featured venture: concord free press

Here's another FEATURED VENTURE: the Concord Free Press.  We have to give credit to NPR for tipping us off to these folks on the commute this morning (their story is HERE), but it really is a project that has the potential to change the publishing game, and game changing is what the featured ventures are all about.

The basic concept of the Concord Free Press (visit them HERE) is that the books they publish are free (100% discount!).  They only ask that those who pick up their books from bookstores make a donation to a charity or person in need, record that donation, and pass the book along after the reader has read it.  The publisher's website is basically a long list of donations that readers have made that are associated with each of their four titles currently in print, and the list is impressive.

In a publishing environment where most books do not make money, this novel approach to doing good makes a lot of sense.  Authors want their work to get out there, and making that happen while creating a social return on the investment is a win-win.  It's not quite "Steal This Book," but it is an interesting and compelling model.

eBooks and the Costs of Publishing Them....

Interesting piece in the NYTimes today on the actual costs involved in publishing digital editions of books. At this point it is clear that print media publishers are in the same boat as the music and film industries, and are deep into the challenge of redesigning business models to stay afloat. Music is certainly the furthest below the water line, but unless the film biz eliminates piracy and/or radically embraces the universe of new distribution methods, it's view isn't much better.