Book Biz Update

Folks,

Although anything can go wrong at anytime, I do not think I an tempting fate
with updates
on the book progress.

As a background, the book was conceived as an answer to questions people asked,
but could
only be found in small biz int'l trade companies. The teaching was a means to
test the book
content. As luck would have it, the book came out as bookselling was
revolutionized by
improvements in communication and transportation. The lock publishers had on
distribution
is gone, and so information is free for the time being. Amazon and Google are
leading the
way.

Amazon today ordered 10 copies to be shipped to Reno and 61 copies shipped to
Lexington.
This is the biggest single order for my book, and no doubt reflects the fact
that amazon will
be dropping the list price. Amazon knows the sales rate of my book at various
price
points. Amazon allows competing bookstores to offer my book at a lower cost than
amazon,
on the amazon page for my book. Amazon tracks every sale. Armed with this
no-cost market
information, amazon can work out how many books to order, no risk.

It does not take a computer to figure out that sales will increase at a lower
price, but it does
take a computer to figure out what is the right amount to order. The computer
has spoken:
10 to Reno, 61 to Lexington. Resistance is futile.

I am now most delighted with the book because it gives me an opportunity to play
in a
relatively free market, and see my "philosophy" tested in real world real time,
in a market
uknown to me. So far so good. Goods, services, agriculture, publishing... 4
for 4.

I've been asked, "if you are opposed to IP, how come your book is copyrighted?"
The book is
copyrighted because we live in a copyright regime, and distribution, bookstores,
ISBN, etc will
not work without copyrights in place. But with them in place, the first chance
I get to "give
my book away", that is to say let google offer it up free online, I do so, and
my sales double,
as of course they would under free market theory.

But what if someone copies and sells your book? If they go to the best place in
the world to
have it printed, by agreement the printer will charge a premium and give the
premium to me,
a sort of royalty anyway.

If they print anywhere else, and try to sell it to Amazon, amazon will ask for a
lower price,
which the bootlegger will offer, and amazon will return to me, and I in turn
will get then name
of the bootlegger, lower my price until they go away, and then buy my books from
a
bootlegger at less than they cost me now, since he'll have no market.

Further, I'll have the name of a printer who bootlegs. Could be useful.

But the real differentiation will be something that cannot be copyrighted, or a
copyright
would be desultory. On the next run of books, I will have each copy crash
numbered with a
code on the last page. This code will allow people to join the listserv when
they enter it on a
password-protected website. Only those that buy the book "from me" will get
"me"...
bootleggers will be selling only to people who will get no follow-up with me. I
can live with
that.

Folks, get your business going, whatever it is... there are wide open
opportunities in every
field, it works whether you are there or not... you might as well be there.


John

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