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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Quality Writing for All, a campaign to support low-income writers, with a focus on Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and disabled communities, will be officially launched tonight (16th June). The scheme has been put together by The Literary Consultancy (TLC), which is using funding from Arts... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The new children’s laureate Chris Riddell said he supports campaigns for illustrators to gain equal credit with writers. In an interview with The Bookseller magazine published today (12th June), Ridell said Sarah McIntyre, who spearheaded the #PicturesMeanBusiness campaign, is “amazing”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mitchell Beazley author Diana Henry was a major winner at last night's Guild of Food Writer Awards 2015 (Tuesday 9th June). Henry received the Cookery Book of the Year Award for A Change of Appetite (Mitchell Beazley) as well as the Evelyn Rose Award for Cookery Journalist of the Year for work... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From Jane Austen's white soup to a liver mousse inspired by 'Silence of the Lambs,' butcher and writer Cara Nicoletti explores recipes inspired by classic and contemporary book. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lori Nelson Spielman, an American author, has written books that became global bestsellers — just not in the USA. How should authors measure success? The post How Do Writers Measure Success in Global Publishing? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Don’t tell anyone,” confides bestselling author Brad Meltzer about today’s panel “Inside the Mystery Writer’s Studio,” in which he is participating with fellow superstars James Patterson and Nelson DeMille. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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$10,000 award in memory of publisher Matthew Richell announced at Emerging Writers’ festival in Melbourne, which will also be a partner on the prizeA new Australian literary award has been established in memory of Matthew Richell, the Sydney publisher who died in a surfing accident in 2014 at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Scottish Book Trust has been awarded £95,000 for a new national programme for young writers, from Time To Shine, Scotland’s National Youth Arts Strategy. The Young Writers programme will include a conference, development of writers groups across Scotland, and an online platform to showcase... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook study considered the political leanings of news posts by US users before determining which posts were reached via the site’s social algorithmsThe algorithms used by Facebook to filter news posts have an effect on the information seen by users – but not nearly as much as the choices made... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hatched over coffee 20 years ago, the Hub City Writers Project has grown into an indie press, a nonprofit bookstore and driving force behind the literary arts in Spartanburg, SC. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rendell was one of Britain's most popular crime novelists and wrote dozens of books, including many under the pen name Barbara Vine. She passed away over the weekend. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers withdraw from literary and human rights organisation’s American Center gala, citing objection to award for the French satirical magazinePeter Carey, Michael Ondaatje, Francine Prose, and at least three other writers have withdrawn from next month’s PEN American Center gala, citing... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Andrea Fuentes of illustrated books publisher La Caja de Cerillos — Match Box Editions — outlines how she is trying to revolutionize reading in Mexico The post A Publishing Manifesto from Mexico’s Match Box Editions appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-04-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There is a “huge inequality” in earnings between writers, with a small number – 10% - earning most of the money made by professional authors, research released today (20th April) has found. The Business of Being an Author: A Survey of Authors Earnings and Contracts was commissioned by the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When the managers of indie giants Garbage asked photographer Pat Pope to use his pictures for no fee, he made a standA professional photographer for more than 20 years, and published in Q, Melody Maker and Rolling Stone, Pat Pope has worked with many of the biggest names in pop and rock music,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We all know how certain books, read at key moments in our lives, remain memorable and influential for years afterward. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The U.S. manga market is growing again and publishers are turning to related products--from prose tie-ins and games to accessories and apparel--to reel in even more consumers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Women buy two-thirds of books sold but magazine reviews are centred on male authors and critics – though picture is beginning to changeThe continuing bias towards men in the British and American literary establishment has been confirmed by a study released on Tuesday.Vida, a US organisation... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BuzzFeed is going literary. The ever-growing media company launched BuzzFeed Books in December of 2013, and this year it is launching several projects under new Literary Editor Saeed Jones. First up is the BuzzFeed Emerging Writers Fellowship pr ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Coffee House Press in Minneapolis has just received a $100,000 grant from the Bush Foundation. The press said it intend to use much of the grant money its In the Stacks residency program. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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