Tag Archive: Yashar Books
Fascinating News from the Jewish Book World
I’m always interested to see how long it takes until mainstream media or award winning authors/columnists explore different venues or mediums-such as blogs-to reach their audience. Truth be told, I grew up enjoying the insightful and inspiring and at other times humorous columns of Rick Reilly. That said, it comes as no surprise that despite the fact that at one point in time, he ripped blogs-he now has a blog of his own! He seems to have followed the saying of: “If you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em!”
Likewise, if mainstream media doesn’t evolve and reach their audience using new mediums (and frankly it may be too late), they will simply become no longer relevant and sooner then later…worthless. Just this past week it was reported that The New York Times stock value had fallen to less then the price of the Sunday paper.
Indeed, while Rabbi Gil Student of Yashar Books has used his highly popular blog to promote books from his printing house, I find it fascinating that three of arguably the most reputable publishers of Jewish books, namely Artscroll/Mesorah, Feldheim Publishers, and Targum Press have begun to spread their wings a bit…
Case in point, while for good or for bad, there has been a blog that magnifies upon the every word of Artscroll (see here) the publishing house finally released The Official Artscroll Blog. Honestly, I find it aesthetically pleasing, well branded and believe that it reaches out to the masses effectively. It supplies samples of their books, allows for comments, and tells you when and where you can meet an author in your area. I only look forward to Artscroll/Mesorah adding more features to this site.
Likewise, I also appreciate the direction that Feldheim seems to have taken. They have placed some of their books on Google Book Search (see here). While I wish that it was not a “limited preview,” I do think that it’s a step in the right direction.
As far as Targum is concerned, they have compiled a list of author blogs that can be followed here. This is a remarkable development! That said, I do hope they expand upon this list. For instance, one name that I believe is a grave omission is that of Rabbi Tal Zwecker, the author of this Targum book. In fact, correct me if I’m wrong, but his blogs (see here and here) have a rather impressive online presence. And so, while he may not be as well known as Gila Manolson or Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz, I’d hope that they continue to integrate more names onto this blogroll. Finally, I must admit that I’ve enjoyed the behind the scenes prospectives from their Editorial Director and Editor-in-Chief!
In short, I believe that the above mentioned tactics certainly can help the chances of driving me to their website more. Additionally, it’s no secret that in today’s downtrodden economic world, one needs to be increasingly aware of useful and creative marketing trends that will make people interested in a book, and by extension, will enlighten fellow brethren to the the beauty that Judaism offers. As such, I’m pleased to see these companies join in the footsteps of Rabbi Gil Student, who to my knowledge was the first person to openly market his company’s books on his blog. Let’s be honest, if the online/technological creative juices of Artscroll/Mesorah, Feldheim Publishers and Targum Press continue to flow, we may soon see the day in which Artscroll Gemorah’s and Feldheim’s Messilas Yesharim are available on Amazon’s Kindle! As someone, who spends several weeks a year traveling, it would be wonderful to only have to pack a Kindle and have access to a plethora of traditional Jewish wisdom 24/6.
All in all, I’m glad to see that “The People of the The Book” are reaching out to a generation, who more then ever, make decisions as to what they want to buy, or whom to elect as the 44th President of The United States of America, based upon what they read on a screen.
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