The Business of Publishing

The Glamorous Life? (Notes from the Indie Trenches) Part Two

August 11th, 2010 · 6 Comments

In yesterday’s post, Gina Frangello talked life as an indie author. Or, more specifically, life as an indie author who is also an indie publisher. She toured, she was paid (sort of), she got great press. She learned lessons. What happened next. As she says:

File Under: The Future of Publishing

The Glamorous Life? (Notes from the Indie Trenches) Part One

August 9th, 2010 · 11 Comments

One of the best parts of my job is discovering what goes on in all corners of publishing. If you look beyond Manhattan, you see innovation, experimentation, and, yes, consternation as changes to the industry seem to happen every day. I am asking those who are involved in these ventures to share successes, failures, ideas, […]

File Under: The Future of Publishing

Today in Publishing: A Skirmish

July 22nd, 2010 · 27 Comments

If you are contract, royalties, or publishing geek, today (yesterday?) was an exciting day. Sort of like the bully saying “I’m gonna beat you up” every day until the scrawny kid picks a fight. All concepts relative. As promised, agent Andrew Wylie did what he said he would: “We will take our 700 clients, see […]

File Under: The Future of Publishing

The Future of Print

July 6th, 2010 · 45 Comments

I’ve spent the past month listening and reading. I reminded myself of all the positive, cool, exciting projects happening in publishing today — and there are many (I’ve been asking those involved to post here to share what they are doing). I’ve considered what happens next and focused a lot on what readers are saying, […]

File Under: The Future of Publishing

Change Begins at Home

June 1st, 2010 · 11 Comments

In order for an organization to effectively implement and weather change, there must be an organization-wide mandate to move in a new direction. Senior management must support and model the changes they want to make. Change comes from the top, and, if the recent CEO panel at Book Expo America 2010 is any indication, that […]

File Under: The Business of Publishing

Small Teams and Acquisitions: A Collection of Messy Thoughts

May 3rd, 2010 · 8 Comments

Since the announcement that HarperStudio was being shuttered and its staff, Bob Miller excepted, would be absorbed into the larger HarperCollins machine, I have been thinking about what this means for publishers. HarperStudio was a high-profile experiment that barely had time to emerge from start-up mode, much less to achieve goals great and small. From […]

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Models in Motion: Brett Sandusky on Innovation Through Experimentation

April 26th, 2010 · 8 Comments

Today, we welcome the genius Brett Sandusky, chief provocateur behind Publishr, a site focused on exploring the issues behind new publishing business models and challenges. A few weeks ago, Brett announced plans for a new publishing, er, Publishng project. Today, he expands upon his vision: Let’s start at the beginning: what is Publishr? Publishr is […]

File Under: Non-Traditional Publishing

Thoughts on Transmedia Storytelling, or, Is It Right for Every Story?

March 30th, 2010 · 12 Comments

In last week’s post, I noted some of the questions our South by Southwest panel received from the audience. One, in particular, needed more time and space to address: what’s the deal with publishing and its slow adoption of transmedia storytelling, a concept that includes some types of enhanced ebooks. According the person asking the […]

File Under: Non-Traditional Publishing

The Publicity Paradox

February 23rd, 2010 · 12 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, […]

File Under: Marketing For Introverts

Our Digital Future: An Interview with Lori James of All Romance Ebooks

February 18th, 2010 · 3 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 […]

File Under: The Business of Publishing