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 ]
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Gossip site Gawker accuses PayPal founder Peter Thiel of being 'vindictive' and a 'comic book villain' who uses his billions to fund libel suits against the site. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2016-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephen King is one of hundreds of resident authors in the US to have signed an open letter, addressed to "the American People", expressing their opposition to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quadrille has signed a book about the cook's knife from award-winning food writer and broadcaster Tim Hayward. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The striking similarities between Pulitzer Prize–winner Robert Olen Butler and the narrator in his latest novel, "Perfume River," leads readers to wonder if the book is in some way autobiographical. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite the popularity of bestselling Italian author Elena Ferrante, who was recently named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people, the flow of translations between the U.S. and Italy continues to be one-sided. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The winner of the inaugural Deborah Rogers Writers’ Award, a £10,000 prize for an unpublished writer, is Sharlene Wen-Ning Teo for Ponti, a work of fiction about "a misfit adolescent girl growing up in sultry, sweaty Singapore". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bernie Corbett, general secretary of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, has stepped down after 15 years at the helm of the trade union. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Veteran African American pop culture writer David Walker discusses writing for two popular black comic book superheroes: DC's half-man/half-machine, Cyborg, and Marvel's Luke Cage, aka Power Man. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Self-published writers have voiced disgruntlement about a perceived sidelining of the Author HQ area at London Book Fair, calling it a “step backwards” for the independent author movement. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'We are a little isolationist,' Ivars Ījabs says to fellow from the Baltics in a session of constructive candor on 'the paradox of the open culture' at London Book Fair. The post Baltic Crossroads at London Book Fair: Writers from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania appeared first on Publishing... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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I Interviewed Miles about his role heading up York Literature Festival and how he sees the festival expanding. He also has some great advice for those looking for a job in books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This year's AWP, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from March 31–April 2, was a vibrant mélange of multicultural voices. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Photos from the book fair and panels at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs annual conference, held this year at the L.A. Convention center in downtown Los Angeles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers tend to be solitary creatures, and yet more than 12,000 will congregate in Los Angeles this week. The occasion is the annual conference of the Assn. of Writers and Writing Programs, or AWP, which also draws other literary kin, the teachers, editors, publishers, critics and booksellers who... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Spanning the traditional vs. self-publishing divide, German publisher Carlsen and self-publishing platform Tolino Media will jointly host a writing content to recognize emerging talent. The post Carlsen and Tolino Team Up to Scout for New Writers appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Whether you come away from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice thrilled or disgusted, there are always more (and often better) stories about DC's icons in your neighbourhood comic book store. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2016-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Syrian author Samar Yazbek has made the Orwell Prize longlist for The Crossing, which tells of the journalist’s attempts to get back into her country after being exiled by president Bashar al-Assad. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On International Women’s Day, Sheila O’Reilly on the writers who have inspired her. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mortality is hot. Although the act of dying has largely been moved from our homes and daily lives into the sequestered, antiseptic realm of hospitals and hospices, memoirs grappling with impending death have proliferated, bringing mortal knowledge home in a new way. Two doctors, Oliver Sacks and... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Society of Authors chief executive officer talks about campaigning to get the best deals for her members—and why she favours the direct approach. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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