Nepal is advancing in its efforts to create and promote book reading – international publishers such as Penguin and Rupa were all competing to sign Authors from Nepal and for the first time China also participated. By establishing schools and community libraries there is a big effort going onto start a literary movement and targets towards the middle class etc are being made. The actual quality of books is also improving from book price which is falling the quality of the books including print and content is also on the up. In the west the internet and e-books have raised doubts about the future of the prints but in the developing countries this trend is moving and is on the rise.

Gail Rebuck has turned Tony Blair’s autobiography into a record breaking success. Gail is the head of Random House and has made the memoir’s of the former Prime Minister’s book into the fastest selling memoir ever. Although the success of the book was for nominal the book was not welcomed by everyone and as a result the London Book signing event that was scheduled in London was called off amid security fears. The main protesters were anti war protesters who were angry over Tony Blair’s decision to go to war on Iraq. The book titled A Journey sold over 92 Thousand copies in the first four days on sale.

If we were all to look into our wallets now we would probably find in one of the many compartments a few 2 inches by 3 1/2 inches pieces of card with a logo and some details about us on – the business card!

But is this small piece of card showing your business and more importantly yourself in the right manner or is it a complete waste of time?

The black and white business cards are a thing of the past and now business cards have such variation as thickness, colour, design techniques, illustrations and I have even seen some that are metal. I had a good browse on the web and couldn’t find any definite information on what a good business card is.

Personally i think the business card is a really important part of a meeting as most of the time it is the first thing people make a first impression on and as we all know first impressions are very important and could be the difference between completing the deal and going home empty handed.

I think a business card should have the simple factors of clear contact details and clear outline of your business (logo and any USP about your business) whilst also offering a design that stands out from the crowd.

Couple of points to look out for don’t make it look to flash and expensive as companies may question your prices and websites offering business cards may be best for you if you only need 250 or less.

A conference in Edinburgh has discussed what the future is likely to hold for publishing in Scotland. Publishing has been hard-hit by the recession and the effects have been felt all over the UK, including Scotland.

The conference was aimed at addressing fears that funding for the publishing trade organisation Publishing Scotland would be cut amid recommendations from the Literature Working Group of Scotland. A report from the LWG also suggested Publishing Scotland should be restructured to become part of the Independent Publishers Guild.

The LWG stressed that their report was intended to spark discussion on the topic of Scottish publishing and that they are open to other suggestions regarding its future.

Authors published by Penguin have all voted on the Penguin book they admire the most and George Orwell has come out on top. Fifty authors took part in the poll, which was part of Penguin’s 75th birthday celebrations, each selecting one title from Penguin’s back catalogue.

A total of four novels chosen were written by George Orwell. Including in the selections were his famous dystopian novels 1984 and Animal Farm.

The final list can be seen at Penguin’s website, providing a small insight into the tastes of some of today’s best writers. Other novels selected included works by such literary giants as Vladimir Nabokov, Leo Tolstoy, James Joyce and John Steinbeck.

The publishing industry has been hard hit by the effects of the economic downturn and last year saw staff within the industry endure pay freezes as part of publishers’ strategies to cope with the struggle.

It looks as though 2010 will be a little easier however as some of the larger UK publishing houses have announced they will be increasing employees pay in line with inflation. HarperCollins and Penguin are among those whose strategies have eased up and Macmillan is set to announce its plans in April.

Recruitment agencies for publishers have also confirmed that the job market within the industry appears to be improving.

Publishers in the United Kingdom have another difficulty to face in the coming months and years as it appears that the lucrative business of co-editions is on the wane.

Co-editions constitute separate publications of the same edition of a piece of work. A good example of a co-edition would be a foreign language translation – a publisher in France, for instance, could publish a French book and a separate English publication could be released with an English translation of the same book.

These used to contribute to publishers’ income, but 2008 figures show that co-edition income fell a massive 29% from 2006 figures.

Recent reports have suggested that Google is moving to push ahead its Google Books venture by submitting a court brief to try and convince the US District Court to approve its revised settlement terms with American publishers and authors.

Google Books would be an online platform for digitising and selling books, but opponents have raised concerns about copyright law and monopoly issues that would surround the deal.

With the publishing world already struggling because of the selling power of supermarkets, who are able to sell books at reduced prices thereby circumventing the efforts of dedicated bookshops, could it be that Google will add to publishers’ woes with their digital venture? Or will Google Books signal something of a new age in publishing?

The new Apple tablet is all set to redefine the future of publishing by offering new methods of charging for digital content.

Print media companies have suffered from the amount of free and accessible content available these days. This may be all set to change with this new device as Apple gears up to market its product.

Past releases have proved that when it comes to these types of devices, consumers are more ready and willing to shell out their hard earned cash. People are happy to pay small amounts of money towards apps for their iPhone and download ringtones.

Many magazine publishers will soon offer their content on this platform and three have now signed up with Apple to do just that.

Ever since Amazon released the popular Kindle electronic reading device, other software developers have been frantically working on their own version to grab a slice of the market.

As Apple gears up to release its own version, with e-books accessible through its iTunes store – and Google is also expected to follow suit later in the year – publishers, authors and readers will be spoilt for choice.

The true value of an electronic book is still yet to be fully determined with Amazon setting its prices competitively and publishers working hard in negotiations to secure the best deal. Their positions could be strengthened somewhat with the introduction of Apple, and so a royalty terms battle is all set to commence.