One new site (started in May) that I’m enjoy reading is Future Perfect Publishing by Tom Masters. The tag line for the blog is Exploring new trends & possibilities in book publishing and Tom is doing just that with some thoughtful articles.

From his very first post Tom set the tone for his blog:

Technology will no doubt create new opportunities in book publishing. This is why I am writing this blog. I am a bibliophile and a technology optimist. Here is my belief about the future of one of mankind’s most amazing and durable invention: As the democratization of publishing progresses, prepare for a renaissance in book writing, publishing and reading.

Interviews

Tom has been doing a very interesting set of interviews that feature a variety of insights:

Interview with Derek Armstrong - Publisher, Kunati Books

I coach our authors to review other novels on Amazon, to blog every day, to reach out to new friends on myspace and youtube aggressively. Some of our best quotes on our book covers, from NY Times best selling authors came from online friendships with authors-to-authors.

Interview with Dane Neller of On Demand Books - The Book Espresso Machine

Bookstores will be able to reconfigure their floor space to sell faster moving, higher margin inventory and rely on the Espresso for mid- and backlist books. Since the Espresso is a mini electronic book store, non-bookstore retailers will be able to use the machine to print all types of books, which will increase competition and probably reduce book prices. Also, self-publishing will become a profitable business for bookstores, libraries and other retail venues.

Virtual Book Tours: An Interview with Steve Weber

FPP: What is a virtual book tour?

Steve: It’s making a guest appearance on a blog that serves likely readers of your book. Sometimes it’s called a “blog tour” or “guest blogging.” So it’s a good way of popping up in front of your target market — by going to a place where they already congregate. Blog tours are especially valuable for authors who can’t travel or are uncomfortable with public speaking, and when touring is impractical because a book’s readers are widely dispersed. Exactly how it’s done depends on your preferences and the style of the blog. A plain-vanilla virtual book tour would be like newspaper editorials, but in the best case it’s an interactive affair, and the author provokes a discussion among the blog readers…..they’re becoming very popular among authors who handle their own publicity, and professional book consultants are jumping on the bandwagon too. Blogs are the place where people who are passionate about something gather to exchange ideas. So there’s no better place for an author to start a discussion and get people excited about his or her book.

I just wanted to highlight a section from each but you really should go and read all those interviews in full.

Podcasting, Blogs, & Blog Networks

Tom has a number of other posts about podcasting and blogging as tools for building readership. Overall it’s an outstanding start to a new blog and we’re looking forward to more great posts from Tom.