Self-Publishing Output Grows Again, As Does Amazon’s Domination of the Market
Amazon is the market leader in terms of providing self-publishing services and distribution. Last year, they held 85 percent of the market.
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#MSWL Day on Its Fifth Anniversary
While #MSWL is active all the time, the upshot of #MSWL day is more participants than usual and a greater variety of ideas.
California’s New Labor Law: Why Freelancers Are Concerned
AB5 significantly changes the terms under which a person providing labor is classified as an employee or as an independent contractor.
The Audio Market Heats Up for Those Not Exclusive to Audible
Capturing the gossip at NINC, author and indie marketing expert David Gaughran highlights changes ahead for the digital audio market.
A Pro Marketer Shares Tips for Customizing Your Book’s Promotion
An award-winning indie author and professional marketer shares insights for effective paid marketing strategies customized to your goals.
HarperCollins UK Adds Backlist Titles to Kindle Unlimited
The move raised some old questions—and confusion—about how writers get paid in Amazon’s subscription service.
Selling Translation Rights: A Tricky Skill Set for Independent Authors
ALLi hopes to mitigate the challenges of selling rights to your book in a foreign language.
Hot Sheet Index: October 16, 2019
Publishers Inch toward breaking even with 2018 Sales. Comparing unit sales of print titles in 2019 versus 2018 so far.
Closing Image: October 16, 2019
According to NPD BookScan, which tracks print sales in the US, Delia Owens’s debut, Where the Crawdads Sing, is the year’s bestseller so far.
Focus and Hustle Can Sell a Screenplay without an Agent
While it requires an enormous investment of time and energy, it is possible to network your way to a screenwriting career.
Hot Sheet Index: October 2, 2019
The Hot Sheet Index reviewed The state of independent bookselling in Canada. 87 Percent of revenue comes from in-store purchases.
Closing Image: October 2, 2019
A recent report from BookNet Canada compares the inventory breakdown for Canadian booksellers against BNC’s sales data.
When Third-Party Sellers Win the Buy Box, What’s the Damage?
The buy box is prime real estate on Amazon selling platform. Here’s when and how to wrest the territory back from a third-party seller.
Beta Management Services Compete for Authors
Authors see beta readers as an essential resource, and entrepreneurs have responded with new online platforms for corralling beta readers.
Student Pirating Not to Blame for Publishing’s Problems
Higher education publishers continue to experience revenue declines as students seek more affordable purchasing options.
Hot Sheet Index: September 19, 2018
The Hot Sheet Index breaks down the financial performance for the first half of 2018 for the Large Trade Houses.
Digital Book World 2019: Industry Takeaways
This year’s Digital Book World, hosted by Score Publishing, featured a predominant focus on audio, voice tech, and artificial intelligence.
Ebook Distributor PublishDrive Moves to a Flat-Fee Model for All Plans
PublishDrive announced a new (but then optional) model: authors could pay a $100 monthly fee for 100 percent royalties for up to 100 titles.
How to Identify and Respond to Backlist Sales Opportunities
At Digital Book World 2019, Ingram’s Peter McCarthy presented a digital marketing session on surfacing opportunities for sales growth.
Hot Sheet Index: September 18, 2019
The Hot Sheet Index reviewed performance of big publishers for first half of 2019 versus 2018. The Big Pubs had a mixed first half of 2019.
Simon & Schuster’s Head of Marketing Discusses Bookselling Innovations and Challenges
Successful efforts have blended new tech with tried-and-true marketing standards.
Closing Image: September 19, 2019
At this year’s Digital Book World, Ingram’s Peter McCarthy presented “Marketing Insights: Surfacing New Opportunities for Growth.”
Other Authors Are Not Your Competition
At the annual Writer’s Digest Conference, a sales and marketing consultant offered a step-by-step process for market research.
#MSWL: What Agents and Editors Wish For
A study of the popular hashtag on Twitter reveals how agents and editors can be influenced by pop culture and current events.
What Do Big Five Publishers Do for Their Authors?
The bare minimum a debut author needs to effectively market their book—aside from high-quality writing—is a willingness to collaborate.
Hot Sheet Index: September 4, 2021
The Hot Sheet Index reviewed Penguin Random Houses statistics for the first half of 2019. They’ve had 178 New York Times Bestsellers so far.
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In Joanna Penn’s annual earnings report, she shares sales variability by store. Her audio sales are primarily nonfiction.
Major Publishers Sue Audible over Captions Feature
Audible (owned by Amazon) announced it would start offering captioned audiobooks through a feature known as Captions.
Cross-Promotional Magic with Multi-Author Facebook Groups
While they can take considerable time to organize and administer, Facebook groups focus community and collective marketing power.
OverDrive’s Steve Potash: Ask Your Publishers about Library Pricing and Access
Authors and agents can expand a book’s reach and readership by offering libraries more lending access models.
The New Book Club Influencers
In the years since Oprah’s show ended, many have wondered who the next big book influencer might be in the United States. An answer is starting to emerge.
A New Tool to Help Indie Authors and Small Publishers Calculate Royalties
PublishDrive has recently launched Abacus, a standalone royalty-splitting service for self-publishing authors and small publishers.
The Power of Positioning
Romance Writers of America (RWA) conference provides education for authors on craft and business of succeeding in a highly competitive genre..
An Inside Look at How Children’s Books Get Adapted for the Screen
Books as source material are all the rage right now in the children’s entertainment market, and at the annual SCBWI conference in Los Angeles.
Will Legislation to Hold Big Tech Accountable Backfire?
EU legislation designed to make big tech content providers more accountable to rights holders may stifle small-scale competition.
Hot Sheet Index: August 21, 2019
The Hot Sheet Index reviewed the change in print sales from 2018 to 2019 for popular categories. Overall, sales for US trade books dropped.
Closing Image: August 21, 2019
BookNet Canada recently released book sales statistics on gardening books related to houseplants. Sales have been rising steadily since 2008.
Amazon Charts Launch in the UK and Germany
In the States, we’ve had the Amazon Charts rankings since May 2017, but only on July 24 were they rolled out to the UK and German markets.
Authors Guild Files Commentary on Piracy and Counterfeits
The Author’s Guild makes the point that the key form of pirated book is digital. The Guild lists three forms of book piracy.
Hot Sheet Index: August 7, 2019
The Hot Sheet Index reviewed the types of materials circulating in US libraries as of 2018. Print books made up 57 percent of materials.
Closing Image: August 7, 2019
According to the 2019 Library Journal Materials Survey, top circulating fiction categories—for print and ebook format—mystery and suspense.
Macmillan’s New Library Licensing Terms Ignite an Industry Debate
Major publishers are revisiting how they make ebooks available to libraries—with Macmillan deciding to embargo new releases for two months.
Are Libraries Eroding Author Income?
Obtaining definitive or long-term data on authors’ ebook earnings—much less on how libraries affect retail sales—is not easy.
Trump’s New Threat of Tariffs Raises Alarm for Publishing
With the US industry heavily dependent on printing work done in China, the threat of new tariffs is deeply concerning.