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 ]
A publisher's Medium post lamenting declining Facebook reach sparked agreement and concern from a wide range of publishers. The post Publishers are seeing another big decline in reach on Facebook appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2017-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Star Wars, Harry Potter or indeed the almost century-old comic book legends Batman and Superman may have sprung from a rich creative well, but in a stunning twist all of them have been banished to the box office naughty step. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2017-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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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... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We look at the books that ruled the last week of the holiday shopping season, including Bruce Springsteen’s memoir, a novel that expands the ‘Star Wars: Rogue One’ universe, and a raft of coloring books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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DK is attending MCM London Comic Con this weekend to showcase its collection of Star Wars, Marvel, DC Comics and LEGO titles - and, as the official sponsor of the Kid Zone, will be offering children the chance to take part in LEGO activities and challenges. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faber has returned to profitability this year after recording a loss in 2015, helped by a “wide range of titles selling extremely well”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Grammy Awards averaged 24.95 million viewers on CBS, off slightly from last year's telecast, according to Nielsen. The TV audience for the ceremony held at the Staples Center, which featured performances by Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Adele and Kendrick Lamar, was 1.5% below the 25.3 million... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While the Amazon-owned online retailer’s first major step into Australia means more competition, it’s not all doom and gloom for independent booksellersHead down Brunswick Street in Fitzroy and walk towards the neon lights until you see the words “Totally Weird Shit” on an awning. Walk through... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ dominates the box office following its December 18 premiere, the book tie-in by Alan Dean Foster came it at #1 in the iBooks bestseller list for the week ended December 20. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Major imprints ‘confident’ they can meet schools minister Nick Gibb’s challenge to inspire children with sets of canonical novels at ‘minimal cost’Classic novels such as Great Expectations, Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre should be available in secondary schools for all pupils to read,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-11-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A koala and a clumsy CG cat have defeated the Force, at least temporarily.Ladies and gentlemen, meet superstar koala joey Imogen! With 24 million views already for her videos from Australia.com and Symbio Wildlife Park, actually, it's likely that you have done so already. Her charisma and... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2015-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple began offering its three-month-old music streaming service as well as movies and electronic books in China on Wednesday, promising a library of content geared toward its most important market outside of the U.S.Apple Music, the iPhone maker's answer to streaming services Spotify and... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2015-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook has added 360-degree videos to its news feed, an immersive feature the Menlo Park-based social media platform said will capitalize on a growing number of video publishers using the format. And to pique the interest of users, The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) and Lucasfilm have published... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2015-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The book team at Nielsen held its second-annual Children's Book Summit, to discuss the current children's publishing market, presenting data that showed a wide range of sales and demographic trends. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quirk Books's 'Home Alone' picture book, new Star Wars Little Golden Books, Chronicle's bestsellers-to-brands initiative, Dynamite's expanding roster of licenses, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Egmont Books’ marketing director Mike Richards has left the company following a reorganisation of the marketing team. Richards has been in marketing at Egmont for 15 years, promoting authors and brands such as Michael Grant, Lemony Snicket, Jim Smith, Winnie-the-Pooh and Star Wars. He would... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Describe your role I project manage the creation of our audiobooks by a wide range of fiction and non-fiction authors. This involves reading manuscripts and identifying books to record, acquiring audio rights if necessary, casting the right voices to bring stories to life and arranging... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The New York Times on Monday defended its decision to exclude Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz's book "A Time for Truth" from its bestseller list after discovering "strategic bulk purchases," though it did not offer any further details behind the decision."The Times's best-seller lists... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Today, being a media company takes tech chops. Along with creating home-grown CMS, publishers often boast about their engineering prowess. From Time Inc., with 1,000 technologists, to The Huffington Post with 100, there is a wide range of how many technology employees publishers have on staff --... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Star Wars' and 'Lord of the Rings' had a baby, it died badly, and this book is its reanimated remains. The post We Review a Self-Published E-Book About a Lady Clone War appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2015-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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