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.
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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.
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.
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
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.
Time out of Time: At 50, the Man Booker Prize Is Challenged for Its Outreach
In 2013, the Man Booker Prize—easily the most coveted honor for literary fiction south of the Nobel—became more international.
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.
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The latest Author Earnings report, released in January, estimates 2017 US online book sales by format, based on scraping data from Amazon.
Open Road Media’s Route to Prosperity
Open Road’s vault has become a backdrop for a large and growing promotional platform for ebooks from all publishers and authors.
What Did England’s Literary-Fiction Study Tell Us?
In a nutshell, the report, delivered just before the holidays, noted falling print sales of literary fiction in the UK over the past decade.
New Imprint Announcements and Changes
It’s a brand-new year and a ripe time for publishers to make announcements about new imprints and related changes to publishing programs.
Hot Sheet Index: January 24, 2018
The Hot Sheet Index reviews the rise in popularity of voice-activated smart speakers and looks at the activities most utilized by users.
Closing Image: January 24, 2018
Image shows revenue vs. production in the European Union, Germany, and France from 2008 to 2016 (relative to %).
Fire and Fury: What Do You Say about the Book That Has Everything?
While we were all staring at the fiction editors, asking, “Where’s our next blockbuster, damn it?” the big break came in nonfiction.
Facebook’s Latest News Feed Changes: How to Move Forward
Facebook is once again making changes to the News Feed that will emphasize posts from friends and family and reduce content from Pages.
Agents Weigh In: What Could Brexit Mean to Authors’ Sales in Europe?
Simon & Schuster chief Carolyn Reidy, said that Brexit will mean “an end to Britain trying to grab Europe as an exclusive market.”
2017 Sees a Modest Increase in Print Sales, with Top Titles Underperforming
BookScan reflects a 1.9 percent gain in print book sales over 2016, driven by a near 7 percent gain in backlist sales.
Marketing Takeaways from a 2017 Self-Publishing Success Story
While pulling some data at the end of 2017, Goodreads uncovered a star title: Silent Child, a self-published novel by Sarah A. Denzil.
PubLaunch Ramps Up in Canada: Rising from the Pubslush
PubLaunch engages providers on behalf of the author, who can then crowdfund the money needed to pay those providers.
The Best of 2017 Retrospectives and 2018 Predictions
In our final issue last year, we offered a look back at 2017 and meaningful takeaways for authors from industry news and trends. Now that we’re a week into 2018, here are some highlights from 2017 look-back articles, as well as some crystal-ball gazing from a variety of industry figures.
Hot Sheet Index: January 10, 2018
The Hot Sheet Index reported the top products on Amazon for 2017. Most read and gifted Kindle book in 2017: Origin by Dan Brown.
Closing Image; January 10, 2018
After disappointing holiday sales at Barnes & Noble, company stock took a dip in January 2018. Chart reviews performance for the last year.
2018 Should Be Canada’s Copyright Year of Reckoning
In 2018, we should see action in both lawsuits and in Toronto’s legislative review of the Copyright Modernization Act.
Palatium Pivots, Storytel Spreads: Translating Scandinavian Subscriptions
However, things haven’t gone as planned, and 2017 will be the last year Palatium offers indie authors access to subscription services.
Translation Is Making Nobody Rich, Survey Shows
The news from Palatium and Storytel indicates that the industry can’t depend on the reach of English to get around the need for translation.
Hot Sheet Index: December 27, 2017
The Hot Sheet Index reviews the number of Americans who utilize a voice assistant, the age groups that use them the most and on what device.
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Based on data from UNESCO, which collected information from 123 countries, about 2.2 million books are published each year.
A Look Back at 2017: Meaningful Themes That Jump Out
Here at Hot Sheet, we particularly enjoy looking through a year’s worth of issues to see what themes recur.
The New US Tax Bill: What It Means for Writers So Far
The US tax bill President Trump signed into law before the holiday is to take effect on Jan. 1 and may have wide-ranging effects on writers.
Goodreads Makes Ebook Giveaways Possible for Everyone—and Now Charges for All Giveaway Opportunities
Owned by Amazon, Goodreads is the largest US social network dedicated to book reading, with more than 65 million members.
Barnes & Noble Decides to Become a Bookseller Again
At the end of November, Barnes & Noble, now at their halfway point in fiscal year 2018, released their latest earnings report.
One Year Later: Europe Still Taxing Print Books and Ebooks Unequally
Ebooks in EU law were classified not as books but digital products akin to software; they were taxed as consumer goods, not cultural goods.
A Hot Sheet Exclusive: ’Tis the Season to Resolve to Write More Healthily
Joanna Penn, one of the best-known self-publishing writers and advocates, will release The Healthy Writer later this month.
The Return of Cine-Books, This Time with Crowdfunding
The Ukraine-based startup Cine-Books, founded in 2013, was first described as “something between traditional books and movies.”
Hot Sheet Index: December 13, 2017
The Hot Sheet reviewed the number of Amazon Prime members in the United States, and the amount of annual spending by members.
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Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimates quarterly and annual growth of the Amazon Prime program.
Political Times Call for Political Measures—and Messages
If we’re not living in proverbial desperate times, we’re certainly living in politically charged ones. Orgs. working for authors speak up.
Bookcase Literary’s Tough-Love Message about Foreign Rights for Indies
Wattpad wunderkind Anna Todd has sold translation rights to her upcoming self-published series The Brightest Stars in nine territories.
The Difficulty of Cashing In on the Self-Publishing Services Market
Not long after the announcement of Pronoun’s closure last month, a similar service was pulled from the market: Bonnier’s Type & Tell.
Hot Sheet Index: November 29, 2017
The Hot Sheet Index Top 5 Companies in 2017, Ranked by US E-commerce Sales include Amazon, eBay, Apple, Walmart, and Home Depot.
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A Frankfurt Book Fair Business Club white paper shows that Amazon’s competitors are made up of tech-driven media and entertainment giants