Mark Coker of Smashwords became the leader of indie ebook writers--including some with dirty minds--in a fight against censorship and PayPal. He also has strong feelings about the DOJ's ebook pricing lawsuit.Mark Coker is the CEO of Smashwords, an ebook publishing and distribution platform. Coker recently won a highly publicized battle against PayPal, which briefly refused to work with Smashwords unless Coker removed certain naughty titles from the site. Fast Company caught up with Coker and learned, among other things, that writers of incest erotica can be very articulate.FAST COMPANY: What is Smashwords?MARK COKER: We’re probably the world’s largest distributor of self-published ebooks and ebooks from small independent presses. We were founded in 2008. A writer comes to Smashwords, uploads a Word document, which we instantly convert into multiple formats to be read on a Kindle or other device. Those are then available for sale at Smashwords.com at a price set by the author. 85% of all proceeds go to the author, so we flipped the compensation model upside-down. In traditional publishing, in the best case, an author earns 17.5% off an ebook’s list price. In 2008, we had 140 titles; in 2009, we had 6,000 titles; today we have just over 115,000.You recently came to prominence by picking a fight with PayPal, which threatened to stop working with you if you failed to remove some smutty titles from your store.On a Saturday, I received an email from PayPal notifying me I had... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2012-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#swimming pool
#jeff bezos
#steve jobs
#pricing model
#golden age
#david zax
Discovered in his attic, the letters in “Love, Kurt” feel both very private and very important. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-12-03 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#kurt vonnegut
The University of East Anglia (UEA) has launched two new scholarships for international writers in memory of Sonny Mehta, the editor-in-chief of Knopf and chairman of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing who died aged 77 in December last year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-30 15:40:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#sonny mehta
This year has been a dumpster fire and we mean that literally. But the shining bright spot in the literary world is an abundance of great new books by Indigenous writers being published in 2020. Since it’s National Native American Heritage Month, we’re focusing on books coming out of the U.S.... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-11-27 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#books coming
#indigenous writers
#electric literature
#literary world
Novelist Pola Oloixarac and historian Imaobong Umoren (pictured) have been named as the 2021 winners of the Eccles Centre & Hay Festival Writer’s Award. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-26 17:20:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Antiracist author Ijeoma Oluo, whose latest book is 'Mediocre,' joins Emmanuel Acho, author of 'Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man,' for a frank talk. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-11-24 15:16:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#uncomfortable conversations
#black man
The Curtis Brown Creative Writing school is launching a Breakthrough Writers’ Programme, which features fully funded courses, mentoring and scholarships for underrepresented writers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-24 13:15:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#underrepresented writers
The Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant has awarded $675,000 to 22 writers to support critical writing on contemporary art in the categories of books, articles, and short-form writing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#contemporary art
Find more Religion & Spirituality coverage here on women authors writing books aimed at female audiences. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
A writer of extraordinary range and productivity, she was also one of the world’s first well-known transgender public figures. Her book “Conundrum” was an international best seller. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-20 09:25:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
The influx of star podcasters looms over a dispute between the union and managers at the Spotify-owned digital media company founded by Bill Simmons. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-11-19 16:09:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#staff writers
#digital media
Under-represented writers’ platform Untitled has launched the second full issue of its global online journal Untitled: Voices, featuring work from 53 emerging writers from around the world. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-18 16:23:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#under-represented writers
#platform untitled
One year ago I launched my fourth psychological thriller, One Year Later. It was a gloriously sunny day, and we celebrated in the village pub, The Swan Inn, toasting my novel and each other with prosecco and chocolate brownies. I was hopeful for the future: it was the last book in a four-book... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-17 16:34:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#four-book deal
A family curse trapped the three Widdershins sisters on the prison isle of Crowstone in A Pinch of Magic. The sequel, A Sprinkle of Sorcery, took them across the marshes and waves to a secret island not found on any map. In February, Simon & Schuster Children’s Books will publish the third... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-13 07:14:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Chicken House will publish Melissa Harrison's debut children's novel, By Ash, Oak and Thorn, as well as a sequel, By Rowan and Yew. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-10 20:47:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#debut children
#chicken house
The quintet of books named to the UK Young Writer of the Year award shortlist this year includes memoir, novels, and poetry collections. The post The UK’s Young Writer Award Names Its 2020 Shortlist appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-11-06 21:59:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#poetry collections
#young writer
A biography from Les Payne sheds new light on the life of the black nationalist leader. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-06 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
We asked for your favorite short stories and got a long list! Here are 53 of the most outstanding short stories our readers have read. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-11-02 11:31:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#ve read
#riot recommendation
#long list
#short stories
HarperCollins recently reissued Writing Past Dark, by Bonnie Friedman, the classic, bestselling guide to the emotional side of the writer’s life, marking the book’s 25th anniversary. Three decades ago, when Friedman was fresh out of the Iowa Writers Workshop, the New York Times Book Review... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-29 08:48:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#25th anniversary
#decades ago
#literary hub
#times book
#harpercollins
Guardian Weekend magazine and gal-dem are launching a memoir writing competition for UK-resident black women and black non-binary people aged 16-21 on the theme of ‘conversations’Calling all young black women and black non-binary writers aged 16-21. The Guardian is once again collaborating on a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-10-22 11:23:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#weekend magazine
#special issue
#non-binary people
#print publication
#memoir
Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, a National Book Award finalist for “The Undocumented Americans,” talks immigration, her unconventional approach to nonfiction and why impostor syndrome doesn’t faze her. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-10-21 09:00:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#undocumented americans
#national book award