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EDITORIAL
(from August 03 issue)
Mergers and acquisitions still in the news
With the purchase of Frank Cass by Taylor &
Francis and renewed speculation of interest in Warner Books (did
you yawn?), we are reminded that there is still plenty of steam
left in the drive towards further consolidation. The Bertelsmann
coffers received yet another boost following the sale of their
stake in BN.com to Barnes & Noble for $164m and Gunter Thielen
makes no secret of the fact he feels Warner Books would sit very
well with Random House.
This month Book People will be moving to larger premises so when
telephoning, please use the new local-rate number from now on.
I only hope that I will be able to find everything I need in time
for the September issue.
Our traditional first Monday of the month deadline will not work
for our October/Frankfurt issue and the deadlines for both editorial
contributions and advertising copy are being brought forward to
Friday 26th September. The October print run will be 10,000!
Paul Thorne
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Audited
circulation for the year to 31st December 2002. Average circulation
of 5,707.
Book
People is published by Rigden Thorne
16 Chilham Way, Bromley, Kent BR2 7PR
Telephone: 08456 580068• Fax: 08456 580068
Email: paul@book-people.net
Editor:
Paul Thorne
Special features: Susan Dixon
Sub Editor: Paula Arkell
Production: Liz Bingold
Advertising Sales: David Bonner
© 2003 by Chappell Thorne. All rights reserved. No part of
this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
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NEW
'SOLUTIONS' FORUM AT FRANKFURT
Publishing
companies are having to react increasingly quickly to new customer
demands and constant technical change.
With customers expecting to have access to contents via all possible
means in future - from print-on-demand to laptops and handhelds
- publishing companies are increasingly forced to make contents
available in digital and multimedia formats.
By setting up the Forum Innovation with the headline "Publishing
Solutions", the Frankfurt Book Fair turns its attention to
what is perhaps the biggest challenge currently facing the publishing
industry.
At the Forum Innovation in Hall 4.2, innovative service-providers
for publishing companies introduce themselves within a qualified
professional environment. On the Wednesday and Thursday of the
Book Fair, the experts use case examples to present concrete scenarios
for solutions in the areas of content management, data management,
e-books and content marketing, publishing software and pre-press
services.
On the Friday, the Forum Innovation will serve as a platform for
"Information Solutions", introduced by database suppliers
for specialist information. The day's presentations at the Forum
are coordinated by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Informationswissenschaft
und Informationspraxis e.V. (DGI), the specialist organisation
for professional information brokering.
A separate programme leaflet will be published shortly before
the Book Fair with an overview of the Forum's events. The programme
will also soon be presented on the Frankfurt Book Fair's website
at www.frankfurt-book-fair.com
The Forum Innovation is serviced by the Hamburg business consultants
Heinold, Spiller & Partner, a company specialising in the
publishing industry.
Contact: phone: +49 (0)40 39866 0, E-mail: info@hspartner.de
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LIFTING
THE LID OFF COOKERY BOOK PRODUCTION
Just
what goes on behind the scenes, in the publisher’s metaphoric
kitchen, to get a cookery manuscript from disk to published format?
Book People visited Grub Street in London’s Battersea, to
find out.
Anne Dolamore
“My friends all tell me I’m such a wonderful cook
that I ought to do a cookery book. Here is a proposal/manuscript
that could be published.”
Not generally the way in to being the new Harry Potter of the
cookery world, though having said that, there are instances, witness
Harry Potter itself, where an unsolicited ms “creates a
frisson factor when the hairs on the back of your neck stand on
end, and you realize that you’ve found something”.
So says Anne Dolamore, cookery partner at Grub Street and a published
author herself. Aside from its military aviation list handled
by co-partner John Davies, the company with its minimal staff
of four has been producing a broad range of cookery titles for
some 15 years, initially as a packager and for the last 10 years
as a publisher.
In today’s commercial, celebrity-saturated cookery world,
it is refreshing to come across a cookery publisher that concentrates
rather more on the content and backlist potential of its titles
than on the gloss and froth that is so much part of our 21st-century
instant “must-have” culture. And a publisher that
is not deterred by the ultra-young bookshop buyers and purchasers
who can be loath to stock and buy titles that are not all totally
colour integrated.
Just what creates this frisson? Frequently it will arise from
reading a proposal/ms that reflects something different and original.
One of the few titles that have made it beyond the “return
unsuitable” scenario is Cakes, Regional & Traditional
by Julie Duff, a first-time author whose cake business supplies
regularly to stores such as Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges
and who has included family recipes dating back many generations.
Anne chose to take this on board, having discovered “there
were no bibles on this kind of social history”. So “a
big all-singing, all-dancing razzamatazz” has been produced
including several days of location shooting at the author’s
premises.
Nurturing Julie Duff – and other first-time authors - through
the quagmire of writing always provides Anne with what she terms
“an extra buzz” bringing out such authors’ natural
originality and seeing the created realisation. Having said that,
the majority of Grub Street titles are not accepted “on
the slushpile”. Most are either bought in or commissioned,
the company priding itself on its well-established range of equally
original authors, all of whom retain copyright ownership.
Anne oversees each project throughout incorporating editorial,
photographic, marketing and PR angles, thereby enabling her to
gauge and direct both tone and image for the chosen market. Her
enthusiasm frequently stretches into her home life with her family
subjected to a week of recipes from a favourite ongoing project.
She likens the editorial process involved in cookery book production
to that of editing technical manuals which is a major reason for
using experienced freelancers for the hands-on editing. Unlike
fiction and non-fiction, cookery requires a very precise way of
styling. Not only do the ingredients need to co-ordinate with
the Methods insofar as all need to be included in the actual making
of each recipe, but the measures themselves must be consistent
and balanced so that each recipe will be sure to work.
The editor needs to create a visual image of each action, assessing
also from the ms that enough liquid, for instance, has been included
for a sauce. Knowledge cannot be assumed; the reader might never
before have cooked and so this precision is vital. Equally, both
gadgets such as food processors together with hand-held traditional
methods of processing are included in order to encompass those
who prefer to create their pièces de resistance with a
true sense of self-achievement.
Visually, the recipe layout needs to be user friendly so that
the potential user is not deterred from making any of the recipes.
For ease of preparation, all ingredients are traditionally listed
in order of use. There may also be sub-headings for accompaniments
such as sauces that might otherwise appear daunting in a long
list of unbroken ingredients. Additionally, in instances when
perhaps a basic recipe is included for use in other recipes, this
lends the way to cross-referencing to the original recipe, thereby
avoiding considerable repetition and lengthy lists of ingredients.
All the preparation, such as peeling, chopping and slicing also
needs to be included, frequently within the list of ingredients
so that the Method concentrates on the specific actions that go
to make up the final recipe. Within the Method, consistency and
clarity are also all important. Not only should the order in which
each recipe is made follow the order within the list of ingredients
but each sentence should also describe just one action rather
than a convoluted array of actions that would undoubtedly be off-putting
to the user. And a classic within cookery editing, the editor
needs to ensure that all ingredients mentioned in the Methods
are included in the list of ingredients and vice versa.
Measures for UK titles tend either to be metric only or, as with
Grub Street titles, currently both metric and imperial. It is
here that consistency comes into its own insofar as the proportions
between liquid and solid measures need to balance one other.
A litre is broken down as follows: 1 litre down in 25ml amounts
to 25ml itself. Smaller measures are calculated in spoon sizes,
for instance 5ml, 2.5ml etc. These are also used for small amounts
of solid measures such as seasonings and herbs etc. Larger amounts
are calculated in the same way as those of liquid, from 1kg down
in 25g bites to 25g itself. Co-ordinating this with imperial measures
also necessitates consistency between, with liquid measures, the
pint and the half litre so that either 600ml or 500ml is taken
as equivalents, and related measures are based on proportions
of either of these.
However, when say, 500ml is selected as the imperial pint, the
remaining liquid ingredients need to be based on this 500ml rather
than mixed with a 600ml pint; likewise, with a 600ml pint. With
solid ingredients, 25g is generally taken as the metric equivalent
of 1oz and 500g as the equivalent of 1lb. Spoon measures are as
follows: a teaspoon is equivalent to 5ml, a dessertspoon to 10ml
while a tablespoon is 15ml. Dish sizes too, where relevant, need
also to be consistent so that similar recipes use similar-sized
dishes.
A cookery index is another not-to-be-forgotten part of the total
cookery production package. Specialist cookery indexers who know
exactly how a cookery index is used are chosen rather than those
with experience of other subject areas. An index broken down by
ingredient and type of cooking is crucial rather than one that
might highlight elements that would not be sought by the reader.
And what of photography? Where Grub Street uses colour, this being
dependent on the type of project, all is normally presented in
wraps rather than fully integrated colour. In this way the inserts
can be removed for those countries that might not be able to afford
colour. East Europe, an emerging cookery book purchaser to whom
the company sells rights, was quoted in this context.
Of the sessions themselves, all covers/jackets are produced digitally.
So Anne - who art directs and frequently styles [obtains the props]
the sessions, aside from occasionally preparing the chosen recipes
themselves when the author or a professional home economist is
not involved - is able to come away from the sessions with a CD
and iris proofs ready for the designer. Interiors are currently
frequently shot in daylight using 35mm film but in view of the
expense (all need then to be scanned on to disc) a digital approach
is being considered.
Unlike cookery books produced in the 1980s and even 1990s, minimalism
and realism are currently the names of the game. The days of vast
props and ultra perfection that were both daunting and awe inspiring
have been replaced by single shots that do not deter from having,
say, burnt crusts on the dishes. As Anne indicated: “People
need to feel they stand a chance of doing the dish.” Accordingly,
photographers are chosen who will complement the style and tone
of a particular book rather than “imposing their own egos”
irrespective of the market. The cover of Eat Smart Beat the Menopause
(see illustration) is one such example.
The role of the designer him- or herself has not yet been mentioned.
Working freelance as is the norm in publishing today, the tone
adopted by designers matches that of photography - namely, minimalist.
This means that visually white space within a spread is not frantically
covered with line drawings; rather it is regarded as visually
positive and left as is. Fonts are chosen by Anne Dolamore in
line with her general overview.
In addition to commissioned titles, there are those classics that
have gone out of print and are bought in and reissued; names such
as Elizabeth David, Jane Grigson, and Richard Olney are examples
of what Anne Dolamore terms the cookery writing element of the
total list. Re-jacketed, redesigned and reformatted to reflect
a more up-to-date feel, these predominantly non-illustrated titles
form part of the company’s strong backlist.
Other more functional creative writing titles include a world
culinary series incorporating a vast range of cooking styles from
many countries. Specific titles within the company’s healthy
eating series are sometimes produced as co-editions with various
health associations such as Diabetes UK and the British Heart
Foundation. Where a non-trade market is involved, Grub Street
aims to sell bulk copies to them over and above their own print
runs unless the particular association does not have the relevant
resources.
The other area in which the company specialises is basic titles
on subjects including how to cook, baking and home freezing, all
of which are written by experienced authors.
For titles bought in from the US, terminology, relevant ingredients
and measures must be converted for the UK market. Examples here
include the terms “broil” meaning “grill”
while “eggplant” is an aubergine. Interestingly, until
some years ago, before the invasion of the muffin and skinny latte
revolution, terms such as “muffin” and “cookie”
would have had to be translated into UK terminology. US measures,
also used in Canada and Australia, are in cups, these being special
deep conical spoon measures available in differing sizes. For
titles sold to these countries, it is left to the relevant publisher
to convert from metric/imperial to cup measures. Titles bought
in from other countries are translated. Globalisation, too, has
entered the cookery market so ingredients such as cilantro, once
regarded quizzically, are now no longer unfamiliar to many people.
The company prefers to print “small numbers and often”
meaning that several reprints are preferable to huge initial runs
that might not sell. A print run of 7,000 is not untypical but
is normally dependent on whether or not there might be other sales,
perhaps to non-traditional outlets or book clubs.
Anne Dolamore’s totally hands-on approach to producing Grub
Street’s cookery titles, one that she also regards as a
labour of love, undoubtedly provides a further frisson once she
has held up a title that was once merely a passing thought or
just another on spec proposal that had finally found its way to
Battersea.
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CHANGING
TIMES IN PRINT
To
print in the UK or overseas, using conventional litho or digital,
and if digital, on-demand or short-run? We have never had so much
choice and each permutation will match a different need. Keeping
up-to-date with fast-changing options is a vital part of making
the best decisions.
In
this feature, we hear news from some very different types of printer,
and an overview from Bruno Lavorgna, who has spent most of his
working life with the Bath Press. Bruno is now kept busy advising
publishers on the growing number of options available and their
suitability for any given project.
Cartoons tailor-made for books, sensible@screaming.net
Overview of UK book printing
For those of us who have been around long enough to experience
the highs and the lows of the UK Book industry, the last few have
been very indifferent. Many big names in book manufacture are
no longer with us, and those who are have been forced to take
a different approach as to the way in which they run their business.
The industry at present is going through a pretty tough time.
Margins are very low, and if any are being made they will be relatively
small. Prices as usual, are interesting! And anyone who has not
been brave enough to have made significant investment in all areas
of manufacture will be finding it difficult to remain competitive
and ultimately profitable. The ability to keep labour cost, material
costs, and general overheads to an absolute minimum is a must
for survival. Pre-press and printing costs have been at the fore-front
of most peoples thinking for efficiency improvements. CTP and
a move away from large format presses to B1 size seem to have
been the main areas of investment for most. Traditionally both
of these areas have carried high overhead costs. The need for
reduced make-ready times and faster running speeds have increased
significantly.
There has been much discussion over the last 10 years on how to
combat the threat of foreign competition. This has come mainly
from Europe but the bigger threat is now from the Far East. Many
Asian countries have been improving and getting stronger and more
efficient quietly behind the scenes. Improved quality and service
and certainly prices are very acceptable to publishers. Many publishers
have already been working with these countries such as India and
China for some time where delivery times can average four weeks
or less in some cases. There can be no doubt that they have great
determination to succeed further in UK markets. Despite this,
it is good to see that through investment and improved efficiencies
some colour work is being won back from countries such as Italy
and Spain.
This competitiveness has forced many book manufacturers to look
to alternative sources of volume, most of which will be at better
pricing levels. Some are looking for more commercially-based markets,
such as reports and accounts. The aim has to be to create enough
volume to keep plants busy all year round. The traditional post
Christmas lull needs to be eliminated for many who make reasonably
good profit for nine months of the year, only to see it dramatically
reduce in the last three.
There is no doubt that tough market conditions will continue for
the forseable future. Let’s hope that the industry can sustain
the pressure it is under and seek to retain and increase its market
share.
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Biddles and IBT in partnership
Biddles, one of the UK’s leading book manufacturers,
and Integrated Book Technologies (IBT Global), the US digital
book manufacturer, intend to build a global digital distribution
network for books-on-demand.
Christian Testorf
The
two companies entered into a reciprocal partnering agreement earlier
this year. At present the profit margins for publishers producing
short-run books overseas are reduced due to the costs incurred
in manufacturing, shipping, freight and managing unsold overseas
copies.
Christian Testorf, managing director for Biddles, said: “By
working together we are able to offer an excellent added value
service with the emphasis on ease of ordering, fast and secure
delivery simultaneously in Great Britain and the USA while using
the latest digital print and manufacturing technologies.”
Now publishers can save time (digital print saves between three
to four weeks): “For instance, if we are approached by a
publisher with a 2000 unit run, we can manufacture 1200 copies
in Europe and 800 in the US which cuts out the hefty transatlantic
freight charges and waste of time. And, for example, instead of
printing on US presses, then packing the goods, preparing export
paperwork, shipping etc we can now upload content electronically,
for print either in the US or UK, whichever is appropriate - and
all this, while dealing with one point of contact via our dedicated
customer services team on either side of the Atlantic,”
explained Christian Testorf, managing director for Biddles.
This may be Biddles’ first entry into the US market, but
by joining with IBT, the realisation of developing a global book
manufacturing network has taken a step closer to becoming a reality.
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Digital
print from RPM
The developing world of digital printing has many applications
within the publishing arena.
Two areas that have particular application are the reprint market
and the test marketing of titles. Given that in the book business
on average only 30% of books printed are sold at full price, with
the balance being either remaindered or pulped, there is clearly
an additional opportunity to reduce the waste within the supply
chain by using digital print. Other benefits that can be obtained
by printing in short runs include the reduction in warehousing
costs with orders being fulfilled on an individual basis, as well
as increased revenue opportunity by bringing titles back into
print in the small quantities that the market requires.
RPM is an established player within this marketplace. Run lengths
of 25 upwards are frequently produced which are then either perfect-bound
or case-bound. Covers are either produced digitally for short
runs or litho printed, and stored where further reprints are required.
Historical books of value can be scanned in without having to
take them apart, allowing for facsimile editions to be produced.
A digital library can be established, from which orders can be
made on-line.
For many titles, digital printing is a good choice for future
niche markets, and a good business case can be made for it –
particularly where the lifecycle of a book is considered. Risks
are reduced using digital print, and reprints are only ordered
when a definite demand has been shown.
Many smaller publishers are now receiving high quality books,
comparable to litho-printed books. Turnaround times are typically
around five working days for perfect bound books, and 10 days
for case-bound books.
Many self-publishers also use digital printing for specialist
niche markets and are now able to manage much of the process with
RPM’s help. RPM offers additional services including typesetting,
design and illustration.
For further information contact RPM Print and Design. (01243)
787077, Website www.rpm-repro.co.uk; e-mail: jharry@rpm-repro.co.uk
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Gutenberg
Press making progress
This medium-sized book producer started life 18 years ago with
an investment of £190.00 by Frank Spiteri in a hand fed
Adana printing press, working from a garage. Frank had worked
for another printer in Malta, but could see that there was a niche
to be carved out in producing work to a high quality and always
on time. From this initial step and the company has grown to its
current size.
Gutenberg has increased in size to become Malta’s largest
printer, with a turnover of £5m, of which over 25% is for
the UK book publishing market.
Frank and the general manager, Guy Chamberlain, took the decision
four years ago to look outward of Malta for the next step forward.
With Malta’s historical ties with the UK, this seemed to
be the logical place to put our sales effort into. “That
and together with the fact that English is the second language
here, made the UK and Ireland the logical choice,” said
Guy, who visited the London Book Fair in 1999 to “see what
was happening in the UK industry”.
After some further initial research, Guy made the first approaches
to six companies, and he received considerable help from Hodder
Headline. Hodder was Gutenberg’s first major UK client and
are now their biggest export client. Of the initial six clients
that Gutenberg approached, the firm managed to capture four of
them and still do business with these companies. This response
from the UK market confirmed Guy’s belief that it was the
right move to make.
In August this year, Gutenberg took the next step forward for
its future with the completion of a 50,000 sq ft extension to
its existing five-year-old purpose built factory, and also secured
the services of a full time sales manager for the UK, Bobby Blackstock.
“Bobby has a great track record in the sales and marketing
for book manufacturing,” said Guy, “and it took us
a long time to persuade him to join us.” Gutenberg sees
this factory extension and sales appointment as the first stage
of a planned increase in their business.CAN CUT THIS PARA
“We see our future in the short-to-medium run 1- , 2- and
4-colour markets, with fast turnarounds and guaranteed delivery,”
said Bobby. Gutenberg is offering its clients an average turnaround
of 1.5 weeks from disc to finished book. Shipping from Malta is
on a Monday and delivery to UK warehouse takes eight to nine days.
This gives Gutenberg the same lead time as a UK printer.
For more information contact either Bobby Blackstock, bblackstock@btconnect.com
or Guy Chamberlain, guycham@waldonet.net.mt
SfEP
CONFERENCE
The SfEP conference will be held on September 21-22 2003
in Mason Hall, University of Birmingham.
m David Crystal is giving the Whitcombe Lecture, which promises
to be a stimulating experience (details below).
m Workshops cover Tax for the Self-employed to Adobe Acrobat,
to Internet reference sources.
m Short talks packed with useful information on Mentoring, SfEP
Accreditation and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation training grants,
plus more specialised topics.
You can attend for just one day. Monday is the day of the Whitcombe
lecture. The non-resident daily rate is £220 for members
of the SfEP's corresponding organisations.
A former president of the Society of Indexers, David Crystal’s
authored works are mainly in the field of language and include:
The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of the English Language and The Cambridge
Encyclopaedia of Language.
The lecture is called “The grammatical revolution”.
David comments: “We are living through a period of linguistic
change. It is revolutionary in character because of the emergence
of English as a global language, the eco-linguistic crisis facing
the world's languages, the introduction of computer-mediated communication
and the demise of prescriptivism. A transitional period does not
make life easy for copy-editors and proofreaders, in whose fellowship
I include myself, as editor of the Cambridge and Penguin encyclopaedia
families. Changes in grammatical usage, and in attitudes to grammar,
provide the focus of this lecture.”
For details of the programme and a booking form visit the website:
www.sfep.org.uk. For any other information, contact Jane Ward
at conference@sfep.org.uk
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SAINSBURY'S
BABY BOOK AWARD 2003
The Sainsbury’s Baby Book Award is presented annually
for the best book for babies under one-year old. Established in
1999 by Sainsbury’s and Booktrust, the award has recognised
some of the best authors and illustrators in this field.
The six shortlisted titles were chosen by an expert panel of judges.
They discussed every aspect of the books from colour to content,
from practicality to price.
The six shortlisted titles are: Baby Activity Centre by Roger
Priddy (Priddy Books); Happy Dog, Sad Dog by Sam Lloyd (Little
Tiger Press); That’s Not My Bear by Fiona Watt, illustrated
by Rachel Wells (Usborne Publishing); Baby Fun: Five in the Bed
by DK Team (Dorling Kindersley); Goodnight, Poppy Cat by Lara
Jones (Campbell Books) and Baby Boo! By Amanda Wood and Fiona
Macmillan (Templar).
For more information about the Award please contact Kate Mervyn
Jones or Helen Hayes, Email: kate@booktrust.org.uk or helen@booktrust.org.uk
Tel: 020
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MAJOR
TWO-BOOK DEAL FOR PAUL CARSON
Darley
Anderson has closed a significant six figure deal with Susan Sandon,
deputy MD of CHA and publisher of Arrow for Irish doctor and novelist
Paul Carson. Harper Collins were the underbidders.
All three of Paul’s previous novels have been hardback bestsellers
in Ireland. Ambush, the first novel in his new contract will be
published by William Heinemann in August 2004 with an Arrow Books
edition the following spring.
Says Susan Sandon: “I’ve long been a fan of Paul’s
superb thrillers and am delighted that we have secured his next
two books.”
For further information call Charlotte Bush on 0207 840 8613 or
email cbush@randomhouse.co.uk .
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ARCADIA
BOOKS
Independent press Arcade Publishing
has acquired North American rights for The Half Brother by Lars
Saabye Christensen. They will make it their lead fiction title
for spring 2004. HarperCollins was the under bidder with offers
received from two other publishers.
Christensen is on a major book tour promoting the Arcadia
edition of his book. He returns to the UK in August for an appearance
at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. He will also be
taking part in an event at Borders Bookshop Charing Cross Road
on August 14th.
For further information please contact Gary Pulsifer or Daniela
de Groote on 020 7436 9898, info@arcadiabooks.co.uk
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CAREER
DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING
Throughout
the summer we are running a series of articles in the hard copy
of Book People. These include contributions from major training/course
providers and recruitment professionals, plus a regular column
from Suzanne Collier of bookcareers.com on career development.
Press button to see the features included in the June, July and
August issues.
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Book People 2003
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