‘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
Putting a finger on imprints
‘Does anyone really care about imprints outside of the book trade?’ When Canelo publishing director Michael Bhaskar starts his essay for us here at The FutureBook with that question, he could well be referencing the range of perceptions and issues we found waiting in #FutureChat. Prompted by my colleague Philip Jones’ good column, The imprint of… Read More
An industry divided? In digital we trust — some of us
It’s not as if we haven’t seen opposing viewpoints — along with rising and falling fortunes — during publishing’s encounter with the digital dynamic. Some of the main divisions of variously rivalrous perspective include: eBooks vs. print, Online bookselling vs. bricks and mortar, Apps vs. ebooks, and immersive ebooks vs. enhanced, Traditional publishing vs. self-publishing for authors,… Read More
Eyes Wide Open: Can Canelo Cross The Coals?
If Anybody Should Know This, It’s Publishing People Enough disrupting! Disrupting is the unthinking mantra of technology companies desperate to carve a niche. – Michael Bhaskar During the FutureBook Hack in London last June, Faber Press’ Henry Volans said to me that it’s interesting that “publishing has taken the digital disruption very hard.” As it… Read More
'Print books are more like decorations': A #FutureChat recap
Could ebooks and print be friends instead of enemies? Having heralded The noise and fury— where he wrote, “Booksellers are back! The print book is on the rise! The ebook is dead!” — The Bookseller editor Philip Jones then returned Friday with classic irony in Surprise, surprise: Defying what we sometimes read in the wider… Read More
Kickstarter issues its annual greeting card
‘Three years ago Rebecca’s project got a pledge from Scott. This year they got married.’ That’s from Kickstarter’s look-back in handkerchieves at 2014. My associate at The Bookseller Charlotte Eyre has ably written up the attractive annual report that Kickstarter creates to regale us with how well things have gone. Her story, Kickstarter publishing projects raised… Read More
A HarperCollins Holiday Pop-Up Bookstore: ‘Innovation-Driven Environment’
Lean, Light, And Timely On New Year’s Eve, it will be history. The Holiday Pop-Up Store closes at midnight Eastern on December 31. But it will have been another of the tests that HarperCollins (HC) has launched, as it sifts through various avenues of D2C potential — direct to consumer. You still can access the store… Read More
#FutureChat recap: Your 2015 Digital Publishing Predictions
We asked, and we received. We started with the excellent, provocative predictions of a group of invited guests. We’d asked them to give us around 50 words each on what they see ahead in digital publishing. Among some of the strongest commentary we had was Philip Jones’ estimation of the reader’s place in the digital dynamic… Read More
2015: The Year of Being Brave
Tis the season to make predictions, and so we asked digital luminaries from both sides of the pond for their 50 words about digital publishing in 2015. Here, by way of introduction is my own prediction and analysis about what may pass next year: In 2014 the digital book business enjoyed a somewhat puzzling year.… Read More
Is the honeymoon over? KU comes between Amazon and its self-publishers
A kind of downgrade for Amazon, and nowhere near Wall Street The most significant change is that Amazon KDP has slipped to third and also reflects the growing discontent self-published authors have with the introduction of Kindle Unlimited and recent communications regarding the new VAT law in Europe for 2015. We also have five new providers entering… Read More