Lee Child on Amazon’s real-life bookshops – and why we should be worried

The world’s biggest online retailer wants to invade the high street. What’s in it for them?In December, Amazon US released its 2015 in-house all-format all-category bestseller list, and then the newspaper USA Today came out with its own industry-wide all-sources version. What was the difference? Two words: The Martian (good movie, but the book was better). It was a huge seller, number 4 on USA Today’s list, but nowhere on Amazon’s. There were other titles in the same anomalous situation. Why?Because, even now, for most books and most people most of the time, the biggest spur to purchase is actually seeing an actual book in a physical place. Because for most people most of the time, reading is a take-it-or-yawn-leave-it activity. Books are not quite distress purchases, but neither are they exciting enough for enthusiastic online hunting. (Again, for most people most of the time, which I’ll stop repeating now, but only if the e-fanboys agree to discuss the real world, not their pretend version. Deal?) Related: Seattle bookstores face new threat from Amazon: a brick-and-mortar location Related: Amazon begins a new chapter with opening of first physical bookstore Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2016-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Lee Child on Amazon’s real-life bookshops – and why we should be worried"


Lee Child on Amazon’s real-life bookshops – and why we should be worried

The world’s biggest online retailer wants to invade the high street. What’s in it for them?In December, Amazon US released its 2015 in-house all-format all-category bestseller list, and then the newspaper USA Today came out with its own industry-wide all-sources version. What was the difference?... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Upstart Pub Behind the Surprise Hit, 'Calendar Girl'

Waterhouse Press, which published the bestselling 12-book erotica series that 'USA Today' just touted as the next Fifty Shades of Grey, is taking a numbers-driven approach to cracking the bestseller list. So far, it seems to be working. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Three months, standing start to high street

"The dispiriting feeling that...the entire industry is stacked against the author." Douglas Wight isn't the first to respond by creating an imprint of his own, of course. Indie bestseller Barbara Freethy self-publishes as Fog City Publishing, which has a trade imprint for bookstores, Hyde Street... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gannett Hires WaPo, Yahoo Sales Exec Kevin Gentzel as Revenue Chief

In the past year Kevin Gentzel has gone from newspapers to digital media and back again.After hopping from The Washington Post to Yahoo last year, Mr. Gentzel has landed at Gannett as the newspaper company's chief revenue officer and will report to the company's president of domestic publishing... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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USA Today Publisher Larry Kramer Steps Down As Gannett Spinoff Looms

Larry Kramer, publisher and president of USA Today since 2012, is leaving the newspaper and joining the board of directors of the new Gannett, the company announced today.Mr. Kramer's departure comes as Gannett, owner of 82 daily newspapers including USA Today as well as 46 local TV stations,... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-06-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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USA Today Could End Daily Print Edition in 'Five or Six Years,' Editor-in-Chief Says

USA Today could stop publishing a daily print newspaper as soon as in the next "five or six years," the paper's editor-in-chief, David Callaway, said in response to a question during an Internet Week New York panel Wednesday.To be sure, a print product of some kind will likely continue for "the... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Watch the Digiday Publishing Summit live

The Digiday Publishing Summit will stream live today from Vail, Colorado, starting at 6:30 p.m. EST. Sessions will cover how publishers adapt to technological change. Today's sessions focus in particular on the shift to mobile. Neil Vogel, CEO of About.com, will speak to how it is making mobile... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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USA Today Said to Cut as Many as 70 Jobs Ahead of Gannett Split

USA Today, which is being spun off from Gannett Co. along with the rest of the company's publishing business, fired as many as 70 employees today across all departments, according to a person familiar with the newspaper's plans.About half of the jobs were in the newsroom and accounted for about... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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USA Today owner Gannett to spin off publishing arm

Media giant to create two companies, one of which will focus on broadcasting and digital content and the other on publishingGannett, the publisher of USA Today, is to take full ownership of the auto website Cars.com and spin off its publishing assets into a publicly traded company as it focuses... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How USA Today reinvents for the digital world

USA Today is in the midst of rethinking what it’s all about. Gone is the mindset of being a national newspaper; in is the goal of establishing itself as a national news brand on several platforms -- and yes, that includes print. USA Today president and publisher Larry Kramer explained the... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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5 things we learned at the Digiday Publishing Summit

Top executives from the Guardian, Time, USA Today, Atlantic Media's Quartz, the Onion and others took part in panel discussions with Digiday editors on a range of topics, such as applying established journalism techniques to the Web, embracing mobile, the rise of online video, and making... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stieg Larsson publisher Quercus driven to seek buyer

Independent which brought the Millennium trilogy to millions of English-language readers puts company up for saleThe publisher behind The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, independent press Quercus, has put itself up for sale in what it has described as a "challenging" and "increasingly competitive"... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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USA TODAY Celebrates The 20th Anniversary Of USA TODAY'S Best-Selling Books List

McLean, Va. – USA TODAY celebrates the 20th anniversary of the USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list, crowning not one, but three No.1 books for three different eras that reflect the changes in publishing over the past two decades.   Given ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gannett Buying Belo in $2.2 Billion Deal

Gannett, best known as the newspaper publisher behind USA Today, is making a big bet on TV: It is paying $1.5 billion, and taking on $715 million in debt, to acquire local station owner Belo Corp. If the deal gets regulatory approval, Gannett will nearly double its portfolio of TV stations from... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indie bookshop numbers fall

The total number of independent bookshops on the high street has declined for a sixth consecutive... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Closures and cancellations as snow hits trade

Freezing temperatures and a swathe of snow across the UK has hit the high street, with some... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book sales down 6% at WHS

Book sales at WH Smith have dropped 6% like-for-like across the high street and travel divisions... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The trade makes predictions for 2013

Another year of "breakneck" digital growth, a resurgence on the high street, further... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sharethrough Grabs $5 Million in Funding for Native Ad Push

Sharethrough founder and CEO Dan Greenberg is one of the more vocal evangelists of the native advertising talk that has recently bubbled up. While native advertising isn’t an easy sell to media buyers who typically prefer traditional buying methods, the online video advertising startup has grown... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2012-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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