Social Media Success Story: 7 Students, 500,000 WBN books

M.S. in Publishing Students Peraza, Cox, Flavin, Olivares (back row), and Werthan, Narasimhan and George formed a social media committee for WBN.

To the literati of the world, April 23rd used to have special meaning as the day Shakespeare was born and Cervantes died. This year, the date took on even more significance as longtime book lovers and new readers alike participated in a nationwide movement that is likely to become as addictive as a juicy novel. On April 23rd, World Book Night (WBN) debuted in the U.S. after a successful launch last year in the United Kingdom. All over America, volunteers from all 50 states handed out books to non-readers and reluctant readers in an effort to promote literacy. “Givers,” selected through an application process online, passed  out 500,000 free paperbacks in churches, bars, children’s shelters, public transit systems and senior centers—even on beaches. (One innovative “giver” put copies of Patti Smith’s Just Kids inside Ziploc bags and doled them out in Monterey Bay.) Now, who better to promote this kind of national literary love fest than the students in the Master of Science in Publishing: Digital & Print Media program at NYU?

SPI Class of 2011: Looking Back, Looking Forward

The creators of “Geek” Magazine after presenting their final project

Each summer, 110 students gather for six weeks at the Woolworth Building, an historic skyscraper in downtown Manhattan, to participate in the NYU Summer Publishing Institute (SPI). While there, they are immersed in all aspects of the publishing industry (think content creation, editing, sales and marketing, finance, art and design, promotion and publicity, and digital, digital, digital!). They receive job and networking advice, and even create their own magazine brands and book imprints. Learning directly from some of the top publishing executives in New York, they are also given opportunities to learn outside the classroom by visiting the headquarters of major publishing companies like Time Inc., Condé Nast, Simon & Schuster, and Random House. Finally, after attending a career fair, they begin their job search for the perfect publishing position.

We caught up with some of the 2011 SPI alumni nine months after they completed the program and asked them to offer advice for the class of 2012.

McNally Jackson’s Espresso Book Machine: Write it. Print it. Now!

Espresso Book Machine at McNally Jackson’s Manhattan Bookstore

“I like the part where it pops out,” says Beth Steidle, who is one of two primary operators of McNally Jackson’s Espresso Book Machine. “It’s kind of like Willy Wonka.” But despite the analogy, this machine isn’t popping out candy (or coffee beans or a steamy brew!); it’s printing books. One at a time. Exactly how the customers want them. Last week, NYU’s M.S. in Publishing: Digital and Print Media Program students got a first-hand look at the machine and its wonders during a private visit to the Nolita bookstore.

The Espresso Book Machine (EBM) is a giant contraption that creates print-on-demand paperback books, fully bound, in minutes. The 87 EBMs in the world are sold or rented/leased by On Demand Books. The New York-based company was founded in 2003 by publishing legend Jason Epstein, who had long envisioned an efficient way to print books at an affordable cost in a neighborhood setting. Today, the company stores all of its books on a network database. They’re boldly tackling the old publishing model of gambling on print runs. And they are partnering with major publishers like HarperCollins to deliver out-of-print books at the customer’s convenience (and expense!). In addition, On Demand Books is providing an instant means for self-publishers to see their e-creations in printed form. With all this undeniable business potential, it’s no wonder McNally Jackson was the first in New York to invest in an Espresso Book Machine—and they’ve never regretted it.

Speed Networking: Fast Facts!

(back l-r) Neil De Young, Jaime de Pablos, Stephen Acunto, Jr, Karina Mikhli, Lavinel Savu, Laura De Silva, Angela Bole; (front l-r) Kastoory Kazi, blogger Rebecca Hytowitz, Mark Steffen, Liz Peterson

Ever wondered how to build a personal brand? (Hint: remove your home address from your résumé and add your LinkedIn URL instead.) How about best practices for social media? (Engage and interact with your audience instead of just pushing content!) These were just some of the topics and comments tossed around at the first-ever “Speed Networking” event hosted by the newly-constituted NYU Publishing Alumni Committee last week at NYU’s Torch Club. Committee co-chairs Laura De Silva and Jaime de Pablos and their devoted event committee members have been working on this for months—and their efforts showed. The committee invited seasoned and senior publishing alumni to serve as “speed facilitators” at each of five tables. Each facilitator was assigned a specific theme to discuss. Committee members were also assigned to each table to help with the discussion.