Friday, December 12, 2008

Addendum to previous post regarding buying books

A few weeks ago I wrote that Op-Ed piece about buying books for the holiday season, because I was watching what was happening to the book industry. Well, I wasn't alone. I usually feel like I'm behind the times, but for once I was ahead of the curve:
from Publisher's Weekly:

Publishers, Authors Campaign for Books as Gifts
-- Publishers Weekly, 12/11/2008 2:05:00 PM

Most of the nation’s largest trade publishers have united behind a new online advertising campaign aimed at getting customers to buy books in physical stores and in online retailers. BooksAreGreatGifts.com features a video produced by Random House that features authors from a variety of houses explaining why books make great holiday presents. In addition to the BooksAreGreatGifts site, which includes the video and links to publishers’s sites, retailers are promoting the video and it is also being distributed to MSN and Yahoo. The AAP hopes to add other authors over the course of 2009 to promote book gift-giving year-round.

In a separate effort, the Authors Guild has sent a message from Guild president Roy Blount, Jr. to its members urging them and their friends to organize book-buying splurges at their local bookstores. Noting that a serious dip in holiday sales could be devastating to bookstores, Blount suggests that customers make the rest of their holiday purchases books. Readers could also stock up on books to give as gifts later in the year, Blount says. “There will be birthdays in the next twelve months; books keep well; they're easy to wrap: buy those books now. Buy replacements for any books looking raggedy on your shelves.Stockpile children's books as gifts for friends who look like they may eventually give birth. Hold off on the flat-screen TV and the GPS (they'll be cheaper after Christmas) and buy many, many books,” Blount urges.


So my little op-ed piece -- I'm in good company with Roy Blount, Jr. Not bad! If that's not an Accomplishment, I don't know what is.

Here's the original post:
BUY BOOKS!