“Stop Hitting Yourself!”

After months of wielding the stick, Amazon is trying the carrot—or at least pretending to—in its feud with Hachette over ebook pricing. Early this week, it sent a letter to “a few authors and agents” with a sugarcoated proposal to “take authors out of the middle” of the dispute. So long as negotiations continued, why not have both Amazon and Hachette forgo their revenue and profit from ebook sales, and give 100 percent of the proceeds to the authors until an agreement is reached? Continue reading at 'Slate'

[ Slate | 2014-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #ebook pricing #ebook sales

Other Publishing stories related to: '“Stop Hitting Yourself!”'

Powell’s Books will stop selling books through Amazon due to its “detrimental impact” on stores.

With this year’s Independent Bookstore Day occurring at a particularly rough time for booksellers, the iconic Powell’s Books in Portland has decided to make a statement and stop selling through Amazon. In a statement, owner Emily Powell notes that the occasion, this year, feels “especially... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-08-27 19:29:44 UTC ]
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Cengage takes 17% revenue hit in first quarter

Cengage's revenues fell 17% year on year in the first quarter of its fiscal year (to end June 2020), to a total of $191m, as the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-13 04:17:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fiscal year

Dan Snow sells History Hit network to Little Dot Studios

Podcast and video business with more than 100,000 subscribers sold to All3Media-owned firmBroadcaster Dan Snow has sold his Netflix-style streaming service and popular podcast business to Little Dot Studios, the digital content firm owned by Fleabag and 1917 producer All3Media.Snow, a favourite... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-08-11 11:47:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #video business #digital content

Bookouture signs three more 'heart-stopping' thrillers from Weatherley

Bookouture has signed crime writer Anna-Lou Weatherley, author of Kindle success The Stranger’s Wife, for three new psychological thrillers. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-10 19:20:36 UTC ]
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SoA launches fundraising drive as money for Covid-hit writers runs low

The Society of Authors is launching a fundraising drive to help top up its Authors’ Contingency Fund, ensuring it can continue to offer hardship grants to authors as the effects of the health crisis continue to be felt. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-09 17:04:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fundraising drive

Evening Standard to cut 115 jobs as Covid-19 hits advertising

Print edition of London paper will remain but focus will shift to digital and mobile platformsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe Evening Standard is to cut 115 jobs, a third of its staff, as the London freesheet seeks a dramatic reduction in costs to survive the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-08-07 10:58:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #coronavirus pandemic #evening standard #latest updatessee #dramatic reduction

Sales at HMH Took Big Hit in Q2

A 38% plunge in sales in its education group in the second quarter of 2020 led to an overall decline of 35.5% in sales at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt compared to a year ago. Costs cuts limited the impact of the sales drop on the publisher's bottom line. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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W H Smith to cut up to 1,500 jobs in restructure after Covid-19 hits business

W H Smith has announced plans for a major restructure which could see around 1,500 roles made redundant across the business. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-05 02:02:59 UTC ]
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US and Canadian agents hit out at LBF refunds

Two associations of American and Canadian agents are the latest organisations to hit out at the London Book Fair over its refund policy following this year's cancelled event. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-30 21:17:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cancelled event #london book fair

CUP scores slim revenue rise despite Covid-19 hit

Cambridge University Press saw sales at £336m in the year to end April 2020, a rise of 2.8% (2% at constant currency). However operating profits fell 3.3% to £23.6m, compared to £24.4m in 2019. CUP said it had seen "strong" growth during the first 11 months of the year, before disruption to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-30 15:46:19 UTC ]
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Amazon Charts: In a House of Lies hits the roof for a third week

Ian Rankin's In a House of Lies (Orion) has claimed the Amazon Charts' Most-Sold: Fiction number one spot for a third week, as Mary L Trump's Too Much and Never Enough (S&S) holds the Most-Sold: Non-Fiction top spot. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-29 08:22:22 UTC ]
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Harry and Meghan biography hits Amazon number one on pre-orders

Finding Freedom (HQ), the new book about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, has hit number one on Amazon based on pre-orders alone following a weekend of headlines about its contents. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-27 07:39:44 UTC ]
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Pandemic losses hit Scholastic despite good trade sales

Scholastic has reported a 10% revenue drop for the fiscal year to end May 2020, to $1.49bn, with an overall loss of $88.5m, after Covid-19 battered its fourth quarter. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-24 06:25:19 UTC ]
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Academic lists likely to be hardest hit by pandemic, new report finds

A report by consultancy Maverick Publishing Specialists says academic presses will be hit hard by falls in university revenue, while trade firms also face challenges in moving to a more agile, digital business model. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-24 00:40:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #report finds #hardest hit #academic presses #hit hard #face challenges

Book sales hit record highs in 2019, but publishers ‘now need help’

Figures for last year show sales of £6.3bn, up 20% on 2015, but the Publishers Association says sector needs government support to weather coronavirusBook sales in the UK hit record levels in 2019, driven by a surge in audiobook and nonfiction titles, according to new figures released as... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-07-21 23:01:08 UTC ]
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2019 North American Comics Sales Hit Record $1.21 Billion

Combined sales of graphic novels and periodical comics in the U.S. and Canada hit their highest point yet in 2019, according to a joint estimate produced by trade news sites ICv2 and Comichron. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #combined sales #graphic novels #periodical comics

Digital Bestseller Lists: the Witherspoon effect hits charts

Claire McGowan’s The Other Wife returns to the Bookstat top spot, with the Northern Irish author’s latest continuing a great run, having spent three solid months in the top 10 and earning four (non-consecutive) pole positions. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-03 09:18:39 UTC ]
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In Filing, Lawyers Argue Publication of Mary L. Trump’s Tell-All Cannot Be Stopped

"Plaintiff seeks an injunction that would restrain Ms. Trump from sharing insights she alone can share on the current President during his re-election.There may be no more serious First Amendment injury in American law," argues Mary L. Trump's legal team concludes in the filing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #current president

Egmont scoops picture book of Roberts' hit pandemic poem

Egmont has snapped up a picture book of "The Great Realisation", Tomos Roberts' poem in response to Covid-19 that has been viewed more than 60 million times since it was posted online in April. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-29 12:53:30 UTC ]
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