Karl Sabbagh says small publishers face with huge obstacles with selling books and even letting anyone know they exist; plus a descendant of Dr Miles Marley sets the record straightWith reference to your leader on literary fiction (28 December), as a small publisher we are faced with huge obstacles in the way of selling our books or even letting anyone know our titles exist, however good they are. Last year we published an excellent novel called To the Lake, by a Russian writer, Yana Vagner. This had sold over 100,000 copies in Russia, and is being made into a TV series there. It has won prizes throughout Europe, and been translated into half a dozen languages, with sales outside Russia running into tens of thousands. We paid an advance to the author, a fee to a translator, and typesetting, cover design and printing costs, a total of about £9,000. We sent at least 50 copies out to major periodicals, newspapers and broadcast media in the hope of getting reviews, but there were none. The one thing we couldn’t afford was advertising, at a cost of £1,000 or so for a quarter page in a literary journal and far more in widely selling newspapers. So far, we have sold 64 copies. Can anyone wonder why we don’t publish more such books?Karl SabbaghManaging director, Skyscraper Publications• Dr Christopher Goulding (Letters, 26 December) may regard Barry West’s “theory” about Dickens’ use of the name Marley as tenuous; in our family we regard it as long-established fact. I am a... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2017-12-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#won prizes
#dozen languages
#cover design
#printing costs
#broadcast media
#literary journal
In each issue of Distro, Executive Editor Marc Perton publishes a wrap-up of the week in news. There's a very good chance you're reading this on a tablet. Distro is, after all, first and foremost, a tablet magazine. There's also a reasonable chance you're reading this on a computer. Distro... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#simply couldn
#barnes noble
Lagardere has reported sales in its publishing division up 3.1% like-for-like in the first half... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#reported sales
#publishing division
#1% like-for-
Hairy Bikers Dave Myers and Si King's new weight-loss tome, The Hairy Dieters: Eat for Life (... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#si king
#hairy dieters
Amazon announced a Kindle World license for the books of Kurt Vonnegut, but not everyone thinks it's a great idea. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#amazon announced
#kurt vonnegut
#great idea
The two-book deal William Morrow signed with Patricia Cornwell earlier this month was just the latest high-profile deal in a concerted effort by parent company HarperCollins to rebuild the house’s fiction list. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#fiction list
#concerted effort
Nielsen is predicting that fiction ebooks will overtake sales of fiction paperbacks, but not... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#fiction ebooks
The 2013 longlist of fiction for the Man Booker Prize will surprise and intrigue in equal measure. The shortlist will be announced in September and the winner on October 15. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#equal measure
In an interview with Guernica magazine, literary agent Nicole Aragi discusses the crisis of literary fiction, why translated books don't sell in the US, and more. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#literary fiction
Canongate is to launch a campaign in praise of letter writing, after signing two new books... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
The continuing growth of digital publishing has put even more energy into the flourishing genres of SF, fantasy, mystery and romance publishing, says Wired. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#genre fiction
#digital publishing
#marriage made
#continuing growth
#romance publishing
The future of book publishing is increasingly digital -- and increasingly tilted towards genre fiction. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2013-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#big publishers
#genre fiction
#book publishing
Canadian publisher Icon Empire Press has accused German bookseller Weltbild of "hypocrisy... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Veronica Roth will release four short stories written from the point of view of 'Divergent' hero Four. The first will be released a month before the last book in the trilogy comes out. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#veronica roth
A blow-by-blow account of how Apple and five of America's six largest publishers ended up on the wrong end of price-fixing allegations by the Department of Justice, from PW senior writer Andrew Richard Albanese. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#wrong end
Craig Chappelow has written about how leaders can be more successful. But he'd crack One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest before the latest business book any day. Here's why he thinks you should, too. Read any good leadership books lately? Me either. It seems like popular books about leadership... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#lasting impact
#research conducted
#vast majority
While a high-calibre jury of writers and critics ponders the nominees for this year's Children's Book Awards, we have asked the true experts. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2013-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#high-calibre jury
#critics ponders
#book awards
#true experts
Most museums have publishing departments and bookstores, so publishing exhibition-related fiction shouldn't be much of a stretch and might enhance the patron's experience. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
The American novelist A M Homes has won the 2013 Women's Prize for Fiction for her... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#american novelist
Baileys has become the new sponsor for the Women's Prize for Fiction, with the cream liqueur... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Macmillan US is to launch a new, stand-alone division specialising in non-fiction, with Macmillan... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |