A recent article in a local newspaper discussed the current status of that mini-Microsoft, Google. In particular, the where-abouts of Google Books and the Google Books Partner Program. At the same time, there is more soap opera going on between the courts and Google. As the sawdust settles and the radiation fall-out from The Google Books Settlement slowly half-lives to a level capable of sustaining life-as-we-know-it, there appear distinct advantages to bedding down with the lion. Something will happen in the end between Google, Publishers and Authors. My finely honed instincts tell me Google will prevail.
When Google first announced the Partners program, the verbiage was so cloaked in legalistic gobble-de-gook that no one could figure out how, why or when to do something. Lately, Google has taken the sensible step of making it relatively easy for publishers and authors to take advantage of the Partners Program. This is particularly good news for small publishers and independent authors. Although the web based sign up process is annoying, it can be done provided you have the information at your fingertips.
There is a subtle in-bred relationship between Google and some POD publishers. If you search a particular book title, you may very well turn up leads to some POD publishers who have ripped off Google books and are now offering them as their own. Run this search and take a peek at the first book listed. Or possibly first two books. Now select one of the sellers and check out the listed publisher. Kessinger Publishing. I have a copy of this book by Kessinger as well as the Google Books PDF and an original copy of the book. Sure enough, the Kessinger book is the Google Book. Compare the little idiosyncratic points of any pdf and you can see what I mean. All those extra little specs and background stuff that show up in the average PDF are identical in both the Google PDF and the Kessinger book. Lest Kessinger Publishing accuse me of singling them out, or of making this up, I'm simply stating that, to my educated eye, this one title originated as a Google Books PDF. If you are going to produce a book, be honest from whence the original came.
What's further sad to see is that Google, ABE, Alibris, Barnes & Nobles, Amazon and so on are listing the same product from the same source. Go to ABE to search a title and odds are you'll have to wade through multiple listings of a current POD production before you can get to the real 'old' title you are seeking. It's sad that Google doesn't police it's own material. It's even sadder yet that the public are duped into buying what they think is a facsimile of an original when in fact it's a free Google Book PDF which you could have taken to Kinko's and had them print it for you. Or run it off on your home laser printer. Or simply read on your monitor.So what's a book reader to do? Bed down with the lion is my answer. Any small publisher or independent author can sign up with the Google Books Partnership to obtain the same exposure the big guys get. All that is needed is an ISBN (and I'm checking on possibilities to get around that for authors who do not have ISBN's for their titles). When someone searches Google for a given title or content, your book will be viewed too. You can provide an excerpt, keywords, etc. to give people a glimpse of the contents without giving it all away. Get your book listed in Amazon or Barnes & Nobles or, if you are a publisher, arrange for a formal relationship with Google.
For my part, I'll be creating a section on one of my websites (haven't decided which one yet or even if another site is called for) to feature authors of books of interest to the hand tool community. There will be a page devoted to the Google Partnership and directions how to use it to your advantage. Most of all, this will be a directory of books on or about hand tools but current authors. That's my current plan. I have no doubt the 'plan' will undergo numerous iterations as I sleep on it.
Which I will do now.
Till next (and pleasant dreams), Gary
PS: As always, everything I write in the Toolemera Blog is my opinion and mine only. When push comes to shove (or push comes to pull, if you prefer to use the Western versus Asian woodworking plane analogy) the good old First Amendment, not to mention journalistic rights to expression, govern what I say or don't say. Which is to say, I say what I mean and I mean what I say, as said by a famous sailor-man.
