Derek Thompson unravels the mystery of Fifty Shades’ mega-salesThere are no doubt plenty of people - but probably not as many as read the book - who simply can’t fathom how EL James can have sold more than 125m copies of Fifty Shades of Grey. Derek Thompson is here to help. The reason, it transpires, is pretty straightforward: a winning combination of social connection, five-star ebook reviews, the fan-fiction community and, finally, marketing. That might sound banal, but in Hit Makers, Thompson does a really fascinating job of explaining how things become popular, drawing on a wide range of cultural phenomena, from Star Wars to the iPhone, Taylor Swift to Game of Thrones. Reading its countless interesting references, it quickly becomes clear that Hit Makers is less a how-to guide – Thomson believes success is often “semichaotic” – and more a how-come? conversation with an engaging popular culture expert. The conclusion? Mere imitation rarely begets a hit, but the elusive combination of familiarity, innovation and marketing stands a better chance.• Hit Makers: How Things Become Popular by Derek Thompson is published by Allen Lane (£20). To order a copy for £15 go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99 Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2017-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The publisher Algonquin is offering digital books at a discount or free to customers who buy certain trade paperback or hardback books. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones and Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 23/06/2011 - 11:53 J K Rowling has confirmed that she will release paid-for ebook versions of her incredibly successful Harry Potter books from her new website Pottermore "in partnership with J K Rowlings publishers... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Thu, 23/06/2011 - 05:28 Aurum Press has bought a biography about the service that monitored and intercepted the German military's radio traffic during the Second World War. Publisher Graham Coster bought world English language rights to The Secret Listeners by Sinclair McKay... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In France, bestselling author Fred Vargas landed at #1 with a new Commissaire Adamsberg mystery, The Furious Army. Penguin will release a paperback edition of an earlier Adamsberg novel, An Uncertain Plan, in the U.S. in October, but has not yet acquired rights to the newest title. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 20/06/2011 - 14:31 John Locke has become the first self-published author to sell more than one million ebooks through Amazon. The author used Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing platform to publish and sell his titles. He joins Stieg Larsson,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 10/06/2011 - 08:30 Penguin has defended the £30 r.r.p. price of Jamie Oliver's new cookbook as "fantastic value" after retailers accused the company of "profiteering". Many booksellers have noted the price of potential bestselling hardback books... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Thu, 09/06/2011 - 10:05 Literary agent Peter Cox has offered to review "any" contract given to an author by an agent for free in order to ensure that the author has "impartial advice". The move is a response to agents setting up their own publishing... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Richard Desmond is in talks with US media giant Time Warner about the possible sale of the US edition of celebrity OK! magazine, sources have confirmed. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Thu, 02/06/2011 - 09:33 Local authority cutbacks to the Royal National Institute for the Blinds Talking Books service are leaving blind and visually impaired book lovers without proper access to the world of reading, the RNIB has said. The service... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Internet advertising in the U.S. totaled $7.3 billion in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2011, up 23 percent over the same period in 2010 and set the highest first quarter level ever for the industry, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last week, Apple went to Washington, D.C., to answer questions from U.S. lawmakers about consumer privacy in the mobile marketplace. The visit was triggered by the discovery that Apples iPads and iPhones tracked and kept users locations for up to a year, creating a step-by-step picture of... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 09:55 Publishers appear to have got a reprieve in the Hargreaves Review into intellectual property with it recommending against imposing an American style 'Fair Use' defence for copyright exceptions. The report also suggested the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 12/05/2011 - 09:19 Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse series of novels, has become the latest writer to sell more than one million Kindle ebooks through Amazon. The author, who is published by Gollancz in the UK, joins Stieg... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Stone and Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 12/05/2011 - 09:45 Analysis has revealed that £4.6m of books were sold under the W H Smith Spring Richard and Judy Book Club promotion, as the retailer released the celebrity couple's new summer titles. The eight Spring Book... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 09:03 Publishers are unlikely to be able to replace the revenues lost in the shift from print to ebooks unless they can significantly grow volume sales, according to HarperCollins c.e.o. Victoria Barnsley. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Magazine publishers are making plans to be part of, rather than run over by, the digital revolution. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 06/05/2011 - 08:55 Random House has hit the landmark of two million ebooks sold in the UK, with other leading publishers reporting a first quarter explosion in digital sales. E-books currently account for 8% of RH's overall sales, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 04/05/2011 - 09:15 Somerset and Gloucestershire county councils have been landed with a judicial review in the High Court over their plans to close over 20 libraries. Somerset County Council plans to withdraw funding for 11 libraries while... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Wed, 20/04/2011 - 09:22 Editis has sold its Brussels-based educational, scientific and academic publishing subsidiary Groupe De Boeck to Ergon Capital Partners III SA for an undisclosed sum. The sale will enable Frances second largest publisher... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the first step of a two-phase launch, the long-awaited Los Angeles Review of Books has debuted its preview site at lareviewofbooks.org with essays and reviews by Ben Ehrenreich, Geoff Nicholson, Jane Smiley, Jefferson Hunter, and Richard Prince. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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