A Call To Arms

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Be still our beating heart: someone out there thought it would be fun to talk about. . .wait for it. . .you’re right the suspense is killing us, too. Metadata. Digitizing books isn’t just about digitizing words, it’s about digitizing information about the works that contain the words. Too much fun. Also a boon for those who think statistics can be relaxing. You know who you are and you promised to get help. We’ve been managing book metadata basically the same way since Callimachus cataloged the 400,000 scrolls in the Alexandrian Library at the turn of the third century BC. […]

The Future of Publishing

Taft? We Had A President Named Taft?

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Lewis Lapham is retiring from Harper’s Magazine. Or rather he is becoming an editor emeritus. Which we think means working just hard enough to cover health insurance premiums. Or to justify keeping the corner office despite the fact that it only gets used once a month. Probably we should look this up in the dictionary. All of this is tangental to our real issue. How is it possible that there is enough interest in the life and times of William Howard Taft that a publisher would already have the author (even an author of note) under contract? History was one

Publishers and Editors

On Human Cynicism

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The impact of a negative review is more powerful in decreasing book sales than a positive review is in increasing sales. The authors attribute this to the credibility consumers place on the reviews. For example, multiple glowing reviews for a book may be perceived as hype generated by an author or publisher. Yale School of Management Word of Mouth Study Finds Customer Reviews at Amazon, BN.com Influence Book Sales

Quote of the Week

In Which We Regretfully File Our Application For A Patent On The Universe

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There is something disquieting about the recent patent awarded to Amazon.com for its customer review technology. While we can’t recall if the online giant was the first to offer a form to post reviews, we do know that the practice rapidly became all the rage. In addition to those programmers who faithfully attempt to duplicate the Amazon model (flattery fully intended), how many websites out there have grown their own? How many websites will continue in full and blissful ignorance? Patent, what patent? It’s a bit like patenting the wheel. Online reviews are a mature forum, though the folks at

The Business of Publishing

Next Up: Fun With Headlines

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Here is what scares us: a major newspaper asks “Can NEA plan help literature?” and it doesn’t seem to have a whiff of irony. This question appears, based on our not-very close reading of the article, to be genuinely sincere (probably because this is an opinion piece, but that’s not fully clear until the final paragraph). Why are we bothered? Because if the NEA cannot help, who can? Sorry, sometimes our frustration with inane headlines spills over to real life. Yes, kids, your government is going on the road and encouraging reading. A project called “The Big Read” is destined

Square Pegs

Library, Community Win

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Because the timing is wrong, we won’t share our notions on taxing with you this morning. Except, of course, to note that Salinas has voted to increase local taxes to pay for its libraries. In most communities, this type of increase would be unnoticeable; in a community like Salinas, it reflects a major commitment. The library issue both embarrassed and galvanized the city: The city’s young people were among the first to respond, Caballero said. Two migrant farmworker boys in elementary school persuaded their mom to make cakes they could sell to raise money for the cause. There were lemonade

Square Pegs

Online Book Renting: Questions Without Answers

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Normally, we eschew such behavior as jumping to conclusions*, but, really, what can one do when the news fails so miserably? Google has (apparently) approached a publisher (unnamed) about the possibility of renting books (in an unspecified format) for 10% of the list price. Tell us, does that final bit seem a bit too specific for you? It’s sitting in the article like it’s an actual fact. Very suspicious. Our mind reels with possibilities: a NetFlix sort of arrangement where books arrive by mail and are return in prepaid envelopes. Inter-library loan programs on steroids (or, rather, more libraries, better

The Future of Publishing

Writers Against Product Placement

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Those of you who watch television on a regular basis have surely noticed a trend: brand names everywhere. They’re in the movies, too. Rising production costs and declining ad sales have lead to an increase in product placement. It’s the future of motion picture entertainment or so we’ve been told. And when a new trend hits the scene, the desire for money follows right behind. The next big fight for writers in Hollywood will be how to share in the big bucks generated by product placement. The writers’ argument: they have to craft dialogue and story to fit the product.

Square Pegs

Building An Intimate Relationship: Writing Partnerships

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In our long career, the only writing partner we’ve had is the husband. As far as collaborative processes go, it worked surprisingly well. Unlike traditional fiction partnerships, we wrote in a shared editing environment. This, of course, meant the poor man had to wait until we were satisfied with his commas and apostrophes before we started the next section. MediaBistro takes a look at the process of writing with a partner. Though we know you’re going to pop right over and read the whole thing, we feel compelled to summarize: communication. Oh sure, you’re always right and have never made

Tools and Craft

A Day Without Tim O’Reilly Is Like. . .

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It’s hard to tell when we fell in love. Was it the marmot? Or the camel? The nuthatches, spiders, or horses? Or was it the fact that Tim O’Reilly publishes books with covers that make us happy*? O’Reilly is one of those pro-electronic publishing guys who talks the talk and walks the walk. We imagine him as tall and lean with floppy hair falling over his eyes. Do not send links to photos — without our fantasy life, we are nothing. O’Reilly discusses a few key points relating to piracy and the art of making entertainment — especially those works

Our Continuing Fascination With Copyright
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