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 ]
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Some see Amazon's Kindle Worlds fan fiction publishing platform as a great marketing move, while others are wary of Amazon's ownership of ideas. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon is once again shaking up traditional publishing models. This time, it's giving fans a chance to add their own personal touches to their favourite fiction - and get paid in the process. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2013-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fan fiction authors will be able to publish and sell some titles in the US via new ebook platform Kindle Worlds. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2013-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The digital publishing platform will let fans write, publish, and sell the stories they've written based on popular books, TV shows, and more. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's taken a number of steps to bring different types of content to the Kindle Store, and it's now venturing into an area that has a long history with the internet: fan fiction. The company's today announced Kindle Worlds, a new publishing platform that promises to pay writers royalties for... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dutch writer Gerbrand Bakker has won this year's £10,000 Independent Foreign Fiction... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Several new high profile interactive fiction titles have been released so far this year, suggesting that publishers and readers may finally be ready for the medium. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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According to a new report by the Association of American Publishers, children's and young adult books experienced a sales jump driven by hardcover sales of Suzanne Collins' trilogy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Women’s fiction blog Novelicious is to launch a new digital imprint. Novelicious Books... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A "daring" novel which explores the plight of foreign workers in Gulf countries has won... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Kwani? Manuscript Project, a new one-off literary prize for unpublished fiction from African... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The new Gimbal app, launching Tuesday at the London Book Fair, features translated short stories for commuters that allows you to explore a city through fiction. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Half of the novels shortlisted for this year's International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Titles from Frances Lincoln, Templar, Walker and Random House UK have been shortlisted for the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Non-fiction projects with an international reach are in high demand ahead of this year’s... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new report on the ebook market in 2012 shows the continuing dominance of fiction, with fiction... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Classicist Natalie Haynes has turned her hand to novels, with Atlantic imprint Corvus set to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dorling Kindersley is taking a new direction, publishing a list of narrative non-fiction books... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last year at the end of this annual bestseller article, we made the obvious prediction that unit sales for hardcover bestsellers would be even lower for 2012 books and that the “ebook explosion could be the culprit.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Looking at 2012’s huge drop in the number of mass market bestsellers with sales of more than 500,000 copies is alarming. In 2012, only 26 titles hit that figure and only three in the group reached the million mark. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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