A keen business mind and real commitment to the publishing industry are vital for a job that is all about selling – shy and retiring types need not apply Gordon Wise has been a literary agent at Curtis Brown for 10 years, and has a wide range of clients, from celebrities like Miranda Hart to novelists such as Armistead Maupin. He is also vice-president of the Association of Authors’ Agents. But becoming an agent wasn’t part of his original career plan and he reached this point via a varied and winding path through the world of books.Wise studied History and English at Edinburgh university, both, he says, “heavy reading” subjects. But his real introduction to books as business came when, as an undergraduate, he won a place on a scholarship programme at the University of Pennsylvania. “I was allowed to work under my visa and I got a part-time job as a bookseller at Barnes & Noble, which had a big downtown bookstore,” he says. The job gave him an insight into publishing and sparked a vocation that would lead him to his current career. “What I enjoyed about publishing was that it is the place where business and creativity meet; you would be working with these wonderfully creative people – the writers – but trying to turn what they have created into something of commercial value.”If you are made an offer straight away, ask for a better offer. If you don't ask, you will never know Related: Small publishers are benefiting from changes in the industry Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
Barnes & Noble has announced it is to launch two tablets simultaneously in the UK and the US... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble has announced Dixons as another British retail partner to sell Nook devices.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble has announced Dixons as another British retail partner to sell Nook devices.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Having grown revenue to just under £20 million since its launch in 2003 to the year ended March 31, 2012, largely on the strength of inexpensive children’s and adult print books, Igloo Books, based in Northamptonshire, England, is looking to digital and international markets to drive its next... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's a big day in the world of ebooks, and not just for the crew at Amazon. Today, Judge Denise Cote approved settlement terms for three of the publishers accused by the Justice Department of price fixing. Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins each agreed to settle with the... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has officially unveiled the 2012 vintage of the Kindle Fire, which is reportedly 44 percent more powerful than its predecessor. The service-orientated slate (as opposed to a gadget, which CEO Jeff Bezos claims nobody wants) comes with a bigger battery, a new processor and 1GB RAM --... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When you dive into the way the digital edition and app economy works for publishers, you can’t avoid the irony of the big digital newsstand and storefronts of Apple, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Zinio, Next Issue Media, et al. The brand power of those operations is simply too good to refuse, and... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2012-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When the US Department of Justice sued Apple and five major book publishers over alleged ebook price rigging, it immediately became clear that a few of these companies would do just about anything to avoid trial. That same day, three of the publishers -- HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble has formed its first partnership with Hasbro to create My Little Pony ebooks... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While Barnes & Noble has created lots of buzz and headlines with its Nook e-reading devices, its future profitability lies in the sale of content. That was the message CEO William Lynch delivered to analysts last week in a conference call discussing first-quarter results. Improved gross... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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US bookseller Barnes & Noble has confirmed that it will be bringing its Nook digital eBook readers and bookstore to the UK in the autumn. Initially the devices, which include Nook Simple Touch and the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, will only be available through the company’s online... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2012-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Well, our English friends, today is a good day. Your choice in e-readers is about to get that much better as Barnes & Noble has decided to make your homeland the first stop on its highly-anticipated international tour. The Nook and its associated store will be making their big debut in the... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble has finally scheduled the long-awaited international debut of its Nook e-reader. The company said Monday that it will begin selling its Nook Simple Touch and Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight in the U.K. in mid-October. The devices will be sold online through a new digital... Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon appears to have been the big winner in picking up former Borders customers. According to new figures from Bowker Market Research, Amazon’s share of book spending in the first quarter of 2012 was 29%, up from 23% in the comparable period in 2011. Barnes & Noble’s share of spending, in... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When Erin Morgenstern’s first novel, The Night Circus, debuted last September, PW predicted in a starred review that this magical tale was destined for bestsellerdom. The hardcover went on to sell 167,000 copies through the outlets tracked by Nielsen BookScan, and the paperback, which was... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We'd say it's about time. Although it's almost two years late to the party, Barnes & Noble is responding to Amazon's Kindle for the Web with Nook for Web. Much like its counterpart across the virtual aisle, the Nook web edition lets readers browse free samples and whole books entirely from a... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Even in the digital age, Barnes & Noble can’t avoid the headache of returns. Although the company posted lots of positive results for the year-end and fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, the number most analysts seem to focus on was Nook segment sales for the fourth quarter, which fell 10.5%, to... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble has reported revenues for its Nook digital business for $933m for the full... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble said Tuesday that its fiscal fourth-quarter loss narrowed as the company continues to invest in its Nook e-reader business.Barnes & Noble said Tuesday that its fiscal fourth-quarter loss narrowed as the company continues to invest in its Nook e-reader business. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The ebook store market may be dominated by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple, but a few independent online ebookstores, patterned after bricks-and-mortar retailers, have carved out a lucrative niche. Some were emboldened as far back as 2003, when Barnes & Noble.com initially exited the... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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