When we checked in with publishing “ink slingers” just over two years ago, Sara Nelson’s move to Publishers Weekly was imminent, and Jerome Kramer was in mid-launch of VNU’s The Bookstandard. Today, most of the industry stalwarts are still chugging along (including yours truly), many with expanded offerings. We’ve extended our profiles to include blogs (like MediaBistro’s Galley Cat) that have gained traction, as well as the online editions, and other platforms that once print-only publications are now exploring (like PW Daily, and the launch of their new website). For circulation numbers we turned to both recent ABC audits and Bacon’s, and for uniques we asked individual site owners for their best metrics. An important note: Web metrics are difficult – “Uniques” are individual visitors to a site over the course of a month–which excludes instances where one person visits a site 100 times, but also possibly excludes instances where 100 different people visit a site from one single location (e.g. Random House). When we couldn’t get in touch, the starred uniques are estimates by Compete.com, an online analytics site that bases rankings on users of their toolbar (making the stats notoriously low). Feel free to add, contest, and browse the list below…
Publishers Weekly
Price: $ 299.99/yr, $4.80/issue
Format/Freqency: Weekly (print), Daily (blogs, newsletters)
Circ. /Uniques: 23,000 (print circ. ABC) 200,000 (uniques)
Audience/Focus/Tone: Mixes pub. news segments with reviews. Largest segment is librarians (26%) followed by publishers (24%). Now offers discounts to booksellers (13%).
Ad Space/Cost: A on of options – 1x full-page print around $6500
Notes: New website with great design and added features – bugs need to be fixed – numerous image errors and lost links.
PW Daily
Price: Free online & with print subscription.
Format/Frequency: Daily Newsletter
Circ. /Uniques: 20,000 (circ)
Audience/Focus/Tone: The largest of PW’s daily e-news (religion, comics, children’s)
Ad Space/Cost: Ad space ranges from $441-$1118
Notes: . Circ. now rivals PW print subscribers.
Price: $20/mo.
Format/Frequency: Online content, database, blogs, etc.
Circ. /Uniques: 80,000+ (uniques) 90,000 page views.
Audience/Focus/Tone: The new industry standard. The source for deals, looking to expand into international. Comprehensive database; numerous blogs.
Ad Space/Cost: Featured Promotions.
Notes: The Cadar kingdom has effectively quelched the competition since it began five years ago. Expect more TK.
Publisher’s Lunch
Price: Free
Format/Frequency: Daily e-newsletter
Circ. /Uniques: 35,000 (circ.)
Audience/Focus/Tone: Links to daily industry news, events, wildly popular job board.
Ad Space/Cost: Recently added banner ads.
Notes: .Lunch Deluxe packs even more info – free with PM subscription.
Price: Print/Online ($450 for 24 issues; $18.75/issue)
Format/Frequency: Bi-Monthly print, online & e-newsletter
Circ. /Uniques: 5,000 (circ. Bacon’s) 7,500 (uniques)
Audience/Focus/Tone: Reviews of approx. 200 titles/issue; for librarians, newspaper editors, agents, film producers & booksellers.
Ad Space/Cost: Banner ads, Google ads, Limited ad space in print.
Notes: Kirkus Reviews online database contains 275,000+ reviews dating back to 1933.
Price: $9.95/mo.
Format/Frequency: Monthly e-newsletter.
Circ. /Uniques: 21,275 (uniques)
Audience/Focus/Tone: Nielsen Bookscan charts, contact databases, News, Reviews, & a retail analysis for booksellers.
Ad Space/Cost: Ad opportunities online, in the e-news & in special reports.
Notes: Rumors of shuttering the online magazine have been rampant this year.
Book Publishing Report (Simba)
Price: $695/yr; $57.90/issue.
Format/Frequency: Monthly e-newsletter, print, no free online content.
Circ. /Uniques: 15,000 (circ. Bacon’s) 400 (uniques for all of Simbanet)
Audience/Focus/Tone: Uses Simbanet data and recycled press releases – published by Bowker. The data is interesting, but not placed in any context.
Ad Space/Cost: No Ads.
Notes: .By far the most expensive of the bunch. Subscribers can send emails to suggest categories for future coverage.
Price: Free (subs to MB start at $49/yr.)
Format/Frequency: Daily Blog
Circ. /Uniques: 50,000 (uniques)
Audience/Focus/Tone: After PW and PL, an industry staple that continues to gain. For editors, writers, publicists, marketing professionals. Casual, snarky.
Ad Space/Cost: 1x – $400. 3x-$1200. 6x-$2160. 12x-&3888.
Notes: . Written by Sarah Weinman and Rob Hogan. (Weinman also writes Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind, a blog about crime fiction.)
Book Page/Buzz Girl (ProMotion Inc.)
Price: Many options, cheapest $18/mo. (50 copies.)
Format/Frequency: Monthly print
Circ. /Uniques: 2,000+ (print circ.)
Audience/Focus/Tone: Book reviews of up to 100 books each month; designed to be distributed by booksellers and librarians to consumers.
Ad Space/Cost: Google ads (BP), No ads (BG)
Notes: . All Book Page content is free except for the current issue. Buzz Girl is a separate blog written by a BP editor.
Book Business (Target Marketing Group)
Price: Free
Format/Frequency: Monthly print magazine, various enewsletters.
Circ. /Uniques: 12,100 (circ); 29,405 (‘reach’); 10,000 (uniques); 7000 (circ. enews)
Audience/Focus/Tone: 44% business management; 33% production, manufacturing; 23% other management (fulfillment, distribution, marketing/sales)
Ad Space/Cost: Online, enews and “added value” opportunities.
Notes: Focus on: manufacturing, printing, sales, digital, online sales& marketing, ecommerce, shipping, fulfillment.
Price: Free
Format/Frequency: daily enewsletter.
Circ. /Uniques: 10,000 (circ.) 1,800 uniques.
Audience/Focus/Tone: “Daily enlightenment for the book trade.” Launched in June 2005.
Ad Space/Cost: Top banner: $750; Skyscraper $500; Insertion $300.
Notes: Edited and written by John Mutter and Jenn Risko.
Price: Free
Format/Frequency: Monthly e-issues, daily-ish blogging.
Circ. /Uniques: 220,000 (uniques) 3,000 (enews)
Audience/Focus/Tone: Literary minded reviews and author interviews. Fresh tone.
Ad Space/Cost: Banner ad – $175/mo. Enews text ad – $35/mo.
Notes: Edited by Jessica Crispin, who also blogs for other sites including the Bookstandard, and the NBCC blog.
Joe Wikert’s Publishing 2020 Blog
Price: Free
Format/Frequency: daily-ish blog.
Circ. /Uniques: 7000-8000 (pageviews) 1000 (rss circ.)
Audience/Focus/Tone: Recent posts include: Monetizing video search, Branding, Borders financial results, Changing revenue models. Business casual.
Ad Space/Cost: Google Ads
Notes: Tag Line: “a book publisher’s future visions of print, online, video and all media formats not yet invented”
Big Bad Book Blog (Greenleaf Book Group)
Price: Free
Format/Frequency: Daily-ish blog
Circ. /Uniques: 840 (uniques)
Audience/Focus/Tone: Recent posts include: color& meaning; The Agenting Process explained; Holy Ship! That’s expensive shipping!
Ad Space/Cost: None (except links back to Greenleaf.)
Notes: Run by Texas-based Greenleaf Book Group (See PT 09/06). Great, in-depth entries on all aspects of the book biz.
Price: Free
Format/Frequency: Daily-ish blog
Circ. /Uniques: 8,500 (uniques); 275 (enews circ.)
Audience/Focus/Tone: Commentary on all aspects of the book biz. One recent ‘Open letter to the Book Publishing Industry” began “Darlings, Where are you?”
Ad Space/Cost: Brainaids – online ad network repping the arts community online.
Notes: Another Texan, the blog is mainly written by Kassia Krozser.
Price: Free
Format/Frequency: Daily Blog – 2 versions at Typepad and PubLunch.
Circ. /Uniques: 25,000 (uniques)
Audience/Focus/Tone: Recent posts include: Titles – Automatic & Acquired Resonance; Myspace as a Business Tool.
Ad Space/Cost: No ads – widget for Publishers Lunch board.
Notes: The author of the blog, M.J. Rose also runs AuthorBuzz – a marketing service for authors.
