Publishing Talks: David Wilk interviews Joe Esposito

In this series of interviews, called Publishing Talks, I am talking to book industry professionals who have varying perspectives and thoughts about the future of publishing, books, and culture.  This is a period of disruption and change for all media businesses.

Publishing has been a crucial part of human culture for as long as people have been writing and reading.  How will publishing evolve as our culture is affected by technology, climate change, population density, and the ebb and flow of civilization and its economics? Publishing Talks interviews help us understand the outlines of what is happening, and how we might ourselves interact with and influence the future of publishing as it unfolds. Publishing Talks interviews give people in the book business a chance to talk about ideas and concerns in a public forum that are often only talked about “around the water cooler,” at industry conventions and events, and in emails between friends.

I hope that Publishing Talks interviews will give people inside and outside the book industry a chance to hear about some of the thoughts, ideas and concepts that are currently being discussed by engaged individuals within the industry.

I’ve been reading Joe Esposito’s writings about the book business – past, present and future – for quite some time with a great deal of admiration.  He is smart, understands business, and cares deeply about books, ideas and people.  Here is his “official” biography:  Joseph J. Esposito is an independent consultant providing strategy assessment and interim management to the information industries.  He has served as an executive at Simon & Schuster and Random House, as President of Merriam-Webster, and CEO of Encyclopaedia Britannica, where he was responsible for the launch of the first Internet service of its kind.  Mr. Esposito has also served as CEO of Internet communications company Tribal Voice and SRI Consulting, both of which he led to successful exits.  Among Mr. Esposito’s clients have been such technology companies as Microsoft and Hewlett Packard, various publishers of all stripes, and a growing number of not-for-profit organizations (e.g., JSTOR, the University of California Press, and the American Nationals Standards Institute).   You can find his writing frequently at Scholarly Kitchen.

My interview with Joe covered alot of different subjects, including his background in publishing, current trends in digital media and e-reading, how publishing will change as it adapts to a digital marketing landscape.  We spent a good deal of time talking about publishing strategy relating to e-book publishing, an issue that is important to many in the publishing industry today.  His views and ideas, and his delivery of them, makes for a great conversation.

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Publishing Talks: David Wilk interviews Brian O’Leary

In this series of interviews, called Publishing Talks, I am talking to book industry professionals who have varying perspectives and thoughts about the future of publishing, books, and culture.  This is a period of disruption and change for all media businesses.

Publishing has been a crucial part of human culture for as long as people have been writing and reading.  How will publishing evolve as our culture is affected by technology, climate change, population density, and the ebb and flow of civilization and its economics? Publishing Talks interviews help us understand the outlines of what is happening, and how we might ourselves interact with and influence the future of publishing as it unfolds. Publishing Talks interviews give people in the book business a chance to talk about ideas and concerns in a public forum that are often only talked about “around the water cooler,” at industry conventions and events, and in emails between friends.

This series of talks will give people inside and outside the book industry a chance to hear about some of the thoughts, ideas and concepts that are currently being discussed by engaged individuals within the industry.

Brian O’Leary is a publishing industry consultant with broad and intelligent experience in books and magazines and who operates Magellan Media Partners.  Brian is a thinker and researcher whose writing about publishing I have always found interesting and solidly grounded in data and its intelligent analysis and application.  As he says, he tries to help publishers work faster, better and smarter.  His (shortened) bio: In addition to his consulting assignments, O’Leary is the author of a research report on the impact of free content and digital piracy on paid book sales, as well as the editor and primary contributor for a study of the use of XML in book publishing.  Both reports were published by O’Reilly Media in 2009.  Brian was a senior executive at Hammond, and prior to that spent a dozen years working for Time, Inc.  He earned an A.B. in chemistry from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

In this interview Brian and I talked in depth about his very interesting work in analyzing the impact of piracy on books sales, the lack of real data in the book business, and his compelling views about the future of publishing in a digital environment.

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Publishing Talks: David Wilk interviews Mac Slocum

In this series of interviews, called Publishing Talks, I am talking to book industry professionals who have varying perspectives and thoughts about the future of publishing, books, and culture.  This is a period of disruption and change for all media businesses.

Publishing has been a crucial part of human culture for as long as people have been writing and reading.  How will publishing evolve as our culture is affected by technology, climate change, population density, and the ebb and flow of civilization and its economics? Publishing Talks interviews help us understand the outlines of what is happening, and how we might ourselves interact with and influence the future of publishing as it unfolds. Publishing Talks interviews give people in the book business a chance to talk about ideas and concerns in a public forum that are often only talked about “around the water cooler,” at industry conventions and events, and in emails between friends.

This series of talks will give people inside and outside the book industry a chance to hear about some of the thoughts, ideas and concepts that are currently being discussed by engaged individuals within the industry.

Today’s interview is with Mac Slocum, whose experience is in a variety of different media, including newspapers, books and online media.  I know him from his work at O’Reilly’s Tools of Change and his eponymous blog which is among those I read most frequently.  He’s currently at the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard and freelancing projects in media and here’s his interesting bio from his website:

I am a Web guy. I write, edit, produce, develop, manage and code Web content.
I’ve worked as an online editor, writer and producer at a variety of outlets (publishing, film, TV, electronics, trade, tech, hyper-local, national/international … you name it). Through all of these experiences, I’ve remained committed to the Web as a platform. I love the thing, and I love working to make it better.
My areas of interest/expertise include:
* Development of Web-friendly content (writing and editing)
* Audience development via social media (blogs, Twitter, social networks)
* Web production (HTML, CSS, Movable Type and other content management systems)
* Independent publishing
* Web journalism education
* Pontificating, analyzing and consulting on the future of publishing/journalism, digital distribution, Web content, and audience aggregation (Note: If you’re in a rush, don’t ever get me started on piracy and free content …)
I have organized conferences, spoken on panels, and moderated sessions (and I actually enjoyed these activities).
I teach Web journalism courses at Emerson College and I’m a contributor on Poynter’s E-Media Tidbits blog. I also run a number of independent Web sites and I’m owner of The Fodder Network.

Mac and I had an interesting conversation, covering a range of topics under the overall rubric of media change, how consumers and producers interact, continuing disruption of business models for all traditional media forms, and how those businesses must change in the future, both near term and longer.  Mac’s view of the future for publishers is positive and worth listening to.

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Publishing Talks: David Wilk Interviews Susan Danziger of DailyLit

In this series of interviews, called Publishing Talks, I am talking to book industry professionals who have varying perspectives and thoughts about the future of publishing, books, and culture.  This is a period of disruption and change for all media businesses.  Publishing has been a crucial part of human culture for as long as people have been writing and reading.  How will publishing evolve as our culture is affected by technology, climate change, population density, and the ebb and flow of civilization and its economics? Publishing Talks interviews help us understand the outlines of what is happening, and how we might ourselves interact with and influence the future of publishing as it unfolds. Publishing Talks interviews give people in the book business a chance to talk about ideas and concerns in a public forum that are often only talked about “around the water cooler,” at industry conventions and events, and in emails between friends.  This series of talks will give people inside and outside the book industry a chance to hear about some of the thoughts, ideas and concepts that are currently being discussed by engaged individuals within the industry.

I was able to interview Susan Danziger, the dynamic founder of DailyLit whose slogan is “minutes a day of great reading in your inbox,” just a couple of days after she announced that DailyLit has gone from a combination of pay and free services to all free all the time.  So we had alot to talk about.  I have been a big fan of DailyLit since it began – a deceptively simple idea that as Susan and her team has proved is a platform for many cool services for readers and publishers.  Susan talked to me about DailyLit, what the future holds both for her company and the publishing business and much more.  She also talked about her latest project, the Publishing Point, another cool venture (The point where publishing meets the future…) that is attracting attention and members.  And as if she does not have enough to do, she blogs too at both DailyLit’s blog and also her personal writing at susandanziger.com, and twitters here.  Her bio includes six years at Random House, a BA from Cornell, and a JD from NYU.

Listen in to one of the emerging leaders in the publishing world…..

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Publishing Talks: David Wilk interviews Kassia Kroszer of Booksquare

In this series of interviews, called Publishing Talks, I am talking to book industry professionals who have varying perspectives and thoughts about the future of publishing, books, and culture.  This is a period of disruption and change for all media businesses.  Publishing has been a crucial part of human culture for as long as people have been writing and reading.  How will publishing evolve as our culture is affected by technology, climate change, population density, and the ebb and flow of civilization and its economics? Publishing Talks interviews help us understand the outlines of what is happening, and how we might ourselves interact with and influence the future of publishing as it unfolds. Publishing Talks interviews give people in the book business a chance to talk about ideas and concerns in a public forum that are often only talked about “around the water cooler,” at industry conventions and events, and in emails between friends.  This series of talks will give people inside and outside the book industry a chance to hear about some of the thoughts, ideas and concepts that are currently being discussed by engaged individuals within the industry.

I have wanted to talk to Kassia Krozser for a long time.  I’ve read her insightful and opinionated blogging and posting for quite a while, and like her approach to the book business – hard questions borne from a love of books, writing and the publishing business itself.  Her primary vehicle is booksquare.com, which as she has told me “dissects this world with love and skepticism.”

Her “about” section on Booksquare is well worth a read – you will get to know Kassia and her approach very quickly.  Here’s a quick quote:
In addition to ensuring that you get your regular dose of BS, Kassia is a founding partner of Medialoper, where she applies her natural love and skepticism to the ever-changing world of entertainment media. The daughter of a librarian, she finds dissecting and discussing books is like breathing — her insightful reviews appear at Paperback Reader. She’s a member of the LitBlog Co-op and a columnist for Romancing the Blog. She’s also published in a variety of other venues, and has, shockingly, received awards and accolades for her work. But she rarely mentions this as it seems like bragging.

In this interview Kassia and I covered alot of ground.  She was just back from her first attendance at the major international book fair in Frankfurt, Germany.  We talked about technology, comparing how it applies in developing nations versus the West, issues of elitism and access, cultural definitions, and the future of the book business, as well as the impending Google Book Settlement and e-book pricing strategies in this lively interview.

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Publishing Talks: David Wilk interviews Mark Coker, Founder of Smashwords

In this series of interviews, called Publishing Talks, I am talking to book industry professionals who have varying perspectives and thoughts about the future of publishing, books, and culture.  This is a period of disruption and change for all media businesses.  Publishing has been a crucial part of human culture for as long as people have been writing and reading.  How will publishing evolve as our culture is affected by technology, climate change, population density, and the ebb and flow of civilization and its economics? Publishing Talks interviews help us understand the outlines of what is happening, and how we might ourselves interact with and influence the future of publishing as it unfolds.

Publishing Talks interviews give people in the book business a chance to talk about ideas and concerns in a public forum that are often only talked about “around the water cooler,” at industry conventions and events, and in emails between friends.  This series of talks will give people inside and outside the book industry a chance to hear about some of the thoughts, ideas and concepts that are currently being discussed by engaged individuals within the industry.
Mark Coker is the founder of Smashwords, an online publishing and distribution platform for ebooks.  Smashwords publishes and distributes more than 4,000 original ebooks on behalf of 2,000 independent authors and 70 small publishers around the world.  They have recently made distribution deals with Barnes & Noble and Indigo’s new Shortcovers program as well.  I have recommended Smashwords to a number of authors and publishers who want to experiment with digital publishing.

Mark has been a long time technology entrepreneur.  He talks here about the founding of Smashwords and why he started it.  He has many interesting and valuable things to say about digital publishing and how technology is changing the future of books and reading.  His approach to publishing is creative and usefully disruptive.  You can read some of his thoughts in the new book section of Huffington Post, where he is blogging regularly.

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Publishing Talks: David Wilk interviews Richard Nash

In this new series of interviews, called Publishing Talks, I am talking to book industry professionals who have varying perspectives and thoughts about the future of publishing, books, and culture.  This is a period of tremendous disruption and change for all media businesses.  Publishing has been a crucial part of human culture for as long as people have been writing and reading.  How will publishing evolve as our culture is affected by technology, climate change, population density, and the ebb and flow of civilization and its economics?

Many people are thinking deeply – and some acting on – the nature of change and the challenges and opportunities that face us all.  Publishing Talks interviews help us understand the outlines of what is happening, and how we might ourselves interact with and influence the future of publishing as it unfolds.

Publishing Talks gives people in the book business a chance to talk about ideas and concerns in a public forum that are often only talked about “around the water cooler,” at industry conventions and events, and in emails between friends.  This series of talks will give people inside and outside the book industry a chance to hear about some of the thoughts, ideas and concepts that are currently being discussed by engaged individuals within the industry.

Richard Nash is an independent publishing consultant and entrepreneur, presently developing a start-up portfolio of social publishing communities/imprints. For most of the past decade, he ran the iconic indie Soft Skull Press for which work he was awarded the Association of American Publishers’ Miriam Bass Award for Creativity in Independent Publishing in 2005. Books he edited and published landed on bestseller lists from the Boston Globe to the Singapore Straits-Times and on Best of the Year lists from The Guardian to the Toronto Globe & Mail to the Los Angeles Times In 2006, Publishers Weekly picked him as one of the ten editors to watch for in the coming decade. This year the Utne reader named him of the Fifty Visionaries Chaning Your World, and Mashable picked as the #1 Twitter User Changing the Shape of Publishing.  Richard’s blogs at the eponymous Richard Eoin Nash – The Blog.

“If you like massive anxiety attacks, go watch Soft Skull’s former boss Richard Nash speak at a conference as you battle a hangover.”

Richard and I had a terrific talk beginning with his history in publishing and now what he is doing to help reinvent it with his new business, Cursor, a portfolio of niche social publishing communities, one of which will be called Red Lemonade (which has an interesting live link here.)

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Publishing Talks: David Wilk Interviews Michael Cairns

In this new series of interviews, I have set out to talk to book industry professionals who have varying perspectives and thoughts about the future of publishing, books, and culture.  This is a period of tremendous disruption and change.  Publishing has been a crucial part of human culture for as long as people have been writing and reading.  How will publishing evolve as our culture is affected by technology, climate change, population density, and the ebb and flow of civilization and its economics?  Many people are thinking deeply – and some acting on – the nature of change and the challenges and opportunities that face us all.  Publishing Talks tries, in a small way, to get at and illustrate some of what is going on today, and perhaps to help us understand, even if only generally, the outlines of what is happening, and how we might ourselves interact with and influence the future as it unfolds.

Publishing Talks gives people in the book business a chance to talk about ideas and concerns in a public forum that are often only talked about “around the water cooler,” at industry conventions and events, and in emails between friends.  I hope this series of talks will give people inside and outside the book industry a chance to hear about some of the thoughts, ideas and concepts that are currently being discussed by engaged individuals within the industry.

My first interview in this series is with Michael Cairns, who has been active in publishing for many years and is currently working with Louis Borders’ start up content venture, MyWire.com.

Michael Cairns is Managing Partner of Information Media Partners a business strategy consulting firm and he is currently serving as Entrepreneur in Residence at a start-up content business, Mywire.com.  His career spans a wide range of publishing and information products, services and B2B categories and his years spent as a line-operating executive have largely been with brand name publishing companies such as Macmillan, Inc, Berlitz International and R.R. Bowker. He publishes his commentary on the publishing industry at www.personanondata.com.

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