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Publishers Weekly coverage of the just-concluded BEA (@BookExpoAmerica) includes the following: According to Bowker’s (@Bowker & @DiscoverBowker) newest figures of books produced, last year there were 211,269 self-published titles (based on ISBNs) released, up from 133,036 in 2010.

Vice president for Bowker Market Research Kelly Gallagher reports more statistics:

·         The most popular genre in terms of units is fiction (45%), but nonfiction leads in sales (38%)

·         The average price for a self-published fiction book is $6.94, while nonfiction titles command $19.32

·         While ebooks accounted for 41% of self-published units, they only accounted for 11% of sales because the average self-published ebook sold for $3.18, while trade paperbacks had an average price of $12.68 and hardcovers averaged $14.40.

·         Amazon’s CreateSpace (@CreateSpace) was the largest player in the self-publishing space last year, publishing 57,602 titles; Author Solutions' (@authorsolutions) various imprints did 41,605 books.

Gallagher also says Bowker is developing a self-publishing White Paper, and is creating a self-publishing bestsellers list.

In Bowker’s annual report on US print book publishing for 2011 (compiled from its Books In Print® database), preliminary figures from US publishers lead Bowker to estimate that traditional print book output grew 6% in 2011, from 328,259 titles in 2010 to a projected 347,178 in 2011 (that's 951 books published every day), driven almost exclusively by a strong self-publishing market. Bowker says this is the most significant expansion in more than 4 years for America’s traditional publishing sector; but removing self-publishing from the equation would show that the market is relatively flat from 2010.

“Transformation of our industry has brought on a time of rich innovation in the publishing models we now have today. What was once relegated to the outskirts of our industry — and even took on demeaning names like ‘vanity press’ — is now not only a viable alternative but what is driving the title growth of our industry today,” says Gallagher. “From that standpoint, self-publishing is a true legitimate power to be reckoned with. Coupled with the explosive growth of ebooks and digital content – these two forces are moving the industry in dramatic ways.”

Genres that contributed to the robust growth in the Traditional sector include:

·         Education, with a hefty 20% increase

·         Music (up 14%)

·         Philosophy & Psychology (up 14%)

·         Religion (up 12%)

·         Juveniles (up 11%

·         Biography (up 11%)

·         Business (up 11%).

·         Publishing mainstay Fiction – the largest genre – turned around a multi-year decline with a notable 13% increase.

Read the news release.

And according to a report by the Association of American Publishers (@AmericanPublish), US publishers in the Trade sector saw significant sales increases worldwide in both print and e-format English-language books in 2011.  

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you manage your content creation.

Be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Publishers tab, which includes links to self-publishing publishers.

Michigan Radio’s (@MichiganRadio) feature “That’s What They Say” says the words “funner” and “funnest” seem to be more accepted among younger people. Younger speakers are trying to make the word “fun” behave the same way as any other regular one syllable adjective. And, one syllable adjectives usually take -er -est; so tall, taller, tallest, therefore, fun, funner, funnest.

Anne Curzan, professor of English specializing in linguistics at the University of Michigan (@umich) says the word “fun” is a relatively new adjective.

“It’s been a noun since the 1700s, but it has only become an adjective in the second-half of the 20th century.”

Read and hear this in full.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you perfect your writing craft.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard, especially the Editing tab.

Above Infographic (enlarge it) is by Course Hero (@CourseHero).

The above film, EPILOGUE: the future of print (@EPILOGUEdoc) (vimeo channel) by Hanah Ryu Chung, is a documentary that explores the world of print books, scratching the surface of its future. Chung says:

The act of reading a “tangible tome” has evolved, devolved, and changed many times over, especially in recent years. I hope for the film to stir thought and elicit discussion about the immersive reading experience and the lost craft of the book arts, from the people who are still passionate about reading on paper as well as those who are not.

Also see our previous blogposts:

• "Paper is Stronger than Tech and Now its Aroma Comes Bottled"
• "Home Libraries Despite the Ebook Era"
• "Birth of a Book: The Handmade Bookbinding Process"
• "Book Seller Believes in Video's Marketing Power"
• "A Video About a Poster Masks a Bookstore's Promotion"
• "Video: What Books Do After Hours"
• "The Technology of Storytelling"
• "Photos: The 20 Coolest Bookstores in the World"
• "Introducing the New Book"
• "Even E-reader Owners Still Like Printed Books, Survey Finds"
• "In a Flood Tide of Digital Data, an Ark Full of Books"
• "The 'End' of Print and TV."

If you love books like we (@smrsault) do, we invite you to make our SomersaultNOW online dashboard your personal computer homepage (see instructions).

New data from Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ (@PwC_LLP & @pwc_press) Global Entertainment and Media Outlook predicts ebooks will constitute 50% of the US trade book market by 2016.

Reporter Laura Hazard Owen (@laurahazardowen) writes in paidContent (@paidContent) that PwC expects total book spending in North America to remain relatively flat; “1.1% compound annual rate” of increase between 2011 and 2016.

PwC thinks that while total spending on print trade books will decline, the ebook market will be growing fast enough by 2013 to offset those declines. In the US, the company estimates that “around 30% of adults had at least one portable reading device [an e-reader or tablet] in the first quarter of 2012.”

By 2016, PwC expects, “ebooks will account for half of total spending on consumer books” in the US and the total US consumer book market (print + digital) will be worth $21 billion, up from $19.5 billion in 2011.

Read this in full.

According to PwC’s blog, the E&M Outlook says 3 behavioral changes are driving global shifts in industry structure and value:

1.    From print to digital: Electronic books’ share of total global spending on consumer and educational books will rise from 5% in 2011 to 18% by 2016.

2.    From fixed to mobile consumption: Global mobile Internet access increased from 26% of total Internet access spending in 2007 to 40% in 2011 – and will grow to 46% by 2016.

3.    From West to East, and North to South: Total revenue growth to 2016 in Central and Eastern Europe/Asia Pacific will be almost double that of North America/Western Europe. And growth in the southern Latin America/Middle East/Africa market will average more than twice that of North America/Europe by 2016.

Read the news release.

In the video below, Marcel Fenez, Global Leader, Entertainment & Media at PwC, explains how PwC sees this time period as being “the end of the digital beginning.”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you take advantage of publishing’s digital growth for your content.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Digital Book World’s (@DigiBookWorld) editorial director, Jeremy Greenfield (@JDGsaid) says, “For the first time ever, more than half of Americans 65 and older are on the Internet, according to a new report — and this could mean a whole new growing market for ebook publishers and retailers.”

According to the study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project (@pewinternet), 53% of American adults age 65 or older use the Internet or email, up from about 40% less than a year ago. By comparison, 82% of all adults say they use the Internet or email at least occasionally.

Readers in that age group are among the most prolific book buyers, according to the Codex Group, a New York-based book-focused research firm. Book buyers 65 and older buy more books a month than those in the 18-to-24, 25-to-34, and 35-to-44 age groups. Book-buying peaks in the 45-to-54 and 55-to-64 age groups and drops off at 65 and up, possibly due to less disposable income to spend on books.

...“Seniors that read ebooks like the ability to change the type size and appreciate that they can get them at home without having to leave,” says Pew research specialist and report co-author Kathryn Zickuhr (@kzickuhr), referring to an upcoming study from Pew that will discuss libraries and ebooks, and contains feedback from older adults on how they got started reading ebooks and what they like and don’t like about them.

Read this in full.

Read the Pew report in full.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you effectively communicate your brand’s content in this digital age.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

In Forbes (@Forbes), Jacquelyn Smith (@JacquelynVSmith) writes, “We live in a world where word-of-mouth is the No. 1 driver of sales and competitive advantage — and because there’s a strong correlation between a company’s reputation and consumers’ willingness to recommend it, businesses need to focus on building those strong bonds with stakeholders. Companies should of course strive to earn the trust and esteem of consumers in its native land, but given that a multinational gets a majority of its revenue from international markets, it really needs to be liked everywhere else, too.”

A newly released global reputation study of more than 100,000 consumers shows that who you are as a company is more important than what you produce, with BMW, SONY, and Disney topping the list of the most reputable companies.

The third annual Global RepTrak™ 100, by reputation consultancy firm Reputation Institute (@Reputation_Inst), identifies how stakeholders perceive companies and how those perceptions affect purchasing behavior.

The companies with the 10 best global reputations are:

1.    BMW

2.    Sony

3.    Walt Disney Company

4.    Daimler

5.    Apple

6.    Google

7.    Microsoft

8.    Volkswagen

9.    Canon

10. LEGO

Each company earned a “Global RepTrak Pulse” score of zero to 100, representing an average measure of people’s feelings for it. The scores were statistically derived from calculations of 4 emotional indicators: trust, esteem, admiration, and good feeling.

Reputation Institute also analyzed what it calls the 7 dimensions of corporate reputation. That’s where it found that perceptions of the enterprise (workplace, governance, citizenship, financial performance, and leadership) trumps product perceptions (products and services plus innovation) in driving behaviors.

Read this in full.

Read the news release (pdf).

Also see our previous blogpost about the value of brand reputation, “Ford Gets Its Logo Back.”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you manage your brand’s reputation.

Be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard, especially the Marketing/PR tab.

NPR (@NPR) is now co-producing the TED Radio Hour (@tedtalks), a weekly program of interviews and presentations centered on a common theme. A recent program featured the topic of ideas and innovation. Take a break to be creatively inspired.

Is The 'Eureka' Moment A Myth?

People often credit their ideas to individual "Eureka!" moments, but author Steven Johnson (@stevenbjohnson) says the lightbulb moment is greatly overrated. He says ideas initially take form as hunches. They don't come into the world fully realized.

How Do Introverts Share Ideas?

In a culture where being social and outgoing are prized above all else, it can be difficult, even shameful, to be an introvert. But, as author Susan Cain (@susancain) argues, introverts bring extraordinary talents and abilities to the world, and should be encouraged and celebrated.

What Happens When Ideas Have Sex?

Author Matt Ridley (@mattwridley) says, throughout history, the engine of human progress has been the meeting and mating of ideas to make new ideas — basically "ideas having sex with each other." The sophistication of the modern world lies not in individual intelligence or imagination, he says, instead it's a collective enterprise. That means it's not important how clever individuals are; what really matters is how smart the collective brain is.

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help inspire creativity for your branding initiatives.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Innovation tab.

According to recent research, 44% of online American adults (that’s 35% of all American adults) use the Internet for religious purposes.

Now a new study by Grey Matter Research, Phoenix, AZ, says 36% of American adults who are online have visited the website of a church or other local place of worship within the last year.

Most commonly, people visiting the website of a place of worship are

·         checking to see the times of services (43%)

·         checking what activities are offered (e.g. youth groups, studies, events – 29%)

·         looking for a map or directions to the church’s location (28%)

·         watching streaming video (26%)

·         listening to streaming audio (26%)

·         checking to see what the church’s religious beliefs are (22%)

·         requesting prayer (18%)

·         downloading a podcast (15%)

·         checking what denomination or group they belong to (15%)

·         sending a message to the pastor or leader (12%)

·         posting on a bulletin board or forum (5%).

Read this in full.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you discern relevant research and connect your brand’s content with searching people.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard, especially the Research tab.

In Search Engine Land (@sengineland), SEO expert Rick DeJarnette (@rickdejarnette) says a webpage’s <title> tag “has the most SEO power of any tag on the page for establishing keyword relevance.” He offers the best practices to achieve optimized results:

1. Use only one per page, placed within the <head> tag…

2. Place top-performing keywords in descending order…

3. Ensure site branding goes last…

4. Use no more than 70 characters, including spaces…

5. Avoid using stop words (“the”, ”an,” “a” and many others)...

6. Reflect the most important keywords used in the page’s body text…

7. Keep it unique between pages…

8. Avoid duplicating the exact text string within the <h1> tag text…

9. Avoid keyword stuffing…

Read this in full.

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you optimize your Internet branding presence.

Be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

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