Author Alder Yarrow taps the Blurb
self-publishing platform to create, publish, and distribute his
best selling book
Blurb, the independent book and magazine publishing platform,
today announced that wine blogger and Blurb author Alder Yarrow’s
first book, The Essence of Wine: Celebrating the Delights of the
Palate, made the New York Times’ Best Wine Books of 2014 list which
is compiled by wine writer, Eric Asimov, each year. Yarrow joins a
growing list of experts and authors who have opted to use
self-publishing platforms like Blurb in order to retain complete
creative control over their work, bringing their books to market in
record time.
Independently published projects are increasingly winning
mainstream awards and recognition, and delivering strong sales via
distribution capabilities historically available only to
“traditional” publishing houses.
“We’re seeing a shift in who is publishing and how they are
publishing; nowadays individuals and businesses are more often
publishing their own projects themselves instead of hoping to
secure a book deal from a publishing house,” said Eileen Gittins,
founder and CEO, Blurb. “What’s happening is that people like
Alder, who have valuable expertise and have cultivated a digital
following, are selecting and then converting the best of their work
into digital and print publications. In a world of abundance, the
filter is the value – in this case, a blog reimagined – and a book
becomes the ultimate in curation.”
Alder Yarrow is regarded as one of the most influential wine
bloggers on the Internet today. Yarrow’s site, Vinography, features
wine, sake, and restaurant reviews, editorials, wine news, event
coverage, and more.
“Over the years, I’ve been approached by publishers who wanted
me to do a book with them, but when I was finally ready with a
proposal for a book I was excited about, every publisher I
approached turned me down. They thought it was too artsy, and
didn’t think they could sell it as I had conceived of it. I wasn’t
willing to compromise my vision for what the book would be, and
needed a publisher who felt the same way, but it just wasn’t
happening,” said Yarrow. “So I decided to do it on my own using
Blurb and I couldn’t be more pleased.”
In December 2013, Yarrow launched a Kickstarter campaign with an
$18,000 goal. The money would cover a designer, copy editor, and
publishing costs. Yarrow surpassed his goal, raising just over
$24,000 from over 180 backers in fewer than 30 days.
“Self-publishing allowed me to retain creative control and
produce a beautiful book that I’m incredibly proud of,” said
Yarrow.
THE SELF-PUBLISHING TREND: WHO, WHAT, WHY
Yarrow isn’t alone in his self-publishing journey. Other
well-known creative folks have published their projects via the
Blurb self-publishing platform to create, promote, share, and sell
their books as well.
Former Dire Straits guitarist, Jack Sonni, created his book,
Gatherings: Recipes from the Rustic Soul of Healdsburg, which
features recipes from local Healdsburg talent. French-born, Los
Angeles-based chef and television personality, Ludo Lefebvre,
created the tenth anniversary edition of his book, Crave: The Feast
of the Five Senses, a cookbook that centers around engaging the
five senses with each recipe, on Blurb. Serial founder and owner of
Sydney’s famous Remo General Store, Remo Giuffre, created his Blurb
book, General Thinker, which catalogs his own life as an
entrepreneur and brand builder. All had their different reasons for
using a self-publishing platform, but most involved retaining
creative control, speed to market, and the ability to retain more
dollars from the sale of each book.
According to the 2013 Bowker Self-Publishing Report,
self-publishing is very much a growing industry. At the time of the
report, there were more than 458,000 self-published titles in the
United States. Since 2008 self-published titles increased by 437%
with print titles alone growing by 29% in 2013. Many of these
titles have made their way onto the USA Today, New York Times and
Publishers Weekly best sellers lists.
“The Essence of Wine” is a stunning coffee-table book of images
and essays about the many flavors and aromas of wine. Acclaimed
wine writer Alder Yarrow has collaborated with award-winning food
photographer Leigh Beisch to create a wine book like no other. The
book highlights 47 of the essential aromas and flavors of wine, and
recommends wines you can buy that smell or taste of that essence.
The book makes a fantastic gift for any wine or food lover, from
those just starting out on their journey to the most die-hard wine
connoisseurs. It is a beautiful coffee-table book, available in
print for $75 on Vinography or in eBook format for $30 on
Blurb.
For more on this news, please visit www.blurb.com.
About Blurb
Blurb® was founded on the premise that everyone – not just the
talented few – should be able to publish, share, and distribute
beautifully realized digital and print books with first class
production values. Whether creating books for friends and family,
for business colleagues and prospects, or for global audiences who
may wish to buy your book, Blurb’s platform is built for you. By
creating a business model that enables the company to profit on a
unit of one, Blurb has opened up the world of publishing to
everyone who has access to a computer and a story to tell.
Blurb's independent publishing platform offers the ability to
design, publish, share, market, distribute, and sell both digital
and print books. Further, Blurb puts book creators in full control
by providing a comprehensive publishing toolkit: a suite of free
book design tools including Blurb BookWright™, an Adobe InDesign®
plugin and Adobe Lightroom® integration, a variety of print and
distribution options, book format and paper choices, and online
selling and social sharing tools.
Launched in 2006 by CEO Eileen Gittins, Blurb now enjoys global
scale via more than one million book authors, resulting in nearly
three million unique book titles so far.
Knock TwiceChelsea Boudreaux, 408-828-4660chelsea@knock2x.comt:
@chelsbe