More books, more choice, a win for readers

It is interesting to note in recent sales stats which were released by the publishing industry, that although both print and digital book sales have continued to decline markedly with the Big5, sales with retailers, particularly Amazon, have increased.  That caused the traditional publishing industry to sit up and ask the question to which every small and indie publisher and author knew the answer five years ago: The increase in sales come directly from said…

Marketing philosophy du jour

Gary and I often sit in the evening discussing the day’s events, how business is chugging along, the progress of various books in production. And part of that discussion often revolves around marketing, awards and reviews. Recently I’ve been paying attention to the all the hype around E. L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey, much in the way I watched with bewildered amusement the hype around Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga. This time, however, I am…

Looking toward 2012

It’s been a profoundly busy year at Five Rivers, with some profound changes in the publishing industry, not the least of which was Indigo’s retail restructuring. While that impacted us, it also challenged us to develop new markets and strategies. We welcomed to our editorial team Amy Bright and Barb Geiger. We also signed several new authors (Mike Fletcher, H.A. Hargreaves, and Susan J. Forest), and released five new books: Crystal Death: Methamphetamine, North America’s…