Many publishing professionals care deeply about the health of society and the planet. Our industry faces many issues, but one that often feels too big to conquer is book publishing’s contribution to the climate crisis. Overprinting, shipping inefficiencies, deforestation—all this and more are daily realities of making and selling books.

It forces us to ask the same question we ask about so many other shortcomings: how can we make this better?

In an attempt to provide answers, especially for small to medium independent publishers, Portland State University’s publishing program partnered with PubWest and the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) to study how book publishing production and distribution can be made more sustainable. Rachel Done Cubillas, a graduate of the PSU program and one of the paper’s authors, talks with us about the study’s findings about how we can change the status quo and do right by the environment.

The study in question was authored by Rachel Done, Rebecca Gordon, Megan Jessop, Stephanie Johnson Lawson, Alexa Schmidt, Rylee Warner, Glorimar Del Rio, Sarah Bradley, Alexandra Burns, Ivory Fields, Alexander Halbrook, Jill Bowen, Katherine Flitsch, Amanda Hines, Megan Vader Bongolan, Alexandra Magel, and Frances Fragela. It was supervised by Dr. Rachel Noorda.

The episode addresses the following research questions:

1. What needs to be done to make book printing truly carbon neutral by 2050?
2. What does efficient and cost-effective delivery of print books look like going forward?
3. What chinks in the book industry’s armor were most exposed due to the pandemic?
4. What’s stopping the industry from embracing POD as the preferred means for printing non-illustrated, black-and-white trade books?
5. How can the book industry decrease the returns rate for books sold into trade channels from an average of 30% to an average of 15% or less?

Guest Bio

Rachel Done Cubillas (they/them) is currently a freelancing publishing professional, with focuses on writing, design, marketing, and project management—basically a little bit of everything. They are set to graduate with their MA in Book Publishing and Comics Studies Certificate from PSU this coming June. They love exploring new topics and skills, as well as spending time with their menagerie of a family.

Relevant Links:

• Transcript for Episode 67: Sustainable Publishing Distribution with Rachel Done
• Read the Publishing Distribution Practices research findings
• Follow Rachel on Twitter @RachelDC06
• Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn
• Rachel’s Website and Portfolio

The post Episode 67: Sustainable Publishing Distribution with Rachel Done first appeared on Hybrid Pub Scout.

The post Episode 67: Sustainable Publishing Distribution with Rachel Done appeared first on Hybrid Pub Scout.

Dr. Rachel Noorda and Dr. Kathi Berens

If you’re trying to do research as a book industry professional, you’re going to hit paywalls—sometimes paywalls so large that your business is better off replacing NPD with a tarot deck and a crystal pendulum.

Enter Dr. Kathi Berens and Dr. Rachel Noorda! In this episode, they speak with Emily about their 2020 research on Immersive Media & Books. Using the survey results from over 4,000 respondents, they got a multitude of insights about how Americans of all ages and ethnicities engage with books. The best part? All of us have access to it. And you know how much we love accessible research!

In this episode, we discuss…

• Real proof showing the true demographics of avid book-engagers in America
• The behavior of book pirates—and how they’re actually customers, too!
• How libraries figure into book discovery and book buying
• The animal that is more likely to kill you than a shark

Notable Links:

• Panorama Project: Immersive Media and Books 2020 Report
• Free, March 10 Webinar
• Rachel Noorda: faculty webpage, Twitter, LinkedIn
• Kathi Inman Berens: faculty webpage, Twitter, LinkedIn

The post Episode 55: Immersive Media & Books with Dr. Rachel Noorda & Dr. Kathi Berens first appeared on Hybrid Pub Scout.

The post Episode 55: Immersive Media & Books with Dr. Rachel Noorda & Dr. Kathi Berens appeared first on Hybrid Pub Scout.