Build Your Brand

Jon Katz & Seth Godin Challenge the Publishing Industry

There are interesting things going on in the world of book publishing.  Over here,  Jon Katz is partnering with the owner of the Battenkill Bookstore to sell his latest book and to encourage people to patronize independent book stores. 

If you scroll through Katz' s blog posts,  you can follow the developing story.  To date,  using his blog,  YouTube and Facebook platforms,  and the web site for the book store,  over 300 copies of  Going Home - Finding Peace When Pets Die  have been sold.  In a relatively short time period.

One of those pre-sold books is mine. 

I called the Battenkill Bookstore last week and spoke with a charming woman about placing an order and we worked through the transaction details in less than 10 minutes. 

I've been reading Jon Katz's books for quite some time;  keeping up with what he's doing on his blog and web site and am looking forward to reading his newest book. 

Over here,  Seth Godin,  in partnership with Amazon,  has just announced that a limited number of his latest book  (11,000) will be sold.   And,  if you take the time to read his post,  he explains his rational for this promotion.  

I'm on Godin's  opt-in list for The Domino Project.   I've been on it since it's inception.   Which is how I know about Godin's new book,  We Are All Weird.  

And,  because  I like the fact that Seth Godin is typically ahead of the curve when it comes to where Things Are Headed,  I didn't hesitate to place my online order this morning for one of those 11,000 limited edition copies. 

If I base my own purchasing habits on what both Katz and Godin represent  (coming up with innovative ways to capture market share among readers),  there will always (I hope),  be room for  a productive blend of hard cover,  soft cover, and digital print media.  

You know.  Books.  In.  Different.  Formats.  But.  Still.  Books.

Original thought,  compelling new ideas and a committed readership.  We desperately need all three. 

Hopelessly Hooked on Books

Books.  Piles of books.  Three sit on my desk, one waiting to be reviewed;  two I'm reading with another three or four stacked in my bedroom waiting their turn. 

Books are my crack,  my hopeless addiction;  my therapy, my pure entertainment, my inspiration;  my feel good,  safe escape when escape is called for.  When I am stalled in other areas of my life, you can bet that the one thing I'm still doing is reading books,  ordering books,  going to libraries,  prowling the aisles of Barnes & Noble,  ordering books from Amazon, and hunting out the smaller, independent book stores when I can. 

Launch - How To Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond The Competition, by Michael A Stelzner.

Doc, by Mary Doria Russell.

Life from Scratch, by Melissa Ford.

Going Home - Finding Peace When Pets Die, by Jon Katz.

There are stories behind all of these books.  Two of them, Stelzner's and Ford's books, were ordered off of Amzaon's web site.   Read Launch  over a month ago and just got Life from Scratch in the mail yesterday.   

Interestingly enough, the first of these two books is a "how to" tutorial - proof that anyone can harness what they're passionate about and build a sustainable business online using online and offline systems to first build brand awareness and then to roll out a product. 

The second book,  Life From Scratch,  is an illustration of what Stelzner writes about, regardless of whether Ford was even aware of Stelzner's book. 

Doc literally fell into my hands last week as I cruised the new fiction shelf in the library.  As I posted on Facebook two days ago,  it is meticulously researched and beautifully written.   For a language - lover (that would be me), this book is like a glass of aged malt scotch.  It goes down with a richness that needs to be s-l-o-w-l-y savored. 

Going Home is in "pre-launch."  It's official sell date in September 27 or September 29th.  Yesterday,  I called the Battenkill Bookstore and placed my order.  Like Launch and Life From Scratch,  Katz's latest book is an example of how some books are coming to the attention of readers using Social Media. 

Using his blog, YouTube channel and Facebook presence,  Katz has created awareness for his latest book with an audience already familiar with his books.  And, as a supporter of independent book stores, he started talking about this book to his fans by suggesting that they consider ordering it through the Battenkill Bookstore. 

More than 300 of us have taken him up on this.  So far.

I'd like to think that there's room enough for all of this.  For ordering books online,  for public libraries, for Barnes & Noble and for independent book stores.  

I need them all.

For simple convenience when the ease of online ordering fits into my day,  for the physical pleasure of browsing the stacks, talking to librarians about books, or losing myself in the commercial aisles of a Barnes & Noble, and for the intimacies that smaller book stores provide. 

I'd like to think that the rest of the world feels the same. 

 

 

 

 

Artisan Jewelry by Little Green Apple

You might think that little green apples don't have much to do with exquisite, hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind jewelry.

But.

Don't tell  Mary Anne Green that.   She's got a thriving jewelry stand at the Fairport Farmer's Market.  You can find her along what I call the 'back 40" aisle - the vendor stands  that back up to the Fairport Credit Union's parking lot. 

The sign makes it easy to find her.

 

And, she's got a group of raving fans who absolutely ADORE what she makes.  Like me.  And my friend who shops the market every Saturday.  And many more women who wander up to her table that first time and fall in love with Mary's jewelry.

There's a  LOT to see. 

If you don't see what you want,  talk with Mary.  She made my friend an ankle bracelet because my friend asked her if she could do that.  And, Mary could.  And, she did.

This bracelet is one of my favorite pieces.  Mary collected the stones from a beach up in the Adirondacks.  Isn't it stunning?  And, it's the only one.  I didn't buy it when I first saw it.  Think I'll go back next Saturday to see if Mary still has it. 

This is Mary.  I'm not sure why she closed her eyes when my husband took her picture.  Maybe she's shy and likes to let her jewelry speak for her. 

What do you suppose her necklaces are saying?

Are any of these bracelets talking to YOU?

See the necklace in the photograph below -- the one that has three pearl stones with the antique pin?  Well,  it had SO much to say to me that I just had to buy it.

Jewelry's like that,  you know.  If you listen,  it will speak to you.   And, about the only place that Mary's  jewelry may have the chance to speak to you is at the Fairport Farmer's Market.  At least for now.

The market is Mary's store.  She doesn't have a web site.   Or an email address on her business cards.   She does have a Facebook page that her daughter put up for her. 

So.  If you like the photos  I've posted,  there are a LOT of Saturdays to come between now and mid-November when the market shuts down for the winter.  

Come out to Fairport and see if Mary's stunning, one-of-a-kind jewelry has anything to say to you!