Off to Press!

The Voices in My Head, by Danny Gans and R.G. Ryan went to press this morning. Whew! Danny’s very personal biography will debut in a trade paper edition later this month while a special collector’s hardcover edition (with an audio CD) will be out in December. More on both to come. Danny poured his energy into everything he loved, from his family to his faith, from baseball to his career in entertainment. When it came time to document his life story, he poured his energy into this project as well. Sadly, Danny passed away the day after the manuscript was completed. His inspiring story remains, offering a compelling mix of touching tales and life lessons. Danny’s story, told in his own voice, from his own heart. We’re honored to publish The Voices in My Head.

Coming Soon to an iPhone Near You!

Stephens Press and iTunes Producer Michael Bloom have inked a deal to convert Stephens Press books into audiobooks for download at the iTunes store. First to be produced is Sinsational Celebrity Tales, to be read by the author, Norm Clarke. Plans are in the works to also produce SP children’s picture books as iTunes apps. These books can both be viewed and read on screen or the child can press an arrow to have each page read aloud. As parents and grandparents know, having an entertaining book or game at hand can be a lifesaver for a squirmy or bored toddler forced to wait in a line or for service in a restaurant. My four-year-old granddaughter Reese knows how to operate my iPhone better than I do!

Final Rules Announced for Lead in Kid’s Books

The Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act went into effect on August 14, 2009. The CPSIA, which governs all products for ages 12 and under and was spurred by recalls of lead-containing toys, is intended to protect children from harm, particularly from lead and phthalates. It was enacted in August 2008 and its first major provisions went into effect in February 2009.

Problematic for publishers of children’s books was a requirement for component testing of every print run (testing of all of the elements that make up the book — ink, paper, board, glue) which, for a small publisher and short print run, could cost more than then book itself.

Lead levels in children’s books must be 300 parts per million or less, down from the 600 ppm level that went into effect in February. The publishing industry has argued that new books are uniformly far below these limits, (modern children’s book test out at less than 10 ppm) and should not be subject to the law’s testing and certification requirements. “Regular” ink-on-paper or board books printed after 1985 were granted a stay of enforcement. Books that contain special elements like attached toys will still require testing.

While no one wants unsafe books or toys in the hands of tots, the over-reaching requirements of the Act could have put a lot of smaller publishers out of business and greatly reduced an already risk-adverse publishing industry from taking chances with a short run for a promising new author or illustrator. Still problematic are books published before 1985 that sit on library shelves and used bookstores. Those books will likely have to be pulled and pulped.

---

The Google Settlement . . . Isn’t Settled Yet

Surprisingly few authors have asked me about the Google Settlement, perhaps because most articles about the digital scanning/copyright infringement issues are mind-numbingly written in legalese. I’ve prepared a couple of letters to send to our authors, only to have the status change overnight. While waiting patiently for the “real and final deal”, here’s today’s update from Publishers Weekly.

In a nutshell, some years back, Google started an ambitious plan to scan every single book ever published and making them findable online via key search words. They invited Stephens Press to participate and we agreed, providing copies of our books for scanning. The results of a search offers a small section of a book that includes the search term — a few paragraphs or a page at the most. The search results also offered links to where to buy the book, starting with the publisher. We thought it was a good way to further our reach and help people find our books. We don’t really have any mechanism in place to track a search all the way to a sale, but we’re eternal optimists and assume some books have, in fact, been purchased as the result of a Google search.

The waters got murkier when Google acquired the rights to digitize the holdings of several major libraries, including many out-of-print books. Now it was the libraries giving Google permission to scan these books — but the libraries don’t own the copyrights, just physical copies. Some are out of copyright but others aren’t. It may well require the tracking down heirs and long-defunct publishers in order to acquire permission to scan. Google argues that it is for the greater societal good that these books be made available to the world via their vast, well, vastness.

So you can see the sticky questions that have popped up. Certain entities, including the Authors Guild, took Google to task, and to court. Google agreed to a settlement, but the so-called settlement hasn’t been settled and seems to morph into new complications daily. The Department of Justice ruled on September 18 that the settlement is flawed and all sides need to return to the table.

The issues are complicated and strike at the heart of current copyright law. We can’t very well say no one can help themselves to someone else’s writing without permission except for Google. And what will Google do in the future? Once it “owns” essentially all the books of the land, will it start selling them? On the other hand, should researchers and ordinary folks have access, at least in some limited form, to everything ever written? Weighty questions.  Stay tuned.

---

Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill

Swordfish Taco

Hubby is a big Triple D fan, so we like to try out whatever diners, drive-ins, or dives Guy has featured when we’re in the neighborhood. Since we were going down to Carlsbad today, we decided to head on down the coast to San Diego for lunch at the popular Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill. They’re known for their fresh fish, long lines, and no parking. We parked directly in front and the line wait was only about 15 minutes. Bill and I opted for fresh grilled fish tacos (albacore, wahoo, and swordfish) and my mom-in-law ordered a crab and shrimp sandwich. Aside from fresh lobster tacos in Puerto Nuevo (my favorite all-time dining experience, worthy of its own post some day), this was the best fish taco I’ve ever had.

Visiting Van Ness

The Gardens have been in the foothills of San Antonio Heights (just north of Upland, CA) since 1922. Founded by Bobby and Edith (Uber) Van Ness, who sold the Gardens to Ted and Louella Uber in 1952. Bill and I bought the Gardens in 1976, making Bill a third generation proprietor.

Marco and I stopped in at Van Ness Water Gardens in Upland today to take Hubby out to lunch. Needing a lunch spot with outdoor dining allowing for cute puppies to sit well-manneredly beside table, we opted for Maniac Mike’s at Cable Airport. The patio at Mike’s allows for great people — and plane — watching, and an interesting mix of aircraft land, take-off and taxi by. Old-fashioned diner food, highly recommended. An especially fun and different experience for kids.

But back to Van Ness. It is getting to the end of the summer season, so most water plants will be going dormant for the winter. Colder climes sooner, but even in sunny SoCal, water lilies hibernate, and stop growing for a few months.

Water lilies come in two flavors, hardy

Marco explores a stream bed. He later mistook water lily pads for a solid surface and walked right into a pond. He was one messy and muddy puppy, so a doggie bath was added to my to-do list.

and tropical. The tropicals are very fragrant, bear their flowers are stems above the water, and include blue and purple hues. Hardies, unlike tropicals, generally survive the coldest winters and have blossoms just above the water’s surface.

Other aquatic plants include bogs, which thrive in shallow water and grow tall like water iris, cattails and papyrus.

A water garden is the focal point of any landscape -- just be sure to locate in a sunny spot. The more sun, the more the water lilies bloom.

Ornamentals are an interesting mix, not too tall, like water cress (yes, the kind you can eat), water poppies, water snowflake, and pennywort. Oxygenating grasses grow completely submerged and are essential to a pond’s bio-balance.

I got my start in the marketing business at Van Ness, handling all the magazine advertising, creating the catalog, and later the web site. The first book I ever published was WATER GARDENING BASICS by William C. Uber.

The Plot Thickens . . .

Brady, our protagonist, is in a jam. Big Trouble. Chapter Four of Restless City has just been released with Leah Bailly in the driver’s seat. A signature project of the 2009 Vegas Valley Book Festival, Restless City is a serial novel, with seven Las Vegas authors each writing a sequential chapter. If you’ve been following along, you can read Leah’s chapter here. Or you can start at the beginning here.

Donny & Marie, Still Fab After All These Years

Yep, she’s still a little bit country and he’s a little rock and roll. LOVED, yes, LOVED the Donny & Marie show tonight at the Flamingo. Both Donny and Marie are consummate professionals, and everything about their show bespeaks of great attention to detail. Mix in nostalgia, multi-media effects, light shows, a whole dance troupe, great band, and a lively mix of everything from opera to smoke and drums rock to show tunes and Puppy Love (well, you know there HAD to be Puppy Love). An old-fashioned variety show in a new-fashioned package. I’m expecting great things from Donny’s Dancing with the Stars performances.

Nevada Governor’s Mansion Centennial

Author Jack Harpster and First Lady Dawn Gibbons celebrate the debut of our newest book at the History for Hope Gala at Trump International.

It has been a long haul, like many such projects, to get from idea to a finished book in hand. When author Jack Harpster first proposed this book, the centennial was two-plus years away — which is actually just about the right amount of time needed to research, write, edit, acquire images, proofread, design, layout, print, bind, and ship.

This week has been the culmination of this work, with two special events and a road trip. We started Thursday with an elegant evening at Trump International where First Lady Dawn Gibbons hosted a charity gala for the Austism Coalition of Nevada. The mansion’s centennial was the focus with a painting especially commissioned by the First Lady for the mansion unveiled and our book debut in Las Vegas.

The state’s colors of blue and silver were everywhere from the crushed velvet table drapery to the magnificent silver candelabras. Former governors, first ladies, and their families were in attendance and popular Vegas entertainer Clint Holmes led the entertainment.

Governor Gibbons poses with young admirer after signing a copy of 100 YEARS.

Friday was road trip day as Bill and I loaded up with more books and drove up to Carson City. The drive through Nevada seems desolate at times, but the wide opens spaces and big blue skies are a refreshing change from city life.

The official centennial celebration of the mansion took place on Saturday with plenty of dignitaries, cannons, flags, pomp and circumstance, and a little thunder, lightening, and rain.

Former governors Bryan and Miller joined current Governor Jim Gibbons in making remarks along with Denver Dickerson, grandson of Governor Dickerson, the first to occupy the mansion.

Governor Gibbons addresses the crowd as former Governors Bryan and Miller look on. That's our book table behind the Guv.

The mansion festivities were open to the public, to share in the celebration of the People’s House. We were thrilled to be a part of such a memorable event.

The Perfect Cover?

This was not the final cover design. Why?

Authors usually face the design of their book cover or jacket design with some trepidation. They know how critically important the cover will be to the book’s success, especially in retail environments. As publishers, we take many factors into consideration in designing covers. The design needs to communicate the content and help the buyer identify books in which they’d be interested. We listen, too, to the author’s suggestions. We consider the marketplace, what competing titles look like, color trends, typography, and much more. Research tells us that IF a customer picks up a book, they’ll spend 8 seconds looking at the front cover, and if their interest continues, they’ll flip it over and spend 15 seconds reviewing the back cover. Book designer Sue Campbell recently posted an article on the design of a new Stephens Press title, A NEW DAY by Dora Barilla. Sue outlines the design process and the covers that were developed at Sue Campbell Graphic Design.

The People’s House

Great article in the Reno Gazette Journal today about our newest title, 100 Years in the Governor’s Mansion by Jack Harpster*. The book will debut in Las Vegas on Thursday night at the First Lady’s autism charity event and on Saturday in Carson City at the Mansion’s centennial celebration. More soon on both events. The book is BEAUTIFUL, lavishly illustrated, and tells the history of the Mansion and Nevada from the POV of the families who lived the the grand old house (some would say, fishbowl).

*To our R-J friends, yes, this is “our” Jack Harpster, retired ad director and now Reno resident and book author.

A Year in the Blogosphere

The days flip past, faster and faster. (Image by flowers&machinery CC)

August came and went in a blur, and with it, my first anniversary as a blogger. Keeping my intended audience in mind — authors, our own authors, other publisher’s authors, wannabe authors — I’ve posted on a wide variety of book-related subjects. Everything from agents to book design, editing, marketing, and lots of tips. News, of course, about Stephens Press authors, books, awards, events and publicity. A few personal stories too, like learning to read, my first typewriter, collecting old books and the joys of presenting the first copy of a book to a new author. Blogsite #1, www.CarolynHayesUber.com morphed into blogsite #2, www.WorkingTitlez.com. Both having many of the same posts, but CHU includes more personal items while WT is more business-oriented. I love WordPress because it allows you to create “pages” so I’m building a repository of downloadable reports, interviews and papers that are useful to writers. If you know of someone who’d benefit from news and advice about the publishing world, please refer them. The easiest is to click on the Subscribe By Email link on the right, which will put each new post in your mail box. Q&A articles are popular, so questions from my readers are welcome.

Every Day is a Brand New Day

The very first copy!

Presenting the first copy to a new author is just one of the best things I do. When I dropped by Dora Barilla’s home with the first copy of A New Day, she’d just returned from the gym. Her wide grin says it all. For Dora, and her husband Tom, A New Day represents far more than the long hours of writing. The book details the traumatic brain injury suffered by firefighter Tom in a horrific fire truck collision that nearly killed him.

In painstaking detail, Dora recounts the days sitting by Tom’s bedside as he lay in a coma, the numerous surgeries he endured, the endless hours of rehabilitation, and weeks of nasty litigation.

Dora tells the story of her struggle to maintain optimism for her family and friends as well as keep her own sanity. A professor at Loma Linda Medical University, Dora is in a unique position to share their story, both professionally and personally. Tom and Dora’s dearest wish is to “Pay it Forward” helping other families of victims of traumatic brain injury, and in fact, they’ve designated proceeds from the book to benefit them.

Dora speaks to clubs, churches, and organization about their experiences and how through faith, healing, and miracles, each day is a blessed New Day for the Barilla family.

To learn more about A New Day, visit the web site at www.ANewDayBook.com.

Internships Available

Looking for an Internship in Book Publishing?

If you’re still working on your degree, an internship may be the perfect way to experience the inner-workings of a publishing house and build your resume.

Stephens Press, LLC is a book publishing company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada specializing in regional non-fiction titles and part of the Stephens Media company. Stephens Media is the owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and other newspapers in eight states.

As a smaller-sized firm, Stephens Press gives interns the opportunity to get hands-on experience in multiple aspects of the publishing process.

The intern position is on a part-time, volunteer basis. Past interns have received course credit for their time. For more information about Stephens Press visit StephensPress.com. To apply: please send a resume, and/or any other materials that help present your qualifications, to khawkins@stephenspress.com. Candidates with an English studies background or interest in literature preferred.