Authors Guild Gives Amazon the Perfect Alibi

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As controversies go, the Authors Guild vs. Kindle didn’t last long. Last Tuesday, Guild President Roy Blount, Jr. was fuming about infringement of digital audio rights in the New York Times. By Friday afternoon Amazon announced that it would allow publishers to disable Kindle’s text-to-speech (TTS) feature on a title by title basis. Some fear that the Amazon caved too quickly to the Authors Guild’s demands. On the contrary, I think we will one day come to see this decision as a big win for Amazon and not the Guild. Amazon may have given up control over one feature, but […]

The Future of Publishing

The Daily Square – Madonna of the Wasps Edition

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Todays links of interest: The Authors Guild vs. Kindle 2 — Could Users Be Held Liable?And with Kirk noting that the only possible infringement of audio rights would be done by the consumer (does the Author’s Guild really want to sue readers), we end our coverage of the Kindle’s text-to-speech functionality. Why The Publishing Industry Is TroubledFunny. Head of book trade association is stepping downPat Schroeder decides it’s time to move on. The AAP will now be headed by Tom Allen.

The Daily Square

The Daily Square – Sound of the City Night Edition

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Todays links of interest: Annual Conference—February 28, 2009»Arizona Book Publishing AssociationThis year’s conference is called Realities of Publishing: Preparing for Changes in the Industry. Kevin Smokler is on the agenda…what more can you want? Just when I thought I was out…they pull me back in! Sony makes good!Sony steps up to the customer service plate and hits a home run in the direction of Colleen Lindsay (hey, it’s the opening of spring training). Why is this such a big deal? Sony is building good buzz even in this time of Kindle 2, and a happy customer with a constituency is

The Daily Square

On Why Simon & Schuster Is Releasing Two Patrick Swayze Books

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Kathleen Schmidt, the publicity director at Atria, explains all: “One is a memoir by Patrick Swayze, and the other is about him,” Ms. Schmidt said. “When a celebrity does it, it’s very different than when a biographer does it. They’re just two different entities.” Swayze Scores Big Memoir, But Will Two Books on Dirty Dancer Be Too Many?

Quote of the Week

The Daily Square – The Volcano Edition

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Todays links of interest: E-smart Richard Nash leaving Soft Skull Press: TeleRead audio interview just postedOur version of breaking news. The Richard Nash story continues to unfold. The Self-Published ManBooksellers take on the cause of self-published author, Robert Dresner. Roy Blount Jr. and Text to Audio: Publishing StrategyMichael Cairns engages in a bit of delightful snark.

The Daily Square

Ebook Pricing: Who Chooses?

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I have been thinking for days, weeks, months, heck, years about ebook pricing and traditional publishers. Just for fun last week, I ran some numbers using the general figures from Bob Miller in the comments on his ebook pricing post*, plus a guesstimate of 12% general overhead (high or low, doesn’t really change the bottom line on a per unit basis), and they’re not pretty if you’re a publisher. After modeling various scenarios, two words come to mind: creek and paddle. Amazon isn’t setting a table for one, they’re throwing a dinner party. Especially if you are trying to port

The Future of Publishing
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