In Writing on the Ether–read each Thursday at JaneFriedman.com–Porter Anderson looks at outworn ideas of publishing’s black hat “villains,” through the decline and practices of bookstores. Read More
Does Publishing Need More Gatekeepers?
In Ether for Authors, Porter Anderson looks at the NY Times’ wistful call for ‘more gatekeepers ’ for authors; copyright contentions; and ‘thought verbs. Read More
eBooks: Counting in the Dark
Porter Anderson looks at Philip Jones’ new ebook sales ranking in London — and at Peter Brantley’s worries in the States about e-writings’ preservation. Read More
Is Amazon-Bashing Doing Publishing Any Good?
In Publishing Perspectives’ Ether for Authors, Porter Anderson looks at a new heat-wave round of Amazon-bashing in an industry that has better things to do. Read More
Trying To Count the eBooks We've Hatched
In Writing on the Ether at JaneFriedman.com, Porter Anderson takes a look at the chicken-and-egg effects of ebooks’ rising popularity and self-publishing’s hard-to-track results. Read More
Is Publishing’s Star System Cuckoo?
In the wake of the revelation of J.K. Rowling’s new crime novel, Porter Anderson looks at the publishing world’s star system and its implications for non-blockbuster authors. Read More
Two Experiments Running: Agent-Publishing in London
Our special coverage at Publishing Perspectives today looks at two agent-publishing experiments in London, and at efforts to demystify literary agenting. Read More
"Agent-Assisted Publishing": An Interrupted Debate
In special coverage, Porter Anderson opens the week’s focus on old and new concepts of literary agent work and their meaning for entrepreneurial authors. Read More
Should Literary Fiction Come Out of the Cloisters?
In this edition of Writing on the Ether at Porter Anderson looks on the comparative dynamics of literary fiction in the marketplace, amid discussions of Twitter’s effectiveness for authors. Read More
Is Today's Book Marketing All in the Algorithms?
In Publishing Perspectives’ Ether for Authors, Porter Anderson looks at the focus Joanna Penn puts on marketing algorithms: a report from the future. Read More