Don't judge a cat book by its cover

Publishers may think a cute animal on the cover is what sells in the supermarket, but ask around online and those who buy pet books will tell you otherwiseThe moment of receiving your first book jacket is one that every author remembers. I was so excited when I got mine – a jacket, for a book, written by me, that was going to be published – it took me a while to realise it wasn't quite right. When the time came for the smaller, mass market paperback edition of the book concerned (a memoir about my golfing adolescence, called Nice Jumper) and my agent and I suggested a change of image, my publishers were only too happy to work towards something that suited everyone. That was 12 years ago, though, and the publishing industry has changed a lot since then, with supermarkets becoming increasingly dominant and power swinging away from editorial and towards sales. It had already changed a lot by early 2009 when Simon & Schuster, the publishers of my fifth book, Under the Paw, sent me their proposal for the book's paperback edition. I instantly knew I hated the cover and instantly knew there was not a lot I could do about it.In Under the Paw, I'd written about the chaos of more than three decades living at the beck and call of several of the world's most demanding felines. I was realistic about the book's marketing: although proper writers such as William Boyd, Kate Atkinson and David Sedaris had said nice stuff about it, it was, after all, a memoir about some cats, and no... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #screen trade #tom cox

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Don't judge a cat book by its cover'


Kim Kardashian's butt missing from book cover

Kim Kardashian West has revealed the surprisingly posterior free cover of her selfie book. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2015-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kim kardashian #book cover


Harris to chair Costa Book of the Year judges

Author Robert Harris will chair the judging panel for the 2014 Costa Book of the Year. He will be joined by writers Maggie O’Farrell, Bernadine Evaristo, Jonathan Stroud, Owen Sheers and Wendy Moore, actress Dame Diana Rigg, the BBC’s economics editor Robert Peston, and actress Samantha... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jonathan stroud #owen sheers #costa book #category winners


30 Years of Iconic Criterion Covers Collected in One Beautiful Book

Criterion Designs is a beautiful book that captures 30 years of iconic movie covers. The post 30 Years of Iconic Criterion Covers Collected in One Beautiful Book appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #beautiful book


Lord Browne to lead Pushkin House Russian Book Prize judges

Lord Browne of Madingley, chairman of the Tate Galleries and a former chief executive of BP, will lead the judging panel for Pushkin House’s 2015 Russian Book Prize. Now in its third year, the Pushkin House Russian Book Prize, run in association with Waterstones, awards £5,000 to the best... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #judging panel #pushkin house #non-fiction writing


Bryson to chair Wellcome Book Prize judges

Author Bill Bryson will chair the judging panel for the Wellcome Book Prize 2015. Bryson will be... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #judging panel


What Makes for a Brilliant Book Cover? A Master Explains

If you find yourself in a bookstore, Peter Mendelsund can be hard to avoid. The post What Makes for a Brilliant Book Cover? A Master Explains appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Net Pricing: Is It Time to Take Prices off Book Covers?

Pointing to the need for pricing flexibility at a time when bookstores face a growing number of economic challenges, some booksellers question whether it’s time for publishers to stop printing suggested retail prices on book covers and dust jackets. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book covers #growing number #economic challenges #dust jackets


Judge Orders Mediation in Latest E-book Price-Fixing Suit

The litigation represents the latest legal front for Apple and the publishers stemming from the 2010 agency switch. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Publisher defends Dahl book cover

Penguin has defended its decision to use an image of a doll-like young girl on the cover of a new edition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2014-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #young girl #chocolate factory


How Tarted-Up Book Covers Belittle Women's Fiction

The publishing industry's packaging of women's literary fiction in stereotypically girly covers makes great books seem trashy.If you take a look at the cover of Alice Munro's latest Nobel Prize-winning short fiction collection, The View From Castle Rock, you probably wouldn't guess it includes... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary fiction #publishing industry #alice munro #includes stories #domestic abuse


Book cover clichés: have you spotted recurrent designs?

Certain themes and stories seem to be packaged with a particular aesthetic. Have you spotted this trend? Share your examplesWhy is it that books about Africa always look the same? A recent article on the blog Africa is a Country demonstrated that "the covers of most novels 'about Africa' seem to... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #english-language publishing #southeast asia #white man


Apple Asks Judge to Send E-book Case to Appeals Court

Apple attorneys argue that sending the matter to the Second Circuit would “save judicial resources by potentially avoiding the need for a costly trial.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #appeals court


National Book Award Judges Named

The National Book Foundation, which oversees the National Book Awards, has announced the judges for the 2014 awards. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Bob the Street Cat books top 1m copies in UK

Homeless busker James Bowen was helped in his struggle against addiction by the companionship of a stray cat. Now his books charting their friendship have propelled him into an elite publishing clubSamuel Johnson used to buy oysters for his cat, Hodge; Charles Dickens was so distressed when his... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mark twain #ernest hemingway #ts eliot


Judge Rules for HarperCollins in Open Road E-Book Dispute

A New York court has held that ebook publisher Open Road infringed HarperCollins’ copyright with its ebook edition of Jean Craighead George’s 1973 bestselling children’s book "Julie of the Wolves." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #judge rules #york court #ebook edition


Apple Appeal: Judge Botched E-book Case

Apple’s appeal of its price-fixing case boils down to this: Judge Denise Cote blew it. "The evidence," Apple argues, "cannot support a finding of a conspiracy." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #apple argues


The First 3-D Printed Book Cover Is Here

A limited edition of Chang-Rae Lee's On Such A Full Sea turns typography into a sculpture.It was only a matter of time: the first 3-D printed book cover has arrived. Published by Riverhead Books on Tuesday, a limited edition of Chang-Rae Lee's novel On Such a Full Sea features a white slipcover... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #limited edition #chang-rae lee #riverhead books


Judge Denies Apple’s Bid to Extend E-book Damages Inquiry

After a flurry of year-end filings, Judge Denise Cote late last week rejected Apple’s bid to extend its deposition of plaintiff expert witness Roger Noll, whose report had pegged Apple’s total ebook damages at just over $307 million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Prizes for book-lovers in Got it Covered competition

The Bookseller's consumer sister site We Love This Book is inviting book-lovers to test their... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Judge rules Google's scanning of books is not illegal

There is nothing wrong with Google scanning millions of book and making that text available as snippets in search results. This is the ruling made today by a judge in New York, bringing to an end an eight year legal battle between Google and The Authors Guild in conjunction with several specific... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2013-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #search results #authors guild #specific authors #copyright holder