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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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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Calling rights agents, directors, scouts: With the rise of digital rights platforms, what happens to the person-to-person nature of publishing rights transactions? We'd like to hear from you. The post Rights Platforms: Can Digital Match the Human Touch? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Picture books are a staple of childhood. As adults, we can still recall the predictable refrains and distinctive illustrations of our old favorites. No one could mistake Eric Carle’s watercolors for Dr. Seuss’ line drawings or the bright primary colors of Goodnight Moon. But despite their... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2016-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite the weather, the Denver bookseller gathering had few cancellations, and the tone has been upbeat in the wake of what ABA president Betsy Burton called “an absolutely record-breaking year for many stores.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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South African writer and literary magazine publisher Nick Mulgrew discusses how literary magazines are perfect training for pursuing more ambitious projects. The post Literary Magazines As Training Ground for Readers, Writers and Publishers appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media Reform Coalition says meetings between mogul’s executives and the government show little has changed since hacking scandal and Leveson inquiryRupert Murdoch and senior News Corp executives met government ministers 10 times in the year to the end of March 2015, more than any other newspaper... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British poet Sarah Howe has been awarded The Sunday Times/ Peters Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award for her first collection of poems, Loop of Jade (Chatto & Windus), described as an “enthralling personal exploration of her dual heritage." Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fitzcarraldo Editions has launched The Fitzcarraldo Editions Essay Prize, a new annual essay award for unpublished writers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers in Zimbabwe have created a traveling book fair and are marshaling social media to build direct bonds with impoverished readers. The post Zimbabwe Writers Battle Disinterest With Literary Festival appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors are divided into two camps – those who self-publish and those who are traditionally-published, and the “eternal debate” over which is superior should end, The Bookseller’s Author Day has heard. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Reading Agency has responded to criticism about the lack of ethnic diversity among authors chosen for the World Book Night 2016 list, saying it is a “great shame” that there are no Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) writers included. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Unpublished author Lyn Farrell has been named as the winner of the Luke Bitmead Writer’s Bursary 2015 in an award ceremony in central London. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Angie Sage doesn’t really believe in writer’s block except as a roundabout way of admitting you’ve run out of ideas. Here are her top tips on how to get started again! ‘Writer’s block’ is a weird phrase. It implies that writing is an arcane art that channels a mysterious force—a force... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Some of today's most prominent writers are sharing their thoughts on the Bible and how it has impacted their lives in a new anthology. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Guillermo del Toro has gone back into the world of kaiju and jaegers with "Pacific Rim: Tales from the Drift," an official new series from the director and "Pacific Rim" screenwriter Travis Beacham that launched last week in comic book stores.With a story by Beacham, writer Joshua Fialkov ("The... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Accent Press has signed numerous titles by "acclaimed" crime writer Bernard Knight CBE, author of the Crowner John Mysteries. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sunjeev Sahota and Sara Taylor are among the four authors who have made the shortlist for The Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Past winners of the The Sunday Times/Peters Fraser & Dunlop Young Writers of the Year Award share their writing tips and their favourite books written by writers aged 35 and under. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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James Attlee, Writer on the Train for GWR, on the journey from blog to app to print. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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