'Who Needs God When We've Got Mammon?' New statistical research "reports a strong correlation within First World democracies between socioeconomic well-being and secularity. In short, prosperity is highest in societies where religion is practiced least. … Of particular note, the U.S. holds the distinction of most religious and least prosperous among the 17 countries included in the study." - Miller-McCune 11/24/09

"Books are like wines.  You develop a taste for them, and everyone has, a unique palette." __Michael Pokocky 2009

The future of print: Follow the money

November 19, 2009, 7:20 pm [Lac Rond Ste-Adele, Quebec, Canada]

An amazing news announcement from Worldcolor (World Color Press Inc.); world headquarters are ironically in Montreal right near where I live.  Even more ironic is that I knew the founder who gave me my first computer.  We met right here in Ste-Adele where he lived at a coffee shop named Poivre.  

Anyway I had to get that personal story in and on that note I will proceed.  

If you want to know where the future of publishing is follow the money trail.  Publishers pay the bulk of their money to printers.  Are they signing any contracts for publishing?  

I found one: Worldcolor and Macmillan Sign Multi-year Agreement to Print Estimated 800 Million Books

"Montréal, Canada – Worldcolor (TSX: WC, WC.U) has signed one of the largest book printing agreements in North America. The multi-year agreement with Macmillan’s New York based U.S. operations involves the printing, over the term, of approximately 800 million major trade bestsellers, textbooks and mass market (paperback) books, based on current projections. Also included in the agreement are related warehousing and distribution services. The agreement renews and expands a long-running service relationship with the publisher, whose signature imprints include many of the best known names in book publishing such as St. Martin’s Press, Farrar Straus & Giroux, Henry Holt, Tor, Forge, Bedford/St. Martin's, and W.H. Freeman and Worth Publishers. The agreement also adds new value added services to the scope of the relationship." [Read more... http://www.worldcolor.com/macmillan.aspx ]

What?  This news is yelling out that print is not dead.  Why?  There are real dollars being spent here.  Big dollars.

Following the money trail is and always has been my secret weapon that gave me an edge in Investment Banking.  So I have followed the news for any news announced by printers who deal with publishers and found this story in a Google alerts I set up.  You heard it here first on RedRoom by yours truly.  I new my background would uncover something of interest if I dug deeper into publishing which I have been obsessed with for over seven years.

This news actually brings me great comfort.  The best writers and the best books are going to get printed notwithstanding what everyone else is saying.  And this social media thing is really a time waster.  Like the founder of Worldcolor and the parent Qubecor said to me,"I built my company from scratch selling one paper at a time and buying one newspaper at a time."  

For me it means I am focusing all my energy on writing.  I will then submit my work.  If it gets rejected it means something is not working.  I will fix it and keep on submitting.  One day I will be published and hopefully printed on paper by the company of the man who gave me my first computer.  God Bless him. 

To Save Bookstore, French Townspeople Buy The Lease "Poligny residents' effort to preserve an old-fashioned Main Street bookstore may seem eccentric in an age of electronics, instantaneous communication and discount giants. But not in France, a country that is unusually fixated on its centuries-old traditions and is determined to safeguard its cultural heritage." - Washington Post 11/16/09

This is the kind of story writers like to read. I am from Canada and I'm not sure if people would do this. I have read much on how fiercely the Europeans defend and support their cultural heritage. ____Michael

HOW A CELEBRATED AMERICAN ARTIST WAS FORCED TO TRADE HIS MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR COLLECTION FOR A JOB SELLING DONUTS

As a writer I don't limit my interests to writing. I follow people, places and things searching for ideas that will inspire. This story of a famous artist illustrates the ethic of hard work in the face of adversity. There is no shame in being you. Just never quit.____Michael

About The Espressologist

What’s your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin
spice latte? Then you’re lots of fun and a bit sassy.
Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life.
Or perhaps it’s a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut
caffe latte? Some might call you a yuppie.
Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory
that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular
coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook
and calls it Espressology.

Blyton, who died aged 71 in 1968 and has sold 600 million books, was a trailblazer. After training as a teacher, she got her first break thanks to Pollock, who worked at the London publishers George Newnes and helped her publish her first stories in 1924.

But it was her own ruthless business acumen that helped her become the most popular children’s author of the era.

A must read because it tells of personal branding in an age when the computer did not exist, and 600MM copies of Blyton's books were sold. It explains why J K Rowling books were a success too! Now its a movie.___Michael

Elizabeth biography on twitter @Elizabeth_Stark says,"Author of novel Shy Girl (FSG) and a couple short films (Frameline), I help creative people write books."

I visited her blog and place it in my top 10 list of writers blogs.