In about two weeks, I, along with a couple thousand or so of my closest friends, will be attending the 2013 Tools of Change for Publishing conference in New York. As you may have guessed, recently I’ve felt I haven’t had much to add to the digital publishing conversation. In many ways — while I […]
Tools of Change 2013: What Excites Me Right Now
February 2nd, 2013 · 8 Comments
File Under: The Future of Publishing
Tools of Change 2012: Today. Tomorrow.
February 7th, 2012 · 14 Comments
Time certainly does fly when you’re busy doing things, doesn’t it? One day, I was looking forward to the entirety of 2012. The next, I realize I’m leaving for New York and 2012’s Tools of Change conference in less than a week. Naturally, I reacted with typical aplomb…frantically gathering clothes to take to the dry […]
File Under: The Business of Publishing
That Customer Service Thing
October 11th, 2011 · 19 Comments
So what with this, that, and the other, Booksquare has been a bit quiet lately. The world of digital publishing has been amazingly active, and — oh! — filled with more rumors, speculation, and nonsense than even I can stomach*. Which means the important news gets buried as the digerati chase the next bright and […]
File Under: The Future of Publishing
A Tale of Two Authors
March 21st, 2011 · 37 Comments
Monday, March 21, 2011 was a big day for publishing. On one hand, we have author Barry Eisler announcing he turned down a two book, $500,000 deal. On the other hand, we learned that super-hot indie author Amanda Hocking is shopping a new series, with a price tag climbing above $1 million for worldwide English […]
File Under: Non-Traditional Publishing
I Went to TOC, and All You Got Was This Wrap-Up
February 23rd, 2011 · 14 Comments
Months of anticipation. Weeks of preparing. Days of thinking. Hours of wondering. And that’s before the annual Tools of Change for Publishing Conference begins. Once the action starts, the mental rush is indescribable. It takes me days just to organize my thoughts, an entire year to wonder at how what I heard is playing out […]
File Under: The Future of Publishing
Bookstores Now, More than Ever
February 9th, 2011 · 20 Comments
At next week’s Tools of Change for Publishing conference, I am moderating a panel on the future of bookstores (Tuesday, 2/15, 1:40 pm, be there!). I proposed this topic because, despite today’s challenges, booksellers are critical to the publishing food chain. The loss of booksellers — traditional and innovative — is a huge blow to […]
File Under: The Business of Publishing
Interview with Kat Meyer, Conference Co-Chair, Tools of Change for Publishing, Plus Contest! Win a Free Pass to TOC
January 17th, 2011 · 13 Comments
It’s hard to believe another year has passed, and that it’s time for the annual Tools of Change for Publishing Conference. This year’s conference will be held in New York from February 14 through February 16, 2011, and (I know I say this every year) has the best possible line-up of speakers and programming. To […]
File Under: Square Pegs
The Most Wonderful Post of the Year, 2010
December 23rd, 2010 · 7 Comments
No matter where you stand on the various issues surrounding the future of publishing, one thing is clear: without readers, what we do doesn’t matter very much. We sometimes take the privilege of our bookish lives for granted, forgetting how many people out there would give anything to be able to pick up a book […]
File Under: Square Pegs
The Daily Square – The Kids Are Alright Edition
December 17th, 2010 · Comments Off on The Daily Square – The Kids Are Alright Edition
Today’s links of interest: Random House Hires Ruth ReichlGood move for Random House. TOC Frankfurt Preview: “Customer Experience” is What Matters MostWhile we put about missing this year’s Tools of Change Frankfurt, this article about a session focusing on customer experience tells us this year’s event will be awesome! Federal appeals court tosses out method […]
File Under: The Daily Square
Reading in the Digital Age, or, Reading How We’ve Always Read
November 30th, 2010 · 29 Comments
As much as the idea of enhanced ebooks brings the sexy to publishing, it doesn’t really do much for most of the books published. Enhanced, enriched, transmedia, multimedia…these are ideas best applied to those properties that lend themselves to multimedia experience (or, ahem, the associated price tag). While many focus on the bright and shiny […]
File Under: The Future of Publishing