The dark lesson of a $24 million Amazon book

This is what happens when algorithms call the shots. I can still recall my surprise when a book by evolutionary biologist Peter Lawrence entitled The Making of a Fly came to be priced on Amazon at $23,698,655.93 (plus $3.99 shipping). While my colleagues around the world must have become rather depressed that an academic book could achieve such a feat, the steep price was actually the result of algorithms feeding off each other and spiraling out of control. It turns out, it wasn’t just sales staff being creative: Algorithms were calling the shots.Read Full Story Continue reading at 'Fast Company'

[ Fast Company | 2019-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #academic book #steep price #sales staff

Other Publishing stories related to: 'The dark lesson of a $24 million Amazon book'


E-books in Apple's annual giveaway

Apple is to launch a 12 Days of Christmas giveaway, to begin on Boxing Day, which will include e-... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #boxing day


Media Decoder Blog: A New Children's Book Parodies a Beloved Classic

"Goodnight iPad" is a bedtime tour of our electronic lives, mimicking the tone of the classic "Goodnight Moon." Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #beloved classic #goodnight ipad #goodnight moon


Faceless net giants writing own rule books

Businesses have little recourse - or human contact - when resolving disputes with Google or Facebook, write Julian Lee and Ben Grubb. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2011-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Kindles Sell by the Millions

Analysis: Amazon's admission of selling a million Kindles per week is good news for the ebook market in general. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook market


E-Book Readers Face Sticker Shock

Cheap new e-readers are expected to be one of the hottest gifts this holiday season. But new owners of Kindles and Nooks may be in for sticker shock on Christmas morning: The price gap between the print and e-versions of some top sellers has now narrowed to within a few dollars -- and in some... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #holiday season #christmas morning #price gap #top sellers #dollars --


The Amazon Workaround

Fear that Amazon will come to dominate the bookselling market is nothing new in the publishing industry. But last week, as booksellers continued to decry the company’s price check app (which could be used to access prices on booksellers’ sideline items, like toys and DVDs) and as information... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookselling market #publishing industry


US World Book Night titles revealed

World Book Night in the US has appointed Pulitzer Prize-wining journalist Anna Quindlen as its... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


French book trade protests at VAT hike

French booksellers have called it a "catastrophe" that VAT rates will go up to 7% in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #vat hike #french booksellers #vat rates


Book sales soar week on week, remain down on 2010

Printed book sales soared by £8.6m week on week last week, but spending remains down on... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Amazon kicks off 'January sales'

Amazon.co.uk has announced its New Year discounting already, launching what it calls "... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amazon kicks


The Amazon Price Check App and The Battle over 'Showrooming'

If “showrooming” wasn’t part of the industry lexicon before last week, it is now, thanks to Amazon’s price check app that gives customers up to $15 in discounts to those who scan prices of products at different stores. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


How to Share Amazon Kindle ebooks

I love reading, and I love books. I don't care much about the medium--paper or digital, it's all the same to me, for the most part. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #love reading #love books


World Book Night 2012 to target prisons and hospitals

Half of the one million books to be given away on the next World Book Night on April 23rd 2012... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #million books


Amazon.com buys children's books list from Marshall Cavendish

Amazon.com has acquired 450 titles from publisher Marshall Cavendish, marking the retailer's... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Book sales continue to climb ahead of Christmas

Printed book sales soared by £8.8m week-on-week last week, with the latest edition of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #latest edition


Apple, Book Publishers Face European Antitrust Probe

Apple's entry into the ebook business hasn't been a huge success, but it has still registered with European antitrust regulators. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #huge success


Media Decoder Blog: Many Online Book Buyers First Shop Around in Stores

According to a survey, 24 percent of people who said they had bought books from an online retailer in the last month also said they had seen the book in a brick-and-mortar bookstore first. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #online retailer #brick-and-mortar bookstore


Mukherjee scoops £10,000 Guardian First Book Award

The only non-fiction title shortlisted for the 2011 Guardian First Book Award has taken home the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book award


Irish Sports Book of the Year shortlist revealed

Titles on rugby, cycling, horse racing and Gaelic games have been shortlisted for this year... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #horse racing


VIDEO: Kerouac's 'lost' book published

American author Jack Kerouac's first ever novel, which was thought to be lost, has been published 40 years after his death. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2011-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book published