Amazon goes head to head with Wattpad in battle for fanfic writers

The retail colossus is aiming to recruit fan fiction writers with their own ambitions to sell, but Wattpad is winning users who want to shareIt’s a cheerful orange giant stuffed with fan fiction and smileys which can garner a billion reads for an erotic One Direction story – scoring 25-year-old Texan Anna Todd a six-figure publishing deal in the process. But Wattpad also has a serious side as a thriving culture of original writing, with a small but steady flow of authors finding mainstream success with Big Six publishers such as Random House and Harper Collins. Half a dozen of these authors are getting together in the real world mid-December, at Wattpad’s first UK convention. The site has attracted more than 40 million users around the globe. No surprise, then, that Amazon has decided it wants a piece of the action.The internet shopping site has just launched its own social reading and writing platform, Kindle WriteOn, a move characterised by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian as “trying to eat [Wattpad’s] lunch”. WriteOn is currently in invite-only beta mode, but all you need for access is the online equivalent of a Masonic handshake – a code passed to you from someone on the inside.   Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #harper collins #social reading #writing platform

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Historical Writers Association launches

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Fri, 11/03/2011 - 15:47 Transworld/Bantam novelist Manda Scott has formed the Historical Writers’ Association as a forum for writers and to promote the genre. The internet-based group, which already boasts around 100 members including authors Simon... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #robyn young #tom holland #historical fiction #broo doherty #bill hamilton #david headley #goldsboro books


Amazon has '80% online share', claims new survey

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 09/03/2011 - 09:48 Ten times as many people shop at Amazon than online at Waterstone's, a survey has revealed, while more than half of respondents bought books online. The research, carried out by the Institute of Direct Marketing,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #direct marketing #digital marketing #boosting sales


Emma Henderson picked as first Orange New Writers title

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 01/03/2011 - 15:50 The Orange New Writers Book of the Month promotion launches today [1st March] featuring Emma Henderson as the first writer to receive a month-long promotion in Waterstone's. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstone's cuts 17 head office staff

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 23/02/2011 - 17:51 Waterstone's has made 17 members of staff redundant from its head offices in Brentford and Solihull. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #staff redundant


Myrmidon acquires Commonwealth Writers Prize shortlistee

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 16/02/2011 - 06:35 Independent publisher Myrmidon has bought world English language rights (excluding South Africa) to a novel shortlisted for the 2010 Commonwealth Writers Prize. Ed Handyside, publisher and founder, bought the rights to Trespass... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #teenage years


Want more women writers in magazines? Get more female editors.

As Meghan O'Rourke reported here last week, VIDA, an organization for women writers, has released a tally of male and female bylines for the 2010 run of 14 high-end, literary-oriented magazines. Despite a couple of relatively bright spots (the New York Times Book Review surprisingly being one),... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2011-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bright spots


Amazon appoints three to UK team

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 10/02/2011 - 16:03 Amazon has appointed three staff to roles in the UK team. John Gahagan will head up Amazon’s UK Books business, with both the UK Books and print on demand teams reporting to him. Amy Worth will now lead the UK Kindle content... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Non-agency authors are Amazon UK’s bestselling ebooks

Written By: Lisa Campbell Amazon.co.uk has reiterated its opposition to agency pricing as it revealed its top-selling ebook authors are not governed by the model. Last week Amazon.com announced ebooks had begun to outsell paperbacks in the US for the first time, with 115 ebooks bought for every... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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iPhone app store, Amazon Kindle: Why ebook sellers should stop playing by Apple's rules.

Over the last few months the tech industry has been inching toward ebook nirvana. For one thing, gadget makers keep improving e-readers while slashing prices. (I'm going to renew my bet that Amazon will begin selling the Kindle for less than $100 by the end of the year.) The bigger story,... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Claims E-book Sales Beat Paperbacks

The ebook sales milestone "has come even sooner than we expected," CEO Bezos says. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Kindle Book Sales Soar

Online retailer reports sales of its digital ebooks has outstripped those of traditional paperbacks. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kindle sales outstrip paperbacks as Amazon has first $10bn quarter

Written By: Lisa Campbell Kindle ebooks have overtaken paperback sales at Amazon.com, as the internet retailer revealed sales topped $10bn for the first time in its latest trading quarter. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon rolls out the first 'Kindle Singles,' short form ebooks

By Tim Conneally, Betanews Wednesday, Web retailer Amazon launched its Kindle Singles line of literature designed specifically for consumption on e-readers. The works, priced between $1.00 and $3.00, include original works of prose, essays and theses, and the the first TEDBooks.Last October,... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2011-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Ups Its Edge

Apple caused a stir last week when it announced that it sold 7.3 million iPads in the quarter ended December 25, bringing the number of devices it has sold since it released the iPad last April to nearly 15 million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers Are Asked Not to Talk About Author of ‘O’

Simon & Schuster requested that journalists and other writers not comment if asked whether they were responsible for the novel “O,” about a fictional 2012 presidential campaign. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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