It frightens me a little to picture the book publishing industry ten years from now, mostly because I’m really not sure what I should expect. There are many products that exist today that I wouldn’t even be able to fathom ten years ago. If someone had told be there would be some kind of electronic device fighting for sales with paper books, it would have seemed crazy. This is a little scary…what will we have ten years from now that I think is completely ridiculous in the present time?

I definitely think that consolidation will continue, probably at an accelerated rate. I remember the day one of my favorite bookstores back home, which had been opened and run by the same family for nearly twenty years, were forced to shut their doors. When I worked for Barnes and Noble, we closed several stores and had a temporary hiring freeze. The little indies are not the only ones hurting as outlets such as Amazon.com rake in all the business.

I’m not sure how the low entry costs of POD will affect small publishers. Even if it is cheap to print something, it doesn’t mean there is a demand for it or that anyone wants to buy it. I’d like to think POD, ebooks, and other cheaper and newer technologies will eventually help small presses, but I can’t really say that I think it is going to happen.

I’m really not sure what the future of publishing holds. I keep thinking of the day during my undergrad career when my university canceled all the print photography dark room and lab classes and went entirely digital. It was a sad day. I don’t think this is within ten years for the publishing industry, but I feel like it is looming. I hope it happens far enough down the line where I don’t have to witness it.

For the sake of this class, I think I understand the general idea of blogging. Updating frequently is key to maintaining a successful blog. I was curious as to what other things help drive blog traffic, so I did a little research on this topic. I found some information and tips that someone attempting to drive traffic to a blog would find helpful.

Informational, news-oriented posts usually keep people interested. They like to see what other people feel about the same topic they feel strongly about. If you are an author or some other celebrity, the Question and Answer style blogs leave people very interested. Even if you have to make the questions up yourself, it is an easy and fun format to read.

People love tutorial blogs, whether it is about how to knit a scarf or how to get a book published. Give instructions on something you know how to do, and someone trying to figure out how is bound to make it to your post. If you find interesting related blog posts, link to them. Perhaps this will make this blogger link to you, driving even more traffic.

People LOVE lists. Creating “Top 5” lists about almost anything will make readers interested.

Finally, rant if you feel like ranting. Playing it safe doesn’t make your blog interesting. Let off some steam and take sides. Your readers will appreciate and keep coming back for more.

Reading is easily one of my favorite things to do, so it’s very hard to pick a single book that I feel has had the most lasting impact on me. I guess I would have to pick the books that I keep coming back to, even though I have read them several times.

There are two books I find myself coming back to the most frequently. The first is The Great Gatsby. It is easily one of my favorite books and, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful books ever written. Fitzgerald was just incredible with words. There are certain passages in that book that I will never forgot and that still give me goose bumps. Though the story and language is really quite simple, the book is so haunting and heartbreaking I have never been able to forget it. I read it for the first time in tenth grade English. Though I have always loved to read, this is the first book I really remember having more than a fleeting impact on me.

The other book I feel has impacted me the most is Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. I first read the book my freshman year of college in a Modernism class. It completely blew me away. The interweaving of time and the connectedness of characters is amazing. Woolf takes techniques in that book and applies them at a level I can’t even fathom. I’ve re-read the book several times in the past few years, and I always find some small detail I overlooked before. I really love when you can do this with a story.

It is terribly difficult to narrow this down to two, let alone one. Now I am thinking of about ten more titles I could easily write about as well. While I don’t think one book has completely changed my life, the subtle changes the culmination of my reading experience has provided is something I greatly value.

I don’t buy books online very often, but I do use many of Amazon’s features frequently. One of the things I do often before purchasing a book I don’t know much about is go to Amazon and read the reviews. These have definitely swayed my decision on purchases and I wonder why I easily put so much trust into them.

I am terrified of flying. I grew up on the east coast, so after moving to Portland I have had to fly much more frequently and for longer flights than usual. I decided reading a book about coping strategies could be helpful. Since I had no idea where to start, I went to Amazon, typed in the subject, and read the reader reviews of dozens of books. The one I chose to order was the one with the best and most helpful reviews. I did find the book helpful and it lived up to my expectations for it. I based my decision to purchase it solely on what others had to say. While the reviewers of this book, for the most part, were not from esteemed publications or groups one might seek a review from, they were experts to me. They were a specialized group of people who knew exactly the problem I had, had it themselves, and could let me know if a particular book would help solve it.

These reader reviews have definitely swayed my decision on purchases on many occasions. I always prefer reader reviews to the reviews of “experts.” I wonder if this is just me. Something about being able to relate to another consumer and help them in some way is kind of a nice idea. Amazon does have a very personal side to it, and I don’t think this is explored or talked about very often.

e-mail marketing

I don’t think I have ever purchased something online in response to direct e-mail promotions. I think this is simply because I very rarely order things online. Unless it is a book I know I need or want, I am very particular about what I buy online. I don’t like buying a book without having leafed through it first, or a shirt without having tried it on. I don’t really think it is anything about e-mail marketing (from esteemed companies) that really turns me off, it’s just not the way I prefer to shop.

This isn’t to say that I don’t think e-mail marketing doesn’t work on me in some capacity. If I get an e-mail about a big sale going on at a store, there is a good chance I’ll look through some of the stuff. If I see something I think I want, I’ll go to the store and find it and make sure I want it. This is still a sale for the company, even if it is a bit indirect and not their specific intent for an e-mail marketing project. A sale is a sale, and even generation of interest can be a helpful tool.

Sure, I do get the occasional spammy e-mail marketing message. And yes, these do annoy me. But I enjoy the ones I get from companies I'm actually interested in. They are a great way for me to learn about new products/promotions without having to do research myself.

Even though I have never responded directly to online e-mail marketing, I’ve definitely been swayed by it.

Recently I read about the plan HarperCollins has to design new covers for its paperback editions of Wuthering Heights. These new covers aesthetically match those of the popular Twilight series, displaying a black background with a bloody-looking red rose. Not only this, but they have emblazoned the cover with, “Edward and Bella’s favorite book!” Upon seeing this new edition, I was quite displeased.

I really hate it when people compare great literature with new books. I’m not saying that newer works will never live up to the classics, but I think part of being a classic is being time-tested. I once quit a knitting club because one of the members was an English professor who constantly talked about how much better a writer J.K. Rowling was than Jane Austen. I don’t think you can really compare the two. And J.K. Rowling is actually a good writer. I’m pretty sure the business majors fulfilling their lit credits in my Intro to Creative Writing were all better writers than Stephanie Meyer.

I feel like a good portion of these kids who have a reading level for Twilight will be very put off if they buy and try to read Wuthering Heights. I’m not sure why this makes me so mad. I guess in some ways it is good, as it will get kids to read a classic and it will make more money. That's good marketing.

42 from Ooligan Press

There are many great titles printed by Portland State University’s Ooligan Press. One of these titles is 42, an exciting novel by M. Thomas Cooper. The novel is set in Portland, Oregon, and follows the protagonist George Olson.

Olson is accused of arson and murder. This throws him into states of paranoia and psychosis. The novel’s plot escalates quickly, and Olson must find a way to save his own life in the hidden answers around him. Trying to make sense of disappearances and disasters, Olson attempts to find the answers as he looks over downtown Portland from his office in the Black Box building. He begins to wonder if the number forty-two can save him or if he is actually going crazy.

Fans of suspense, psychological thrillers, crime stories and mystery will greatly enjoy this novel. They will be allowed to play detective and attempt to piece together the clues right along with George Olson. Do not miss M. Thomas Cooper’s exciting novel, 42, now available from Ooligan Press!