As as small book publisher, I’ve watched the transition in book production from pasteup to pdfs, book sales from independent stores to Amazon, and the trends in how people, particularly those under 40, get information these days. It’s not often the printed book.
So the sales of the last few books we’ve published have languished -- not because the books were not well-done and packed with good information -- but because much of the information was available online.
So, our traveling lifestyle for the last few months has given me pause to think through where Vitesse Press is going as a business. First of all, we are going to publish our first “memoir” style book this spring and focus on author promotion and sales. Secondly, we are going to continue to convert our backlist to eBook format through Amazon and MindsetSports and use those venues as a conduit for many future sales. And we’ll focus on guidebooks or local/regional guides that do not face as much online competition.
Of course, Mary and I in our travels have joined the electronic book wave. She has a Kindle and has bought a number of new fiction releases from Amazon. I use my iPhone as a Kindle and being thrifty (cheap?), have downloaded a number of free classics that I read before -- such books as White Fang, Last of the Mohicans, The Last Trail (Zane Grey), and Treasure Island. Presently I’m scrolling through Twain’s Life on the Mississippi.
It’s not easy to find books while traveling as we do. Hardly any towns have independent bookstores and if they do, where do you park a travel trailer? You can’t order online and have book shipped because you never have a mailing address other than general delivery.
I’ve bought two real books this trip. One is a history of Big Bend which I should have passed on -- it was pretty dry and hadn’t been updated in decades. But the other, a “Where to Find Birds in the Rio Grande Valley” title, has been invaluable. I’ve gone to it many times, underlined, notated - done all the things you can do to a good reference book. Try that with an eBook! So I’m convinced that there is, and will be, a place for books like this that contain information that is current, helpful, and not available elsewhere.
Got such a book in your computer? We might be interested.
Thoughts from the road on book publishing
Fish or Cut Bait
I subscribe to many blogs with the reader NetNewswire which, every so often, turns one of the listings to a subdued color. That means that the blog has been inactive for a while -- usually a few months. Well, this blog has been that color for some time and it’s time for that to change.
We’ve been traveling for over a month and I guess I could us the lack of wifi as an excuse but I have been blogging on our travels (vtairstreaming.blogspot.com) and my birding(vtbirder.blogspot.com). But this blog has been silent as we wend our way across the country. So, if you are still around reading this (and if you are not, that’s understandable), hang in there. I’m going to write more about our new book coming out this spring, some on publishing and fitness topics I’ve been thinking about the last few months. I will start about how difficult it is to buy books while on the road. So come back soon, y’all.
Vitesse Books on the Kindle
Have you got - or are you getting - a Kindle? We have some of our titles available as eBooks through Amazon.com. There's a money-back guarantee so take a look. We'll be putting some of our vintage cycling titles up soon.
Save 30% off suggested retail price.
Cycling Along the Canals of New York State - Kindle ebook
