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HAPPENINGS: The Last Two Weeks in Publishing
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 Harry Potter Makes Grown Man Cry: Some years back, a devoted Harry Potter fan named Steven Vander Ark created the online Harry Potter Lexicon. The site was considered so good that even author J. K. Rowling admitted to using it from time to time. But when Vander Ark signed a contract with RDR Books to take the lexicon from online entity to a real (moneymaking) publication, Rowling went to court to block the publication. Rowling's tough stance in court didn't help and even provoked Vander Ark to tears.
Some felt that authors' seeking such protection is ridiculous, while others admit that the Fair Use Doctrine is murky in these areas. Thankfully, the story has a happy ending, sort of. That said, it now seems that book publishing is becoming as litigious as the movie industry.
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 Just When You Thought Tax Season Was Over: What does New York State's budget increase of 5 per cent mean to online retailers? Well, $50 million of the $122 million budget is expected to come from online retailers and taxes. Guess who has to suddenly start paying some hefty sales taxes? The giant e-tailer argued that it does not have operations or employees in the state of New York, so why pay state taxes?
No dice, said New York State. Even out-of-state Web merchants have to collect state taxes. Then, perhaps to drive the point home, the state started calling the legislation the Amazon tax. What Amazon will do remains to be seen, but even millions of dollars in taxes is chump change to a company that just announced $4.1 billion in sales for this year's first quarter.
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 But Mr. President, Is Our Children Learning?
Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) has provided over 300 million books to over 30 million underprivileged children since 1966. However, President Bush's 2009 budget eliminates all funding for RIF. Write to your congressional representative (RIF will even tell you what to say) and voice your concern.
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BK NEWS: Authors on Video
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Berrett-Koehler is pleased to introduce the BK Author Video series. These two- to three-minute video shows authors speaking about
their Berrett-Koehler books, covering topics such as the inspiration
behind the book, the "big idea," and the intended reader takeaway. You can view these videos on the authors' websites of Berrett-Koehler, Barnes & Noble, Youtube, and Amazon.
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SPOTLIGHT: Even Better the Second (or Third or Fourth) Time Around...
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We are thrilled to offer new, revised editions of some of our most popular sellers:
 Love 'Em or Lose 'Em, 4th edition:
Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans present the completely revised and
updated fourth edition of their mega-selling work on employee retention
strategies. The previous editions have sold over 500,000 copies and
have been translated into twenty languages.
Buy the book now for 30% off!
 Performance Consulting, 2nd edition: Dana and Jim Robinson introduced a concept that has since become a cornerstone of the human resource and organizational development fields. Twelve years later, they've got more to tell you. The previous edition sold over 70,000 copies and has been translated into four languages.
Buy the book now for 30% off or buy the e-book for 50% off!
 Open Space Technology, 3rd edition: Harrison Owen's original book and change method gave rise to a worldwide movement. Find out about all that has happened in the field as well as new learnings from the originator. The previous editions sold over 35,000 copies and have been translated into nine languages.
Buy the book now for 30% off!
 Driving Growth Through Innovation, 2nd edition: Bestselling author Robert Tucker knows that there's a lot more to innovation than just creativity. This work shows the processes that drive the biggest innovation breakthroughs.
Buy the book now for 30% off or buy the e-book for 50% off!
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THE BK FUNNY
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COMMUNITY SECRET: Dana and Jim Robinson
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 Dana and Jim Robinson have been partners in change for decades. Their book, Performance Consulting, revolutionized the world of human resources and organizational development and remains a huge bestseller (now available in a second edition).
Of course, they weren't always industry pioneers. Dana's first job was as a birthday-party host for children at a local fast-food restaurant. Jim's first job was to feed and water more than 3,000 turkeys on a turkey farm.
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SITES: Brijit Repackages the World in One Hundred
Words or Less
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 Most people need another online news aggregator like they need more emails from Mariam Abacha, but Brijit is different. Brijit aggregates the world's best long-form content from over one hundred sources and condenses it
in one hundred words or less.
Why do you need Brijit? Because there is so much news in the world and so little time to get it. This way, you discover and access the
unique, in-depth, long-form content that often gets lost in the twenty-four-hour
news cycle. Find out more here.
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End Notes In the last newsletter, I challenged readers to tell me in which country does this seemingly benign American (rock and roll) gesture have a distinctly negative meaning (and what that meaning is). Both Karen Seriguchi and David Edwards won the prize because they each emailed me with the correct answer at exactly the same time.
In keeping with this newsletter's theme of second editions, send me your idea of what is (or could be) even better the second time around (and no, marriages don't count). The person with the most original answer wins the BK book of his or her choice.
Any comments? Send them my way, along with any thoughts, ideas, feedback, or reactions to the bizarre new mammal that was recently discovered. Send it all to me.
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