“You don’t understand,” the three-time, big-six published author told me. “Books aren’t designed for you, the customer. Today, non-fiction books are business cards--for speaking, consulting, and deals.” I was meeting this friend for dinner in New York City and had mentioned a trend I had noticed in nearly every book I’d seen in the last year: They never say what they’re about. Almost as a rule, hardcover books (and increasingly ebooks) favor laudatory “blurbs” over descriptions--opting for short quotes from important authors, CEOs, celebrities, or media outlets to make their case. At the time, I was in the middle of designing the back cover of my own book, and being somewhat new to the game, I could not understand the benefits of doing this. Wouldn’t it be better to use that space to describe the contents of the book? Isn’t that what “customers” would want? Why bury the content on the inside? I was missing a fundamental change that has occurred in the publishing business, particularly for authors. Faced with declining sales and the disappearance of book retailers like Borders, authors have diversified their income streams, and many make substantially more money through new business generated by a book, rather than from it. Today, authors are in the idea-making business, not the book business. In short, this means that publishing a book is less about sales and much more about creating a brand. The real customers of books are no longer just readers but now include... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2012-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
One of them, Jason Reynolds’s middle-grade novel “Look Both Ways,” is a National Book Award finalist. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-10-18 21:16:26 UTC ]
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Bad news, Moby fans: The book tour is off. On his website, the electronic musician announced he was canceling all upcoming appearances. “Moby is canceling all upcoming public appearances for the foreseeable future,” the statement reads. “We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. All... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-05-29 21:50:00 UTC ]
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Bookouture has signed two new novels from K L Slater, a writer the digital publisher says has sold one million copies in two years. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Some writers turn to fiction as a way to escape the nonstop onslaught of (mostly bad) news that Americans are subjected to constantly these days. Karen E. Bender, the novelist and short story writer, is not that kind of writer. Bender’s new short story collection, “The New Order,” takes on a host... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bestsellers including Michelle Obama’s Becoming cited as reasons for success, with industry voices praising sector for fourth consecutive year of growthFormer first lady Michelle Obama’s memoir, Becoming, which sold more than half a million copies in less than two months, has helped the UK book... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing micro-genres often reflect the fashions and anxieties of the age – bad news for us literary editorsOne day last week, after I spent the best part of an hour opening two days’ worth of post at my office – I work as literary editor of the Spectator – I posted a peevish tweet: “Can we... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bob Woodward's book Fear: Trump in the White House may not be in bookshops just yet, but with the book in high demand one million copies have been printed in advance. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2018-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mention “pop science” in China and one blockbuster comes to mind: The Magic School Bus. It has remained the #1 children’s title since its launch in 2010, with online retailer Dangdang selling nearly half a million copies in an average year. On Singles’ Day—which is the equivalent of Black Friday... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-03-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amid policy changes at social network, media mogul criticizes it for failing to ‘adequately reward’ publishers that add value and integrityRupert Murdoch issued a new salvo in the row between Facebook and news publishers on Monday, calling on the social media company to pay publishers for their... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Sargent, the chief executive of Macmillan, the parent company of Henry Holt, which has received orders for more than a million copies of “Fire and Fury.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2018-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Here's the way I see it: The difference between old and new media publishers (or traditional and digital-native publishers, if you prefer) is that, while both struggle to stay afloat, some new media companies just don't quite realize it yet.I've been thinking about the economics of all... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2017-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pan Macmillan authors Joe Wicks, Jeffrey Archer, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler were last night awarded the Golden Pan, one of the industry's very first author awards, recognising sales in excess of one million copies over a book's lifetime. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital publisher Bookouture has signed three more crime thrillers from Patricia Gibney whose debut The Missing Ones has sold almost half a million copies since its release in March this year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Once upon a time, in 1983 to be precise, a small U.K. literary journal published a list of what it considered the 20 best novelists in Britain under the age of 40. Lists like Granta’s Best Young British Novelists are now so commonplace—from the New Yorker’s decennial 20 under 40 list to the... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2017-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two different sets of spoof titles hit shelves tomorrow (3rd November) hoping to cash in on a slice of the success the Ladybird Books for Adults series achieved last Christmas, which racked up sales of a million copies. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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All hope is not lost in the war on ad blocking. Publishers in Europe report making cautious headway, with a variety of measures taken by publishers, combined with still-low mobile ad blocking rates, slowing the overall growth in ad blocking users. The open question is whether ad blocking will... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2016-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Scholastic estimated Wednesday morning that 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two' sold more than two million copies in North American in its first two days of sales. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jojo Moyes’ Me Before You duology has sold over a million copies across all editions, as sequel After You (Penguin) spent a third week running as the Official UK Top 50 number one. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The modified algorithm will place higher value on posts by friends, family, and colleagues — at the expense of media brands. The post Facebook’s Latest News Feed Change Sounds Like Bad News for Publishers appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2016-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of J K Rowling’s Harry Potter audiobooks through Audible have already reached one million copies, according to the company. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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