‘A long day. Full of complete and utter nonsense.’ That’s the author Hugh Howey writing about Wednesday (1st July), when Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Select payout structure officially changed from its original per-borrow plan to a per-page-read plan. Howey, no stranger to post-apoc poesy, was less than impressed with the run-for-your-life! reactions of many of his… Read More
Amazon And Its New KDP Select Per-Page Payments: Everybody Has To Swim For It Now
‘What This Means For Authors Is Debatable’ Yesterday’s news (15th June) that Amazon is changing its payout structure for Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) lending scenarios — that’s Kindle Unlimited (KU) and the Kindle Owners Lending Library (KOLL) — has been met with somewhat muted reactions. And this is good to see. Some mature, prudent thinking is… Read More
In Self-Publishing, The Gatekeepers Are Dead. Long Live The Gatekeepers!
‘To Establish Trust With Readers’ Readers aren’t all the same. Readers, in fact, are very different from one another. Some only want to read what everyone else is reading, so they can join a movement and a discussion. Some stick to what’s been adapted to the big and small screen, or what’s hit the NYT… Read More
How big is self-publishing? Data-Dancing on the platforms
The conga line forms here. If you’ve been with us in the past few days here at The FutureBook, you’ll know that we’re tripping the estimates fantastic in terms of just how large a market we’re talking about when we say “self-publishing” in the UK and US markets. As the author Hugh Howey has pointed… Read More
Data-Dancing: How big is self-publishing?
‘Shock and awe.’ I’m here with the same question asked by my colleague, Bookseller editor Philip Jones in his companion piece to this one: How big is the market for self-published titles? “The question is a simple one for which there is no simple answer,” Jones writes. “In fact, there are lots of complicated answers.” We want your… Read More
The Dreaded Training Debate: What If It Can’t Be Taught?
“Like toadstools,” one seasoned observer calls it. It’s this sudden proliferation of “author services,” especially the ones there to teach you, instruct you, train you. They’re everywhere, these kitchen-sink companies, and many of them seem to be peddling (or claiming they do) parts of the job we’re not even sure can be taught. Today’s provocation is about… Read More
'It's discovery that's lagging'
“A difficulty in marketing something that has no physical presence.” That’s the author Stark Holborn talking with my Bookseller associate Sarah Shaffi (pictured) about the question of digital-first publishing and its potential for writers, in Authors debate digital-first publication. And that line, appearing among many enthusiastic comments from writers about digital-first in Shaffi’s story, echoes the strongest qualm… Read More
Indies Jasinda And Jack Wilder At Berkley Books
Testing The Indie Spirit As we’re reporting this morning (April 6) at The Bookseller’sThe FutureBook, Jasinda and Jack Wilder have come up with an Easter surprise for their many fans: Their agent, Kristin Nelson, has negotiated a seven-figure deal for three books with Penguin Random House’s Berkley Books. This is a new case of self-publishing authors… Read More
Isn’t It Time For Self-Publishers To Get Over Self-Publishing?
Let’s Say You Walk Into A Bookstore You’re taken with all the books on the front table. New releases. Beautiful covers. Fascinating titles. You leaf through a few. You settle on one you really like. You’re ready to head for the cash register when suddenly somebody jumps up from behind the table and nearly gives… Read More
More Terminology In Self-Publishing’s Winter Garden: Are They ‘Royalties?’
Another Day, Another Ill-Used Term In the strictest sense, there really is no such thing as royalties in self-publishing! Mick Rooney is a little kinder than I am, warning you to sit down before you read that line about there being “no such thing as royalties in self-publishing.” Me, I prefer to dump the ice… Read More