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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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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In two new books out this spring, mystery writers provide recipes from their lives, and the lives of their characters. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Irish Arts Center in New York City will be handing out thousands of books by Irish writers to NYC residents on the holiday. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hundreds rally against fundamentalism in Dhaka as Islamists claim responsibility for murder of prominent US-Bangladeshi bloggerHundreds of people have taken to the streets of Dhaka in protest at the murder of a prominent secular American blogger of Bangladeshi origin who was hacked to death with... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Headline has acquired a humour title by comedy writer Dale Shaw. Editor Richard Roper pre-empted world rights to F**k This Journal (Betterness Through Bitterness) by Dale Shaw from Jamie Coleman at Greene & Heaton. Headline is describing the book as a “hilarious and subversive take on the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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I’ve met, interviewed and shared stages with many authors over the years, and seen all too many signs of pride and oversensitivity to criticism. There is an inherent egotism in believing your voice matters – but that’s no reason not to put pen to paperMany years ago, when I had just started... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publisher Deborah Emin argues that as publishing professionals, we should want writers to understand each stage of the process: how they are acquired, marketed and sold. The post Why Writers Need to Know the Publishing Business appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Veteran literary agent Susan Golomb, whose clients include Jonathan Franzen and William T. Vollmann, will be starting at Writers House on March 1. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Female authors account for the vast majority of this year’s Waterstones Children’s Book Prize this year, with 15 of the 18 titles written by women (see full shortlists below). The prize is divided into three categories – best illustrated book, best fiction for 5-12s and best book for teens –... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Three male authors are among the many writers shortlisted for the Romantic Novel Awards 2015 (full lists below), which are traditionally overwhelmingly dominated by women. Stephen Burke is shortlisted in the Historical Romantic Novel category for his novel The Good Italian by (Hodder &... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The internet was meant to liberate and empower its users. But the real effect has been to create vast monopolies and turn us into victims, argues web sceptic Andrew Keen in his controversial new book The Internet is Not the AnswerDuring every minute of every day of 2014, according to Andrew... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The car industry isn't slowing down when it comes to employing more data for everything from vehicle malfunctions to marketing. In fact, in terms of digital advertising, the category looks like it's putting the pedal to the metal, as tech vendors, publishers and other players increasingly roll... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2015-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The program, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, recognizes great fiction and nonfiction debuts from authors at the start of their careers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Drawing on her panoramic reading and her experiences of the authorly life cycle, Atwood surveys her trade with a mix of seriousness and gentle fun“You may find the subject a little peculiar,” warns Margaret Atwood, before she discusses the writer’s relationship with mortality. “It is a little... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While January can suffer from a post-holiday publication lull, it's a great time room for cooler, less conventional reads. The post New Fantasy Writers and Internet-Haters Dominate Our Favorite Books This Month appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The bestselling author has partnered with her local bookstore on a writer-in-residence program in Scottsdale, Ariz. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Carmen Callil’s publishing company has set about proving that there are many excellent but neglected women writers well worth publishing and reprintingMore women than men buy books; more women read books and more women write books, especially novels, and they always have. Yet women writers are... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new blog and podcast launched this week by the Royal Literary Fund (RLF) aims to help the public acknowledge the contribution writers make to the cultural landscape, assist aspiring writers and provide professional authors with an extra income. The charity, which helps commercially published... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The writers reportedly visited 22 schools over the course of one week for their children's book. 'Two' centers on prankster rivals living in the town of Yawnee Valley. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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