It’s Not Over ‘Til The Big Dog Barks Indie publishing is still growing and it seems that established publishing is at a standstill. Mike Shatzkin’s column of August 5 may be the one in which we someday remember hearing a new sermon, the beginning of the endgame. But Shatzkin is not delivering a benediction yet: This… 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
#FutureChat recap: Authors in the hot zone
Each Friday, join us for a #FutureChat session, live on Twitter, at 4 p.m. London time, 11 a.m. New York time, 8 a.m. Los Angeles, 5 p.m. Berlin, 3 p.m. GMT. Still crazy from the heat For all the posts, counter-posts, comments, counter-comments, and general online debate generated by the authors’ “dueling open letters,” as some… Read More
Giving Voice to Innovation: Add Yours in Our #FutureChat
Friday at 4 p.m. London time, 11 a.m. New York time, join us for a conversation on Twitter, hashtagged #FutureChat – we’d love to have you with us. This is the author Steven Pressfield in his podcast interview (with transcription) this week with author Joanna Penn: “Hachette was the original publisher of The War of Art, and I would get 35… Read More
Marketing a Book Abroad? How About a Buddy System?
“I actually set this up with a dating portal software.” Matthias Matting Matthias Matting of Munich is playing something of a matchmaker for writers. HisAuthorbuddies.com has just gone live this week. It’s the sort of mutual aid society you find in the self-publishing world. You’re invited to drop by the site, look around, set up a free… Read More
Book Prices: Have Authors Lowballed Themselves?
What if, in order to try to capture market share from traditional publishers, independent authors’ bargain-basement pricing has seriously damaged the public’s idea of what books are worth? Are book prices too low for what authors’ efforts and talents and skills actually are worth? Is it really possible that a full-length book is ever really worth only $2.99 or less? What signal does that send to readers about what writers think of their own work? Read More
WRITING ON THE ETHER: Cleans Up
Writing on the Ether is currently sponsored by author, Internet entrepreneur, and international speaker J.F. Penn and her new book, Prophecy, an ARKANE thriller. The Ether is a collection of news and perspectives on publishing. It is written by journalist and critic Porter Anderson for Jane Friedman and it appears at JaneFriedman.com each Thursday. Because it is a long post, each edition includes a table of contents to help you move quickly to sections of the article you’d like to reach quickly. When you click on a table of contents listing, the URL generated can be sent to others to direct them to that specific section. Read More
EXTRA ETHER: Publishing vs. Authors?
Put baldly, the extreme end is a potential scenario in which major publishers could effectively cannibalize their main resource, turning the industry’s authors into paying consumers of publishing services. Read More