“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 ]
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Penguin Business will publish You Coach You, a second book by Sarah Ellis and Helen Tupper, authors of Sunday Times bestseller The Squiggly Career. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-11 19:52:38 UTC ]
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On June 8, a group of more than 1,100 workers across book and media industries, most of them junior staffers, will take a day off from work, donate a day's pay to one of a number of fundraisers, and use their time to engage in acts of service in an effort to protest the killings of George Floyd,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A black author challenges publishing to be more daring in creating space for all writers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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As protests against police violence and in support of marginalized communities continue nationwide, 'PW' has put together a list of social justice resources to aid members of the book business and others in their efforts. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Flexibility and follow-through, new business books say, are key to navigating a world in flux. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Greg Orme's The Human Edge (Pearson Business) has been named book of the year the Business Book Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-25 15:18:03 UTC ]
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For the second time in two weeks, the new coronavirus has forced the cancellation of a major international book publishing conference—and made clear to publishers that these issues aren't going anywhere for a while. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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#book business
Unlike many publishing trade shows, fairs, and festivals, the Brussels Book Fair has been able to start its run on time this week–with medical personnel on-site and a careful eye on the coronavirus. Editor’s note: A bright spot among so many stories of canceled and postponed publishing events,... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-03-06 16:30:49 UTC ]
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Canadian independent publisher (and bookstore!) Biblioasis has printed up a limited run of indie bookseller trading cards, featuring heroic comic book portraits of prominent booksellers. Why? Well, for starters, this week is the annual independent booksellers conference in Baltimore, the ABA’s... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-21 13:40:31 UTC ]
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Caroline Criado Perez has triumphed to win the Financial Times and McKinsey & Company Business Book of the Year Award 2019 with her gender data gap book, Invisible Women (Chatto & Windus). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-04 02:51:49 UTC ]
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Forthcoming narratives about businesses new and old offer a window onto each company’s history as well as the social and economic contexts out of which they arose and which they in turn have influenced. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-11-29 05:00:00 UTC ]
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For many, the experience of feeling marginalized or underestimated in the workplace is a daily reality. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-11-29 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Amid what Amazon Publishing's Mikyla Bruder describes as 'the unconscious bias you're confronted with every day,' panelists call for equal pay for women. The post Publishing Perspectives Talks: Executive Women on Pay and Bias in the Book Business appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-10-18 04:27:59 UTC ]
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Industry output in Russia continues to slide, according to figures cited by the market's book chamber, even as book prices rise. The post Russia’s Book Business Statistics Chief: Some Market Contraction appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-10-02 03:20:55 UTC ]
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Despite heightening political and economic turmoil around the globe, a sense of confidence and stability has returned to the show. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Six books are in the running for the £30,000 FT and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award, with former winner Raghuram Rajan returning to the shortlist. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-16 07:08:32 UTC ]
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Pan Macmillan has snapped up rights to two new major business books, with plans to publish in 2021. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-26 18:00:07 UTC ]
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F&W Media International is acquiring the UK books business of parent firm F+W Media Inc in a management buyout, forming a new company called David and Charles. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-18 01:11:47 UTC ]
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Biteback will publish a book about "how and why politics and business have become utterly disconnected in the past decade", entitled F**k Business: The Business of Brexit, by Iain Anderson, chairman of Cicero Group. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indie Kogan Page is celebraing after The Leadership Lab: Understanding Leadership in the 21st Century by Chris Lewis and Pippa Malmgren, was named the Business Book of the Year 2019 at the Business Book Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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