Something Is Rotten In The State Of E-Book Publishing

The publishing industry has a problem. The old guard haven't innovated. And neither their business models nor their products embrace the digital books revolution. Take the ongoing and complicated spat between Apple and the Justice Department over the agency pricing model and alleged collusion which ended up with consumers being forced to spend more than they needed to. The battle may expand internationally, in fact. Apple tried to expand its 30% revenue share model, which has done very well in the billion-dollar app economy, into books. It also pushed publishers to agree to a very different way of selling their products: Instead of buying books traditionally, at a pre-agreed wholesale price and then pricing them as Apple saw fit in the iBookstore, it would let the publishers set their own price and extract its usual fixed share of the income ... as long as the publishers wouldn't sell ebooks elsewhere.It was a bold move, and one that could and did shake up the industry a bit. Amazon, the publishers contend, had established a monopoly on ebooks, and was selling their wares at overly discounted prices. With Apple's model they could choose to price ebooks lower than physical books cost (appeasing consumers who expect to pay less for a non-physical product), and yet extract more money due to the cost-savings of e-publishing.The DOJ disagreed, and says Apple's deal meant consumers ended up spending much more than they needed to, hence its action against Apple and a laundry... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'

[ Fast Company | 2012-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Good Books Parent Files for Chapter 7

Good Enterprises, whose holdings include the cookbook publisher Good Books, filed voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy December 10 and is preparing to liquidate the company. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Yes, Virginia: Winning the Nobel Prize DOES Sell Books

In the week after Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize for literature, sales of her books jumped 6,650% in Canada, and saw significant bumps around the world. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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“Popular Choice” Rules at Indian Book Awards

Several top-selling titles were among the winners of this year's Crossword Book Awards, given by the Indian bookseller at the Times of India's Literary Carnival. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's new imprint StoryFront will publish short stories

The new imprint of the online bookseller has already released works by authors including William Lashner and Rebecca Adams Wright. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tribune files plan with SEC ahead of publishing unit spinoff

Tribune Co. took a key step in the planned spinoff of its publishing business on Monday, filing a Form 10 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kidd Chosen as New Oprah Book Club Pick

Sue Monk Kidd's The Invention of Wings is the newest Oprah's Book Club 2.0 selection. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Storm8 Gets Into the Publishing Business, Too

Social mobile games studio Storm8 announced today that it will start marketing, distributing and advising on third-party games via a new arm, Storm8 Publishing. Its first title, War of Dragons for iOS, is a Puzzle & Dragons-esque match-three game originally released as Tower of Saviors.... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oprah's book club pick: 'The Invention of Wings' by Sue Monk Kidd

Just in time for the holidays, Oprah Winfrey has selected a new book for her Book Club 2.0: "The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd.Just in time for the holidays, Oprah Winfrey has selected a new book for her Book Club 2.0: "The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Celebrate 15 Years of German Book Office New York

On December 11, the German Book Office New York will celebrate 15 years promoting German literature in North America and connecting the German and American publishing industries. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book House Ends Kickstarter Campaign Above Goal

The suburban St. Louis bookstore ended its four-week Kickstarter campaign on Sunday, more than $2,000 above its goal. The funds raised are being used to build out a section of its new home so that the store can open for business on weekends before Christmas. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How publishing fiction online launched the career of this young writer | Beth Reeks

Indie publishing via online writing communities and ebooks can provide valuable feedback, and even set you on the path to mainstream successNews that a quarter of the top 100 Kindle books on Amazon.com are from indie publishers doesn't surprise me. I started out writing online. Fed up with the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Doha’s Book Fair Strives to Put Qatar in a Positive Light

Doha's book fair may be overshadowed by Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, but it has ambitions to raise the cultural profile of Qatar in this fast developing region. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Skyhorse Moves Up Mandela Book

In light of Nelson Mandela's passing, Skyhose Publishing has moved up the publication schedule for Bob Crew's biography of the former South African president, Mandela: His Life and Legacy for South Africa and the World. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alt-Week 12.7.13: Wormhole short-cuts, watery planets and history as seen by Google Books

Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. Don't pack your bags just yet, but Hubble has found indirect evidence of water on five different planets -- a lot of it, in some cases. Bigger brains ... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PP’s Shakespeare Book Club: No More Tragedy…It’s Time for Romance

Publishing Perspective’s epic reading of the complete plays of Shakespeare, The Play’s The Thing. is near the finale. Next up: the romances, starting with "Cymbeline." Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Slate Book Review Top 10 of 2013

Monday: Slate staffers pick their favorite books of 2013. Tuesday: The overlooked books of 2013. Wednesday: The best lines of 2013, and the best poetry of 2013. Thursday: Dan Kois’ 15 favorite books. Friday: The Slate Book Review Top 10. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2013-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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December 2013 Audio Books: In the Studio

Diaz adds narration to her body of work and more in this week's audio books news. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Like This if You Like Pandas! Facebook Says Publishers Shouldn't Fret About News Feed Changes.

The guy who runs Facebook's most valuable real estate explains why the company just changed its rules. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quercus Books chosen for Shropshire Bookfest

Two books published by Quercus, The Last Wild by Piers Torday and Secrets, Lies... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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U.S. Publishers Increase Presence at Guadalajara

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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