Booksquare

My mark of a good conference is how I feel when it’s over. It’s a given that I’ll be exhausted (I am an introvert after all), so the test is whether or not I’m inspired to do something. Read, write, create, think. This is how I felt at the end of this year’s Tools of Change conference. Ready to roll.

There are a lot of of conferences focused on the changes facing publishing. Some might say too many, but I disagree. Over the next few decades, we will see all sorts of shifts in publishing, and these conferences — which thanks to the magic of technology have extended beyond the in-person realm to include far-flung audiences via social media discussions, webinars, and more — tackle the wide range of opportunities, challenges, and imaginative thinking that leads to innovation.

As I explore my takeaways from this year’s Tools of Change, I start from this position: all publishing is already digital.
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Today’s links of interest:

• Dear Author: Digital Books from the Consumer’s POV
  Nice interview with Dear Author’s Jane Litte about what readers want from ebooks.
• Torstar/Harlequin 2009 Book Revenues Rise to C$493.3M
  Go Harlequin!

Brian O’Leary on the major problems surrounding today’s discussions about piracy. More facts, less breathless assumptions.

At this point, there’s not much clarity in the debate. If this is an inflection point, we need data to establish trends. Declaring the answer limits discussion.

• Grounded in reality

• The Publicity Paradox
  February 23rd, 2010 · 9 Comments

  Today, we welcome back author Pam Jenoff, who wrote a great article for Booksquare called “A Rose By Any Other Name: Has Genre Become Irrelevant?”. Today, Pam explores publicity challenges facing authors, including shifts in world of literary agents as they develop programs to help authors in the wild world of publicity.
  As you’ll see, there [...]

• Our Digital Future: An Interview with Lori James of All Romance Ebooks
  February 18th, 2010 · 2 Comments

  As a book buyer, I have a keen interest in thriving bookstores. As a book reader, I have a keen interest in independent publishing and access to my books. And while I wait for traditional independent bookstores to transition to robust physical and online presences, I have enjoyed the emergence of digital booksellers, particularly All [...]

• My Sense of Entitlement
  February 16th, 2010 · 27 Comments

  A recent meme in publishing is that some readers are exhibiting a sense of “entitlement” about buying ebooks. I’d like to humbly offer myself as Exhibit A. It is true: I feel entitled to buy books. I insist upon it, actually*.
  Seriously, is it ever a good idea to disparage your customers? To treat them like [...]

• Amazon, Macmillan, Agency Models, and Quality (Oh My)
  January 31st, 2010 · 23 Comments

  Be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it.

  Consumer expectations will rise if prices do

  Over the weekend, we rode a rollercoaster as Macmillan laid out its demands for ebook pricing to Amazon, and Amazon responded by pulling (nearly) all Macmillan titles from its store. Late Sunday, Amazon announced they would “capitulate” to [...]

• What Are Enhanced Ebooks?
  January 19th, 2010 · 43 Comments

  Short answer: nobody knows.
  Longer answer: the magic elixir publishers are injecting into ebooks in hopes they will entice people to pay higher prices.
  As you might guess, I am a bit of an “enhancement” skeptic. I have a few reasons. First, they feel like an attempt to skip the walking phase. Right now ebooks are crawling, [...]

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