Hot Sheet Index: December 30, 2015
The Hot Sheet Index reviewed publishers in translation and the statistics for adults under 32 who don’t pay for TV.
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Closing Image: December 30, 2015
In the United States, Amazon accounts for 51 percent of all online sales growth, as well as about 25 percent of all retail growth.
Small Indie Presses That Serve as Major Publishers’ R&D
“It sometimes feels as though smaller independents are the research and development departments for the big publishers,” writes the U.K.’s Bluemoose Books founder Kevin Duffy.
Speaking of Pitches: Don’t Query That Agent Just Yet
Agent Kristin Nelson cautioned authors this month about rushing out to market with NaNoWriMo drafts.
How Authors Can Run Successful Preorder Campaigns
2015 is the first full year that self-publishing authors had access to preorder capability for their ebooks on Amazon.
What Self-Published Authors Can Expect to Earn Through Kindle Unlimited in India
We’ve been avidly following developments in Amazon’s new per-page payments for books that are published via KDP Select, then borrowed by readers via Kindle Unlimited.
Profile: John Joseph Adams
In November, John Joseph Adams was named by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt as editor in chief of John Joseph Adams Books, its new imprint for science fiction and fantasy titles.
Looking Ahead to 2016: We Predict a Tougher Field, New Competition, and Rising Tech Capabilities
Certain trends seem ready to hit inflection points, and it may not be too reckless to propose three such areas for authors in 2016.
Hot Sheet Index: December 16, 2015
The Hot Sheet Index reviewed the percentage of patrons who have read an ebook in the past year and those who have borrowed one.
Closing Image: December 16, 2015
Goodreads recently posted a case study on the effect of winning a Goodreads Choice Award and how it can boost a book
Smashwords Adds Three New Distribution Partners + Releases Annual Survey
Earlier this fall, ebook distributor Draft2Digital announced a partnership with Tolino to distribute ebooks to the German market. Smashwords, the biggest ebook distributor for indie authors, has now announced the same.
Audiobooks Outselling Print? No, but They’re Increasingly Important
Earlier editions of The Hot Sheet have discussed the opportunity and growth in the audiobook market.
If $3.99 Is Mark Coker’s Favorite Price, What Works in Germany?
Munich-based journalist and self-publishing author Matthias Matting has offered a response to the article at Smashwords we’ve mentioned elsewhere in this issue.
On the List: Born into the Children of God
First released in 2014, Born into the Children of God tells the story of Natacha Tormey, who was born into a religious cult known as The Children of God.
New Signs of Life (and Death) in Multimedia and App-Based Publishing
Inside the industry, you hear a lot of talk about multimedia publishing, but you don’t necessarily see a lot of activity—it’s still considered a risky and unproven business.
ALLi’s New Publishing Rights Service: London, Frankfurt, but Not Chicago
The U.K.-based Alliance of Independent Authors is working with literary agency Toby Mundy Associates to have eligible members’ translation and other subsidiary rights sold by TMA.
Barnes & Noble Wants to Become a Lifestyle Brand
Earlier this month, Barnes & Noble reported their latest earnings; the report was fairly grim news to anyone inside the industry who follows the financials.
Ingram’s Acquisition of Aer.io Will Include IngramSpark for Authors
It’s just been announced that the San Francisco–based startup Aer.io (formerly known as Aerbook) has been acquired by Ingram Content Group.
Hot Sheet Index: December 2, 2015
The Hot Sheet Index broke down the New York Times bestseller list totals by big Five publishers. Random House led the way with 28.9 percent.
Closing Image: December 2, 2015
Graph showing that Amazon’s stock price has been steadily climbing in 2015
Orna Ross: The State of the Author in Independent Publishing
Orna Ross, the founder of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) expressed solidarity among authors represented by ALLi and the Society of Authors.
Emma Barnes: What the Tools of the Trade Tell Us
Barnes, who started her UK-based small press, Snowbooks, in 2003, has become one of the industry’s strongest proponents of technological fluency in publishing.
Nicola Solomon: The State of the Author in Trade Publishing
The chief executive of the UK’s Society of Authors offered an understanding of author advocacy in the UK market, particularly in its range of paths to publication.
Roz Morris: An Author’s Response
Roz Morris, based in London, is an independent literary author, a ghostwriter with hundreds of thousands of copies sold, and a former traditional publishing house editor.
Profile: Judith Curr
Judith Curr is the founding president and publisher of Atria Publishing Group, one of the four major divisions of Simon & Schuster.
Rebecca Smart: What Publishers Tell Us
Rebecca Smart, Managing Director of Ebury Publishing, holds a special popularity in much of the UK publishing community for her willingness to speak frankly of challenges, even to her fellow publishers.
Hot Sheet Index: November 18, 2015
The Hot Sheet reviewed the change in publishers’ book sales from 2014 to 2015 for ebooks, digital audio and trade books.
Closing Image: November 18, 2015
The above slide was included in a presentation by Jonathan Stolper from Nielsen, at Frankfurt’s conference “The Markets.
On the List: The School of Greatness
The School of Greatness shares lessons learned by Lewis Howes from interviewing the “greats” on his podcast of the same name.
Can Facebook Advertising Sell Books? Yes and No.
You’ll find widely varying reports and opinions about how and when to use Facebook paid promotions effectively.
Virtual Book Festivals: A Reader-Focused Effort from Traditional Publishers
You’ve probably heard of a virtual book tour, but how about a virtual book festival or summit?
Self-Publishing Tools Coming to a Library Near You
For some time, we’ve heard murmurs of library-based self-publishing, usually as a good idea unexecuted.
Amazon KDP Select Per-Page Payout Slips to Below Half a Penny
We’re now seeing calculations that the October per-page payout will be $0.004809—less than half a cent.
A New Agent-Assisted Digital Publisher Opens: London’s Ipso Books
The latest entry in the growing field of agency-based publishing is Ipso Books, a new addition to the services offered by Peters Fraser + Dunlop (PFD).
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Pew Research Center survey conducted March 17 through April 12, 2015. Smartphones, tablets grew in recent years. Other devices declined or stayed flat.
NoiseTrade: A Way to Build Direct Reach to Potential Fans
NoiseTrade is a little-known site in the book-publishing world that got its start in the music industry in 2008.
Two No-Fee Contests for Book Manuscripts
Within the last couple weeks, we’ve heard news about two brand-new contests with no entry fees for book-length manuscripts.
Amazon KDP Select Payouts Will Reflect Territories
The news that Amazon is opening a physical bookstore almost eclipsed the fact that the company is also making a potentially potent change in Kindle Direct Publishing Select payouts.
Profile: Sangram Surve
Sangram Surve is an author-strategist and founding director of Think WhyNot Pte. Ltd., based in Mumbai.
… And about That Amazon Store
Calling it “a physical extension of Amazon.com,” the world’s largest retailer has opened its first “terrestrial” bookshop in Seattle’s University Village.
Ellora’s Cave and Dear Author Settle Defamation Lawsuit
The lawsuit against Jennifer Gerrish-Lampe (a.k.a. Jane Litte) has been one of the more chilling stories for authors in the past year.
For Optimism in Publishing, Look No Further Than Audio Storytelling
Digital audiobooks are the biggest growth area for the book publishing industry. In 2014, the category grew about 27 percent in terms of units and revenue over 2013.
Hot Sheet Index: October 21, 2015
The Hot Sheet index reviewed the statistics for Amazon Publishing which was launched in 2009 and has 14 imprints.
Closing Image: October 21, 2015
This statistic shows the number of visitors at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany from 2007 to 2014. In 2012 nearly 282,000 visitors came.