 The New York Times recently published a front page story essentially writing the orbituary for children's picture books...A story much in conflict with the real world according to big house publishers, booksellers, libraries and agents.
Karen Springen, Publishers Weekly, gives the straight story on printed picture books (with considerable associated writing):
Don't Write the Obit For Picture Books Yet
Children's book publishers are still reeling from the New York Times front-page story back in ... Continue reading ...
 A little visionary post tonight...As much as I can envision the future anyway (being retarded makes it difficult).
We talk about "traditional" print publishing today as old hat. Well, not too far into the future the new tablet computers, eReaders and other mobile devices will be "traditional" or old hat also. Just like the old bulky camcorders (remember them?) have given way to more diminutive devices.
After all, who will need ANYTHING you have to carry to compute on, or receive data on, when... Continue reading ...
 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 (... Continue reading ...
 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... Continue reading ...
 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... Continue reading ...
Posted by John R. on Friday, October 8, 2010,
In :
publishing
 Another chapter RE the so-called "agency model" (where publishers and not booksellers set the book prices) and what physical book and eBook prices should be.
Please refer to the 10/5/10 post "E-Books are Selling for More than Hardcovers!" on the Writers Welcome Blog for an interesting background.
Apparently, the sole argument put forth as to why eBooks should be cheaper than their physical counterparts is the fact that you don't have the more expensive production costs (printing, paper, binding... Continue reading ...
Posted by John R. on Thursday, September 23, 2010,
In :
publishing
 The AAP (Association of American Publishers) has released the latest book sales figures.
The eBook sales have increased 150 to 190 percent! But, the print books did OK too...with some mostly small decreases in a few areas but increases in other areas. Not bad, in my opinion, considering the bad economy.
More details and figures are in this release from AUTHORLINK:
New York, NY, September 22, 2010— Publishers’ book sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for the month ... Continue reading ...
Posted by John R. on Thursday, August 19, 2010,
In :
publishing
 They have snakes in every industry, but, in publishing they seem to be focused mostly in the so-called 'vanity' publishing arena.
Bruce C. Smith of the Indianapolis Star www.indystar.com reports this story on one vanity publisher located in his state:
Vanity book publisher and former Downtown bookstore owner David William Caswell was accused in a lawsuit filed Tuesday of violating the state's deceptive consumer sales laws.
This is the third time in 20 years the Indiana attorney general has... Continue reading ...
Posted by John R. on Tuesday, August 17, 2010,
In :
publishing
 More intrigue and suspense in the publishing world!...This time all the way to the Pentagon (I don't know which is worse at guarding it's own top secret stuff, the NSA, CIA or the Pentagon?).
It seems the website WikiLeaks got it's hands on some loose-guarded documents RE the Afghan war and has been publishing them, much to the chagrin of Pentagon officials.
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks' owner, fearing the Pentagon will try and shut him down, has moved his servers to Sweden and will apply for a S... Continue reading ...
Posted by John R. on Tuesday, August 10, 2010,
In :
publishing
 When talking about certain industries, you sometimes have to learn their inside language to truly understand their professional-speak.
Here is an article from Saint Louis Today (www.stltoday.com) by Jane Henderson that provides clarification of some of the latest publishing and book handling terms:
Publishers sometimes use terminology differently, but Christine Frank offers a primer on how the St. Louis Publishers Association defines common terms.
Traditional publishing (also called commercia... Continue reading ...
Posted by John R. on Thursday, July 29, 2010,
In :
writing
 Do writers write because they have, as many say, a deep-seated passion to write and they absolutely MUST or they will cease to exist (damn, that sounds like an addiction or sickness, doesn't it)?
Or do they write only when they have a cause so impelling that they just have to put pen to paper to spread the word anyway they can?
Or do they write for the fun of it and enjoy it?
Or do they write out of desparation and for money...Sort of like a last resort (I think J.K. Rowlings started this way)?
W... Continue reading ...
Posted by John R. on Thursday, July 15, 2010,
In :
Social Media
 A good community blogging platform site that is full of media and publishing companies! A great place for "us" types...
The lowdown comes from this article on Poynter Online by Mallary Jean Tenore :
Mark Coatney, also known as "Newsweek Tumblr guy," announced Monday that he had accepted a job as Tumblr's "media evangelist." The position, he said, will allow him to teach other journalists the lessons he's learned in creating and running Newsweek's Tumblr.
"Basically my job is to introduce Tumblr ... Continue reading ...
Posted by John R. on Friday, June 11, 2010,
In :
publishing
 This industry intelligence report by First Research on the book publishing industry is a 2009 report, but gives us a good peek into some of this industry's numbers, competitve landscape, products, operations and technology. This kind of data tracking is for serious researchers of this industry and full reports have to be purchased ($129/report) or subscribed to (First Research has reports on numerous industries other than publishing).
First Research, a D&B company, is the leading provid... Continue reading ...
Want to get the latest on self-publishing? The second annual Self-Publishers Online Conference coming 12 - 14 May, 2010 is an excellent place to get expert advice and attend virtual seminars, exhibit halls, conference rooms and briefings by industry insiders...AND from the comfort of your own home...AND for free!...What a deal...
 Press release from Send2Press edited by Debra Tone :
Recession or no, more books are being published now than at any time in history. Yet attendance at publishing ind... Continue reading ...
Posted by John R. on Wednesday, April 21, 2010,
In :
publishing
This is a wonderful post about a small, independent, non-profit publisher who came across a little manuscript that was rejected by many of the big boys; loved it, even though it went against the grain of the current formulaic successful-seller, and gave birth to a Pulitzer Prize winner! A true literary happening!
Marion Maneker, writing for Slate's blog The Big Money, reported on this inspiring event thusly:
Today's New York Times traces the back storyof Paul Harding's "Cinderella" Pulitzer P... Continue reading ...
Posted by John R. on Friday, April 9, 2010,
In :
publishing
I'm always happy to pass along interesting info on the business of book publishing. Here for you is an announcement by Debra Tone of Send2Press Newswire RE an online FREE three day conference taking place next month
The second annual Self-Publishers Online Conference (SPOC) gives entrepreneurial writers, authors, and publishers the opportunity to learn from experts in book publishing from the convenience of their own office. At SPOC, everyone is encouraged to "Live Long and Publish!" This thr... Continue reading ...
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About Me
| John R. Austin |
| Pueblo, Colorado |
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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