Thoughts on the publishing industry and the role Morgan James serves in it

I received a note from John Ingram this morning that prompted me to reflect on how large a part he has played in our success and how much I appreciate him for being a trusted and reliable partner that is committed to our success and to the success of our industry.

Morgan James started with the belief that, for the most part, the publishing industry was broken and that change was essential for the future of publishing. Six years later we are living through extraordinary economic times. Our industry is facing enormous challenges. We find ourselves at what many believe to be a tipping point of change for the way in which we publish, print and distribute books.

We realized then, and fully appreciate now, that a key to our success lay in our ability to change the traditional publishing model by printing more books to order and carefully managing them through the distribution channel to maximize visibility for our authors while at the same time minimizing the costs of excess inventory and returns in such a way that we can continue to be profitable. Ingram Publisher Services and Lightning Source give us a good mix of larger offset print runs and print to order to keep just ahead of the demand, keeping our expense outlay to a minimum along with the warehousing, sales support and distribution necessary to sell more books.

By matching supply to demand, we can be both bold and green in our decision making. We can continue to reduce the restraints and uncertainties we are facing now and will continue to face in the future.

Now more than ever, we believe is the time for more publishers to use print on demand to its full potential. This is no longer an optional novelty; nor is it just about the long tail or self publishing. I believe that it is at the heart of a book’s life and the lifeline between a book and the modern consumer. Most importantly a lifeline to help keep books in print longer to support the vision of the author.

We would like to compel more publishers to seize the opportunities and stability that the Ingram Content companies have provided Morgan James. A single source of services where publishers can explore new content formats, reach more customers, explore new markets, and sell more without taking huge risks. More choices and revenue opportunities while eliminating substantial operational costs. Keeping books alive for consumers to buy and read, and more.