The Business of Publishing

In Which The New York Times Discovers TPO

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Ah, prestige. So lovely, so heart-warming, so not likely to pay the bills. We will admit that if it weren’t for the higher royalties, we wouldn’t get the desire to publish in hardcover. After all, we count among our acquaintances only one soul who refuses to touch paperback books; everyone else is quite happy to read the printed word in any format. Naturally, we will not name names (Cathy) as that would be rude. So a year or two after the fact, the New York Times (we are going to miss Edward Wyatt when he’s gone) takes a look at […]

The Business of Publishing

Dan Brown Update: It’s All In The Execution

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It is difficult to admit, but the Da Vinci trial has become one of our most-watched (or, in our case, read) events. Unlike all the other silliness in the world, this trial is exposing an important issue: who owns ideas? Or as the Los Angeles Times puts it: If it were a run-of-the-mill copyright claim, Leigh and Baigent would argue that Brown lifted passages of their work verbatim, or that his work as a whole was substantially similar to theirs. Instead, they maintain that Brown built his novel around the central assertion of their book… Artists constantly borrow from other

Our Continuing Fascination With Copyright

Dan Brown Update: Authors Rely On Sources

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We have reached a new level of bemused. And are feeling the slightest bit of pity for Dan Brown. Which, given all of the other stuff we’ve been reading, writing, and hearing for the past week, leads us to worry about the state of research and fair use in this world. Setting aside the notion that Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh are making more than they should off of an old book that previously dwelt only in the libraries of conspiracy theorists, it’s bothersome that this trial is proceeding. According to the authors, Holy Blood, Holy Grail is a non-fiction

The Business of Publishing

Google Book Search: Industry-Friendly, Consumer Not-So-Friendly

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It is so hard to keep up with Google Book Search news these days. Honestly, we’re sitting in a room with the dude from Google — does he mention the new revenue sharing model? That would be a big, fat “No!” Of course, as you’ll recall from our previous posts, it was a busy conversation. So Google is adding a paid component to their searches, allowing publishers to set the price and sharing the revenue between the two entities (assuming a book has only one publisher, and in this modern world, one can never make such bold assertions). Being lazy,

Non-Traditional Publishing

Our Life Of Crime

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We have a small confession to make: yesterday, we did something unethical. Willingly and deliberately, we snuck into a workshop at someone else’s conference. Yes, we walked down the hall from our own conference to another conference and brazenly walked in, sat down, and listened to a panel discussion. We will let you pause for a moment to reflect upon our crime (though we believe we have sufficient positive karma banked to protect our soul) as we reflect upon the irony of walking out of a session on blogging and writing to sneak into a session on writing and blogging*.

The Future of Publishing

Last Year’s Trend

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Was it just last year that the insane drive to add erotica to a publisher’s list lead to the creation of new and wilder imprints all over New York? Like pink phones, everyone had to have their own line. These weren’t your father’s dirty books, oh no. By definition, erotica is aimed toward women; by implication, erotica is selling like proverbial hotcakes. Which leads us to wonder about the genesis of that expression. Later. Later. Literary erotica is now (apparently) sweeping the planet. Or, if you will, As a publishing trend it might best be summed up thus – from

The Business of Publishing

Backlist and Print-on-Demand: A Match Made in Heaven

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Though we can’t be certain*, we think the British press is on schedule: one article touting the future of self-publishing per quarter. It’s almost enough to make us wonder if there’s some sort of publishing revolution happening across the Atlantic. If only we had a correspondent who spoke English. Though the article intermingles self-publishing and print-on-demand, we simply do not have the time to explain differences. Place to go and all that. Likewise, we cannot focus on a cost/benefit analysis of self-publishing. What we’re enthusiastic about is potential. We do enjoy potential, especially on rainy days. Print-on-demand technology is rapidly

Non-Traditional Publishing, The Future of Publishing

Dump The Advance, Watch Authors Everywhere Go Catatonic

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We always appreciate it when someone comes out swinging, ready to fight the traditional publishing model. Lynne Scanlon, contrarian and cranky, has decided to enter the fray with a radical suggestion: dump the advance/royalty model in favor of cash-in-hand. As she rightly points out, contracts don’t favor the author (rule of thumb: the contract always favors the party who writes it): What’s an advance against royalties, really? It’s a loan. Something you have to pay back before you see a dime more. Yes, there is the possibility that enough copies will be sold at high enough prices and you’ll receive

The Business of Publishing

Morning Fix: Copyright Law

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We know how hard it is to get worked up about copyright. All those funny ©’s and time frames and what is fair use, anyway? So it’s always nice to have a copyright primer handy. Plus they make great party favors! Bloggers and copyright mavens alike can always use a refresher on truths and myths. One we see quite often is full reproduction of an article from another source. These are generally attributed, but posted with the clear intent of keeping you, the reader, from going to the source. That, for what it’s worth, is bad. To quote Brad Thompson:

Our Continuing Fascination With Copyright

Podcasting For Authors

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The husband has embraced audiobooks with an unexpected fervor — it turns out that T.C. Boyle short stories are just the right length for his cardio workout. Also just weird enough for his cardio workout, but that might be more than you need to know. He’s also been quite enthusiastic about the notion of podcasting novels. Or rather, reaping the benefits of someone else’s decision to podcast their work. In an effort to rouse the official BS enthusiasm, he’s taken to sending us frequent updates. In today’s installment, Cory Doctorow finishes Jame’s Patrick Kelly’s Burn. We, of course, are easily

Marketing For Introverts
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