremer is also the author of the invaluable "John Kremer's Book Marketing Tip of the Week" email newsletter, a weekly read that author Larry Chase swears by. The site is jam-packed with wit, wisdom and an excellent guide to publishing resources around the Web.
LJDigital is an electronic offshoot of Library Journal, the oldest independent national library publication. Founded in 1876, this "bible" of the library world is read by over 100,000 library professionals. For a learned discussion of publishing issues and trends, this site, with its non-commercial focus, is surprisingly entertaining. From "The Unanticipated Consequences of Technology" to industry news and pre-publication reviews of hundreds of books, it's a good way to keep up with the industry and with the competition.
This is the online version of the venerable Publishers Weekly, the international news magazine of book publishing and bookselling. If you need to know what's going on in the publishing industry, this is the place to be. Who's paying how much for what? Just about anything you need to know about the business of publishing can be found here. Alas, much of the site content and PW's industry email newsletters are now available only with a subscription, which runs $225(US), but you can sign up for a free 30-day trial at the site.
If you do need to watch the publishing industry, also consider the PW Rights Alert email newsletter, which delivers information on recent book, movie, TV and other licensing deals twice a week to agents, scouts and editors worldwide. It is a stand-alone subscription that runs $199(US) per year.
Studio B is a literary agency that exclusively represents best-selling computer book authors and experts. The site is also the home of two incredibly valuable email lists. The Studio B Buzz is a weekly guide to company and industry news. Studio B's Computer Information Professionals discussion list is made up of authors, publishers, editors, trainers, consultants, lawyers, agents, and booksellers in the computer publishing and training world - in other words, a veritable "Who's Who" of the computer industry. If you are aiming to publish, this site is a must-visit. Aspiring authors will welcome the author resources, which range from proposal guidelines to a six-part series on "Contract Hell."
Are you in the market for an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)? Just like an ISBN, which is the standard identifier for book titles, an ISSN can be used for publications which are issued in parts, usually bearing issue numbers and/or dates (for example, a serial which is expected to continue indefinitely). So if you are publishing an ebook that you expect to update annually, obtaining an ISSN gives you a standard identifier (think of it as your publication's social security number) that does not have to be renewed every time you issue a new version. The ISSN is the accepted means of product identification and is useful if you plan to introduce your work to the larger world of syndication or sales. There is no cost to obtain or use an ISSN, and application can be handled online at this website.
Have a great idea for a book in the computer field? You might want to run it by Waterside, one of the premier computer book agencies, and see what they have to say. Their "Query the Agent" feature is one of the great resources for new authors available at their site. The Author/Agent Agreement posted at the site is also worth reading before you embark on your literary adventures. Waterside is also well-known as the organizer of the industry's primary meeting, the annual Waterside Computer Book Publishing Conference.