38enso

Kodak declares Chapter 11

01.19.2012, No Comments, Bio (+ other thoughts), by Jack W Perry.

One of the giants has finally fallen. Kodak has declared bankruptcy.

Kodak has an impressive history, The company pioneered many of the major achievements in business and photography history.

Kodak:

Created the process for daylight development of film. Now photo taking was not just for professionals.
Created he first pocket camera.
Created Kodachrome. The first 35mm film. Spawned a great Paul Simon tune — although he used a Nikon in the song.
Created the first digital camera.
In 1976, sold 90% of the film in America and 85% of the cameras.
Created the first wi-fi digital consumer camera.

Over the past decade, the company has tried one new thing and then another. They continued to sell off parts of the corporation.

Today they are dead.

Another great American corporation that was unable to adapt to the new times. It is sad, but time moves on.

Twitter

01.12.2012, No Comments, Bio (+ other thoughts), by Jack W Perry.

Been thinking of something to write. My last two posts were recaps and predictions of the publishing industry of 2011 & 2012. But as I closed my eyes and put on Pandora Radio to my Sublime+++ station, my focus went to Twitter.

I like Twitter. Sometimes I will tweet all day long (maybe 100 total), other days just a few times. I try to balance and tweet every day. It’s important to be consistent.

I have 629 followers at this moment. It will change in an hour. By Twitter standards, I don’t have a lot of followers. But I like it. I feel good about those that follow.

I have rolled up 6,600 individual tweets.

Everytime I tweet about an iPod, iPad or iPhone, I get 2-3 Spams offering me a free Apple product. Why? Does anyone believe these scams?

I get a lot of news from Twitter, I will click through to the stories that are of interest.

I don’t follow many celebrities. They are generally boring. I just don’t care that much about their personal lives.

I also prefer to follow industry professionals and not necessarily publishing company official twitter accounts. I like the individuality and not company opinions.

I have changed my profile picture 3-4 times. I probably should do it more often.

I try to keep those I follow to 500. But I have creeped over that to 534. Oh well, it happens. I like to follow friends, but if they only tweet once every month, I may drop. It’s not personal, but no need to follow people that don’t tweet.

Everyone should have an account. Don’t have to tweet — can just follow. That’s cool. But it’s important to be a part of it.

Please follow me : @38enso

2012 predictions

01.01.2012, No Comments, Books (+ more books), by Jack W Perry.

My last post was a recap of 2011. This one is a list of some predictions for 2012. I generally shy away from predictions for I believe no one really knows and its all a crapshoot. When you are right, it is luck. When you are wrong, it is luck.

So a few thoughts for 2012:

Although Amazon will be aggressive, they will continue to lose market share in the eBook universe. I don’t see them dropping below 50%, but will be less than 60% by the end of the year.
Publishers will work out an eBook for library program. All of the majors will embrace it and although libraries will not get everything they want, at least a program will be put into place. 3M will cut into Overdrive’s dominance and will lead this innovation.
Although color eReaders have made a splash, children’s picture books will not be significant digitally in 2012. It is counter-intuitive to underplay any eBook growth, but there are still major limitations to viewing picture books on a screen. Maybe by 2014.
Fiction (and the genres Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi) will be 75% digital.
There will be a new, major, deep-pocketed competitor in the eBook space. Currently Amazon & B&N drive the business with over 85% share between the two. Apple or Google will increase share. But someone new will enter the fray. It will be a company that has the resources to make it work.
The price of conversion to ebooks will continue to drop. The cost of creating new ebooks will also be much less.
There will be much more transparency in reporting of ebook sales. We will have a lot more real information to gauge success with.
Ebook sales growth percentage will start to decline. The sales will continue to grow but the rate will be less. We will start to see a flattening of the growth curve.
Two of the Big6 corporate publishers will be bought and there will be the “Big4.”

Some thoughts for 2012. I look forward to the year and all the changes ahead.

2011 in Review

12.28.2011, No Comments, Books (+ more books), by Jack W Perry.

At the end of every year, everyplace you look there are recaps of the best of the year. Some do the ‘worst’ and others the ‘most interesting.’ I am going to discuss some of the issues that drove the narrative in book publishing in 2011. I may forget many, I may overstate some, but these are the issues that are top of mind.

Amazon gets bolder than ever. 2011 was a year that Amazon turned up the pressure on the entire industry. In 2011, Amazon started the lending library with titles from publishers who said NO. Amazon was pushed back by Japanese publishers because of their terms of sale. Amazon refused to negotiate Agency terms of sale with publishers (other than the Big6). Amazon aggressively entered publishing by establishing numerous new imprints and a NYC office.
Borders, after years of mis-management finally died. Industry watchers have been predicting the demise of Borders for five years. It was obvious then that the chain was not making the right moves to survive. 2011, they finally had to pull the plug. Once upon a time, Borders was a wonderful bookstore chain. But near the end they had lost the innovation and were quickly found obsolete.
eBooks continued to dominate the discussion. Market share of eBooks for many publishers reached 20%. In 2010, it was 8%. In 2009, 3% and about 1% in 2008. The numbers continue to rise year over year, but there does seem to be some indications of a slow down.
Dedicated reading devices are starting to become old news. This Fall, the Kindle Fire tablet was introduced and now the largest eBook retailer’s main device also plays games and music. The B&N NOOK and Apple iPad have already this capability. So, the beginning of the end for the dedicated eReader has begun. Look for 2012 to see less and less eroding-only devices.
Publishers realized that Apps are NOT the answer. Only a handful of Book Apps worked. It is too expensive, the App store too vast, and the pressures to sell at 99 cents is high. Sure, some were successful, but publishers slowed the App development quite a bit.
More authors started to look to self-publishing. Publishers of all sizes have started to review eBook royalty rates and wiling to pay more (some as much as 50%). But the move away from publishers and to self-publishing continued to roll along. Expect even more in 2012.
STEVE JOBS biography was moved up in time to be ready for his death. The book is the biggest seller of 2011.
eBooks and libraries continued to be an issue. Publishers are still working on terms for libraries. Some refuse to sell at all for it is seen as cannibalizing sales. Others jumped in and willing to see what happens. Penguin and Hachette were once in and now debating. HarperCollins instituted a ’26-check out rule’ and Overdrive signed a deal with Amazon that was not received well by publishers.
Barnes & Noble grabbed a good chunk of digital market share. But the cost may have killed them for they lost records amount of money. But they have survived and are a bit of a balance to Amazon. B&N has the only national chain of stores. It will be interesting to see what happens in 2012.

2011 was a year of transition and turmoil. I expect 2012 to be the same. Just a few days ago, the first major lawsuit regarding eBook rights was filed. harperCollins is suing Open Road Integrated Media over an author. Amazon and B&N have made noises about wanted better terms and more co-op from publishers. It is a good time to be in publishing. But it is imperative to remain open and roll with the changes.

2011 was a fun year.

iPhone, iPad and now MacBookAir

12.12.2011, No Comments, Bio (+ other thoughts), by Jack W Perry.

I used to buy all Microcoft based products. I liked Windows, Excel and Word. But over the past three years I have slowly moved away from them.

It started with the iPhone 3. I needed a phone with email to replace my corporate Blackberry. I looked at the various options and the iPhone was the best of the bunch. It looks like others may have caught up (I do like the Samsung Droid because of the bigger screen), but I am happy with my phone. Even with the sub-par phone service in NYC, I am content.

Then Apple introduced the iPad. I waited six months but then received one as part of signing up for a conference. OK, I will give it a try. Well, it replaced my newspapers, magazines and books. I love it. I use it all the time to access weather information, check Twitter, etc. It is a wonderful machine. Again, others are entering the market and maybe I will change. But seriously doubt it.

Today I bought a MacBook Air. My Windows based laptop crashed again. I saved money on buying it, but the repairs and recouping of data started to make the prices equal. I asked around and almost everyone told me to get a Mac. I have used Windows-based machines for 25 years. I am now all Apple.

I do have to figure out some of the commands and how to get around this machine. But I like the feel and am confident it will not break down.

I can understand how Apple has gained so much market-share and captured the minds of so many.

Words With Friends

11.25.2011, No Comments, Bio (+ other thoughts), by Jack W Perry.

I am obsessed with Words With Friends. It is basically Scrabble with a grid that is a bit different. I am not sure if the letter quantities and values are the same as Scrabble, but the game is played the same way.

I started playing WWF when I got my iPhone. I started with random people. But then I quickly realized many of my friends were playing. I also connected with a lot of people via Facebook and Twitter. I started to study the game and figure out how best to play. Yes, I found it a good competitive outlet.

The game has 104 ‘letters’ including two blanks. Each player gets seven letters per turn in which to make at least a two-letter word. Knowledge of these two-letter words is one of the keys to the game. The other main key is to use TRIPLE WORDS and LETTERS as much as possible (and to keep your opponent from using these bonus spots).

It is like a basketball game. Some of the time the game is close throughout and the endgame (the last 5 minutes of a basketball game) is the determinate. You must plan a few moves ahead to make sure you can finish with a win. Other times one can get out to a huge lead and then it makes sense to play defensively. Try to maintain the lead and not allow your opponent to score a big word. All game styles are fun.

The Q, J and Z are worth 10 points. The two-letter words that can be made with these letters are QI; JO and ZA.

The X is worth 8 points. It can be used in five different two-letter words – AX; EX; OX; XI and XU.

The K, V, C are worth 5 points, But only the K can be made into two-letter words – KA and KI. The V and C have no two-letter combos. I think they should be worth more points and also have at least one two-letter word possible. Not being able to make a two-letter word greatly hinders the play of these letters.

There are 13 Es; 9 As; 8 Os; 8 Is and 4 Us. All vowels are worth 1 point except the U, which is worth two points.

There are 5 Ss and they are worth a single point. But they are very valuable for making words plural. Save the S for the right play. Don’t waste it on a small point value.

It is wise to hold letters for the right opportunity and to realize that some of the time the biggest play is not always the best.

I continue to learn how to play.

I enjoy it,

Penn State & Paterno – the brand is destroyed.

11.13.2011, No Comments, Bio (+ other thoughts), by Jack W Perry.

It takes decades to build trust in a brand.

It takes hours to destroy a brand.

Joe Paterno was a God-like figure at Penn State. He ran the university. He was there for half a century. He build the football program. He decided what happened. He had too much power, Give him credit, he took an agricultural school and built it to a national school. It took decades to build that up.

It took hours to destroy it.

Paterno was fired. He deserved it. The President was canned.

The Paterno brand is forever tarnished. His 50 years of building it are gone. His obit will lead with the cover-up and the dismissal. His fall from grace, Not his accomplishments.

The only way Penn State can start to re-build their brand is to ELIMINATE EVERYONE on the coaching staff and athletic department that was there. All of them need to be axed. A complete cleansing is the only way to rebuild. Former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer said that ‘everyone on the staff had to have known.’ It is disgusting that this cover-up is so wide-spread.

Paterno is gone and his reputation is dead.

Penn State can re-build, but it must start fresh. All of the people associated with the program need to leave.

I also think the football program should get the death penalty and go on a two-year hiatus.

Sue Grafton A, B, C mysteries.

11.03.2011, No Comments, Books (+ more books), by Jack W Perry.

Over 20 years ago, mystery writer Sue Grafton came up with a tremendous hook to sell her stories. She titled them alphabetically. Starting with “A is for Alibi” and through the alphabet until she has hit “V is for Vengeance.” So she has four left to complete this massive series.

All of the books are in print in mass market. Each of the mass market titles are $7.99. All about the same length and the covers all match.

But the eBooks pricing on B&N nook is all over the map:

A distro of the eBook prices:

$2.99 – 3
$3.99 – 2
$4.99 – 3
$5.99 – 2
$6.99- 2
$7.99 – 9
$14.99 -1

Taking a deeper loo at the sequence:

A IS FOR ALIBI – $2.99
B IS FOR BURGLAR - $3.99
C IS FOR CORPSE – $4.99
D IS FOR DEADBEAT – $5.99
E IS FOR EVIDENCE – $6.99
F IS FOR FUGITIVE – $7.99
G IS FOR GUMSHOE – $7.99
H IS FOR HOMICIDE – $7.99
I IS FOR INNOCENT – $6.99
J IS FOR JACK – $5.99
K IS FOR KILLER – $4.99
L IS FOR LAWLESS – $4.99
M IS FOR MALICE – $3.99
N IS FOR NOOSE – $2.99
O IS FOR ORGASM – $2.99
P IS FOR PERIL – $7.99
Q IS FOR QUARRY – $7.99
R IS FOR RICOCHET – $7.99
S IS FOR SILENCE – $7.99
T IS FOR TRESPASS – $7.99
U IS FOR UNDERTOW – $7.99
V IS FOR VENGEANCE – $14.99

I love way the prices start low and build and then start to decline again. This is from A-F and then down from H to 0. The rest ar ethe standard $7.99 and the last one (V) is reflecting the hardcover.

Fun with eBook pricing. It could be different tomorrow.

11 in 11

10.29.2011, No Comments, Baseball (+ other sports), by Jack W Perry.

The St. Louis Cardinals are the World Series champions for the 11th time in history. No other National League team has more. Only the Yankees have more in all of baseball — at an astonishing 26.

The Cardinals made the playoffs on the final day of the season. They were the Wildcard and couldn’t even win their division.

They beat the best-team in baseball, the Phillies in the first round.

They beat the Central Divison’s champion, Milwaukee, in the second round.

They beat the heavily-favorite Texas Rangers in the third round (World Series).

It is how you finish that counts in baseball. Think to the endgame and leave on top.

Go Cardinals — 11 in ’11.

New York Comic Con 2011

10.17.2011, No Comments, Books (+ more books), by Jack W Perry.

I attended the Comic Con on Sunday. I took my 15 year old son. The event ran from Thursday-Sunday, with Thursday for professionals and the press only. The other three days were open to the fans. And boy did the fans come out. The show was sold out. The aisles were packed. I saw lots of excitement for new items and people were truly energized by the place.

I attended the NYCC for the first time, four years ago. It was quiet. It was small. Yes, fans could still come but it had not opened up like it was this year. It is amazing to see how much growth there has been in a few years.,

Some thoughts:

Having fans come together and pay admission and also buy goods is a good idea. Instead of having shows where industry people talk to others, let the fans come in. The business can be done on a single day, and open it up to others and see what happens.
Captain America was the most popular costume from my unofficial observance. Followed by Green Lantern and Superman.
The Black Eyed Peas new dance video game drew the biggest crowds.
There were 200+ artists in ‘Artists Alley.’ Most looked bored, but a few were doing business.
A lot of Japanese vendors.
The crowd was very multi-cultural. Although the male-female ratio was probably 75-25%.
A lot of women in “Lolita Fashions.” I didn’t make-up this phrase, I saw it at one of the shops. A bit strange.
Probably 1/3 of the people were in some sort of costume.
Javitz has no free wi-fi and the signals in the convention center were horrible. Give us free wi-fi.
I saw publishers Abrams ComicArts; Simon & Schuster; Penguin and Disney.

I enjoyed it. I will return. My son found it wonderful and bought a tee-shirt, some incense and a book (yes a book!). I do feel people in publishing can learn from ComicCon. Invite the fans in. Let them be a part of the excitement of the industry. I doubt it would ever be as big as NYCC given there are movies, video games and toys at the show in addition to books and magazines, but opening up the BEA or other shows might help spread the word.

The world is changing, A few years ago, the NYCC didn’t even exist. Today it is crowded and sold out. Probably expanded.