Browsing Archive: November, 2010

Publishing Crossroads - The Main Intersection

Posted by John R. on Monday, November 29, 2010, In : digital publishing 
With the advent of mobile devices such as the iPad and iPhone, newspapers and magazines see a hitherto nonexistent opportunity for generating paid subscription digital versions as the new mobiles (and they WILL be proliferating like rabbits!) will be hungry for great, meaningful and pertinent content.

The publishing crossroads is a balancing act between the younger generation, used to digital media and expecting instant info, and the older generation, still loyal to print...and how to make bot...

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Market Intelligence for the Professional Publishing Industry

Posted by John R. on Friday, November 26, 2010, In : digital publishing 
In the digital publishing age a balance needs to be created between the customers' desire for immediate accessability at any time to enriched text (enhanced with audio, video, three-dimensional objects, full text searching, note taking, etc) and "...publishers’ needs for financial self-sustainability."

We are at the age where researchers can access works in the form of e-books that are accessable at any time and any place and never go out of print!

This is heavy neatness to the extreme. Publ...

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by John R. on Thursday, November 25, 2010,
Wishing ALL a very warm and exceptional Thanksgiving Day!

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B2B Publishers Gain More Investor Interest

Posted by John R. on Thursday, November 25, 2010, In : publishing 
Publishing, as a whole, has seen an uptick lately...Not B2B publishing models, however.

PaidContent.org, utilizing info from Data Explorers, a financial data aggregator which tracks stock loan information to provide insight on short selling and long-side ownership, has surmised that the B2B publishers are gaining interest and activity from investors that indicate this publishing model may be on the mend...due in some regard (I think) to improved handling of digitization.

Anyway, PaidContent has...

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Amazon's CreateSpace is on the Move!

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, November 23, 2010, In : self-publishing 
Amazon's self-publishing arm, CreateSpace, has listened to suggested improvements by many of its users and finally introduced a number of customer-friendly upgrades to improve the self-publishing experience.

More details provided by this press release from MarketWatch.com:

CreateSpace, part of the Amazon.com, Inc. group of companies, today announced an improved self-publishing experience that will help content creators set up, distribute and manage their titles more easily. These enhancements a...

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Report: 1/3 of iPad Users Don't Use Device for Reading Books!

Posted by John R. on Sunday, November 21, 2010, In : writing digital gadgets 
Well, that means 66% DO use the mobile device for reading books...And that is a great percentage!

Since the advent of the eReaders, tablets and other multitask mobile gadgets, I have felt they would encourage more reading...and especially spur book reading...if for no other reason than to be able to utilize the new fad gadgets.

I was right. And their presence has also resulted in the resuscitation of the publishing industry as a whole!

Another reason for this particular post tonight is to intro...

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Possible Resolution in the 'Rights' and 'Control' Fight Between Google and Publishers?

Posted by John R. on Friday, November 19, 2010, In : digital publishing 
Peaceful resolution may be at hand! I've posted on this issue previously several times on both this blog and Writers Welcome Blog, but I will give one reference here from Writers Welcome Blog for a little background on Google's effort to corner and monopolize digital rights to books (especially out-of-print books).

Anyway, the French publisher Hachette Livre has reached an agreement with Google that may serve as a model for other countries...It certainly is a pact that benefits all concerned (...

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How Would You Like Your Own Publishing Imprint?

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, November 17, 2010, In : publishing 
What position (or level of fame, talent) do you need to be in to be offered your own imprint by a big publisher? Well, being able to walk on water or leap skyscrapers would help.

OR, you could be the outrageously funny and popular late night E! Television show host, Chelsea Handler, who has already published three bestselling books by three different publishers!

Chelsea's imprint will be part of Grand Central Publishing (part of Hachette Book Group and formerly Warner Books) and called “Bord...

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A Good Book that not Everybody Can Get Their Hands On

Posted by John R. on Sunday, November 14, 2010, In : publishing 
A little insight into what happens when a small-selling book all of a sudden wins a prestigious award.

It throws the publisher and supply/distribution chain into a tizzy!

Zaineb al Hassani reports this current example in The National Conversation:

Last Updated: Nov 14, 2010

Having previously sold only 400 copies of her 2009 debut novel, The Sentimentalists, it's safe to say the Canadian author, Johanna Skibsrud, was as taken aback as the rest of the literary world when she scooped the coveted Sco...

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The Daily Beast Marries Newsweek--A Genius Merger

Posted by John R. on Saturday, November 13, 2010, In : Magazine Publishing 
A popular two year old start-up on the internet, full of new tech and digital savoir-faire, has taken the hand of a very traditional-published, weekly, print news mag...AND the new , young bride (The Daily Beast dot com) does NOT want the older groom (Newsweek) to change at all!

The plan for Newsweek (which does have a web page, by the way) is to mold the print weekly into the upper stratosphere of print mag popularity using some magic, digital dust from The Beast.


Can they do it? I think so! I...
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Kindle To Give 70% Royalty to Publishers

Posted by John R. on Thursday, November 11, 2010, In : digital publishing 
Starting 1 December 2010 Kindle will bump publishers' revenue share to 70% (minus delivery costs).

Delivery costs? this is something I'm still confused about. What the hell is the delivery costs for digital downloads? Maybe one of my smarter readers can enlighten me...I hope so. Even the example given in the article below doesn't add up in my petrified mind.

Anyhow, this royalty about to be introduced by Kindle proves they are eons ahead of the other eBook retailers and bookstores (and their a...

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NaNoWriMo - Another View

Posted by John R. on Monday, November 8, 2010, In : writing 
Laura Miller...a writer, editor and also co-founder of Salon.com...has a different outlook onNaNoWriMo. Her view is a little like don't bother with it. 

I can see her point that spurring writers just to write in order to complete a novel of 50,000 words in 30 days will produce a lot of crap (agreed to on the NaNoWriMo site in it's challenge pitch). And I can also see (as she does) what the bottom line purpose of the writing event is; mainly to get aspiring writers to overcome the inward super ...

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Publishers Becoming Wary of Apple

Posted by John R. on Saturday, November 6, 2010, In : digital publishing 
The fastest growing sector of publishing is in the mobiles. And Apple is in position to control...But they may be screwing up according to a new report by ABCi (Audit Bureau of Circulations 'interactive').
 
The bottom line is Apple has poor analytics and doesn't share appropriate customer data with publishers.

Steven Sande of TUAW
(The Unofficial Apple Weblog) reports this:

ABCi, the interactive media arm of the
Audit Bureau of Circulations, has issued a new report showing that American and Cana...
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Publishing's New Breed - Ten Under 30 Years Old

Posted by John R. on Thursday, November 4, 2010, In : digital publishing 
In today's media world, we have all become publishers as well as writers. This is a good thing in moving to the next, inevitable level...a level where we do more of our own thing and maintain more control of our artistic product.

However, many still aspire to and work within the corporate, publishing business. FOLIO magazine has done an excellent piece on ten of the new, young and upcoming publishing media stars (there are many others).

I'm posting this piece because it gives a neat insight in...

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The National Enquirer Hits the Dust

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, In : newspaper publishing 
The gossip and dishing rag, The National Enquirer, is filing for bankruptcy...And the paper is scrambling around to it's creditors begging them to accept it's restructuring plan so their case will fly through the courts faster.

Should they get a break? I'll let you decide. But, I would hate to see all their writers and staff lose their positions.

American Media Inc., the parent company, also publishes Star, Men's Fitness, Shape and Fit Pregnancy

More details reported in Crain's New York Busine...

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About Me


John R. Austin Writer, Old-Warrior-Adventurer, Blogger... I was born in Key West, Florida. A rather famous hangout for some past famous writers: Hemingway and Tennessee Williams to name two. I just hope that I possess a glimmer of their talent. I have a bachelors degree in architecture/construction and a master's degree in industrial engineering. I have been writing for fifty plus years. Most of my writing has been in the technical, instructional and business areas. I am working on my first book: "Havana Harvest---When Cuba Was Naughty" which details my coming of age experiences in 1958 Havana, Cuba, at the age of 15. Please visit my other blog "Writers Welcome Blog" at http://alturl.com/4z88.

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