Though we’re not prophets we can safely predict that in a month or six weeks you will begin filling out your holiday gift list.  We can also predict that for your your favorite males, many of whom seem to have everything, you will be thrilled to find the ideal gift in your local bookstore or online at Amazon or Barnes & Noble. It’s The Oxford Companion to Beer by Garrett Oliver, arguably the world’s authority on the beverage.

Here is Oxford University Press’s product description for the book:

For millennia, beer has been a favorite beverage in cultures across the globe. After water and tea, it is the most popular drink in the world, and it is at the center of a $450 billion industry.

The first major reference work to investigate the history and vast scope of beer, The Oxford Companion to Beer features more than 1,100 A-Z entries written by 166 of the world’s most prominent beer experts. Attractively illustrated with over 140 images, the book covers everything from the agricultural makeup of various beers to the technical elements of the brewing process, local effects of brewing on regions around the world, and the social and political implications of sharing a beer. Entries not only define terms such as “dry hopping” and “cask conditioning” but give fascinating details about how these and other techniques affect a beer’s taste, texture, and popularity. Cultural entries shed light on such topics as pub games, food pairings and the development of beer styles. Readers will enjoy vivid accounts of how our drinking traditions have changed throughout history, and how these traditions vary in different parts of the world, from Japan to Mexico, New Zealand, and Brazil, among many other countries. The pioneers of beer-making are the subjects of biographical entries, and the legacies these pioneers have left behind, in the form of the world’s most popular beers and breweries, are recurrent themes throughout the book.

Packed with information, this comprehensive resource also includes thorough appendices (covering beer festivals, beer magazines, and more), conversion tables, and an index. Featuring a foreword by Tom Colicchio, this book is the perfect shelf-mate to Oxford’s renowned Companion to Wine and an absolutely indispensable volume for everyone who loves beer as well as all beverage professionals, including home brewers, restaurateurs, journalists, cooking school instructors, beer importers, distributors, and retailers, and a host of others.

Garrett Oliver is the Brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and author of The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food. He has won many awards for his beers, is a frequent judge for international beer competitions, and has made numerous radio and television appearances as a spokesperson for craft brewing.

Latest batch of S&S royalty statements weighs in at 15 pounds (less half a pound for agent Richard Curtis's nose) (Photo by Andy Ross)

Twice every year authors and agents gird their loins in anticipation of the arrival of Simon & Schuster’s royalty statements. This is no fanciful metaphor: some literally gird their loins, for the weight of the package has been known to induce hernias in even the stoutest of mail room clerks.

The welter of detail elaborated in tiny print is numbing. The bloated statements are badly organized and repetitious and, in this age of environmental concern, appallingly wasteful. The practice has been going on for approximately two decades, but after our office manager suggested we lease a dedicated storage facility for them at $400 a month I decided the time had come to speak out.

Having opened the latest parcel the approximate bulk and weight of a giant schnauzer, I am inviting my agent and author colleagues to join me in an appeal to Simon & Schuster to review its accounting procedures, study the clear and economical statements issued by many other publishers, and reform its profligate ways. I would be happy to provide examples that render in one or two pages what Simon & Schuster does in a dozen or more.

Here are the components of a typical statement for one book:

• Payee Summary - A cumulative synopsis of royalty and rights revenues less advances and other deductions, and the net amount (if any) payable for this royalty period. This summary covers all editions. 
• Title Summary – Prior balance, current activity, and cumulative balance for all editions of the title. This is a detailed reiteration of the Payee Summary.
  
• Royalty Earnings per edition. This is a detailed breakdown of prior, current and cumulative earnings and returns for each edition of the book. One collection of statements covers the hardcover, another the trade paperback, another the mass market edition. If the first edition of the hardcover was priced, say, at $25.99, the second $26.99, the third $29.99, each printing’s activity is detailed and totaled. 
• Royalty Deductions - Prior and current deductions are detailed. 
• Title Balance - thumbnail summary of prior, current and cumulative statement balance with net royalty if any due to the author.

For each format of the same book there is a new set of statements. For a typical novel published in hardcover, paperback and electronic formats the royalty statement totaled 14 pages. For one author of a popular series the royalty package totaled more than 500 pages – a ream of paper – and weighed in at five pounds. And that’s just for one author. And by the way, we have to make a copy of this package to send to every client, so double those numbers.

Let me make it clear that I have no objection to receiving checks that may accompany the statements. But I would feel a great deal better depositing them if I knew that an acre of trees had not died just so that I could report to clients that their books had earned $0.00 for the twelfth year in a row.

For years I was a strident campaigner for clarity in royalty statements, and I’m happy to say that as a result of pressure from author and agent organizations publishers at last began providing such vital statistics as returns and reserves against returns.  So it is ironic that I am complaining about excessive data. But the fact is that too much of it can obscure rather than illuminate a book’s performance.

TMI, Simon & Schuster! Time to go green.

Richard Curtis

When I went into the publishing business after graduating from college, I discovered a literary culture so lastly different from the ones I had studied that I could scarcely find any common ground between them. This world was populated by romance, science fiction and fantasy, and male action-adventure writers, by pulpsters, pornographers, and countless others who earn their living producing genre books.

Since then, I have become a citizen of that world, both as a writer and as a literary agent representing other writers of category fiction. I have come to know and respect, to admire and even love this world and its denizens and have had the privilege of attending the birth of some works that have come to be regarded as masterpieces of their genres. But I have also become increasingly concerned about how little is known about this world by the writers and critics who dominate the world of serious literature. And I’ve concluded that we are all a little poorer for these gaps in awareness, appreciation, and communication.

To read more, click here.

Richard Curtis

When I went into the publishing business after graduating from college, I discovered a literary culture so lastly different from the ones I had studied that I could scarcely find any common ground between them. This world was populated by romance, science fiction and fantasy, and male action-adventure writers, by pulpsters, pornographers, and countless others who earn their living producing genre books.

Since then, I have become a citizen of that world, both as a writer and as a literary agent representing other writers of category fiction. I have come to know and respect, to admire and even love this world and its denizens and have had the privilege of attending the birth of some works that have come to be regarded as masterpieces of their genres. But I have also become increasingly concerned about how little is known about this world by the writers and critics who dominate the world of serious literature. And I’ve concluded that we are all a little poorer for these gaps in awareness, appreciation, and communication.

The belletristic establishment regards the world of popular literature as a subculture, but one could seriously argue that it is really the other way around. Very few “serious” writers make enough money from their writing to support themselves without having to moonlight. Their audiences are often modest in size and elitist in taste. Their work is frequently inaccessible, intellectual, experimental, and sometimes incomprehensible. Literary authors are often isolated from their fellow writers both physically and artistically, so that they have little sense of community or opportunities for intellectual cross-pollination.

The Professional World

Now look at the world of genre literature. Is purveyors are professional authors most of whom earn a comfortable living and many of whom earn a substantial one, all without having to rely on non-writing jobs to supplement their incomes. These authors reach a wide audience: Because many write original paperbacks, they can count on a minimum readership numbering in the hundreds of thousands and even millions. Their prose style and craftsmanship range from competent (they must at least be competent to sell their work to publishers) to superb; I will stake my career on the assertion that the craftsmanship and prose to be found in the best genre books matches or exceeds that found in the work of many so-called literary stars.

Professional writers enjoy a strong sense of cohesiveness and mutual support that is lacking in the world of belles-lettres. Professional science fiction, western, romance, and mystery writers belong to guildlike organizations that publish newsletters, hold conventions, and lobby for improvement of terms and conditions for their constituent authors. Taken altogether, these factors suggest that the life of the professional writer is far better integrated into the social fabric than that of the literary author. Genre writers might be likened to the guild artisans of medieval times, with the exception that the
Medieval craftsmen had the respect of their peers and patrons and were completely integrated into the community.

I have frequently pondered what it is that separates these two worlds of literary endeavor, and can think of a number of elements. One is ideas. The world of serious literature stresses the primacy of ideas, and the format of serious literature is designed to express those ideas. Another critical element is viewpoint: the serious author’s viewpoint, or vision, is what makes those ideas fresh and special. And then there is style, the unique garb in which the author’s ideas are dressed. The most interesting authors are able to identify themselves after a page or two because of what they have to say and how they say it. All too often, however, that format is not accessible to the mass reader because it doesn’t follow the universal verities that, as Aristotle contended, humankind supposedly responds to. It is sometimes remote, dislocated, overly stylized, tedious, or just plain badly constructed and expressed. But the authors, and presumably their audiences, don’t necessarily care as long as the essential idea is conveyed in a stimulating way.

The Story Element

Few professional authors approach their work this way; not, at least, if they want to stay in business. In the value system of the professional author, the most important element is story, for stories are what pros are paid to write, and those who are paid the most are the ones who write the best stories and write stories best. Ideas may be articulated, certainly, but only insofar as they help delineate the viewpoint of the characters themselves. Professional authors never allow their own ideas or viewpoint to override those of the characters who people their books, and the idea of calling attention to themselves through unique stylistic techniques are totally alien to them. Indeed, if a professional novelist slows the pace of his or her book to express some personal viewpoint, or distracts the reader’s involvement with the story by employing stylistic gimmicks, he or she can expect the editor to come down very hard on the offending passage with a blue pencil. Totally unlike serious literature, it is often impossible, upon reading a popular novel, to guess who the author is, so well disguised is he or she behind the excellence of the tale itself. And that is the way that they, their publishers and their readers like it.

The lives of professional genre writers differ in many significant ways from those of their more literary brothers and sisters, and indeed from the romantic image so many people have of the way writers are supposed to live. They are, for example, extremely businesslike, or at least extremely concerned with the business of writing. They study the provisions of their publishing contracts carefully and actively consult with their agents in the negotiating dialogues with publishers. They know the market value of their work before they sell it, sometimes within $500 or $1,000, and in fact, most of them sell their work before they write it, lining up contracts (often for more than one book at a time) in advance. They approach the work at hand in a businesslike fashion as well. Because genre book lines have specific word-length requirements to fit them into the publishers’ rigid price and marketing structures, writers have to design their manuscripts to those lengths and to pace the development and dramatic flow of their books so that all is resolved within 60.000, 75,000 or 100,000 words.

The Importance of Discipline

Which leads us to another quality of the professional writer: discipline. Inspiration as it is commonly understood plays little part in the life of the genre author, for, as we have seen, ideas are subordinate to story in his value system. Having selected a milieu or location, outlined a story, and sketched the cast of characters, the writer then tackles the job the way a skilled carpenter might approach the building of a piece of furniture, day by day, piece by piece. Of paramount importance is the outline. The synopsis of genre books are often highly detailed and broken down chapter by chapter scene by scene, so that every day, when writers sit down at their desks, they know precisely what work is cut out for them. It is here, in the daily task of writing the book itself, that inspiration plays a role. As the author follows his or her outline, the nuances of character, the details of time and place, the fine points of story and complications of plot flow endlessly onto the page from a source that is wondrous and mystifying. Characters take on lives and wills of their own. Struggling with the author for control of the work (and sometimes, to the writer’s astonishment, winning).

This day-to-day grind with its little pleasures, epiphanies, and triumphs may not be as romantic as the Big Bang variety of inspiration we usually associate with art, but does enable professional writers to get their work done no matter how ill, rotten, depressed, exhausted, or bereft of spirit they may feel on any given day: “You turn it on,” they will tell you, “and out it comes.” Writer’s block is therefore seldom a problem for professional authors, and besides, it’s a luxury they cannot afford. These writers know pretty much to the word how much they can write daily before growing fatigued: two thousand words, say, or twenty manuscript pages or three chapters of work that is consistently good, often good enough to be acceptable in a single draft. They can therefore predict almost to the day when they will be turning their manuscripts in to their publishers. This is critically important in order for the author to project income flow. It is equally important for the publisher to be able to count on reliable production in order to schedule books far in advance with relative confidence. Because covers and monthly catalogues are produced by paperback publishers before manuscripts are actually in hand and sales people solicit orders months before publication, the failure of an author to deliver a book on schedule is a nightmare that haunts editors. Reliability therefore becomes the prime virtue of professional writers.

Demands of the Marketplace

Unlike so many literary authors, professional writers are intensely attuned to the demands of the literary marketplace, because their lives and livings depend on its fluctuations. Genres go in and out of style, and heaven help the author who doesn’t adapt to a trend. As I write, science fiction is holding steady but fantasy is booming, westerns and horror are weak, cozy mysteries are strong and paranormal romance is huge. Authors working in these genres are expected to know about such cycles, indeed to know about nuances within the cycles: that within the fantasy genre, for example, the subspecies known as sword-and-sorcery is not very much in demand (as I write this, at any rate).

Like professionals in other fields of endeavor, professional writers exchange information with each other about the state of their fields. They belong to organizations devoted specifically to their genres, such as The Science Fiction Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, Western Writers of America, International Thriller Writers and Romance Writers of America. These organizations have websites and regularly publish newsletters profiling leading writers in their field, offering market reports about which publishers are buying what material, how much they’re paying, and whom to contact. Annual national conventions (and frequent regional ones as well) are held. There, organization members exchange information, conduct seminars, meet agents and editors, and honor their own for achievements in various categories. These meetings are usually well attended by representatives of the publishing industry and offer writers and editors an opportunity to conduct business on a less formal basis than is customary.

While I realize I’ve painted a black and white picture, discussions I’ve had with countless writers in all fields strongly suggest that the polarity of admiration and emulation runs from genre writers to mainstream ones but not vice versa. Oh, from time to time, a mainstream author will confess a secret passion for genre fiction that can be likened to a craving for junk food, and on occasion a mainstream author will cross over into genre fiction by writing a science fiction or mystery novel, a sort of literary equivalent of slumming. But these are exceptions that play up the rule that most literary authors don’t feel genre writers have anything to say to them. That this is arrant snobbery goes without saying. I also happen to feel it is bad thinking.

The time has come for serious writers to pay far more attention to their genre colleagues than they have done up to now. The increasingly monolithic publishing industry now concentrates such power that the livelihoods and freedom of expression of writers of every kind are seriously threatened. As publishers focus more intently each year on producing blockbuster bestsellers to carry their bottom lines, the time and space in which writers can develop shrinks, meaning they are being forced to mature far too early. As the spawning grounds for writers get squeezed harder and harder by economic exigencies, the pressure on tenderly budding talents to turn out commercial successes becomes more and more intense. This disease has spread from giant bookstore chains to publishing
conglomerates and has now infected the thinking of authors of every stripe, who feel their only choices are to hit the pot of gold on the first shot or become computer programmers or insurance salesmen.

When I entered the publishing business, a writer could still cherish – and achieve – the fantasy of a quiet life of literary accomplishment, a life in which one could be content with a modest living and the admiration of a small but dedicated audience. Today, this notion is so laughably out of date that I cannot imagine anyone seriously harboring it. More to the point is that if anybody did, it would be impossible to achieve it. And I believe there is worse ahead: as the conglomeratization of the publishing industry continues, it is possible that literature will no longer be a place in which writers achieve any dreams at all save that of getting rich writing stuff they don’t give a damn about. If this vision seems excessively dark, you have only to listen to the complaints of television writers in order to foresee the future.

The Publishing Ecosystem

It is vital for the writing establishment to realize that literature is far more than a ladder with junk at the bottom and art at the top. Rather, it is an ecosystem in which the esoteric and the popular commingle, fertilize one another, and interdepend. Principally, if it were not for the immense revenues generated by science fiction, romance, male action-adventure, and other types of popular fiction at which so many literary authors and critics look down their noses, there would be no money for publishers to risk on first novels, experimental fiction, and other types of serious but commercially marginal literary enterprises. Furthermore, from the aspect of the writing craft itself, there are many extremely important lessons for literati to learn from their genre comrades in arms, if only the former would take the trouble to study them. Although serious writers tend to reject formula plotting, for instance, they sooner or later realize that if they wish to reach any kind of audience at all, they will have to construct at least a minimum of formula skeleton for their works. When they do realize it, they have but to visit the popular literature departments of their local bookstores to discover a trove of skillfully fashioned works to teach them about creating sympathetic heroes and heroines,
daunting conflicts and antagonists, masterful pacing, and the building of dramatic tension to a thrilling climax and a satisfying ending.

And there is more: pride and professionalism, skill and discipline, reliability, attention to the business aspects of the writer’s trade, a healthy respect for publishers and for the vast audiences that publishers speak for – these are among the lessons waiting to be learned by those on the other side of the gulf that separates the two worlds. Above all, serious writers stand to discover that they by no means have a monopoly on integrity. And because the integrity of all writers is now in jeopardy, it is incumbent on those of both worlds to talk and listen to each other, read each other and, above all, respect each other.

Richard Curtis

This article was originally written for Locus, The Newspaper of the Science Fiction Field and reprinted in the Winter1992 issue of the Writers Guild Bulletin. I’ve made a few modifications to bring it up to date, at least as of 2008. Copyright © 1990 by Richard Curtis

Michael Valdivieso, in his five-star amazon.com review of The Jupiter Theft, said it as well as anybody: “Donald Moffitt just can’t write about tiny things.” Indeed, Moffitt’s concepts dwarf our vocabulary for huge. Colossal, gigantic, immense, mammoth, good words one and all. But they still don’t touch his vision. Astronomical – yes, now we’re getting somewhere. That word seems consonant with the idea of capturing a gaseous planet to use as fuel. Astronomical. That’s Donald Moffitt and that’s The Jupiter Theft.

This book, Moffitt’s first, was a discovery of the legendary Judy-Lynn Del Rey, and her editorial exchanges with the author, exploring the science behind this tale of a vast alien convoy sweeping inexorably into our solar system, displayed a mind as far-ranging as the author’s.

Moffitt himself is as modest as his mind is cosmic. Had he promoted himself, or had his publishers promoted him, aggressively, he’d have swept a lot of major awards for this and his subsequent novels, all of which E-Reads is in the process of rereleasing.

Read The Jupiter Theft and let me know if I missed any adjectives.

– Richard Curtis

Above photo of Jupiter from NASA’s Voyager 1 mission.

We try to stay on top of hot trends but we must have been asleep when Click and Collect arrived on the scene because we never heard of it until a couple of days ago when we came across it in The Retail Bulletin. “Amazon,” the Bulletin informs us, “is launching a Click and Collect scheme where customers can collect items bought on the web from lockers at major shopping centers.”

The principle is simple: if you’re an Amazon customer and you don’t expect to be home when your order arrives, you’ll be given a code number to access a locker in a shopping center near you.  There you’ll find your order.

The practice has been thriving in England, we learn from The Guardian. “Sainsbury’s director of direct channels, Tanya Lawler, said a third of the supermarket’s internet non-food sales already came through click and collect: ‘Customers tell us they really value the ease of using the service. It means they get all of the benefits of shopping online – the ease of use, competitive prices and a wide range of products – but can pick up their items in a location convenient to them.’”

We’re not sure if there is a size and weight limit on merchandise going into these lockers.  A book or CD is one thing, but a 22  cubic foot refrigerator freezer?  You can order one on Amazon, but will it be waiting for you at your local 7-Eleven?

Click and collect takes off as shoppers buy online and pick up in person

Richard Curtis

Sourcebooks CEO Dominique Raccah is not only a book industry leader but a book industry cheerleader, and she has plenty to rah-rah about.  Here’s her open letter to colleagues.  Email addresses and URLs are not hotlinked, but to link to any of them just copy and paste them into your email list or browser.

We thank Dominique for her sunbeams and hope they will shine on all of us as move into Q3-11.

Richard Curtis

******************************

Dear Friends –

Like many of you, I’m an entrepreneur. Twenty-four years ago, I started off by myself, and what has become the Sourcebooks of today is entirely self-built. At a time like now – one of tumultuous industry change – I tend to believe entrepreneurs like us have an advantage. We adapt, test new ideas, innovate, bust down walls, and create new opportunities.

And we’ve been changing Sourcebooks so quickly that I realized you might not actually know who we are anymore. We’ve gone so far beyond the reference and non-fiction publisher you might remember. We’re a decidedly different company from the publisher we were even 3-5 years ago:

· In the first half of this year we’ve had 10 New York Times bestsellers, by different authors in different categories, by debuts and established authors alike.

· There was a week this spring when we had 3 of the 10 books on the New York Times children’s picture book bestsellers list!

· We’ve had 8 USA Today bestsellers this year, including several debut authors!

· We’re a bestselling publisher in categories we were not (or were barely) publishing in four years ago, including fiction, romance, picture books, humor, and memoir.

· We publish estates well too, landing the legendary Georgette Heyer on the New York Times list 37 years after her death.

And of course there’s digital, where we’re creating new opportunities with real revenue streams for authors. We’re making significant investments in ways that will change the future for a number of our authors.

There’s a negative (fear-based) vibe going on these days. When reporters call, they often ask me questions in the negative – “how much have you reduced your print runs?” “How much are your sales down?” and “How many people will you be laying off?” Our answers go in a different direction. We’re very much continuing to grow:

· We make long-term commitments to growing our authors – just this year one author hit the NYT list after 6 years and 4 editions, another on her 4th book with us, another after her 7th. Our goal is to build our authors’ careers. It’s how we measure our success.

· And we continue to add amazing authors at competitive advances. (And in fact right now we’re looking for even bigger projects for every one of our imprints.)

· We’re entirely self-distributed – in fact we have been for more than a decade – reaching a wide swath of retail and non-retail channels. Just 2 weeks ago, we were named Specialty Publisher of the Year by mass channel leader Levy Home Entertainment.

As a result, despite the loss of Borders:

· Sourcebooks’ sales through July/August of this year are up 25%.

· Our Bookscan POS is up 7.5% (industry down 9%) in a challenged retail environment that does not currently report ebook sales.

· And our market share is up over 20%.

And we’re growing in other ways too:

· Our April 2011 batch of royalty checks were again the largest in the company’s 24 year history.

· We’re adding staff as we continue to grow into new areas, including an entirely new division servicing education channels.

· Also, about six months ago we introduced a completely reworked and vastly simplified boilerplate publishing agreement – connect with Todd Stocke, our Vice President and Editorial Director, at todd.stocke@sourcebooks.com if you’d like to see it.

We’re still expanding our children’s, YA, fiction, and romance fiction lists. Our adult nonfiction list is vibrant and growing (with bestsellers in new areas like memoir and humor). Our marketing strength is an asset in the current cluttered environment.

At Sourcebooks, we’re continuing to take a leadership role in digital experimentation and in those discussions on behalf of authors amidst this ever-shifting business.

· We’re extraordinarily data-centric folks and we seek transparency, so you can find some of our data-crunching and analysis in periodic posts on our Next blog at www.sourcebooks.com/next/sourcebooks-next-our-blog.html

· I’m personally available so feel free to connect with me on Twitter @draccah.

· I also personally run the largest ebooks group in the country on LinkedIn. There are currently over 25,000 members. Feel free to join us: www.linkedin.com/groups/Ebooks-Ebook-Readers-Digital-Books-1515307?gid=1515307&trk=hb_side_g

· You can find our catalogs online at www.sourcebooks.com/catalogs.html

· Our acquiring editors and interests for agents are at www.sourcebooks.com/resources/agents.html

Finally, as Chair of the Book Industry Study Group, I’m in New York with regularity (my next trip is September 19-21) and am on the road all around the country. I’d be happy to talk about books, authorship, the future or anything else. Let me know if you’d like to connect!

Certainly these are disruptive times for our industry – we recognize that your business models are changing along with ours. We’re all going to learn and make changes. I think there may be an edge in agile models right now. We’re trying some things that seem to be working. And I’m excited about what we could be doing together!

Here’s to a successful fall for us all.

With warmest wishes,

Dominique Raccah

Publisher

Sourcebooks

———————

A while back we asked “Do Amazon Reviews Count?“. We’re going to reproduce it below in a minute and if you want to cut to the chase, the short answer is, damn straight they do. But the issue that keeps rearing its head is the manipulation of Amazon reviews by authors and the claques that champion them. As we pointed out, Amazon has created a system for judging the integrity of the reviewer and the disinterested nature of the review. But that hasn’t stopped enterprising promoters from scheming to game the system. And even reviewers who seem to be objective may be susceptible to the same frailties that have beset the human race since its progenitors succumbed to temptation. (See for instance What Shoppers Don’t Realize About Amazon’s Reviews)

The integrity of reviewers for Amazon or any other medium is essential and we support any effort to hold them to the highest standard.

*********************************

Do Amazon Reviews Count?

If you were browsing a book in a store and the jacket blurb said,

“This is one of the best books of the year!”
– amazon.com

…would you be inclined to buy it?

Before you say no, here’s something to think about.

Any author who wants to get published successfully must run a gauntlet of “gatekeepers” who judge whether the work has artistic and commercial merit. Among the Cerberuses guarding the franchise on taste are literary agents, editors, bookshop and chain store buyers, critics and reviewers. Today’s Big Publishing establishment is dominated by such gatekeepers. They also guard tradition and guard it fiercely, and who can blame them? If the gates are breached a way of life comes crashing down.

Like a walled city, the gates enclose a world of tangible books produced in physical offices and distributed to brick and mortar stores. Until recently there was no other world, and as stupid and clunky as it is, somehow we’ve all managed to find a way to make a living in it. But now the Digital Revolution is eroding that world, just as it has done to so many business models that depended on middle agencies for distribution of tangible products. Today’s publishing model is a virtual one, and can be reduced to a simple formula: A Writer, A Reader, A Server. Absent from this formula, you will readily note, is A Reviewer. The question arises, in a world where books are sold virtually, do we still need reviewers?

After all, one of the keystones (to use a tangible image for an intangible concept) of Internet marketing is the way that public opinion can be instantly and virally created and marshaled into an economic force. Do we need gatekeepers to help us judge whether we should buy or read a book?

I happen to think that not only do we need them, we really can’t exist without them. And the interesting news is, we are creating a new class of pundits. Though their taste, judgment and experience may be no better than yours, we listen to what they have to say and, like it or not, we’re influenced by them. In particular I’m referring to the people who review for Amazon.com.

The idea that your next-door neighbor’s opinion may affect your decision to buy or pass up a book seems unlikely. True, word of mouth has always been a factor in the fate of successful books, but usually the mouth that the words come from belongs to someone you know, not an anonymous name on a website. But wait — when you search your Zagat guide for a restaurant recommendation, do you know who has written the review? No, but in all likelihood it’s a restaurant patron with no more professional reviewing credentials than yourself. That doesn’t stop you from saying, “Let’s go here!” Some of your neighbors thought the food was good, the place clean, the atmosphere pleasant, the service excellent, and the prices right, and that’s good enough for you.

In short, we live in an age when peer review is meaningful if not significant, and Amazon.com has used this fact to create a cadre of reviewers who must be taken seriously. Go to Amazon, click on any recently published book and page down beyond the official reviews (Publishers Weekly, New York Times, etc.). You’ll find Customer Reviews, and note that many of the reviewers identify themselves as the authors of a number of reviews. If they regularly review or blog about specific genres you may in time come to the conclusion that this person’s judgment is reliable and enlightening. Thereafter, when you see his or her name next to a review of a new book, you may very well be motivated to buy it.

It’s worth your time to click on the link that says “See all my reviews”, or on the badge beneath the reviewers name. Amazon has created a badge system to help you identify the reviewers credentials and review-worthiness.

I haven’t seen too many traditional books with Amazon.com quotes blazed on the cover, but I won’t be surprised if that changes before long. The first time you see one, let me know, and remember you heard it here first.

- Richard Curtis

“Keep your mitts off Amazon reviews!” we snarled last January.

Ha! A lot of good that did.  Half a year later, rave reviews of books, movies and music, hotels and restaurants are going for $5 a pop, writes New York Times reporter David Streitfeld. “As online retailers increasingly depend on reviews as a sales tool,” says Streitfeld, “an industry of fibbers and promoters has sprung up to buy and sell raves for a pittance.”

Don’t believe us?  Here are some come-ons we extracted from one website:

• I will write 3 Amazing Amazon Reviews for your Products by 2 male and 1 female, Tag your keyword and Like for $5…
• I will give you TWO professional positive reviews of your Amazon book or product for $5…
• I will write 10 Outstanding Google Places Reviews for your listing, all 5 STAR, 10 reviews from August 20th, for $5…
• I will write three glowing reviews, from 3 different reviewers, for your product or business for $5…
• My team will write 6, 5-star, KEYWORD reviews ..
• I will write you two fantastic reviews of any amazon products for $5…
• I will post 2 Amazon Reviews for you positive or negative feedback for $5…

“The perimeter of publishing’s community of gatekeepers is shrinking,” we wrote in that exercise in futility last January. “Traditional arbiters of taste and commerciality such as agents, editors, critics and bookstore proprietors are becoming marginalized under pressure of market forces. What will take their place? More than ever we need someone to render fair and balanced judgments on the book we wish to purchase.”

Streitfeld tells us that some Cornell researchers have been designing an algorithm capable of detecting these bogus bouquets, and their formula seems to work 90% of the time. For a hotel review, for example, “The fakes tended to be a narrative talking about their experience at the hotel using a lot of superlatives, but they were not very good on description. Naturally: They had never been there. Instead, they talked about why they were in Chicago. They also used words like ‘I’ and ‘me’ more frequently, as if to underline their own credibility.”

The credibility of websites like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Yahoo stands or falls on the integrity of its reviews.  If they can’t police their reviews and apply some critical judgment in evaluating their reviewers, customers will no longer be able to make sound judgments about any purchases they make online.

One would hope that consumers will finally figure out that a world in which everything is rated five stars is too good to be true.  But don’t bet on it. As H. L. Mencken so sagely observed, nobody ever lost money underestimating the American public.

In a Race to Out-Rave, 5-Star Web Reviews Go for $5 by David Streitfeld.

Richard Curtis