How Much Marketing Muscle Does Today’s Debut Novelist Need?
Watters emphasized to us that, like any good agent, she collaborates with her clients to assemble a convincing package for editors.
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Book Publishing in Arabic: The Role (or Lack Thereof) of Editors and Agents
The Arab world’s literary industry has made major strides, as the United Arab Emirates revved up its status as the region’s cultural hub.
Better Book Writing with Beemgee: A New “Playful” Tool for Authors
Germany’s Beemgee, a tool for authors, is not designed to publish and sell your book, but simply to make your book better.
Alliance of Independent Authors Goes All In for Blockchain
Blockchain’s potential value to authors, as evangelized by its fans, is most easily understood as a sort of financial copyright.
At London Book Fair, Some Things Unspoken: Nonfiction and Brexit
That effort to whistle past the grave possibilities was dear to many UK publishing folks this spring at the London Book Fair (LBF).
Amazon Wins Arbitration against at Least One Bad Actor in Kindle Unlimited
KU pays authors per page read, but the funds come from a communal pool—meaning anyone cheating the system is also cheating other authors.
The Curious Case of the CreateSpace 1099
Amazon unwittingly serves as a means to launder money via self-published books. The Authors Guild has raised a warning flag.
Gender Discrimination in Indie vs Traditional Publishing
Dana Beth Weinberg and Adam Kapelner of Queens College compared gender discrimination in traditional book publishing vs. self-publishing.
Hot Sheet Index: April 18, 2018
The Hot Sheet Index reviews the percentage of poetry books sold by Instapoets in the last year as well as the growth of poetry since 2015.
Hot Sheet Index: April 4, 2018
The Hot Sheet Index reviews the bestselling front and backlist titles in children’s books for 2017 for both hardcover and paperback books,
More Evolution in Amazon’s Offerings for Independent Authors
An Amazon spokesperson described Kindle Press as “a hybrid option” between Amazon’s traditional and independent publishing programs.
Smashwords Partners with Findaway Voices
Fortunately, due to growth and opportunity in audiobooks, the market has continued to evolve and offer more options for authors.
GDPR: What Authors Need to Know
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a new privacy law that takes effect in Europe in late May 2018
Pay Gap Revelations in the UK
In overall trends, we notice that not every publishing outfit of size is favoring men in its pay policies.
London Book Fair Solidifies Its Leadership in Author Programming
London Book Fair has solidified its stance as the friendliest of the major trade shows to independent authors.
Asking Publishers to Reveal What They Pay Authors: Shock and Awe
Nicola Solomon, the UK’s Society of Authors chief, has raised some hackles with a call for publishers to reveal what they pay authors.
Behind-the-Scenes Changes at Amazon You May Have Missed
Amazon started removing email addresses from Amazon customer profile pages, as described by author Ian Lamont.
Metadata Fields: The Big Brouhaha
Book Industry Communication org. demands that publishers and authors cease using book title and subtitle fields for promotional copy.
Early Looks into the Gender Pay Gap in Publishing
The British publishing industry appears determined to take the world lead on diversity issues in publishing—and more power to them.
A Look Back at AWP: The Biggest News Happened during Hotel Checkout
Every year, the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) hosts a three-day event in a convention center in North America.
Hot Sheet Index: March 21, 2018
The Hot Sheet Index reviewed the percentage of Americans who read a book in 2017 and the formats they read them in.
Closing Image: March 21, 2018
The latest Pew Research study shows that print books remain the most popular book format in the United States,
Hot Sheet Index: March 7, 2018
The Hot Sheet Index reviews the percentage of digital ad revenue going to Google and Facebook for the U.S and the world.
Closing Image: March 7, 2018
Amazon has become more aggressive in selling digital advertising, but veterans in the ad industry remain skeptical.
Audible’s Romance Subscription Author Payments Are Terrible—Now What?
In November, we reported on launch of Audible’s romance-specific subscription package, available to consumers at a monthly price of $14.95
Barnes & Noble Announces a National Book Club and Concept Stores 2.0
After Barnes & Noble announced February layoffs, their new quarterly earnings report offered information on their strategy moving forward.
What Defines a Hybrid Publisher? IBPA Releases Its Criteria
Hybrid publishing can appear like a dressed-up version of subsidy publishing, where the author pays to be published.
The Trends Get Hotter: Amazon Publishing May Topple More Competition
Amazon’s move in opening a diversity-driven imprint may signal the beginning of a new area of hegemony for the company.
Canada’s Authors Caught in the Copyright War Crosshairs
About 100 school boards and education ministries are suing the federally mandated copyright agency in English-speaking Canada.
Barnes & Noble Announces Layoffs and a “New Labor Model”
Barnes & Noble announced a “new labor model” that eliminates certain store positions to save $40 million annually.
India: The Big English-Language Market to Watch
As English-language authors look to expand their range, working in other English-language markets is an important tactic.
When Hachette’s Big Man Calls Ebooks Stupid: Mon Dieu!
Nourry now calls the year-long 2014 renegotiation battle that Hachette went through with Amazon a “little battle.”
With a New Audio Feature, Serial Box Perseveres among Startups
The New York–based Serial Box is announcing a $1.65 million investment in seed funding for a “reading/listening mobile platform” development,
Scribd Returns to Unlimited Access for Ebook Subscriptions
In the US ebook subscription landscape, two services compete against one another for market share: Kindle Unlimited and Scribd.
Hot Sheet Index: February 21, 2018
The Hot Sheet Index reviewed the change in membership from 2017 to 2018 for some popular social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
Closing Image: February 21, 2018
Is Amazon as cheap as we think it is? A recent study shows that Amazon is more expensive than Walmart across several categories.
Apple Ups Its Ebook Game, Sort Of—Or Maybe Not Quite Yet
Back in October 2017, Apple rolled out a new version of its mobile operating system (iOS 11); the update removed books from iTunes
Hot Sheet Index: February 7, 2018
Hot Sheet Index reviews growth in digital library checkouts in 2017 versus 2016. The size of Overdrive’s catalog has hit 4 million titles.
Closing Image: February 7, 2018
The latest Author Earnings report, released in January, estimates 2017 US online book sales by format, based on scraping data from Amazon.
Data Guy Comes Back into View: Author Earnings Turns Pro
Since 20`4, Author Earnings has reported estimates of independent authors’ sales activity on a quarterly basis.
Walmart Makes a Late Entry into the Digital Book Market with Kobo as Partner
Late in January, Walmart and Kobo announced a retail partnership whereby Walmart will offer Kobo’s nearly 6 million titles.
Barnes & Noble Renames and Relaunches Its Self-Publishing Platform
In summer 2016, Barnes & Noble rolled out a free print-on-demand service meant to compete against services such as Amazon’s CreateSpace.