‘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
‘Putting Readers First’ At BEA: Gatekeepers, Curators, And ‘Too Many Books’
‘Readers Are The Power Brokers Who Matter Most’ Readers decide. Readers come first, as they are the primary filters. Imprints, choices, and selections should really mean something. Brand can’t be faked in this area. Publish fewer books; publish better books. The concept has begun gaining traction as it dawns on many of us that “discoverability”… Read More
‘The Overselling Of Self-Publishing': New Perspective
‘A Serious Epidemic Of Impatience’ Here in New York City where BookExpo America (BEA) is holding the focus of many in the traditional publishing establishment, a friend and I were finishing lunch at Café Luxembourg when the waiter approached. “I overheard you guys talking about publishing,” he said. “I wondered if you could give me any advice about… Read More
'The Tsunami-of-Content Monster': #FutureChat recap
“Ninety percent want to publish a book? That sounds great to me!” Of course, that would sound great to Miral Sattar, wouldn’t it? Sattar runs Bibliocrunch, which connects writers and “author services.” I ran into Sattar as she was putting together her booth at the post-BookExpo America (BEA) Javits Center in New York on Saturday morning (30th May)… Read More
What if the 90 percent does write a book?
‘Your followers are so cynical’ In digital publishing, we’ve been talking about that “tsunami of content” (thank you, Jon Fine) for a long time. This week here at BookExpo America (BEA), however, we had a good remi nder that the world at large may not yet understand the stupendously deepening inventory that has come right along with… Read More
Are publishers getting the #authorsay message?
The real irony here, it turns out, is that it wasn’t the publishers calling the questions: 75 percent of responding authors said they have never been asked for feedback from their publisher 7 percent said that publishers pay writers well 32 percent said that the prestige of having a deal with a traditional publisher was important to them… Read More
#FutureChat Recap: #AuthorSay — but which #authors do?
Is self-publishing a matter of choice? Or of necessity? Or of do-it-yourself pride? In interviewing the Indian author of the Shiva Trilogy, Amish Tripathi, on Wednesday for the London Book Fair’s Publishing for Digital Minds Conference virtual stream, an interesting line came over the ether from Mumbai. I’d asked Tripathi about the tactic he and his agent… Read More
Who's afraid of self-publishing? #authorsay
‘Either neutral or horrified at the thought of taking control’ My favourite line in my good colleague Philip Jones’ early look at traditionally publishing authors’ responses to the ongoing survey was just that: When asked about the possibility of self-publishing, only a minority of authors were excited at the prospect, with the majority (75%), either… Read More
‘Do You Love Your Publisher?’ #AuthorSay Is Hanging On Every Word
‘To Encourage More Professional Authors To Speak Out’ Originating with our report at The Bookseller’s The FutureBook in London, the news of a new online survey today (March 2) could mean a better understanding of authors’ experiences in what is sometimes called “legacy” publishing. A US-UK effort is gathering fresh perspectives on the “quiet side” of… Read More
#AuthorSay: 'Do You Love Your Publisher?'
Exclusive to The Bookseller’s The FutureBook: At noon London time today (2nd March) — 7 a.m. New York time — a new international survey has opened to traditionally published authors. The survey is co-produced by Jane Friedman in the States and Harry Bingham in the UK. It will be available to traditionally published authors for four weeks. The hashtag… Read More