Articles from March 2008

BS, Lazy

March 31st, 2008 · 4 Comments

It is rare that I hear something on the radio that makes me go “Yeah, tell it like it is, sister” (okay, brother), but there was a great story on the Marketplace Morning Report last Friday about social networks and mailing lists and who owns your list. If I were a better person (I’m not), […]

File Under: Marketing For Introverts

Amazon Changes POD Tactics, Removes Velvet Gloves

March 28th, 2008 · 23 Comments

It is not surprising that Amazon has told publishers that it’s their POD (print-on-demand) service or no sales through Amazon. It is surprising that, well, anyone is surprised. Did y’all think Amazon was buying Booksurge for the fun of it? What other outcome did you expect? Readers don’t care if a book ships from a […]

File Under: Non-Traditional Publishing

The B&N Challenge to Publishers

March 24th, 2008 · 2 Comments

It is no secret that I hate publisher websites. The vast majority of them can be best described as “suffers from multiple personality disorder”. And I’m not just talking about the fact that publishers can’t figure out who the target audience of their site is. Visiting a publisher site means being subjected to bad design, […]

File Under: The Future of Publishing

The Market That Is Yours To Lose

March 17th, 2008 · 12 Comments

I have a serious question for you. What if thousands of kids were reading and writing and nobody bothered to notice? I swear it’s happening. We are raising a nation of readers, writers, artists, and even activists. Better, we are raising a nation of communicators. Now we have nurture and protect this new wonder. I’m […]

File Under: The Future of Publishing

Three Minutes, Three Books

March 16th, 2008 · 1 Comment

A week or so ago (time flies when you’re in Austin and then down with the modern cold), I did a radio interview with Susan Benjamin for her show Greater Voices. We talked about a few favorite books, and since the show is airing — access through this link — I thought I’d offer a […]

File Under: Square Pegs

The Book Is Not The Territory

March 11th, 2008 · 7 Comments

It’s like we invented the written word, and we decided to only write books. Anyone cringing? Feeling a twinge of guilt? Sort of thinking “that’s me, that’s what I’m doing”? Then, “But, hey, books are the be-all and end-all of storytelling, I’m cool.” No worries, mates! That quote wasn’t directed at you. Jane McGonigal was […]

File Under: Non-Traditional Publishing

The Art of Conversation

March 10th, 2008 · 5 Comments

I’m still trying to create some coherence from this year’s SXSW Interactive Festival. Lots of ideas coming in, very few coming out. I think there’s a high level meeting happening in my brain. Presumably, the neurons will let me know when it’s time for me to get involved. In the meantime, one quick thought about […]

File Under: Marketing For Introverts · Perennials

The Myth of Sisyphus

March 4th, 2008 · 8 Comments

While I wait patiently for the kind folks at Hatchette to send me a Sony eReader (surely I am the next logical step in their process), I am thinking about the myth of Sisyphus. You recall it, of course: Sisyphus mails tons of ARCs and press releases to a closely guarded mailing list, only to […]

File Under: Marketing For Introverts