The package going out to the NYU
and DU publishing institutes, and
the resulting 16-page booklet.
I've just finished putting together a little handout for students of New York University's Summer Publishing Institute (of which I'm a 2001 alum) and Denver University's Publishing Institute. Both programs are intensive multi-week courses, designed to jumpstart student's publishing careers with complete overviews of the industry and valuable networking opportunities. I was running too late this spring to be able to participate in either course in person, but was happy to be able to contribute a little from afar.

The handout I created is intended to spark students' thinking on the entrepreneurial side of the business and specifically ways in which the Internet is enabling a new kind of startup publishing enterprise. It's printed on two sheets of legal-size paper and includes simple directions to fold, cut, and bind the sheets together into a pocket-size 16-page booklet, using an included rubber band. The booklet consists primarily of this one quote:

"Trade book publishing is by nature a cottage industry, decentralized, improvisational, personal; best performed by small groups of like-minded people, devoted to their craft, jealous of their autonomy, sensitive to the needs of writers and to the diverse interests of readers."

It's the opening line of Jason Epstein's 2001 book Book Business, and remains my favorite statement on publishing. Following the quote, I invite students to "start their own cottage" and direct them to a collection of articles assembled at del.icio.us/holartbooks/101.

Download your own copy of the handout below (rubber band not included), or drop me a line and I'll mail one out -- just be sure to indicate whether you'd like it assembled or not.

1. Download
2. Print double-sided on legal-size paper
3. Assemble as indicated