The Business of Publishing

If Not Google, Who?

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As we read articles about how the various Google initiatives are destroying life as we know it, we have to wonder where the viable alternatives are: There is much hue and cry about how Google is a commercial entity and surely has a profit motive. Only the most naive of us would believe otherwise. But we should recall that this project does not come free to Google, either. While authors’ groups and publishers decry the commercial intent of a corporation, largely absent from the discussion is the announcement of a hint of an announcement of an industry initiative to engage […]

The Future of Publishing

Worrying About Being Shunned By Society

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We are going to entertain a serious thought or two for a moment. You can come back later if you prefer. In certain circles, the notion of self-publishing is greeted with the same, shall we say, revulsion that the masses once greeted leprosy. You will be shunned, it’s whispered, you will not ever sit at the grownups’ table. Then there are those who sneer at self-published title. The quality, they moan, it’s all dreck. Actually, most people don’t use the word “dreck” in normal conversation. You may substitute the word of your choice there. Yet authors continue to self-publish, some

The Future of Publishing

Our Huh Moment For The Day

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Maybe it’s that we got up too early, we don’t know, but we’re sitting here in BS Central, and thinking, “Huh?” Sure, the publishing industry moves slowly, but as we read an article on reviews at The Bookseller, we couldn’t help but wonder if we’d flipped back a year. Not that we’d complain on that score, nosiree, nothing like living through 2005 again to get a girl all excited. So, it’s all blah, blah, blah, too many reviews, readers don’t trust them, word-of-mouth, relationships, the usual, and then the kicker: Already John Murray has decided to canvass the views of

Reviewing Reviewing

The Book Swap Conundrum

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We know, believe us, all about the doctrine of first sale. We know that readers share books constantly. We, to nobody’s surprise, force books on unsuspecting guests all the time (“Thanks for coming over. Here take a book.”). But we still feel there’s something unsavory about online book-swapping clubs. Our discomfort centers here: The sites are free, but modest membership fees are ahead. At PaperBackSwap.com, Pickering expects fees to be $10 or $20 a year. McCabe, too, says, “At some point we will have to recover costs and get a revenue stream.” Sure, this is free enterprise at its best,

The Business of Publishing

The Erotica Question

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If one is paying attention, one would realize that religion and sex remain the hottest gotta-have publishing imprints. Today we bring you sex — Avon has entered the erotica market with a new imprint called Avon Red. Give us a moment while we resist an urge to make a bad lipstick joke. Okay, we’re back. In addition to all the other stuff (sex sells! erotica is hot!), there’s an interesting comment in PW’s article, one we’d like to spend a moment on: Following other romance publishers like Kensington, which announced its own erotica-dedicated line called Aphrodisia in October (PW Daily

Publishers and Editors, The Future of Publishing

Our Quarterly Self-Publishing Sucess Story

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GalleyCat takes a look at this quarter’s self-publishing success story. In this installment, hard work, perseverance, and, well, a natural link to what is being touted as the hottest movie of the summer lead to success. Kathleen McGowan just happened to be writing about Mary Magdalene and other topics covered by The Da Vinci Code . . .first volume will be republished by Touchstone/Fireside this August, while foreign rights have been sold to Bruna in Holland (in a pre-empt), Editions XO in France, Piemme in Italy, and Damm in Sweden. Walking the Magdalene Line

Non-Traditional Publishing

When A Book Simply Doesn’t Need To Be

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We encountered a bit of radical and bit of paranoid this morning. Naturally, that intrigued us. A theory that not all books need to be put into book form coupled with the worry that digitizing content might lead to controlling access. How much fun is that? Publishers, someday, you are going to look back at those words and see the beginning of the beginning. Why do all books have to be in printed, bound format/ Especially those books designed to capture the pop personality of the moment? These are not books designed to sit on shelves, to be picked up,

The Future of Publishing

For Those About To Podcast, We Advise You

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It is probably safe to say that if you haven’t yet heard the word “podcast”, you are not paying attention. If you are not paying attention, do not worry. You’re missing out on lots of other things, too. If you are paying attention, you might be getting antsy, worrying as you did during the blog explosion, if you should be leaping on the bandwagon. If all the cool kids are doing it, shouldn’t you be doing it? As we often do when faced with certain topics, we turn to Jill as an example. We like hanging out with Jill because

Marketing For Introverts

Thinking Hard About The New HarperCollins Venture? Excellent, Excellent

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For our thoughts on HarperCollins’ recent decision to try an advertiser-supported program, look no further. Or rather look no further after you click the link. Yes, we heard you, one person who thinks our obsession with the future of publishing is bizarre. We have attempted to address your concerns, but strongly suspect it’s not going to take. We are lazy. HarperCollins Tries Online Publishing On For Size

Non-Traditional Publishing, The Future of Publishing

When Booksellers Go, uh, Unexpurgated

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We’re going to say straight up that we don’t believe a new mission statement makes for a new mission, but we are always pleased when the publishing industry looks forward. The New England Booksellers Association has set forth an ambitious plan and created some interesting goals to achieve them: The committee also calls on NEBA to increase member competitiveness through better communication, including unexpurgated blogs, and a program for in-store peer review. We will spend the rest of our day wondering how “unexpurgated” blogs will fit into the mix. We have unfortunate visions at the moment, and surely do not

The Business of Publishing
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