Hurricane Katrina's Effect on Booksellers & Publishers

I was just reading an email note from Pat Sabiston, executive director of the Publishers Association of the South. While I'd been hearing a few notes about Katrina, I hadn't begun to understand the impact it was having.

Rob Schauffler of Forest Sales & Distributing was still in the New Orleans area with a car that would not start. He and his wife were going to hide out in their attic from the armed gangs roaming the area. That's scary.

Several bookstores will have no inventory other than soaked and muddy volumes.

It could take two years or more for New Orleans to recover from the devastation of the flood. A million people are refugees. Many may no longer have houses they can come home to. Basic services will takes months or more to restore.

If you'd like to donate, contribute to your local or national Red Cross (800-HELP-NOW) or Salvation Army (800-SAL-ARMY). They can pass the money and help on to those who need it.

A number of publishers and other members of the publishing community have offered use of their offices or second homes to Southeast publishers who need a temporary place to operate their business. National Book Network has also offered to handle distribution or fulfillment for companies that need help.

If you'd like to offer any additional help, contact Pat Sabiston via email at executive@pubsouth.org.

How to Know If a Book Is Good

Sometimes when you get so many books to read, look at, review, or provide testimonials for, you might have to follow the simple method used by the great Polish anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski to decide which books are worthy of your attention.

Because he did not have time to read every new book in his field, Malinowski would take each new book he received, open it immediately to the index, and check to see if his name was cited there (and how often). The more Malinowski, the more compelling the book would be. No Malinowski, and he doubted whether the subject of the book was anthropology at all.

I have used this same method when I receive new books on publishing, self-publishing, and book marketing. If my name is not cited in these books--and often, they can't be worth much. If my 1001 Ways to Market Your Books is not mentioned, they are hardly worth the effort to crack the spine. My thinking is very simple: If they do not cite me or my book, they do not know much about the field of publishing and marketing.

You should use the same criteria when reviewing books in your own special field. If they don't cite you, ask them why. And they better have a good reason.

America's Most Literate Cities

Jack Miller, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, has conducted a study of America's Most Literate Cities for 2003 and 2004 (rated according to five criteria: education, publications, newspapers, libraries, and booksellers). The top two cities for both years have been Minneapolis, Minnesota and Seattle, Washington.

3. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
4. Madison, Wisconsin
5. Cincinnati, Ohio
6. Washington, DC
7. Denver, Colorado
8. Boston, Massachusetts
9. Portland, Oregon
10. San Francisco, California

Below are the top 10 cities for bookstores:

1. San Francisco, California
2. Cincinnati, Ohio
3. Seattle, Washington
4. Madison, Wisconsin
5. Atlanta, Georgia
5. Minneapolis, Minnesota
7. Louisville, Kentucky
7. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
7. St. Louis, Missouri
10. Scottsdale, Arizona

Given this information, you'll have some idea which cities are most open to new authors and new publishers. If you live in any of these cities, you have a much greater opportunity to promote your books than authors who live in small towns like Fairfield, Iowa. Go for it!