Booksquare

Of all the entertainment industries, book publishing is the most traditional. What could be less high-tech than a book*? Since the dawn of the printing press, the industry’s interest in technology has been largely focused on the making and distributing of books. As computers entered the workforce — ostensibly as time- and labor-saving tools (ha!) […]

It’s been a year, hasn’t it? We’ve had some really good times and some shake-us-to-our-core times. Even if you aren’t personally impacted by the current economic downturn, you can’t help but feel its reach. Some of us more than others. Yet, this is the season of giving (and, yes, tax deductions). Every year, we here […]

[BS: Today, we host podbook pioneer and published author, Seth Harwood. Seth, who boldly went where few authors had gone before, podcasting his novels as they were being written (and bravely handling real-time feedback!), is now trying a new adventure: online education. See how he’s approaching this new challenge.] Having taught on-the-ground creative writing and […]

It is a strange thing, publishing. On one hand, you have to make money. On the other, you have to satisfy a fickle group known as “readers”. Not surprisingly, these two goals are not always harmonious. Then there are the authors, caught in the middle. That’s got to be a rough position. There is a […]

[BS: We are delighted to host Joshua Henkin, the author of the terrific and duly lauded Matrimony, now available in paperback. As he begins his second round of publicity for his second novel, Joshua reflects on lessons learned. And book clubs. PS — Joshua just learned this, but he’s graciously giving away two signed copies […]

So, okay, it’s street date for your book and you’re 35,000 miles above ground and out of touch with your audience. What to do? Send a quick “hey, it’s available on Amazon” post to Twitter and turn off your cell phone for the duration of the flight. That’s what Gary Vaynerchuk did. There’s a reason […]

BS is moving into its shiny new headquarters today (as long as the Internet gods shine upon us!), so all thoughts are focused on frantic last-minute packing. Only the cat has completed her move-related tasks, though, in all honesty, she didn’t bring as many clothes. Frantic minds need distractions, and we have a fun one […]

This past week, I encountered a string of things that made me smile, reminding me that the Internet is a really cool place for people who love to read. What’s exciting is that these are fun items that aren’t flashy, twirly, or even sparkly. They’re just plain fun. So here’s my current shortlist of things […]

Sometimes I think that everyone’s worried about the future of books, but nobody’s doing anything about it*. More precisely, I think the people who hand-wring the most are the same people who forget why people read in the first place. These are the folks who place books on ivory pedestals and disdain anyone who reads […]

It is inevitable, in a conference setting, that one will disagree with the information being presented. Sometimes it’s a different point of view, sometimes it’s that the presenter is working off old, inaccurate information. Sometimes, even, it’s a simple case of someone trying to make a point, and getting the message across in a sloppy, […]