Articles from November 2007

HarperCollins Author Assistant: Publisher Marketing Done Right

November 28th, 2007 · 5 Comments

A few months back, HarperCollins launched its “Author Assistant” project (example here. In a nutshell (meaning, yes, I’m going to get into more detail in a few paragraphs), the service allows HC authors to easily build dynamic web presences with a smattering of Web 2.0 features that allow for community building. Authors must be active […]

File Under: Marketing For Introverts · Square Pegs

Two Great Ideas For The Kindle

November 26th, 2007 · 12 Comments

Last week’s reception for Amazon’s Kindle was, to put it kindly, rough. I admit it: I was expecting something more exciting. Something more egalitarian. Something I could put on my Amazon Wishlist. Good thing I’m an eternal optimist. I really do think a good e-reader is important to the world, and here are two reasons […]

File Under: Non-Traditional Publishing

Joining The Kindle Fray

November 20th, 2007 · 11 Comments

I had a choice yesterday: join the Kindle fray or watch the Kindle fray. Went with the latter, and, not surprisingly, the vast majority of the bloggers out there were as underwhelmed as I was when the device was initially announced. It’s unsavory to pay to upload legally-owned content to a legally-owned device. Kirk Biglione […]

File Under: The Business of Publishing

iPhones, Teenagers, and The Future of Reading

November 13th, 2007 · 14 Comments

There is no question that we are undergoing major change in the world of entertainment. The rate of change is both rapid and glacial. What is absolutely certain is that the next generation will consider our ways quaint and overly complex. They are growing up with a new set of expectations — and it is […]

File Under: The Future of Publishing

WGA Strike: Understanding The Basic Issues

November 9th, 2007 · 18 Comments

As you’ve noticed, I am greatly preoccupied by the Writers Guild of America strike. Not only is the gleaming BS headquarters based in Southern California, but I know people on the picket line. I’ve grown accustomed to seeing some of them hard at work while I’m pretending to do the same. I also know people […]

File Under: Square Pegs

Regnery Authors Sue For Lost Royalties

November 7th, 2007 · 4 Comments

Longtime BS BS readers know that one of the dirty little secrets of the publishing industry relates to “club” sales. According to the New York Times, five Regnery authors are suing the publisher for lost royalties due to in-house/related party club sales and other deep discount related party transactions. The book club is a simple, […]

File Under: The Business of Publishing

Online Content: The Importance of Ownership

November 6th, 2007 · Comments Off on Online Content: The Importance of Ownership

Some of your are thinking, “Why is she so obsessed with this strike?” Others, I hope, are seeing the appropriate parallels between what is happening with the Hollywood writers and you. Authors are surely noting that these writers are fighting for better compensation. Publishers are seeing that, as with music, creative talent has leverage. It […]

File Under: Non-Traditional Publishing

It’s The Story, Not A Lot More

November 5th, 2007 · 2 Comments

As the world settles into a potentially long winter of reruns and very bad reality television, the role of the writer in Hollywood is gaining new attention. We all know that someone writes those words that Angelina Jolie speaks on the big screen. We are newly aware that David Letterman’s “Top Ten List” isn’t created […]

File Under: Square Pegs

An Impossibly* Brief Post

November 1st, 2007 · 3 Comments

Today, as those of you feverishly attacking your keyboards know all too well, marks the beginning of National Novel Writing Month. Every year, during the month of November, thousands of people band together for a common cause: to write a novel over the course of what is surely the second-hardest month of the year. That […]

File Under: Square Pegs