We used to know what it took to be a writer – you had to publish a book. But electronic publishing is piling pressure on myths of the author's lifeWhat's the difference between making money out of books and writing books that people want to buy? Turns out it's about 40% – if, that is, you believe this year's Digital Book World (DBW) survey.Only 20% of the 1,600 self-published authors surveyed, and just a quarter of the almost 800 writers with a traditional book deal, judged it "extremely important" to "make money writing books". Shift the issue to publishing "a book that people will buy" and the figures leap to 56% and 60% respectively.But of course, you say – this is literature we're talking about. These authors have loftier concerns than the grubby business of making money. Art is their province. If they must consort with the commercial world to find an audience, then so be it. But heaven forfend they should be interested in something so base as raking in the cash.Except, in the digital age this kind of logic just doesn't wash. If all you're interested in is finding an audience for your work, then electronic distribution allows you to find it without any connection to the marketplace at all. Write your masterpiece, stick it on your website, and sound the trumpets for the victory of Pallas Athene. Or, if what you're really looking for is the grateful adulation of your adoring fans, stick it on Scribophile or WritersCafe and get ready to feel the love. These days the only... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#digital revolution
Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Fri, 18/03/2011 - 11:32 French culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand has said that he would not intervene in the dispute between publishers and authors over electronic rights for the moment. Mitterrand also hit out a the recent European Commission... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#french publishers
#electronic rights
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 18/03/2011 - 14:52 Lonely Planet general manager for Asia Pacific Richard Samson has died today [18th March], following a battle with a terminal illness. Samson started in his latest role in Lonely Planet's Melbourne head office in June... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#lonely planet
#terminal illness
#latest role
#london offices
#sales director
#publishing industry
The American Society of Magazine editors today unveiled the winners of its second-ever Digital Ellies awards. Conde Nast's Epicurious took the award in the General Excellence category as well as top honors in the category of Interactive Tool. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#american society
#conde nast
#top honors
Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Thu, 17/03/2011 - 06:39 French authors have urged culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand to intecede in order to break the deadlock in their negotiations with publishers over electronic rights. For the second year running, the Permanent Council of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#electronic rights
#year running
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 17/03/2011 - 09:23 The Society of Chief Librarians and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council have signed a joint position on ebook lending in libraries, saying the Publisher Association's baseline position has "limited practical use"... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#ebook lending
#chief librarians
#archives council
#publisher association
#remote downloading
Barry O'Callaghan, the chief executive of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, resigned on Tuesday after less than two years on the job. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#media decoder
Simplifying (and clarifying) the purchasing processregardless of newsstand--and finding new ways to effectively market among the crush of new apps being launched is critical for publishers to succeed, according to speakers at MPAs Digital E-Reading conference today. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
It looks as if Apple will be in the digital mag game with more than just subscription apps. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Wed, 16/03/2011 - 09:03 The new-look Paris Book Fair will open on Friday [18th March] for four days as five of the leading French publishers ponder the raids by the European Commission competition officials a fortnight ago. Hachette Livre, Bayard... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#hachette livre
#scaled back
#opening hours
While librarians are pushing for access to more ebooks to satisfy demand, publishers are reconsidering how much that access should be worth. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#satisfy demand
Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Tue, 15/03/2011 - 09:23 French culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand has urged French publishers to speak with one voice in forthcoming negotiations with Amazon over supplying their ebooks for the Kindle. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#french government
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 15/03/2011 - 15:45 Apple's latest version of its iBooks app, which allows ebooks to have a pictorial layout similar to printed books and supports full page illustrations, has been hailed by one publisher as being "the beginning of a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#latest version
#ibooks app
#printed books
#including harpercollins
#pan macmillan
#simon schuster
With the explosion of magazine apps, social media and the resurgence of print advertising, magazine brands are showing a prominent face to their loyal and new readers and advertisers. A top 5 chart pulled together by FOLIO: sister publication min looks at the group publisher vanguards that had... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#hearst magazines
#ad-page champ
#magazine apps
#print advertising
#magazine brands
In most parts of Asia, wizardry and fantastical plots have lost much of their magic after dominating the bestseller list for so long. The subsequent vampire and werewolf fever is, by comparison, not as rabidly welcomed in certain territories. As for that wimpy kid, well, his popularity suffers... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#bestseller list
#wimpy kid
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 11/03/2011 - 09:02 The relationship between publishers and retailers needs to change if physical bookshops are not to face a "bleak" future, the c.e.o. of Blackwell has warned. Andrew Hutchings was speaking during the Retailers Question Time... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#physical bookshops
#andrew hutchings
#heythrop park
#patrick neale
#chipping norton
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 11/03/2011 - 09:04 Continuum has been crowned the Independent Publishers Guild's Independent Publisher of the Year at the IPG awards, in a night when it and Faber won two awards. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#ipg awards
#independent publisher
Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 11/03/2011 - 16:25 Writers ability to average out their earnings over a number of years could be abolished, according to new tax system proposals. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Association publishers face some unique challengesnamely their role as an ancillary operation within a broader organization. However, the operative word is publisher and associations share many of the same concerns as their peers on the consumer and b-to-b sides. Folio: spoke with several... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#association publishing
Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Wed, 09/03/2011 - 08:43 Picture book author and illustrator Gillian McClure is setting up publishing company Plaister Press rather than conform to the "hugely cautious" picture book market. McClure hopes the company will eventually expand to include... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#eventually expand
#random house
Business Insider's Henry Blodget tells (almost) all. But can online revenue cover the costs of original content? Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#original content
#digital growth
#business insider