- Online retailer and publisher All Romance eBooks (and OmniLit) abruptly closed at the end of 2016, with only four days’ notice. Their last message informed authors they’d be paid 10 cents on the dollar for book sales that occurred during the fourth quarter of 2016. At least that’s where things stand at the moment; this is a scandal likely to reverberate through 2017. There are countless blog posts and articles discussing the issue, but the best one to read, especially if you’re one of the authors affected, is author Kristine Rusch’s post.
- Scribd has dropped comics from its service. If this is a disappointment to you, there are other places to get your comics fix. Find out more at the Digital Reader.
- Learn about the most popular books at US libraries in 2016, by city. Here’s a spoiler: The Girl on the Train is popular all across the country. Explore a nice infographic from Quartz.
- BuzzFeed’s self-published print cookbook is a bestseller. It has sold more than 100,000 copies in two months. Read more in the Chicago Tribune.
Self-Publishing
- Smashwords will go to monthly payments starting in February 2017. It’s a long-requested feature from authors, since Smashwords has always paid quarterly. You can find mention near the end of CEO Mark Coker’s year-in-review post.
- Never forget to register for copyright when publishing your work. While a variety of (non-copyright) issues may be at play in what author Sarah Madison experienced in the takedown of her work by Amazon, her advice to always register your work is sound. Read more at her blog.
- IndieReader—a website and community focused on bringing media coverage to indie-authored books for the last eight years—has changed its focus to author services. Those services include publishing packages, paid reviews, distribution, awards, and more. Read a brief announcement at Publishers Weekly.
Marketing Toolbox
- Which book in your series should you discount? BookBub says there’s no question—it should be the first one. Learn more at the BookBub blog.
- Understand author advertising options at Amazon. Indie author Robert Kroese discusses the differences between Product Display ads and Sponsored Product ads for authors selling ebooks through Amazon KDP. Exclusivity with Amazon is no longer required to advertise at Amazon. Learn more.
- If you run Facebook ads, learn how to use split testing. Facebook advertising expert Jon Loomer offers a walk-through for experienced advertisers and explains how to use this functionality. Read his blog post.
- Also, explore examples of Facebook ads that actually work. HubSpot has put together 11 examples of ads that work and explained why. Visit their blog.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.