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 ]
We're in a new golden age of science fiction, especially science fiction short stories. These are some of the best stories you can read right now online. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-01-09 11:35:44 UTC ]
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While banner ads are past their prime, we wouldn’t be in this golden age of digital content marketing without them. Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-11-25 15:00:00 UTC ]
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When the news first broke that the MIT Media Lab had a close relationship with deceased billionaire and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, some saw it as a momentary lapse in judgment, and there was widespread support for Media Lab director Joi Ito. But then New Yorker writer Ronan Farrow... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review
[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2019-10-03 10:50:57 UTC ]
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In “The Hollywood Book Club,” Steven Rea brings together photos of Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe and many more. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2019-09-12 13:58:29 UTC ]
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The Toronto International Film Festival opens this year with Once Were Brothers, a documentary based on Robbie Robertson's memoir directed by a 26-year-old Canadian filmmaker. The doc's opening spot signifies the rising caché of music... Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2019-09-05 08:00:00 UTC ]
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In just a quarter-century of existence, Amazon has grown from an online bookseller to a company valued at $1 trillion and sells pretty much anything that can be imagined. With such a hefty inventory, Amazon has had to grow beyond Jeff Bezos' garage in Bellevue to a huge headquarters in... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2019-06-25 11:18:10 UTC ]
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In the words of rockers the Breeders, "Summer is ready when you are." And for book lovers, that means the chance to read either outside by the swimming pool (but please use sunscreen) or inside your house, huddled six inches from an air conditioner on full blast. However you like to read,... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-06-10 17:45:00 UTC ]
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They should be seen as communications infrastructure, and be made to serve the public interest. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2019-06-07 01:34:58 UTC ]
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Lee created or co-created a stable of superhero characters that drove the comics industry for decades and continues to drive Hollywood profits today. To celebrate the life and work of Stan Lee, the Marvel Comics pioneer who passed away at the age of 95 today, we rounded up some classic covers... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2018-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week: inside the golden age of science fiction, plus the epic drama of our atmosphere. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Where Jeff Bezos goes, other tech billionaires follow. The latest titan to invest in print media is Salesforce founder Marc Benioff who, along with wife Lynne, is buying Time magazine. The pair are using $190 million from their personal fortune to bu... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2018-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In 2018, publishers are cautiously optimistic in a manga market with steady sales in print and digital. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Otto Penzler's newest venture, Penzler Publishers, will publish print editions of classic detective stories from the golden age of of the genre, which ran from the end of World War I through World War II. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There's still much to be learned from books written by the great minds of advertising's golden age, but it's hard to deny that almost any advice printed to the page quickly becomes dated in today's digitally driven world. To illustrate that point, and boost turnout at an upcoming IdeasFirst... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2018-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The last time the Supreme Court took a hard look at how to impose sales taxes on home shopping, it was the era of mail-order catalogs — “before Amazon was even selling books out of Jeff Bezos’ garage,” lawyers recently told the justices. In 1992, the high court upheld a constitutional rule that... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite news this week that sales had fallen dramatically, the Welsh Books Council’s chief says that the sector is showing real growthThe head of the Welsh Books Council (WBC) has hailed a “golden age for the Welsh-language novel” despite reports of a dramatic decline in sales.BBC Cymru Fyw... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dressed as a 6ft 4in blue insect, Peter Serafinowicz’s superhero is a throwback to the Golden Age of Comic Books – but with everything just a fraction offWhat is it? A superhero series, because Lord knows, we need another one of those at the moment.Why you’ll love it: As superhero series go,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2017-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If Jeff Bezos really wants make an impact, he should look to places where books aren't sold—but lent. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2017-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Twenty-three years ago, Jeff Bezos was selling books out of his garage. On Thursday, the Amazon chief executive at least temporarily dethroned Bill Gates as the richest person in the world. Following a 1.3% jump in Amazon.com Inc. shares Thursday morning, Bezos, 53, was worth as much as $91.3... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ad Age "Media Guy" columnist Simon Dumenco's media roundup for the morning of Friday, May 19:I came thisclose to being able to make this a Trump-free edition of your daily media scan, but then, well, see Nos. 5 and 6, below. (Sorry!) Anyway, let's get started ...1. More evidence that Jeff Bezos... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2017-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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