Meet us at Digital Book World, Jan 13-15

It's a sign of the times that this will be the first year Tizra exhibits at the Digital Book World Conference, now in its fifth year in New York City. Traditionally, DBW has been all about trade publishing, and trade publishing has been all about selling through traditional retail channels, i.e., bookstores increasingly dominated by Amazon.

Tizra, on the other hand, has long been the choice of publishers who want to reach their readers directly. Some because they feel that reader communities are the lifeblood of their business. Others because they want to build their own brands. Others because they don't want to put more than 30% of their revenue into someone else's pockets...particularly if that someone's long-term interests aren't necessarily aligned with theirs.

So why are we exhibiting this year? Partly because the Tools of Change Conference, which we've attended since 2007, is no longer being held. But also because there are signs that trade publishers are starting to see direct reader relationships really are key to the future of their businesses, just as many educational and professional publishers have realized for some time now. Maybe both reasons are part of a larger trend toward a more mature, practical and independent approach to digital publishing throughout the industry.

We'll see. In any case, we're excited to be meeting friends and colleagues in NYC, and hope to see you there!

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