‘I wish our conclusions could be more . . . conclusive’ But all things being equal? Authors are working without a net right now. As with so many things in publishing at this point in its encounter with the digital dynamic, the potential contradictions loom large in the new AuthorEarnings.comreport, just out today from the… Read More
At Frankfurt Book Fair: 'Surprise' support for subscriptions
As my Bookseller colleague Philip Jones is writing for us today in Turn up the volume, Frankfurt Book Fair 2014 provided, if nothing else, a look at digital now under sail in early, calm waters. He writes, “The one common factor is that we have have all become participants rather than watchers. The being dazzled bit looks to have gone.… Read More
#FutureChat recap: A busy workout in the subscription debate
“There is much to unpack here.” That line from The Bookseller’s Philip Jones in his lead editorial Friday may have been the understatement of the week. Articles and essays, blog posts and comments continue to proliferate around the many issues in the digital book subscription debate, of course. One of the points made by Rachel Deahl at Publishers… Read More
Subscriptions: What If All The Fitness Club Members Actually Come To The Gym?
If I had a dollar for every time I had seen a pitch for a subscription-based ebook platform, I would by now have launched my own. And right about now, you could be forgiven for feeling that The Bookseller’s Philip Jones is the only guy who hasn’t launched a digital book subscription. In his lead editorial for… Read More
‘We Demand Parity’: Labor Unrest Among Amazon’s Authors
“Self-Published Authors Have Never Had a Level Playing Field On Amazon” If I were writing a television newscast script for an anchor on a US network right now, the first line of this story would be: Has Amazon finally gone too far? Fortunately, I’m not writing for the crowd that enjoys the network TV cliché-fest because… Read More
#FutureChat: How can we ease the summer's debate?
Just in time for those reports that Big Five publisher Simon & Shuster (S&S) is, like Hachette, in negotiations with Amazon, as covered here by Sarah Shaffi at The Bookseller. As Greg Bensinger and Shira Ovide at the Wall Street Journal quoted Les Moonves, CEO of CBS, which owns S&S, “It’s going to be a very interesting thing to watch.” That… Read More