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What Every Author Should Know About Google Print
By Penny C. Sansevieri
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Ever since the BEA (Book Expo America) there's been a lot of buzz about Google's latest endeavor: Google Print (a service technically still in Beta testing but launched by the company in October) which allows prospective readers to take a quick peek at the book they're considering purchasing. Some in the industry have come out quite vocally against Google largely because of potential copyright issues (these same issues were brought up when Amazon launched their "Look Inside the Book").
The concept is this: authors and publishers sign up for this free program and Google makes up to 20% of the book available for viewing on their Google Print site. If a reader decides to purchase it, Google refers them to an online bookstore (such as Amazon). Pretty simple, right? Yes, in fact it is. While I was at BEA I got a walk through this program and it's simple in execution and powerful on the consumer end. A recent article in PC World (see link: http://www.pcworld.com/resource/article/0,aid,121247,pg,1,RSS,RSS,00.asp) discussed at length the issues related to Google Print - many of which I disagree with. One issue in particular that was brought up was that "if readers see the actual content of the book they might not be inclined to purchase it" - Huh? So, let me see if I get this straight. It's ok to sell a book but let's not let the reader see what's in it or they may decide not to buy it? What about people browsing bookstores, doesn't the same apply there?
So how about this: write a great book, so great in fact that *even* if readers browse it, they'll still want to buy it. What a concept.
The idea my friends is that we live in an electronic society, meaning that we live and die by email and the internet, bookstores are not dinosaurs but they soon might be and browsing a book "electronically" is in my opinion the next big thing. Google gets it because they are visionaries. Yes, there are copyright issues. I'm sure that Google in its wisdom isn't going to jeopardize a program they're putting so much muscle behind to list books that aren't supposed to be listed (i.e.
publishers or authors who haven't signed up for this program). They are, in fact, doing us a favor. Let's face it, Google's got clout. It's the biggest search engine on the net right now, so big in fact the competition can't even keep up. Now, they're offering authors an additional way to get their books noticed. I say let's stand up and applaud them.
As a publicist I'm front line everyday trying to push my authors into the spotlight and the facts are brutal: with 477 books released in this country each day authors need every bit of help they can get. I have seen authors with great books struggle to get *anyone's* attention. To me, Google Print is another way for them to get noticed in a noisy world and it's another way for readers to find the books they might not otherwise be exposed to. Forgive the cliche but it sounds pretty win-win to me.
So if you're an author looking for another way to "get out there" give Google Print a look-see. In my opinion if you're not using every avenue to promote your book then you're not only doing your career a disservice but cheating your potential reader out of some pretty great stuff.
Penny C. Sansevieri helps turn authors into success stories. Check out her Virtual Author Tours, free insider info on publishing, and author marketing newsletter at www.amarketingexpert.com
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