From cancelled books to ‘review bombing’, it might seem as though the website can make or break a career. But how influential is it really?Something dramatic happens on a social media platform every day. On Goodreads, the anachronistically designed website for logging, rating (out of five) and reviewing books, the dramas are more amusing, and they occasionally even draw attention from areas beyond the site’s supposedly book-loving users. The most recent featured Cait Corrain, the fantasy author who set up an elaborate network of fake accounts to post positive reviews of her own forthcoming book as well as negative reviews of authors she felt were her competitors. When citizen journalists uncovered her plot in December 2023, her book was cancelled, and she lost her agent and a future book deal.A juicy, postmodern story of self-sabotage, or a sad one about the intersection of the internet and mental health. Regardless, its stakes are relatively low: publicly harassing one’s colleagues is a sackable offence anyway, and it’s hard to find someone who really cares about the vicissitudes of the young adult literature world who isn’t part of the subculture. I’m not; I’m a professional critic, and an author of a literary novel. I’m a snob. I care about my book, and the authors I feel are my competitors. And while Goodreads has been around since 2007, its significance to the broader literary world remains steadfastly confusing. Does it sell books? Does it make and break careers?... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-02-17 09:00:10 UTC ]
The downloadable audio site for indie bookstores, Libro.fm, sets opening date; a new Georgia bookstore will sell books by the pound; a Nevada shop announces plans to close; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Daphne Merkin’s new book, This Close to Happy: A Reckoning With Depression, is at once an exploration of her own mental health and a memoir of her experiences growing up in an Orthodox Jewish family with a complicated, domineering mother. “My mother was only nice to me when I was sick,” Merkin... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2017-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What's done to help sell standard books, but not to help sell books in translation? In a telling interview, Chad Post talks about differences in marketing. The post ‘Ghettoizing the Translations’: Chad Post on Marketing Books in Translation appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Washington, D.C. store preps for a holiday expansion; a Texas bookstore owner makes a comeback; Canadian stores get the okay to sell books and booze; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Film-maker Taika Waititi and Prime Minister John Key are among a dozen Kiwis who have shared their insights into mental health in a book published by Onslow College students. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2016-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The director of comic book film Suicide Squad shrugs off its bad reviews, saying he made the supervillain ensemble movie "for the fans". Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2016-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New app provides a social platform for talking about, sharing, and reviewing books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Millennial women who grew up reading JK Rowling’s wizard series are driving sales in other genres as they reach their 20s and 30s, according to recent researchThe women switched on to books by Harry Potter are shaping the literary world, according to new research, boosting the market in... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orion is publishing the darkly comic sketches of a 22-year-old illustrator exploring struggles with mental health, following a five-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Most publishers and authors used their booth presence at the North American International Toy Fair to sell books and sidelines, though a growing number were also on the hunt for new licensing deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Host of the Project says outrage at ‘neo-masculinist’ Daryush Valizadeh should be channelled into something positive, rather than fuelling his public profileWaleed Aly has called for a social media blackout on Daryush Valizadeh, the leader of “neo-masculinist” group Return of the Kings who... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing Perspectives' Erin L. Cox looks back at 2015 in publishing and highlights three significant moments that sparked conversation in the literary world. The post 3 Key Publishing Moments of 2015, the Year of Provocative Thinking appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephen Fry will voice two classic detective stories exclusively for Audible. Fry, who voiced all seven of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, will voice The Coin of Dionysius and The Game Played in the Dark by Ernest Bramah, which features the blind detective Max Carrados who was first... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder & Stoughton has acquired A Beginner’s Guide to Losing Your Mind by Emily Reynolds, to be published under the Yelllow Kite imprint in 2017. Assistant editor Maddy Price acquired UK and commonwealth rights in a pre-emptive deal from Robyn Drury at Diane Banks Associates. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Elena Ferrante—the mysterious Italian writer whose Neapolitan novels have captivated the literary world with their portrait of a lifelong female friendship—has been asked many times why she keeps her identity private. She has responded with many variations on the answer that she gave Vanity Fair... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2015-10-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The book blurb is one of the longest-running conventions in publishing and is largely a favor passed among writers and friends. But do they sell books? The post Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover, Judge it By Its Blurbs appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Johannesburg's Philani Dladli was homeless when he decided to sell books he found and read, offering them on a sliding price scale based on his own review. The post Homeless South African Sells Books and Reviews In Lieu of Begging appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This weekend's damning 'New York Times' article painting Amazon as a "bruising workplace" continues to draw attention, this time from the government. According to the AP, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has assured the public that the company will be complying with various labor standards. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When Tramp Press asked authors submitting manuscripts to name the writers who inspire them, only 22% were female - pointing again to ‘the larger issue in the industry: our habitual dismissal of women’An Irish publisher has stoked the flames of the gender debate currently running in the literary... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing sector has the lowest level of illegal downloads in the entertainment industry, with book piracy at half the rate of copyright theft in film and musicFor publishers, fresh from winning a landmark ruling forcing internet service providers to block illegal ebook download sites in Russia... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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