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Lots of good links from the last few weeks, let's get to it!
It's been tough sledding for Barnes & Noble lately. On the heels of announcing earlier in the year that they plan to shutter one third of their stores (link is to CNET, I work there), they had an earnings call this week in which they revealed that their Nook business is struggling, with losses at $190.4 million. Publisher/editor Peter Osnos notes that B&N has not benefitted greatly from the Borders bankruptcy and wonders if the large chain bookstore is endangered (something I blogged about two years ago), though it should be noted that the stores themselves are still profitable.
The last of the publishers sued by the Department of Justice for conspiring to raise e-books has settled. In a letter to authors, Macmillan CEO John Sargent said "Our company is not large enough to risk a worst case judgment."Apple has not yet settled.
Meanwhile, publishing consultant Mike Shatzkin has an interesting look at some possible directions for the future of e-bookselling, which could get more atomized and dispersed across the Internet rather than concentrated solely with the large online vendors.
Working with publishers can occasionally be quite frustrating, as one author and independent bookstore recently discovered. When the bookstore wanted to order 450 copies the publisher refused to give them more than 200 (Why? Because they don't do things that way), so the bookstore ended up going to Target to get the books instead.
In writing advice news, Donna Thorland has advice on book trailers, Natalie Whipple has a great post on some of the different things to consider when building a setting.
Atari's co-founder has launched a new venture that hopes to make the self-publishing process much easier by giving authors the ability to contract out different parts of the process in exchange for flat rates or royalties.
The Forums!! I have been receiving lots and lots of writing and publishing questions lately, and time constraints prevent me from answering them all. To save time and to hopefully benefit more people, I answer publicly in the Forums, where I am happy to answer any publishing question I can right here. You can also review previous questions.
Yeah, the interview was great :). And so was the article about the different paths to success. I remember reading about Ben Fountain's long road to success in Poets & Writers. Pretty amazing, especially his wife.
Barnes & Noble got a long-needed thumping. Some of the executive arrogance was gone from the financial report and the conference call.
In particular, they seem to have learned that when someone is thinking about buying a tablet, the name B&N doesn't spring to mind. That should've been obvious, but I guess it wasn't.
They still don't seem inclined to listen to their customers, though. The executives clearly know better what their customers want than the customers themselves do.
Their BN.com operation continues to lose them money after more than fifteen years, but all they had to say about that was "we're repositioning [it]." I don't know what that means. Are they going to clean up the user reviews? Are they going to start moderating their forums? Are they going to have people updating the site on weekends, so that Amazon doesn't get a 2-day jump on new titles and reduced prices?
B&N execs don't seem to grasp just how infuriating the Philippine customer disservice operation they've used for the past couple of years is. Nothing at all was said in the financial reports or the conference call about this matter.
B&N is a long way from financial collapse, but they've been bankrupt in customer-orientation for a long time. I don't know if the B&N execs don't notice, or if they just don't care.
Loved the Gladwell article, particularly since I have a Ben Fountain novel sitting on my top To Be Read Shelf.
Anonymous said, on 3/1/2013 12:53:00 PM
I have never understood B&N's move away from stocking their store with actual, you know, BOOKS. Especially with Borders gone, they had a chance to increase their power as a place to go browse, read, and hang out.
Instead they took up prime retail space selling e-readers. (If I wanted to read online, I'd be home in my pajamas reading online; I wouldn't have come all the way out to the store!) Instead they started carrying fewer books, stocking their stores with random junk you don't go to a bookstore to buy.
If they want to prepare for a movement of the market away from print books, they should work on their cafe space. Make it even more friendly as a place to plug in, read, write, meet friends. The cafes are already there, and they provide an experience that shopping online at home doesn't.
Being sued for 'breathtaking amounts' because a publishing company has supposedly conspired to raise the cost of ebooks sounds a bit insane to me. I mean, surely, companies can charge whatever they want for their own product? Could this whole thing be a kind of money-grab by a Government Dept?
However, on second thoughts, I suppose the charge refers to the major companies supposedly making an agreement whereby they're not going to undercut each other on a certain price for a certain product - ebooks. Again, I don't see a problem, really, especially as independent publishers and self-publishers could then gain an advantage by charging much smaller amounts for their ebooks. I imagine that indies and self-publishers would have a harder time making sales, so being able to undercut the big boys would help the aforementioned find their own niche in the market.
Folk who would rather pay less for ebooks might have a case for being disgruntled, but then we'd all rather pay less for everything not just ebooks. And with larger companies more people need a slice of the pie, so it makes sense that their products would cost more than those of someone doing it alone or with only a few people involved.
I don't know how you keep up with all the changes. I rely on you to find the news. Thanks for doing the hard work that only requires me following links!
I thought the story about how the bookseller went and bought books at Target was pretty funny. You can't even chalk that up to Publishing practices - that's more about bureaucracy, and how crazy it gets! :)
On the other hand, it's noticeable that when all the stories about sock puppet reviews were going around, there were letters of protest, and much gnashing of teeth and pointing of fingers. But authors talking about buying their way onto bestsellers lists - with the blessing and guidance of their publishers? Where's the hair pulling and the accusations and the righteousness about that?
Seems like a double standard.
Although, on a - not a double standard note - I wish they would stop giving Barnes and Noble a hard time. Seems like there's an article every few hours about how Barnes and Noble is messing up. I wish they would leave Barnes and Noble alone for awhile, ease up on the pressure and let them think.
The records as book covers were pretty funny.
And I liked your interview, although I'm holding out for the 'elephant in the room' or maybe the 'middle-aged' Mick. :)
@Wendy - I'm not an expert, but from my understanding, no, this wasn't a money grab.
What the Publishers did was white collar crime. It was a felony that could have meant not only heavy fines, but jail time. The reason the penalties are so stiff is to discourage corporations from doing this. They can make ALOT of money through anti-trust actions (which is what this was), so the penalites have to be even higher to make it a very unappealing option if they get caught.
Five Publishers were sued not for raising prices, but for getting together to control the market. They all cut a deal with Apple, and then forced Amazon to take the same deal.
Coporations are not supposed to:
a. Get together and agree on a policy.
b. Force a less preferred retailer (Amazon) to accept it.
This is about competition. Business are supposed to be in competition with one another, they are not supposed to get together to try to control the marketplace, and hurt one retailer over another.
The point of this is to protect the free marketplace. If we didn't have anti-trust laws, we'd probably have one big corporation that controlled everything as it amassed all the wealth. It would be a corporate dictatorship, and no, I'm not exaggerating. This is why a free and competitive marketplace is such a big deal. Competition is supposed to help protect the consumer against corporate greed.
What the Publishers did cost Amazon money, and it cost the consumers money, too. Several States have successfully sued to get the consumers their money back. But the real issue is the llegal collusion.
I hope that all made sense, like I said, I'm not an expert. You could google 'anti-trust' law and get alot more information.
You know, I saw those Calvin and Hobbes photos and I'm not sorry for the guy. There was absolutely no credit given to Bill Watterson on the post I saw. I realize that doesn't mitigate copyright issues, but it struck me as incredibly rude.
Thank you for the updates, Nathan! I just read your old post discussing the idea that bookstores may go the way of the old record stores. I totally agree with you.
We had a lovely little independent bookstore downtown in my New England suburb. Back in October of 2007, Borders opened up a huge store in a newly built shopping plaza about a three-minute drive from downtown. The indie store survived for a little while longer, but eventually most everyone started shopping at Borders instead. It was a sad day when the indie store went out, but I couldn't really blame anyone for choosing the corporate giant, with all the advantages it offered.
Then, almost two years ago, I saw the standard email from the CEO of Borders announcing the closing of the business. I actually wrote an open letter response outlining what I believe to be the formula for success when it comes to brick and mortar bookstores. They have to give the consumer something an online store simply cannot, in the form of face-to-face interaction.
Amazon has many great forums, but it's not the same as getting together with a group of people in person and passionately discussing a book you've all read. The immediate back-and-forth dialogue, the constant interruption of each other because you wholeheartedly agree or passionately disagree.
You must create a place where local authors come and speak, and university professors offer lectures, a place where people get to know their neighbors over a cup of coffee and some lively discussion. You have to build a literary community center...that also sells books.
Sorry for the long comment—I’m really passionate about this subject!
So, here's an idea. Run a Summer Reading Club! Offer kids free books - or prizes - when they successfully; a. Complete a predetermined number of books, or pages or amount of time b. Answer questions about the books they read OR write a review OR tell someone about the book c. Attend programs in your place of business d. Complete a scavenger hunt OR a puzzle OR find a hidden object e. Do all or any combination of the above.
So, who runs these Summer Reading Clubs? Public Libraries! I said, PUBLIC LIBRARIES! Bookstores! (Like the Moravian Book Shop) (Click on these links to learn more about their summer reading clubs.) Publishers! Those three make sense. Some school districts run reading clubs. Tutoring centers run reading centers. Here are a few of the more well-known Summer Reading Clubs.
Sylvan Learning Centers run BookAdventure. (Check out the snazzy buccaneer dinosaur and dog!) Sylvan has produced quizzes on recommended books. And quiz taking is part of the club's requirements. Sylvan boasts that they have quizzes for close to 8000 books so you should find something you or your young reader like..
Scholastic Books asks kids - or teachers - to log their time spent reading. Word Girl is the mascot this year and Scholastic offers certificates, activities, booklists and more. Check it out.
PBSKids has partnered with other organizations to provide Reading Programs - like the Soar with Reading program sponsored by PBSKids and JetBlue. Join to earn prizes AND to donate books to needy children around the USA.
iVillage has joined with PBSKids to provide their own Summer Reading Challenge. Click here for more information. The program offers daily email tips for increasing your child's literacy skills. This is a great program for parents of "emerging" readers.
BTW, I wondered if Amazon.com offered a Summer Reading Program and a simple search only offered me a chance to buy a book. Hmmm. I guess brick and mortar stores care more about the literacy of their future customers than online merchants. If I am wrong, please send me the link to Amazon's Summer Reading program. I promise to post it here.
0 Comments on Summer Reading Clubs! KBWT! as of 1/1/1900
I can't believe the *fourteenth* Canterwood Crest book releases on Tuesday! This was a series that started with one book in mind that I wrote in 2009. Ya'll know the story, but I'm feeling nostalgic. I was 19, a senior in college with a full course load and I heard about National Novel Writing Month. It was late October 2006, and NaNo is November 1-30, so I had no ideas, no outline--nothing. I jumped into it and started writing my first ever novel.
Tidbit: It was a YA novel called "High Jumps at Collins Academy" first. :)
I wrote my butt off and actually crossed the 50,000 word mark on or just before November 30. My draft was UGLY. I mean, it was seriously scary! But editing on my own, later edits with my ex-agent and edits from my first editor, Molly, got the book on track. That one book turned into a four book deal and after Molly left S&S (I got the call on my birthday!) I got the greatest gift: High Jumps, now Canterwood Crest, was under the guidance and editorial input of Kate Angelella.
Everything changed after that. Call it two girls clicking over a story. Or maybe it was the beautiful photos. Or the insane, nonstop marketing. Or the schedule of writing a bi-monthly series for a while. All of those things, and more, came into play into getting my series from one book to 20. Those were all important components, but it was, without a doubt, the edits from Editor K that got us to where we are: over 500,000 copies of the series in print.
I am ever so grateful to Kate and Simon & Schuster for embracing a girl with a desperate need for horses in her life, but being unable to do so unless I could write about them. Canterwood allows me to live vicariously through my characters and I couldn't be more immersed in Horse World. Best part? I got to see Kate pet her first horse. Nice coincidence, huh? :)
I'm busy working on MASQUERADE and Kate had her hands full with projects and will soon be editing my book.
I sincerely want to thank all of Team Canterwood for your support. I would NOT be able to live my dream without you. If you could only know how grateful I am!
Let me know if you spot POPULAR! I'm going to be spending release day in Rochester, MN, so I'll sign copies at Barnes & Noble, take pics and let you know where the books are in case you live nearby.
xoxo
16 Comments on Popular releases tomorrow!, last added: 5/3/2012
OMG! =) I discovered Canterwood Crest in 2010---girly, fun, and full of adventure---not like those other teen books and instantly fell in love. I read all of the books at once! I am still Team Jacob---! Now I was Team Taylor...=) Congrats Jessica on the release of your latest book!
Isabella said, on 4/30/2012 11:46:00 AM
I can't wait to read Popular. 9 hours seems like forever.
Isabella said, on 4/30/2012 12:01:00 PM
I dicovered the Canterwood series when i was on Amazon, looking at the wildwood stables series. I found the books at my public library. I became obsessed after reading Take the Reins. I've read every one in the series except Home Sweet Drama because someone who checked it out LOST IT! I'm so mad. Anyway, I heart horses but can't afford to take lessons. (Any suggestions for a way I could get past that obstacle, anyone?) Anyway, I can't wait to read more about Lauren but I do miss Sasha. But I do like how Lauren has more personality than Sasha. She's not just a girly-girl who likes lip gloss. NO OFFENSE. Seriously. I love Sasha. Wow, this comment's really long. Keep writing, Jessica!
Anonymous said, on 4/30/2012 1:28:00 PM
Congratulations! I cannot believe how Canterwood has grown but you have worked for and deserved every success. Best wishes for you and Kate!
Anonymous said, on 4/30/2012 2:00:00 PM
YAY!!! I'm getting it tomorrow after school!!! I'll probablyl never get to concentrate for 6 hours!!!! *sigh*
Dappled Gray Girl said, on 4/30/2012 4:01:00 PM
WWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWW!!!!! Now it releases in 5 hours - - But I'm not reading it anytime soon because my local library doesn't even have INITIATION yet! <:'(
Anonymous said, on 4/30/2012 6:02:00 PM
3 HOURS!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous said, on 4/30/2012 8:18:00 PM
43 Minutes!!
Connie said, on 4/30/2012 9:34:00 PM
OMG...cannot wait for Popular!!!! I still like Sasha better, but hey, I've only read two books narrated by Lauren. Maybe I'll grow to like her. I like all the drama in Canterwood, how problems work out but soon create new ones. I live super far from MA, so I can't come get a signed copy. Aww...come sign in CA sometime!!!! Go Canterwood Crest!
Lea said, on 5/1/2012 6:00:00 AM
Got the book two days early at B&N. It was amazing! I miss Sasha, like everyone else, but I can't wait to read about Canterwood's new era in COMEBACK now!
spider72hr said, on 5/1/2012 2:26:00 PM
Got POPULAR over the weekend! LOVED IT!!!! Great job - loved the ending. So Awesome!!!!
Anonymous said, on 5/1/2012 4:31:00 PM
OMG!!!!!!!!!!! I CANT WAIT TO GET POPLULAR TOMMOROW!!!!!!! STUPID LIBRARY IT JUST HAD TO BE CLOSED ON TUESDAYS AHHHHHHH I CANT WAIT ONCE I FINISHED INITATION (I THINK THATS HOW U SPELL IT!) IN JANUARY I WAS SOOO SAD I HAD TO WAIT 4 SIX MONTHS I MISSED LAUREN AND KLOE TOO MUCH ....... BUT NOW ITS HERE YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous said, on 5/2/2012 10:30:00 AM
I got Popular yesterday, and I've already read it 1 1/2 times already!! I absolutely love it, and I can't wait to read Comeback next when it releases in August!!
MaryKate said, on 5/2/2012 11:23:00 AM
I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE CCA! Jess, you got me into riding and now I am in love with horses and everyone at my stable is soooo nice and I am closer with one of my friends because of riding. I am even going to a horse sleep away camp this summer (It is called Pony Farm at Touchstone Farm in NH)! I went to see a movie at my local movie theater in summer 2011 and they were giving out Take the Reins. I read the whole thing that night and couldn't stop. I feel like I am living through the characters when I read your books! I learned so much about horses and I was so drawn in by how much I relate to Sasha and knew I needed to read the rest of them. Thankfully, my trusty NOOK Color was on hand because I bought the whole series and finished in a week. I waited until midnight when Initiation came out and read the whole thing by 3 AM! I didn't do the same thing when Popular came out (I fell asleep- lame, I know) and when I woke up that morning, IT HADN'T DOWNLOADED!!!!! I was so mad, but waited through the day, almost cried when it STILL wasn't downloaded and called customer service and when it FINALLY downloaded I read the whole thing and LOVED IT! CLIFFHANGER!! I can't wait another minute for Comeback and now I am totally Team Drew and so NOT-Team Riley! I was a team Eric fan I I love Sasha to death!!!! I still like her better than Lauren! CCA all the way! I would so go there if it was real I'm serious, biggest fan ever! Can you tell by how long this post is?! If you want to email me send to marykatemurphy02@gmail.com and check out my video on youtube about Canterwood my name is ihearttartsgirl88! PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!!!! I <3 Canterwood!
OMG YAY POPULAR IS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would run out and buy it right this second but i dont have any money *sad face*. I'm gonna get it as soon as i got some dinero :)
Kendall said, on 5/2/2012 5:56:00 PM
I just saw ihearttartsgirl88's video on Canterwood Crest Seiries and loveddddd it!!!!!!!!!! make more please
Meanwhile... I guess there was some teeny tiny publishing news this week.
Let's get the disclaimer out of the way first: I work for CNET, which is owned by CBS, which is the parent company of Simon & Schuster, one of the companies named in the lawsuit. All opinion here is entirely my own, does not necessarily reflect the opinion of CBS and/or Simon & Schuster and/or CNET, and is based mainly on my time in publishing as a literary agent where I was not privy to the inside discussions at publishers, and it doesn't necessarily reflect the opinion of my old agency Curtis Brown Ltd. either. Cool?
Here's the elevator pitch summary of what happened:
In the beginning of the e-book era, publishers sold e-books according to the "wholesale" model. Every e-book had a retail price, publisher got roughly half the retail price, bookseller got half, bookseller could sell the e-book for whatever they want. Amazon discounted deeply, taking a loss on some titles, built early market share, made publishers nervous as they were running away with the e-book market.
Along came Apple and the "agency" model: They gave publishers the ability to set their own prices and receive 70%. Publishers jumped at this and raised prices, but actually received less money per copy sold than in the wholesale model. (The difference between agency and wholesale also is the reason behind why some e-books cost more than their print counterparts)
What the DOJ alleges is that some of the publishing executives met around this time and explicitly discussed moving to the agency model and raising prices. This, the DOJ says, amounted to illegal collusion.
Three of the publishers, HarperCollins, S&S, and Hachette, have already settled without admitting wrongdoing, and will allow variable pricing. Macmillan, Penguin Group, and Apple have not settled and apparently will fight the charges in court. The case against Apple in particular, my colleagues Declan McCullaugh and Greg Sandoval write, is unlikely to stick.
Way to go, Steve Jobs. While people are playing Angry Birds on a $500 piece of silicon and glass, they'll probably not know how he helped destroy the book industry.
While I certainly don't have enough experience in the industry to understand all of this, I can thank you, Nathan, as usual, for laying it out in a way that I at least understand it better.
If I'm mad at anyone, and I'm not really mad at anyone, but if I was, I would be made at anyone who sells any book for %0.99. I just think it's unfair to everyone to dilute the value of literature that way.
I suppose for people who like to read pulp, paying $0.99 for something that's really worth $0.99 must be nice, but in my opinion, good books are worth a lot more than that. And now the problem is that the average consumer expects e-books to be extremely cheap, and doesn't see any reasoning behind paying much more for them.
Anonymous said, on 4/13/2012 8:25:00 AM
As a writer and a librarian I have never understood why the hard copy and the ebook aren't packaged. Buy a hard copy--meaning actual object int he world--and for a built in extra amount--automatically receive a digital version. It's a matter of repackaging not repricing. also solves the"I can't share this or get it signed by the author" complaint --both very valid ebook downsides.
In an effort to maintain business as usual publishers aren't adapting--and those who don't adapt die.
Recently John Green was marveling on Twitter that people would email him to tell him they were pirating his books. I checked the price of THE FAULT IN OUR STARS on Amazon... $11. More expensive than the hardcover??!?
And he doesn't understand why people are emailing him? We're not flaunting the fact that we pirate. We're making him aware that we want to support amazing authors like him but we find it difficult when we just can't afford to. It sucks. Going to the library isn't an answer: we're still not paying. And people like me want to own stuff.
But it must be nice to be a rich, talented author and have a snobby attitude about the whole thing. "They're pirating my e-books? Whatever for!"
People like John Green are people publishers will listen to, but they don't listen or they don't care. It's sad.
(And for the record, I have never pirated a John Green book or emailed him about it.)
As someone who has switched entirely to self-publishing, I hope that the long-term result will be the elevation of indie publishing and the death of the publishing industry's death grip on literature.
Thanks so much for the breakdown here. I shudder when I think about how much I've spent on e-books since getting my Nook last year, especially considering I was always an I'll-wait-till-the-library-carries-it kind of girl. But at the end of the day, it's about convenience. People will always pay for it.
Anonymous said, on 4/13/2012 9:01:00 AM
If people read the Steve Jobs bio they'll understand more about what he was trying to do with e-books. Which, basically, is the fundamental thought behind Apple: control over everything, from books to the entire web. Jobs, admittedly, wanted censorship, apps instead of links, and control over all pricing. The entire empire was based on a great deal of hype about nothing that couldn't be done or reproduced just as well. And the e-book issue is just something that's finally come to a head. It's been brewing for the last twenty years.
Anonymous said, on 4/13/2012 9:05:00 AM
The publishers are gasping for air so hard that they have completely forgotten both commonsense and the need to innovate. Look at JK Rowling's new book - $19.99 is the Kindle list price. All that does is push people into a much easier rationalization of piracy.
I'm curious as to how the holdouts will play this. With the publishers that settled, their prices are going to come down. So, do the holdouts lower their prices - the very thing they were trying to avoid - or keep their prices high and blatantly alienate readers?
As for the "bundle an ebook with a hardcopy" idea that is often floated - there are too many of us that have no interest in the hardcopy. We need real innovation.
I've followed your blog for several years now, and have to thank you for this very clear and concise explanation of the events and circumstances surrounding the issue of agency model pricing. Personally, I am indebted to both Amazon and Apple for brewing the perfect ebook storm (Amazon for allowing authors to self-publish easily to Kindle and Apple for convincing trad publishers to keep ebook prices high) that provided me the opportunity to publish, to find readers, and to actually make a living doing what I love. At this new turn in the road, I am very interested to see how things will shake out.
John Green (like all traditionally published authors) has no control over what publishers charge for his e-books. I would be flabbergasted too if people wrote to me and were like, "Oh hey! Stole your book!"
The transition period could be a mess. E-book stores can't sell e-books without a contract. If those three publishers have to cancel their contracts with all of the e-book stores, it's going to be mid-2010 all over again, when only a few sellers had Agency titles, most of them didn't have all of the publishers, and it took even Amazon six months to get a Penguin contract in place.
Random House wasn't sued, and their Agency Model will continue on as before. The DoJ wasn't concerned about the Agency Model but rather how it came about.
The settling publishers are permitted to continue using Agency Model, but for two years they can't control retail prices other than having a contract clause forbidding sustained sales below cost. (And no Most Favored Nation clause for five years.)
The "no sustained sales below cost" clause could be bad news for mid-list authors. It says that the total discounts offered by the seller on the publisher's titles over the course of a year cannot exceed the seller's commissions on that publisher's titles over the course of the same year. So if Amazon chooses to lose $2 on each of the bazillion e-book copies of JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy that they sell, they're going to have to make up that $2 bazillion with increased prices on Hachette's other e-book titles. And I can pretty much guarantee you that it won't be on other front-list titles.
I was speaking of influence not control. And as a writer and aspiring author, I would not be flabbergasted if someone wrote to me to say they stole my $11 e-book in this climate. I recognize there are valid opinions both ways though, and levels of empathy.
(Although it would be great if the world believed as I did, and I were running the world for that matter.)
Going off topic a bit, but it seems to me the answer to this problem would be to release ebooks with paperbacks instead of hardcovers. Hardcover sales stick, bookstores stay alive, and ebook prices drop. Customers would have to go through an adjustment period, of course, but considering there are millions of ebooks already available, I think even the most avid reader could manage to keep busy while waiting the few extra months for the latest Rowling, or whatever.
I don't want paperbacks or hardcovers or anything physical at all. I just want a blasted e-book at an affordable price since I kicked out $180 for an e-reader without ads. And I don't think I'm alone, although I can't say I'm in the majority either.
The problem is everybody else wants something, too
Authors want to keep the power on in their homes and put food on their tables
Publishers want to add new wings to their Hamptons mansions
Jeff Bezos wants to sit behind his desk and laugh maniacally
Readers want affordable books.
Obviously there's some clashing going on.
Anonymous said, on 4/13/2012 9:58:00 AM
The thing that bothers me about ebooks, that was not an issue with traditional books is the fact that they lock you into a device. This was an issue, with the ipod, until itunes plus.
I would prefer that they made all books available in all places for both devices, and the sales strategy became about the books rather than the device. The reason I have not adopted ebooks yet is because this big obnoxious rift.
Of course I realize this won't happen with the major players, and that it hasn't happened in the past, ie: apple ipad/iphone, etc. Fortunately the other devices have a foothold because of the agency model, maybe the market has been established enough that this is no longer an issue, especially if there is a limit to the amount of time a book can be sold at cost (For this to work, it can't be a balancing act with another book)
For DRMed e-books, two simple rules: 1) don't buy a Kindle 2) don't buy e-books from Amazon, B&N, or Apple
Adobe EPUB e-books, from e-book stores other than those three, can be read on just about anything except a Kindle.
I have DRMed e-books on my NOOK from Sony, Kobo, Google, Copia, and a number of other e-book stores.
Adobe EPUB is the universal DRMed format. Universal, that is, except for Kindle — Amazon went to some trouble to block that.
www.infinitewordpress.com said, on 4/13/2012 11:56:00 AM
I think the two spectrums of this clash are the main problem. This is indicative of our culture: politics, socio-economics, education, I could go on.
The middle ground would suit most folks fine, all things being equal. $3-$5 ebooks (depending on length, quality, genre, author brand). $10-$15 trade paperbacks (of course, the mass paperbacks should be priced close to the ebook price), and $12-$20 for harbacks (coffe table/monstrous tomes/textbooks could be higher).
That hierarchal tier would seem to be reasonable, whichever pricing model is in place. At 50% ebook royalties and 18% print, the money would still flow to authors and publishers because people would have better choices. Better choices = more revenue. More revenue = a bigger pie to divide and an escalated economic.
Publishers need to see the light: the audience drives and determines price/value determination, not publishers, not authors. If they aren't careful, Amazon, Smashwords and the entire lot of self publishers (of which I am a part) will bury the industry in a 99 cent market by creating in the majority of customer's minds that that is the total worth of a book. Sad, I know. But it is the truth.
As a friend said, "who needs soap operas when we have the publishing world to keep us entertained!" Just reading about this gives me a headache, but you're succinct analysis makes it easier to understand. Thanks!
This sounds like a game of "Spin the Wheel for a Winner"
Seems things from the DOJ came about, not because of outrageous prices, though some politically savvy up and comer will use that to tout their "I'm with the people" facade. But it seems they were upset that the following happened (dramatized for effect):
Steve Jobs: Look here see, there's money to be made in this e-book-o-lution, see. Big 6: Yeah, yeah, Jobsy. Yeah. SJ: So here's the plan, see. Change from that wholesale model. I got a plan that has a better name, the Agency Model, see. ***Jobsy explains the workings of the Agency Model, distracting the Big 6 with a sexy half dressed vixen and a bare chested male model *** Intern of one of the Big 6 holding a calculator: Uh, Jobsy, we're getting more money - ***Jobsy snaps his finger, grunt sporting black shades grabs intern to have a talk outside*** SJ: Any questions, see? ***vixen and male model strut back and forth, the Big 6 heads moving back and forth as if answering "No"*** SJ: Good. Yeah. All good, see.
So the Big 6 go from nail-biting cost competition because of low, low pricing by Amazon to higher pricing making less money while the readers end up having to pay more...uh who's the winner in the game of "Spin the Wheel for a Winner" in this situation?
Even after the DOJ suit is settled, fought, won or lost, who, in the end, will be the winner?
They gave publishers the ability to set their own prices and receive 70%. Publishers jumped at this and raised prices, but actually received less money per copy sold than in the wholesale model.
And this is where I get stuck. I don't understand how going from 50% (wholesale) to 70% (agency) royalty AND raising prices results in less money per copy under agency vs. wholesale. The math just doesn't add up for me - which, looking at your post, shows that the above description is a bit misleading.
Your example compares apple to oranges prices - i.e. wholesale is 50% of the hardcover price whereas agency is 70% of the ebook price. If you're going with that, then the price those percentages are based on doesn't increase, it drops dramatically (from the hardcover $24.99 to the ebook $12.99 in your example). I understand that the price is raised for the consumer, but effectively the publishers were getting paid off the hardcover price not the ebook price, which seems kinda wack-a-doodle no matter which way you look at it.
So the question for me becomes what does the new settlement actually do? If they have agency (70% of ebook price - same as now), but Amazon is allowed to discount ... um ... publishers make the same money they do now, right? The cut comes from Amazon's pocket. The only thing that changes is that Amazon decides where to cut prices to gain market share, consumer happiness and other things.
This is good for consumers, publisher's bottom line is not hurt. The only thing is the fear that it will hasten the adoption of ebooks over print, the side of the business that publishers (as you note) are trying to preserve. But isn't that genie already out of the bottle? I'm just saying, I think we've passed that tipping point a while back.
Who's the winner? The winners were the e-bookstores, who started making money on e-books instead of losing it. Amazon was fine with losing money on e-books because they can make it up on batteries and TV sets. Most e-bookstores, including B&N, didn't have that option.
Amazon was threatening to drive B&N out of the e-book business, because B&N already was sucking its bookstore business dry to pay for NOOK device development. B&N has still been losing money (and personally I think that's their own fault), but at least they're still in the game.
See my posting just above; who gets hurt by changing back is the bookstores who aren't Amazon, and can't withstand selling e-books at zero or negative profit for years at a time.
When the Agency Model went into effect, it was estimated that Amazon had 90% of the e-book market. Now it's estimated they've "only" got 60%. If Amazon is allowed to pound B&N and Kobo into the ground by making them run continuous losses, Amazon will be back at 90% and climbing.
As for publishers having charged e-book wholesale based on the hardcover, it's not that crazy. From the publisher's point of view, they're not selling paper, they're selling content. And the content in an e-book is the same as in a hardcover (for narrative works like novels).
Those two points were exactly what brought the publishers to institute the Agency Model in the first place: to give non-Amazon e-bookstores a chance, and to restore what they thought was a reasonable price level for book content (*cough* big royalty advances *cough*).
Since then, the price level for book content has been seriously undermined by independents selling e-books at $0.99 to $2.99, so that part didn't work out so well.
The agency deal was not the best way to combat Amazon, and it's not the solution that a real conspiracy would have developed. It was Apple's solution, and the publishers jumped on it like drowning people lunging for a life preserver.
There are a number of possible responses publishers could have taken to Amazon's behavior in 2010. They could have raised their wholesale prices on e-book licenses, which would have forced Amazon to either lose more money or raise e-book prices. Alternatively, they could have refused to release e-books of top titles, or delayed e-book release until months after the hardcover release.
The problem was that antitrust law prohibits publishers from coordinating to come up with a solution to the problem. If one publisher raised prices, and the other publishers did not follow suit, and Amazon quit discounting that publisher's titles, it would be at a disadvantage.
Similarly, if one publisher took its frontlist titles off of the Kindle, and the other publishers did not, that publisher would have deprived itself and its authors of access to the Kindle audience, and opened itself up to further retaliation from Amazon. The publishers were facing a sort of prisoner's dilemma.
Apple's deal wasn't great, but publishers who were considering it had reason to believe the rest of the industry would follow suit (which is why the government believes the adoption of agency was illegal collusion). If the Apple deal hadn't happened, Amazon would have pushed BN out of the e-book market.
The wholesale price of a book is about half of the suggested retail price. That means that a hardcover book with an SRP of $25 will sell for $12.50 at wholesale.
Booksellers buy the book at wholesale and discount it to whatever price they want. In the pre-ebook days, Amazon, BN and Borders would discount new hardcovers 40% across the board, and a lot of indies who couldn't operate at those margins went out of business.
With e-books, Amazon bought the e-licenses for the same wholesale price it paid for hardcovers: $12-13, but then it marked them down to $9.99 and ate the difference as a loss.
Publishers were concerned because this kind of pricing could kill off all the bookstores who need to sell books at some kind of profit to stay solvent.
Under the agency model, publishers sell books for $11.99-$14.99, and pay a commission of 30% to Amazon. So instead of getting $12 for a wholesale e-book license, they get $9 for a $12.99 e-book after Amazon takes its 30%.
Something nobody has mentioned, probably because it really won't amount to anything...
If the proposed settlement is approved, the first things to die are the contracts with Apple (7 days after approval). This is interesting because Apple's contracts with the publishers reputedly contain a maximum e-book pricing table for titles that are also available in print.
The table is a bit complex, but for most titles available in hardcover but not softcover, e-book pricing is limited to around 1/2 of the hardcover price. You might have noticed that most hardcover fiction has gone up from $25.99 to $27.99... might that have been related to the e-book price cap being $12.99 and $14.99 at those respective hardcover prices?
Conceivably, the settling publishers could raise their e-book prices as soon as the Apple contracts are dead, even before voiding the Most Favored Nation clauses with other e-book sellers. Remember that before the Agency Model hit, e-books were list-priced the same as hardcovers. It could happen again. I doubt it, but it could.
It's also possible that freed of Apple's pricing tyranny, hardcovers could slip back down to $25.99. I'll be on the lookout for flying pigs.
The other thing nobody's talked about: prior to the Agency Model, all three of the settling publishing houses, plus Macmillan, had announced plans to "window" e-book releases to be later than the hardcover releases (probably about six months later, but they didn't say). Now that could happen.
Susan - I'm not sure, but I think publishers were originally selling their e-books to retailers for the same price as hardcover. They dropped their price for Apple, which meant they made less overall.
Nathan - this is a great summary! I could be wrong, but when I see the confusing settlement, I see a lobbiest war. A tug of war between the Amazon and Apple/publisher lobbies.
It's interesting that anyone opposes this DOJ lawsuit. I know they think they are supporting the publishing industry, but they are supporting a "solution" which is unethical and illegal.
There were other solutions that were legal and didn't bilk readers (collectively) out of millions.
There is a reason several States are also suing these publishers.
Why I support the DOJ suit:
1. Collusion is ILLEGAL. And for good reason. It is opening a very dangerous door to give a pass on corporate collusion just because you happen to agree with their goals.
2. Amazon cornered the market not because it has deep pockets, and can discount, but because it's innovative and came out with things first. An innovative creative company should not be punished in a capitalistic society.
I wonder if Amazon is considering suing the publishers. It lost millions over this.
3. Do you know who has really deep pockets? APPLE. Apple could easily compete with discounting. It choose to go another route, because it didn't have the customer base. Imho, that is cheating.
There were other solutions, other paths that could have been explored.
4. In order to create fake conditions that would hamper Amazon so that other companies could catch up, this collusion cost customers (collectively) millions.
5. It also cost writers money. Publishers, in choosing to make less money, also made their authors less money, something that has never been mentioned in any article I've read about this. Certainly Turow from the Author's guild never mentioned it.
I think writers should consider sueing publishers over their losses.
Okay, so those are my thoughts. Thanks Nathan for the great summary and the interesting discussion!
Oh, also, Nathan, the book launch last night was terrific! Great food spread, lots of really nice people and a fun discussion. The chapters you read were really funny, too. It was great fun - thanks! :)
Anonymous said, on 4/14/2012 10:57:00 AM
Joe Konrath and Barry Eisler had some great points about the DOJ lawsuit:
Thanks for your hardwork at keeping us informed, Nathan.
Perhaps a bit of poetic justice and self-correction is upon the publishing industry. I think we can all agree its needed for several reasons.
As a constant reader, I will never give up my hard-print books - electronics devices and the sand & pool don't mix. I can read for hours at a stretch but holding a device isn't as comfortable as a paperback, not to mention my eyes prefer to read on paper over the screen. I buy 80 paper/20 E and don't see it changing.
As an emerging writer, super low cost books (.99) are disheartening. Several months of time, heart and soul go into writing great stories.
But, at the same time, how much does it cost to produce an Ebook? I think the net profit ratios for hard-print should apply to Ebooks, with a bare minimum of $2.99.
Thanks for your hardwork at keeping us informed, Nathan.
Perhaps a bit of poetic justice and self-correction is upon the publishing industry. I think we can all agree its needed for several reasons.
As a constant reader, I will never give up my hard-print books - electronics devices and the sand & pool don't mix. I can read for hours at a stretch but holding a device isn't as comfortable as a paperback, not to mention my eyes prefer to read on paper over the screen. I buy 80 paper/20 E and don't see it changing.
As an emerging writer, super low cost books (.99) are disheartening. Several months of time, heart and soul go into writing great stories.
But, at the same time, how much does it cost to produce an Ebook? I think the net profit ratios for hard-print should apply to Ebooks, with a bare minimum of $2.99.
Napster changed the music industry. Those music tycoons refused to change and therfore bled millions. Then Itunes came along and the bleeding stopped. Well, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Books are not going to go away, but ebooks are here to stay and they're going to become more popular and soon easier to create and therefore should become cheaper.
If publishers do not adapt quick enough, they will get hit harder than the music industry.
You cannot sit by and a act like nothing should change. Change will happen either with you guiding it your way or without you.
In many ways the ebook pricing allegations of the DOJ against the big publishing houses is very indicative and a representation of the traditional publishing houses unwillingness to change. Since the advent of ebooks, the big publishing houses have, in my opinion, chosen an ostrich like position. What the DOJ and many fail to mention is that the big publishing houses are doing very little in the way of increasing author royalties when it comes to ebooks. Publishers do make more on ebooks with very little overhead. Ebooks for their most successful authors are cash cows in many respects. There's been a significant amount of discourse in RWA circles as many big name authors chose to publish their backlists in ebook format without the big publishers. Very interesting time in the publishing world to bare witness to as power shifts more and more into the hands of authors.
The Department of Justice actually told the publishing houses that they don’t have to lower their eBook prices. They simply are not allowed to break the law by colluding together to set the same high prices. There was quite a bit of evidence that representatives of the publishing houses named in the lawsuit met together to decide on the prices and that Apple agreed to sell eBooks at those prices. In telling the publishing houses that they do not have to sell books at low prices, the DOJ warned them that, if they set high prices, it better not involve any collusion.
There is a myth that Amazon’s average eBook price is extremely low. That’s not true. The average price of Amazon’s eBooks turns out to be $6.49, according to one study. In addition, Amazon originally wanted to sell the eBooks from the big publishing houses at $9.99 each, but the big publishing houses refused such “low” prices. Also, there’s a law that, when retailers discount items, they must pay a certain overall amount to the companies whose items they’re discounting. Amazon went above and beyound that – they offered to make up the difference on every single $9.99 eBook and give that difference to the publishers.
Amazon understands the digital age really well. They know how to utilize algorithms to figure out what readers want, what books are selling, what passages readers are highlighting in their Kindle books, etc. While traditional publishers are trying to defend the old-fashioned way of doing things, Amazon’s using modern technology. In addition to successfully selling eBooks, Amazon has also opened up a program for movie scripts with short-term options and generous payments to authors. While the publishing industry expends an awful lot of energy bashing Amazon, Amazon’s just moving ahead changing the way in which things are done. Every publishing house is welcome to hire tech experts to develop a more modern way of selling eBooks – that’s not against the law. Eventually, they probably will do that, but only after fighting change tooth and nail and blaming Amazon for their failures and frustrations.
Jeff Bezos has also started a company for space exploration; and that company, “Blue Origin,” has already located the Apollo 11 rocket engines on the ocean floor: Jeff Bezos Plans to Recover Apollo 11 Rocket Engines from Ocean Floor. He’s an innovator, and that is very threatening to businesses that don’t want to modernize but want to continue making the huge amounts of money they made in an earlier era of technology. I doubt the horse and buggy businesses welcomed the automobile industry with open arms.
I probably should save these comments so that I could actually have something to write about come Sunday, but heck! I’m on spring break and I’ve got nothing but ideas!
First, I have to share with you that I’ve gotten a new position! I’ll be working as an Assistant Reference Librarian at Indiana State University beginning this spring and if it weren’t for all the books (and other stuff) that need to be packed between now and then, I’d be flipping cartwheels!
I did take time out for a walk this morning and enjoyed the cool crisp air as much and the pink and white blossoms on the trees. Such beauty really got me to thinking… about books… Does your local Barnes and Noble have a Starbucks? Mine does and I’m wondering why the Starbucks near me doesn’t have a Barnes and Noble. I mean, many people actually sit for a spell at Starbucks, taking the time to read, computer or just chat. So, why don’t these companies increase each of their sales potential by putting books for sale in the Starbucks and heck, while they’re at it why not allow Nook access in the Starbucks just like at B&N? Seems like a no brainer to me!
Have you ever noticed how national news programs send the Latino guy to cover Latino issues and the Black guy to cover Black issues? I hate when they do that because while the network looks like they’re relating ethnically diverse issues, they’re really marginalizing the issue and stamping it as a Latino/Asia/Native American issue and not as a people issue.
To me, that’s what the New York Times has done with their piece on Young Adult fiction. Why not have a White author address diversity? An Asian address complexities and Latina talk about social networking? Why let readers continue to believe that the lack of diversity that surrounds us only continues to concern people of color? And, by the same token make it seem as if people of color have no other issues? Go on, join the discussion!
Congratulations on the new job!! I’ve been saying for years that libraries need to have a Starbucks, just like B&N! I bet that would make the popularity of libraries go up overnight.
Edi said, on 3/29/2012 2:00:00 PM
Katie,
Actually many high school school, public and academic libraries do house coffee shops. I think it would be really revolutionary to but libraries in the coffee shop. Book related industries really need to re-market themselves!
Shoeless said, on 3/29/2012 7:21:00 PM
Wandered here from Fledgling. So glad I did! What a great blog!! I’ll definitely be back in the future!
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the last tome of a hardcover that I lugged around on vacation. It took up seemingly half my suitcase and weighed a ton, but because it wasn't available in e-book form and because I don't believe in piracy, I carried that thing across the country.
Now I'm thrilled to have the entire Harry Potter series resting weightlessly within my iPad.
As you have likely heard, Harry Potter is available in e-book form. And not just in e-book form, but available only through Pottermore, the digital extension of the Harry Potter brand. No other e-book vendor has it for sale, including the e-book behemoths like Amazon, B&N and iBooks. And the e-books are published by Rowling herself.
Yeah, wow.
Why This is a Big Deal
J.K. Rowling just did an entire end-around on the entire publishing world in many, many ways.
Most of the focus has been on how these are for sale only from the author, and rightly so. Even Amazon is playing ball, listing the books for sale but referring people to Pottermore to make the purchase.
And the manner in which these e-books are being distributed is revolutionary. They're being sold without DRM but with digital watermarks to guard against piracy. Each purchaser has 8 digital copies they can download in various formats, and it's very easy to convert to the most popular devices. I had the e-books on my iPad within minutes.
The approach to DRM is, ironically enough, extremely similar to my earlier post on what good a good approach to DRM would look like - you can convert the files to any device and you have a sufficient number of copies for yourself and others... Only there's no DRM. Ha! 10 points for Gryffindor.
So let's talk about this. No publisher. The author as e-distributor. No DRM.
Rowling has certainly woken people up to this possibility. After all, in a Google world do you really have to have a central vendor? If people go looking for a book can't they get it just as easily from going to the author's site as they do from Amazon or iBooks?
Did the game just change for everyone?
Why This Isn't a Big Deal
My opinion? Yeah... not so much.
There is basically one author in the world who can pull this off. And she's the one who is doing it.
Okay, there may be a few more. But in order for this to work in 2012, an author has to build an entire distribution platform themselves that is compatible with different e-book formats. They have to draw people to that site and handle financial transactions and customer service and all the other million things that go along with selling stuff. It takes massive scale.
If I were to try to pull this off as a self-publisher, even on a smaller scale, I'd still miss out on being discovered by people who hadn't heard of me but were recommended within the e-book stores, where the majority of people will be looking
27 Comments on Why the Harry Potter E-books Are and Aren't a Really Big Deal, last added: 4/2/2012
I agree. I sell my eBooks direct from my own web site in all formats, but most people click on the Amazon or B&N link to buy them from the known entity.
You're totally right. As wonderful as it sounds in theory, it's not for the average Joe. It's hard enough self-publishing as it is, but to put the extra pressure on yourself to draw customers to your own website would mean having to give up your day job. And we all know we can't afford to do that! JK is great though, for making this leap. I'm definitely cheering her on!
The thing is, publishers developed naturally in the marketplace for a reason. Booksellers developed naturally in the marketplace for a reason. "Power to the author" is a thrilling message to a certain extent, and there are certainly times and places that the publishing and distribution process could be improved, but do away with traditional publishers AND booksellers completely?
I just don't see it happening. People LIKE having others take care of business for them, and will happy exchange part of their revenue for the overall increase in sales numbers that come with traditional publishers and distributors.
You'll notice that, while Rowling is distributing Potter independently, she's still going 100% traditional with her adult book. I'm just saying.
What Rowling has done is super cool, but it was lightening in a bottle. First, she still held digital rights. No one else had the right to publish Harry Potter eBooks. That was a function of timing because publishers weren't negotiating for those rights when she started out so she had the ability to refuse them later.
A debut author won't have that kind of clout in traditional publishing. And a self-pub is very unlikely to have the kind of success that the Harry Potter books generated.
I'm sure it will happen, somebody else will pull it off, but it will be a ton of work and require some luck, too.
Anonymous said, on 3/29/2012 7:58:00 AM
Oh, a vendor that makes it easy and cheap will emerge. It may take a couple years, but there will be a platform.
" and it's very easy to convert to the most popular devices."
And that's why this venture will fail. Rowling is an anomaly with a built in fanbase who may go to the trouble of converting.
(Pretty much) any other author won't. Nor should customers have to jump through any hoops whatsoever to make a purchase. Converting from one format to another? And put up with the inevitable formatting errors just so you can enjoy your purchase? 99% of people won't.
If you want to sell to people make it cheap, make it good quality and make it EASY.
Harry Potter is a life of its own so isn't a great example. No-one else will be able to sell a book and say "convert it to work on device X"
Tiffany said, on 3/29/2012 8:03:00 AM
JK should open up her pub house and help other YA authors with same plan.
Stephen King should take on the horror and mystery genre with a pub house of his own... And so on!
The authors with enough money and manpower to do create a world where authors get more percentage back...wow. It would really change things.
Amazon's boots would be dust from so much shaking.
But actually, Craig, it isn't just "easy to convert" the Potter e-books; it's seamless. I didn't have to jump through any hoops. I just hit "download Kindle book" and I was good to go.
But JKR has the money and clout to hire people to handle this enterprise for her. That's what I see as the big difference between her and the rest of us. I barely have time to do the promotion that I should for my novel, and I'm signed with a traditional publisher (Simon & Schuster). The last thing I want is to branch into this end of the business--though I think it's fabulous that some writers can!
I think your post is spot on. The few people in the world who could sell their books completely on their own are Stephen King, Stephanie Meyer and J.K. Rowing. The list excludes even lots of people that have made the best seller list. I was at an indie store for the tour of Maggie Stiefvater's Linger which debuted on the bestsellers list. A guy at the store asked me why there were so many people here. I told him and he asked who Maggie was. So I told him. He hadn't heard of the book either. I recommended he check out another book she'd written. The point is if someone in the YA section of a bookstore hadn't heard of Maggie until this conversation, there is no way a mid-lister could survive without centralized vending.
10 points to Gryffindor? You know it was a Ravenclaw who came up with this! :D
Maya said, on 3/29/2012 9:25:00 AM
Agree with Claire!
Wouldn't it be cool if JK decided to share her platform, and enter the publishing business as a more open competitor to Amazon? As an author herself, you'd think she would run her business differently, with a greater emphasis on helping authors and less on cornering the market.
Good, interesting post, fascinating topic, and I think you raise some really good points, Nathan.
I both agree and semi-disagree with you. I think in the near future, what you're saying makes sense. The infrastructure doesn't exist that would support authors striking out on their own unless they have a strong following and financial backing/support or personal funds.
But that doesn't mean such an infrastructure couldn't develop. Right now, sales are centralized, but that doesn't have to be the norm.
It is not out of the realm of possibility that authors selling from their own website could become the standard, with referral sites and other services to support it.
Referral sites are developing. Readers want to find good books, and places like Goodreads will continue to thrive in the digital enviornment, helping direct readers to books they want to read.
It's not that big of a step to then direct readers to the author's website to buy the book.
Whether it will happen or not is a very big question, and one I've wondered about. The internet is incredibly powerful. It gives authors much more autonomy than I think many people may be taking in, including those authors themselves.
If Amazon or others began treating authors in a shabby fashion, authors could choose to find other sales platforms, or even unite through the internet and create sales platforms of their own.
Someone above mentioned Amazon shaking in their boots. I not so sure. Amazon sells many items other than books. But also, Amazon appears to be smart enough to stop a trend like this by making their services too attractive to authors to pass up, if it happens.
But you never know! I could be wrong about all of the above. It truly is fascinating to watch this all unfold!
I really could have used this a month-and-a-half ago when I finished The Order of the Phoenix and had to wait a whole day to go to a local indie bookstore and buy Half-Blood Prince.
Not that I mind supporting the indie store, who stocks my book THE MAN IN THE CINDER CLOUDS, but I didn't want to wait a whole 14 hours to keep reading....
You know, I have wondered many times why, if the Big 6 don't like the way Amazon prices their book, they don't simply stop selling books through Amazon? Yes, I know, the answer is "Because Amazon is the biggest book-mover in the world." But it's rather a self-fulfilling prophecy, because they wouldn't be the biggest if the publishers stopped sending them books to sell. If someone wants James Patterson, and Amazon doesn't have it, they will go to whoever does have it. As Nathan pointed out, with the internet it's easy to find the products you want, wherever they may be sold.
So I could easily envision a book world where the Big 6 and maybe even other indie presses, create their own distribution system, bypassing Amazon (and anyone else they choose), and Amazon becomes the bastion of the self-published and other indie press authors.
But I do agree that most authors will not have the time, money, or inclination to be creator, publisher, seller, and everything else that comes along with it. Most of us already are stretched thin juggling the writing and marketing we are supposed to do now--oh, yeah, and the demands of our non-writing life, too. I know it's not what I would want to do!
This may not be the answer, but I bet it started a few wheels and gears turning. I can see this pushing new ideas and new innovations. People will riff on this and find new forms and models, I'm guessing. A really big butterfly just flapped its wings.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the effect of this on MG e-books in particular. Of course, there are lots of MG kids reading ebooks already. Will this boost e-reader usage amongst MG readers? Will that have a salutary effect on the bottom line for traditional publishers of MG e-books? What about self-pub MG e-books? My feeling is that yes, it will boost e-reader ownership amongst the kidlets, but that was coming anyway. And I don't think it will have much impact on self-pub MG ebooks until the kidlets themselves start browsing and discovering e-books on Amazon (vs. through parents, teachers, librarians, and other gatekeepers).
In my opinion, we authors are overlooking the most important key to selling books independently on a massive scale. Like Nathan said, we need to find Time Turners.
I think we're overlooking two fundamentals. One, Laurel has mentioned: JKR holds the digital rights to all of her books. And, two, which is the more important thing, she wrote a story that has inspired and captivated the imagination of nearly half a billion readers; with new readers are on the way.
It will just be time before this series is pirated, unfortunately. I visited a relative this last weekend and he's an intelligent man who loves his iPad and couldn't wait to tell me his latest find, 5000 full text contemporary books of his favorite authors...he's a spy thriller guy.. on one CD to upload to his iPad, pirated! I expressed my displeasure in defense of all those authors whose royalties were also pirated and told him to keep the CD because I wasn't interested in defense of writers. And anyways, I still like paperback books to highlight, write in, dog ear, and share with someone else.
Anonymous said, on 3/30/2012 12:52:00 AM
I think the big deal is when all the best selling authors walk away from their publishers and do this.
What will publishers think if James Patterson does this next? Stephen King has already played in this pool. Will he go back and try again?
If the big publishers bread and butter authors walk out the door because they have name recognition, what will the big publishers do? Will they start appreciating their mid-list authors? Oh, wait, they have moved onto self-publishing.
The dominoes can topple pretty fast.
Of course, authors can also do print on demand to create print copies to go along with their eBook distribution channel.
To be picky, Rowling didn't "build an entire distribution platform ... that is compatible with different e-book formats." She wrote a check to OverDrive to have her e-bookstore hosted on their MIDAS system.
The point still stands, though. Few authors are in the position to do that, and they'd still need to pull readers in to their personal sites.
Heck, even the big publishing houses don't bother to have dedicated e-book stores. There are few titles that have enough pull to get readers to bounce around the Web to buy them. The e-book stores still provide a useful intermediary service.
I'm new to the writing business, having yet to be published, but I was an active stock investor and trader back in the 1990s during the internet bubble. I see direct parallels between the internet stocks then and the publishing world now.
Back in the day, it seemed like a new technology and/or a new company was bursting onto the scene on a weekly basis. Some of those "great idea, can't miss" ideas and companies survived. Google, Amazon.com, Yahoo! and the like survived. But for every success story I estimate there were 100 great ideas that sizzled, then fizzled.
It became almost comical to watch investors scramble from one great idea to the next, to the next, to the next, convinced that each one was a sure thing.
The publishing business seems to be shaking out in the same way. One week it's Amanda Hocking going straight to self-publishing, the next it's authors giving away ebooks for free in order to generate sales of other books. The next week it's a race to zero with ebook prices to see if there is a reasonable minimum price that can be established. Etc., etc.
Now JK Rowling is doing an end run around Amazon.com. Will she prevail? Will other authors follow her lead? Will book buyers stay with Amazon.com? Or will something else come along even better?
Maybe ebooks and ereaders aren't even the end of the continuum. Who knows, some tech genius might invent reading glasses that actually project text onto special lenses so one won't even need a Nook or Kindle. You might turn pages by voice command or looking from far right to far left.
All the new developments are interesting and exciting to consider, but I for one won't be in a rush to decide which technology, sales method, platforms, or marketing schemes will still be around in 10 years. After all, didn't everyone use to think that MySpace would revolutionize social media? Where are they now?
For decades time stood still in publishing, nothing changing. Then the quantum shift in the industry opened the exciting potential for writers to become publishers. I was so excited to be involved in a fledgling indie press but found out quickly how much it sucks to be a publisher. Now, after doing it for a few years, I realized that it really, really, really sucks. Managing websites, email mailing lists, formatting, editing, it all sucks. I would love to be just a writer again with a pen and a yellow legal pad. Unfortunately, this is what it takes to be a writer now.
I often wondered why we hadn't seen more big name authors bail on publishers and do it all themselves. Even in the old school printing press technology, someone with the resources of Stephen King could easily be their own publisher. I think it comes back to the universal truth, being a publisher sucks more than being a writer. Even indy star, Amanda Hocking, went the big pub route citing the luxury of having people to do all the publishing BS for her.
There is a great reward to finding a manuscript, making it into a book and bringing to the people. I know there are publishers who enjoy the work. I don't. I just want to write.
I know a commercially publisher writer who is leaving her publisher to self publish. It was not just a money issue but a service issue. Royalty payments were chronically late, the pub had more books than they could effectively promote and support. The author had built up some name recognition so she was already on the shelves of the stores. Despite the extra work, she made the decision to strike out on her own. Like so many choices in life, it comes down to what sucks less.
I agree with you. Personally, I find all the changes and brand new choices in publishing quite exciting. And I'm delighted that there are now HARRY POTTER eBooks!
Hey, so I just went to Pottermore and bought the first three books. I wanted to share my reaction.
I noticed that I loved buying the books from J.K herself. It made me feel close to her. I was totally willing to give her my money. And I usually worry alittle about my credit card, but I found myself thinking, J.K. would NEVER mess me over and steal my card.
Huh.
That's not usually how I feel when I buy on Amazon. Just thought I'd share that.
I think this is a wise approach. Business is business, if I were JR, I'd go exactly the same way. I appreciate her crative work because these are only her books and free crossword puzzle maker that can make my kids sit still
I urge you not to read those articles all three in a row unless you want to get the sense that the traditional publishing industry is, um, a little nervous about how relevant it is in the future and mildly uncertain about what it should be doing.
I've been out of the publishing game a while, but it's worth taking a deep breath and remembering some things: a) This is still a print world (yes, still), and publishers are still best at getting paper to customers (yes, still). b) Some authors will still benefit from the collection of services publishers offer into the new era.
But also: Publishers must think about how their brands matter in the new era, especially to consumers, and how they can make themselves indispensable to an author's sales figures and bottom line. Right now they ain't getting it done by relying on authors for their own promotion and offering very little added value except for a few titles a season (who are often the titles that need the least boost).
But the sky isn't falling yet.
Whew! Meanwhile, Kassia Krozser at Booksquare previews the Tools of Change conference and tackles the perennial topic of print/e-book bundling.
British comedian, actor, playwright, and author Stephen Fry graced New York City and the Overlook Press office with his warm and magnetic presence last Tuesday, January 24. We invited Fry to the States to promote his newest autobiography, THE FRY CHRONICLES, a witty and brutally honest stunner that we’ve praised here before. Yet the novelty of having the real life Jeeves from the comic series
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Tomorrow night brings two out-of-town Overlook authors, as well as one northeastern native to bookstores across New York for an evening of readings, signings, and lively discussion. Award-winning English novelist R.J. Ellory, author of A Quiet Vendetta will be joined by A Killer’s Essence author Dave Zeltserman to promote their latest crime thrillers at Brooklyn’s BookCourt, while English
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When you are pressed, as I have been pressed, it is easy to forget that some things, sometimes, do get done. Books are conceived. Books are written. Thanks to Maureen of Barnes and Noble (Devon) for this display. (I am to blame for sneaking Small Damages in there. It just looked so pretty.)
So there is a scientific basis for the plot of the movie "Killer Octopi: Tentacles Of Death"...??? I take back what I said about it. By the way your video selections don't show up when I get your post via email. Thanks!
Anonymous said, on 12/9/2011 4:59:00 PM
Here is a species of octopus that lives in trees.
http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/
Anonymous said, on 12/9/2011 5:38:00 PM
I'm surprised Franzen wasn't on the bad sex list. I've read parodies of his sex scenes that were hysterical.
Anonymous said, on 12/9/2011 6:24:00 PM
Hey, Nathan, it's your old buddy, Mike, speaking. I think it's high time that somebody said this to YOU:
Have a great weekend!
I love seeing that sentence on the Friday blog. All healthy people should at least try to have a great weekend.
a. I'm very happy that the Justice Dept. and EU are investigating the collusion between publishers and Apple. I think that agency model IS price fixing, and thank goodness for government regulation of corporations, because corporations can't be trusted. Yay, e-book oversight! Very interesting to see this play out.
b. In terms of Rachelle Gardner's multiple genre thing, I'm sorry I don't agree. I know her intenstion is to be a good guide, but her main point is that someone can't market and social network for multiple books in different genres. Okay. But I think it's still important to remember that authors are best designed to WRITE books, not SELL them. There has to be a better solution than stopping an author from writing in order to have them focus on a marketing strategy that has not been proven to actually work anyway.
b. Cute article by Sharon Vakin. Love the picture. Someday, though, we'll wax nostalgic about e-readers and how they felt to hold in our hands, now that books are microwaved directly into our brains.
c. I wasn't sure if David G. got the Bad Sex award for the topic or for the writing. But since I have no intention of reading an extended sex scene between a son and mother, I guess I'll never know.
d. Didn't really understand how the Readmill site was different. But I like the creativity of new ways to form internet book clubs! Yay!
e. I think the Grossman article has a good point. Effort, stamina, refusal to quit huge ingredients to success.
f. John Green's article was interesting. I liked what he said about creating a project to involve people. I don't agree, though, that the problem in the future will be to be noticed. Not if you have a good product. Don't underestimate consumers, I think.
g. Why is Towers not doing interviews? The article didn't say.
h. Eeek! This poor writer found a pen name because her real name "Alison" is too middle-aged. OMG. I don't know where to start. Sheesh. Is there any actual research, btw, that the name of the author influences sales? Or is that just something someone made up because it sounded like the type of ageism and sexism that should be perpetrated by major corporations, and therefore, a good thing to do?
I. Those Amazon reviews were the funniest thing, ever. I laughed and laughed. Thank you for posting them!
J. Awesome video. I really think the Octopus wanted to eat the people. You could tell it was disappointed when it turned back.
Okay, that's it. Thanks for letting me share all my OPINIONS on these interesting links, Nathan!
Hi, Very nice and useful information shared, this blog is very good to acknowledge yourself and to remain updated, especially your writing style is very attractive, keep it up.
Very nice and useful information shared, this blog is very good to acknowledge yourself and to remain updated, especially your writing style is very attractive, keep it up.
I made a visit to see my sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephews over the Thanksgiving weekend, and while I was there, it didn’t take long for the kids to tell me all about what they’ve put on their Christmas lists this year. The eight... Read the rest of this post
I'm participating in a booksigning this Sunday at the LoneTree Barnes and Noble to benefit Pikes Peak Writers, and I'd love for you to stop by between 3:00-5:00 PM!
Pikes Peak Writers is a national nonprofit that helps writers learn, connect and grow through workshops, resources, contests, scholarships, and one of the best writer's conferences in the country. Membership in PPW is now completely free, as are many of their programs. To help PPW continue in their support of writers, Barnes & Noble is hosting this benefit bookfair and signing. If you shop at B&N --in a store or online-- during the benefit period, a portion of what you spend goes to PPW. It costs you nothing extra, and you can even use your B&N member discount. I hope you'll join me at the signing, but if you can't make it I invite you to shop BN.com/bookfairs between November 12th and 17th, and reference bookfair number #10553048.
For more info about this bookfair and the list of 30+ authors who will be signing at five Colorado Barnes & Noble locations, please visit here.
I'll be signing Sleepless, Breaking Up Is Hard to Do and The Girl Who Was On Fire. Hope to see you there!
Today is the kickoff of the Dark Days author tour! There is a Livestream event TODAY from 4:00 – 5:35 pm EST, featuring Claudia Gray, Kiersten White, Amy Garvey, Anna Carey, and Jocelyn Davies! Check it out here: http://www.livestream.com/epicreads.
The tour officially begins on October 12th at the Barnes and Noble store in Lynnwood, Washington. Check the tour dates to find out if the Dark Days tour will be stopping by your city:
Wednesday, October 12th
7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
Lynnwood, WA
with Claudia Gray (FATEFUL), Kiersten White (SUPERNATURALLY), Amy Garvey (COLD KISS) and Anna Carey (EVE)
Thursday, October 13th
7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
Huntington Beach, CA
with Claudia Gray (FATEFUL), Kiersten White (SUPERNATURALLY), Amy Garvey (COLD KISS) and Anna Carey (EVE)
Friday, October 14th
Time TK
Tattered Cover
Highland Ranch, CO
with Claudia Gray (FATEFUL), Kiersten White (SUPERNATURALLY), Amy Garvey (COLD KISS) and Jocelyn Davies (A BEAUTIFUL DARK)
Saturday, October 15th
1:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
Boulder, CO
with Claudia Gray (FATEFUL), Kiersten White (SUPERNATURALLY), Amy Garvey (COLD KISS) and Jocelyn Davies (A BEAUTIFUL DARK)
Sunday, October 16th
2:00 PM
Anderson’s
Naperville, IL
with Claudia Gray (FATEFUL), Kiersten White (SUPERNATURALLY), Amy Garvey (COLD KISS) and Jocelyn Davies (A BEAUTIFUL DARK)
*This event will be Livestreamed.
This past Sunday, September 18th, I had the pleasure of signing books and doing a surprise reading of an excerpt from INITIATION! :) The members of Team Canterwood who came were AMAZING. One reader got a bright blue feather in her hair because I had them! And Olivia brought me a lip gloss! So. Sweet.
The Rochester crowd was filled with TC people from all over--some even driving two+ hours to get to B&N. I can't thank you all enough for coming. I had so much fun. :)
Enjoy these pics and the video will be up soon!
Thanks to Kate for playing photographer. Thank you, also, to Brianna for helping with the event and Ross for filming.
The Brooklyn Trio got into Rochester on Tuesday night and crashed. There have been lots of appointments at Mayo and, for the first time, a doctor who listened. Dr. H has an idea of what could be causing K's pain and though we won't know for a while, there need to be more tests, etc., we're all happy that there is finally the tiniest bit of hope and something to go on. I don't want to share too much of K's personal stuff, but I wanted to thank you all for the love and support. I promise to keep you updated with how she's feeling and if this doctor's guess turns out to be correct.
I'm writing a piece that's due soon and using the hotel's color printer like CRAZY. Been printing tons of Facebook pics that I've wanted to have. Now, I'll have things to frame at home.
I'm probably going to head over to the downtown Rochester Barnes & Noble to sign stock like I did last time. How can I NOT visit that castle-like B&N?
I'm also superpumped about my signing on Sunday. Again, the details:
Sunday, September 18th at 2pm
Rochester, Minnesota
Barnes & Noble at the Apache Mall (NOT the downtown location)
Come say hi! I don't want to be all alone, lol! :) I'm already superexcited that Lauren, the winner of my 15-minute phone chat from eBay, is coming. Our talk turned into half an hour because she was so supercool. Her awesome mom won the chat and the proceeds from all of my eBay auctions are going to the ASPCA.
If anyone else is interested, I'll add a Skype video chat, phone call, etc., to eBay and we'll see if we can help more animals with donations!
TGIF! What are your weekend plans?
9 Comments on Book signing this weekend!, last added: 9/18/2011
My plans for the weekend? Head to the stable and groom and ride my fav horse, read some Canterwood Crest, Harry Potter and horse books, and watch the season premiere of the show heartland!!!!
Connie said, on 9/16/2011 5:24:00 PM
Ballet and studying Chinese. I hope Kate gets well very soon! Unfortunately, I live a long way away from Rochester, so I won't be able to participate in the signing. I don't want to say exactly where I live, but it is in the West Coast/Sierra Nevada area, so if you could go there for a signing....
Adina H. said, on 9/16/2011 5:45:00 PM
AWESOME, i soooo wished i lived in Minesotta, i'm glad that kate might stop having that icky pain. My plans are basically studying, knitting, reading, and looking at lipsmacker lipgloss and wishing what flavor i want next :D
Anonymous said, on 9/16/2011 6:45:00 PM
Well tomarrow I have my first horse 4-H meeting and I am suuuupppppeeerrrr excited!!!!! After I am gonna come home and go to our barn to spend some time with my paint horse, Patches. He's a handfull but I'll live:)
P.S. I hope Kate will get well soon and you will have a great turnout for the signing. I wish I could come but I live in the north east part of the US:(
Sam Newman :) said, on 9/16/2011 7:55:00 PM
studying Latin, homework, relax, maybe ride, relax, homework, and then more Latin.
Anonymous said, on 9/17/2011 6:39:00 AM
Have a great weekend, hope you have a good turnout at B&N.Kate is so going to beat her pain!
Yup, I'm definitely going to be there. :) And I'm bringing a friend too. :)
Areille said, on 9/18/2011 2:35:00 PM
Cheerleading and reading and studying for tests. Hope K is feeling well praying for her! Please come to the B&N in Cary, NC it would make me really hsppy and probably alot of other people!
Man i wish i was there. Can you come to Cary, North Carolina sometime. Because i would really love to meet you.
Anonymous said, on 9/12/2011 5:23:00 PM
Sooooooooo excited cu there!!!!:)
Anonymous said, on 9/13/2011 4:07:00 AM
Update Lauren's blog pleass!!!!
Anonymous said, on 9/13/2011 6:10:00 AM
Have a great trip. Best of everything!
Sam Newman :) said, on 9/14/2011 2:00:00 PM
Madelyn: lol, we should all three meet up in norfolk or oxford.... i live in VA beach! :)
anywho, loving kemps landing soo far.... :) my english teacher is my fave, (duh!) and i love that i have art every day! :)
AND i actually asked my mom if she would drive me to rochester (a CRAZY-long drive, and my dads out of town) and she saiiddd........................ mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmNO!mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm D: oh well... i guess i didnt expect a yes....
have fun, good wishes, good luck, and, as always, you and Kate are in my prayers. :) <3 Sam
I'm so excited to announce that I'm having a book signing in September! I'll be with bestie at the Mayo Clinic and we wanted to add something to look forward to.
So, if you're near Rochester, Minnesota, I'll be signing at the Barnes & Noble at the Apache Mall. (Not the downtown location.)
Ah, if only i lived in USA, I'd be able to catch the book signings AND the contests. (I live in Canada! :D proud of it too!)
Anonymous said, on 7/22/2011 1:43:00 PM
So totally pumped that I might get to go! I would so totally love to see you! I love that IA and MN are state next door neighbors! Can't wait to see if I can go! Cross your fingers for me!! =:)
Connie said, on 7/24/2011 9:51:00 AM
Unfortunately I live in California, and the is no way I can go to Rochester. I really hope you can come to CA to sign books sometime!
Anonymous said, on 7/25/2011 9:11:00 AM
When are you going to start posting on lauren's blog again? xoxo R
Adina H. said, on 7/25/2011 12:09:00 PM
ooooh gosh i so want to live in MN now, u should really come to chicago jess, i feel like i'm missing so much stuff
Got some work to do today. The upcoming week is going to be *busy!* I've got a sekrit phone call tomorrow, a book club/dinner on Tuesday and a bunch of work in between.
Most important, I'm gearing up for my B&N signing next Wednesday. There will be TWO huge surprises that night! Two very, very big and veeeerry secret surprises that you must be there for. Eeeek! :) :)
I know it seems a little bit like I've been knocking Barnes & Noble all week. In reality I've been railing against the returns system prevalent in our industry and Barnes & Noble happens to be a part of it. For better or worse, Barnes & Noble is the most visible retailer out there right now, and so its name factored into my discussion more than it would have otherwise.
But when it comes to Barnes & Noble in other respects, I am quite fond of them. They are, by far, my favorite chain and one of my preferred booksellers in general. I would not have put in 20-32 hour weeks when I worked there if it was otherwise. (In fact I wouldn't have worked for them in the first place if I hadn't liked them. The picture is of me with some of the author and illustrators and contest winners when I edited Summer Shorts. We are at, yes, Barnes & Noble.)
And let's face it, Barnes & Noble is CBAY's bookselling best friend. With the exception of BookPeople and Powells, no other bookstore has carried CBAY books on their shelves as consistently as Barnes & Noble. And although I love my indies, B&N has a greater nation-wide reach.
So, I thought I'd throw a little love Barnes & Nobles way, and they have made it so very easy. When I was perusing all the different bookstore sites to check the information on CBAY's upcoming debut teen novel, Dry Souls, I discovered that B&N already has the book discounted when no one else does. I would like to encourage you to head on over there and pre-order now while it's 10% off. I have no idea how long that will last. They've never done it for one of my pre-orders before.
And just so you'll be tempted, I have a pdf of the first 5 chapters (nearly 20% of the book!) for you to whet your appetite on. I've read it in iBooks and Kobo on my iPad, and it should work on the Kindle and Nook, and of course on any computer. To download this free teaser, click here.
0 Comments on A Little Barnes & Noble Love as of 1/1/1900
Huge news this week, as a federal judge rejected the Google Book Settlement. If you recall, Google had scanned basically every book in the world and was hoping to make them all available. But there are a ton of old books where the rights situation is uncertain. Technically the books are under copyright, but who knows where the rightsholders are. The judge ruled that the settlement effectively gave Google a de facto monopoly over those books. The Author's Guild and the AAP are hoping to amend the settlement to pass legal muster.
It was the tale of two authors this week. First came news that, as mentioned on Wednesday, bestselling author Barry Eisler passed up a $500,000 deal from a major publisher in order to self-publish. Among Eisler's reasons were frustration with traditional publisher's royalties and pricing model, and a desire to get his book out earlier. Industry sage Mike Shatzkin calls it "a key benchmark on the road to wherever it is we're going."
Meanwhile, self-published superstar Amanda Hocking went the opposite route and decided to move to a major publisher, to the tune of a $2 million deal with St. Martin's. Among Hocking's reasons were wanting to reach readers through bookstores and more editing.
So... who's right and who's wrong? As Kassia Krozsser says: they're both right. And that's the great thing about this new era. Authors with a following now have a choice about which route they want to pursue. My colleague David Carnoy, author of KNIFE MUSIC, talked about his own move from self-publishing to traditional publishing in a recent interview.
I think that self publishing is appropriate for different people depending on where they are in their career, but that both are extremely difficult and take a lot of skill. I'm interested to see where Amanda Hocking goes with St. Martin's behind her. She's already proven that she's an excellent self-promoter, something most authors forget about. So, now that St. Martin's will be backing her I wonder if her advertising power will just be magnified, or if she will bring a unique WAY of advertising to the industry. It's such an interesting time for the industry! -Brit http://pagesandstardust.blogspot.com/
One of the things I took away from Eisler's talk with J.A. Konrath (I'll admit to skimming some of those 13,000 words) was that one of the main things making it possible for Eisler to make that move was being a big enough established brand in the first place -- and for that, he has NY publishers and their marketing muscle to thank.
From what I recall of Amanda Hocking, book publishers weren't buying. But when she proved that there was a market for her stuff through e-publishing, traditional publishing houses came bearing auction paddles.
Obviously both authors are helping to remove the self-publishing stigma, and it's clearly having repercussions all over.
Agent April Eberhardt gave a talk in Portland about this a while back, and noted that self-publishing has some huge advantages, such as ease, low cost, time-to-market, controlling rights (and backlist), and ability to experiment with format and marketing approaches.
One big drawback remains the stigma, which remains because of all the dreck that's been self-published. But I could easily see the better content crowding out the other stuff, slowly removing the stigma along the way.
What that also means is that the self-publishing landscape will begin to resemble the traditional publishing landscape, where much of the "shelf space" -- in the form of promoted content -- gets taken up by people like Hocking and Eisler.
Also this week, agent Ted Weinstein put a traditional vs. self-publishing spreadsheet online. (http://www.twliterary.com/selfpub.html). If I were an author of a book with a niche audience, I would do a lot of number crunching on that spreadsheet before deciding to query agents.
I completely agree that they're both right - self-publishing and traditional. It's nice to see a successful author choose self-publishing, thereby proving that it's not just something people do because they can't get published any other way. Hooray!
And that crayon video. Awesome! I wonder if they're still made that way today, or if it's even more automated. Regardless, Mr. Rogers has the most soothing voice, doesn't he?
Maybe if we all pool our money we can buy Barnes & Noble. It is quite simply the best store ever. I hate seeing it passed over like the designated purse-holder at the prom.
Mr. Rogers is a good guy, but he always puts me to sleep. The Sesame Street video covers the exact same stuff (it's even the same factory) but they make it exciting instead of dead boring.
Thanks to John for the link to the e-book publishing Bingo - loved the set-up. Yes, as they said: someone had to do it -- we're all tired of the same arguments.
I'm glad to see Google is being kept accountable.
The introvert posting by Shrinking Violet productions is excellent! I agree with her points -- especially that we don't need help -- introverts are not socially inept -- we just like more intimate settings, or being alone to recharge our batteries.
Congrats to Bryan, the eloquent one, for being selected as Comment of the Week. Well-deserved.
Finally, Mr. Rogers, mild-mannered but oh so informative. He suited the times.
Have a great weekend, all. Thanks for posting on a Saturday, Nathan.
It seems that uncertainty in the publishing sphere has become the norm, technology both the platform and the challenge, wider market competition the opportunity and the threat, social media the bridge, and forecasting the future an open field.
The good news about traditional and self-publishing is that you don't have to choose just one. Publishing a book is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor, and with the advent of self-publishing, motivated writers have more options.
The perceived backlash against traditional publishers is an expression of frustration at the gatekeepers (and the price you pay to get their stamp of approval). With the advent of self-publishing, we have proof that the gatekeepers are often wrong. But, they are quite often right as well, and they can provide services that allow an author to spend more time doing what she loves: writing. And that's good for everyone.
A couple of years ago, I thought self-pub vs. traditional publishing was a non-issue.
You could find so much garbage out in the self-publishing world. Finding the gems took much more time, effort, and patience. Clearly, traditional publishing was the way to go.
But we've seen a turn in the market and my perception is changing. A few big success stories don't make self-pubbing the ultimate solution, but it's definitely something to think about.
It's incredible that both Eisler and Hocking can be "right," because they're doing what they believe will benefit them most. There's a lesson in there.
Awesome this week in books, Nathan! Wow, thank you!
So is Google putting out an e-reader? Am I already supposed to know this? If it's not on This Week in Books, I don't know it. I also don't understand how they can scan all the books in the world, while lots of books aren't available as e-books. I'm confused!
The e-publishing bingo card is funny.
I want to reiterate my offer to buy Barnes and Noble. I will turn that place around. I forgot how much I was offering, but I currently have $41.89 in liquid cash. If that's not enough, I can borrow the money from Barnes and Noble and pay them back once I buy them. If they don't mind.
Terrific article about introverts! Yay!
So, are we going to get a list of author pet peeves about agents soon? Only fair. Mr. Bransford.
Lovely comment by Bryan. Elegant.
I also thought the publishing insider had some really interesting points. I am a convert, and do not believe Publishing should leave New York, since they probably own the buildings anyway.
After giving this some thought this week, both Eisler and Hocking's decisions make sense to me. Eisler has the name and the readership. He alao has the money and connections to produce his books faster and exactly the way he wants them, So why not, see waht happens. he wont have any trouble going back to traditional if he wants to. Hocking, judgeing by her blog, is an extremly prolific writer. She's probably tired of the chore's involved in editing, marketing, promoting. It's distracting when you'd rather be writing the next book. It sucks. I think what self published writers need is a new breed of agent/marketeer/publisist. Individual's who know the book industry,the internet, marketing and advertising and love the sale. And not big company's who want paid up front and just send out a few reviews and blogs and never hear from again. No-commission based sales agents that move books whether it be e-books or whatever.
Jane Dystel's blog was rather shocking, a list of every single unprofessional thing authors can do when working with agents and editors. While I read it, I scratched my head and thought, "Why not just dump the client?" Seriously, why waste time on someone with an absent work ethic?
It will be very interesting to see if Hocking's success translates into print. Many have argued that the reason she was so successful was because she priced her eBooks very low, and the same population who would purchase a 99-cent eBook would never buy a more expensive print novel. I hope this doesn't come back to bite St. Martin's in a tender spot.
I can't believe you posted that video; that was my favorite episode of Mr. Rogers and the one I always think of when I think of that show. Thanks for that bit of nostalgia.
After reading the publishing insider's comment about staying in NY, I have to say the reasons given are no different than all the reasons other corporate employees in other industries have given for not relocating or for offshoring.
Most folk are pushed kicking and screaming into new models, giving every reason in the world to justify how things are. Yet in my experience -- having been in an industry that's seen jobs many people claimed couldn't be done offshore or in low-cost hubs around the country be moved to just those locations -- people adjust.
The first couple of years ARE dicey ones. Some people refuse to be uprooted. They quit or figure out how to work remotely. And here's a secret: Sometimes companies are HOPING the higher-paid workers elect to sever their employment so the company is free to hire lower-wage workers. Who usually turn out to be pretty darn competent themselves. It's a little arrogant to think otherwise.
NO ONE is indispensible. No matter how much you or they believe they are. In two years, few people will even remember those workers who've quit or been laid off. In two years, people will barely remember why they thought elevator decisions or power lunches were so important. In two years, approval chains will be such that the people approving color proofs are the people who created them, not a committee of approvers 5 levels deep.
Because when a company decides to move or downsize or make other radical changes, processes must change as well. Some people will lose some of their power as decision-making is driven further down into the ranks, and others will gain power. But "how it's done today" is not an excuse for why the same results can't be reached differently -- and in some cases even more efficiently -- tomorrow.
Loved the crayons video -- even if that jazz music in the background was really annoying. :)
Anonymous said, on 3/26/2011 5:46:00 PM
Any thoughts about what St Martin's Press was thinking? I think they were so mad at Eisler for making them look washed up they over bid on Hocking just to say see, "we're still here!" Before all this publishing commotion we used to worry about well written queries and books. I've read Hocking's "Switched series and it was less than mediocre. Unless she got touched by the writing fairy, I can't believe that St. Martin's Press can perform magic without writing the book for her. I think they HAD to make this point or else they would lose too much integrity among their own authors.
Anonymous said, on 3/26/2011 5:55:00 PM
I'm not weighing in on the quality of Hocking's books. Evidently, they sold @ .99. But I hope St. Martin's intends to keep them at that price. Otherwise this is yet another example of publisherfail.
Blogspot said my comment was too long, so I'm going to divide it into different parts...
PART # 1
Thank you so much for another great "This Week in Books". I’m so darn excited about the new world of publishing that includes traditional publishing as well as reputable indie and self-publishing, I feel like throwing a party, or at least some confetti.
I started looking into some of the things that Amanda Hocking said she did, and I’ve discovered a whole new world that augments rather than takes away from the traditional publishing world, and that is an entirely different animal than the self-publishing and indie world of even a couple of years ago.
The other day it hit me that the new world of indie and self-publishing on Amazon Kindle, for example, feels something like the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. I love that movie, but I had to have some parts of it explained to me because I haven’t played enough video games to intuitively realize exactly what Scott Pilgrim’s world is, that he’s literally living in a video game world. In their description, Amazon.com says, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a finger-blistering time capsule of right now, yet in a hundred years it will still be so crammed with charm, wit, brio, and exuberance it will still be irresistible." ... and "Many events make almost no sense, but it doesn't matter--sheer narrative ferocity and glee of invention sweep the viewer along." When I talked to people who play a lot of video games, however, all the events in the movie seemed to make perfect sense to them.
So, how does this relate to the new world of indie and self-publishing, Amanda Hocking and Barry Eisler? In looking at Amanda Hocking’s website, I saw that she recently had a couple of book covers designed by Phatpuppy Art. I went over to that site, spent hours and hours looking at the incredible art, until the visuals occupied space in my mind for days, and I finally commissioned a book cover because I just had to have one for myself. Then I went over to Amazon, where Amanda Hocking had said she took part in discussions and met book bloggers who spread the word about her books. I discovered that there are at least hundreds, possibly thousands, of discussion groups in which people are discussing all kinds of books: traditional, indie, and self-published. I felt lost. I couldn’t even figure out how the groups were organized. People are constantly starting new discussion threads, many threads having over 1,000 comments, some having 3,000+ comments. I almost gave up ... Then, like someone learning video games for the first time, the landscape kind of came into focus for me. I started to grasp the organized chaos of constantly evolving discussion threads, I met a few book bloggers and reviewers, and discovered some fantastic books.
When I read a recent discussion between Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath, something Barry Eisler said about passing up a $500,000 deal to self-publish suggested to me that self-publishing is becoming more reputable in large part because the younger generation’s leading the way without earlier preconceptions and prejudices about it. Here’s what he said: ------------
Barry: Here’s something that happened about a year ago. Anecdotal, but still telling, I think. My wife and daughter and I were sitting around the dinner table, talking about what kind of contract I would do next, and with what publisher. And my then eleven-year-old daughter said, "Daddy, why don’t you just self-publish?"
And I thought, wow, no one would have said something like that even a year ago. I mean, it used to be that self-publishing was what you did if you couldn’t get a traditional deal. And if you were really, really lucky, maybe the self-published route would lead to a real contract with a real publisher.
But I realized from that one innocent comment from my daughter that the new generation was looking at self-publishing differently. And that the question--"Should I self-publish?"--was going to be asked by more and more authors going forward. And that, over time, more and more of them were going to be answering the question, "Yes."
This is exactly what’s happening now. I’m not the first example, though I might be a noteworthy one because of the numbers I’m walking away from. But there will be others, more and more of them. ------------
The new world of indie and self-publishing seems visual, contextual, experiential, interactive. Part of the reader’s experience is online interaction revolving around specific books; and typos can be fixed, books can be reedited and republished, even book covers for any specific book can be changed and uploaded in minutes. Readers can influence an author to make such changes in their books. Books are malleable and much more of an interactive experience today.
I'd like to address the idea that Amanda Hocking's book is mediocre.
Absolutely not.
I'll admit I'm not done with it yet.
But it is NOT mediocre.
So far, I think could have used abit of editing. She tends to rush occasionally.
But, Amanda Hocking has IT. I don't know what IT is, but as someone who reads YA romance, I can tell you that she has IT. She has the exact same thing that Stephanie Meyers or Suzanne Collins has.
Whatever it takes to make a successful commercial writer, she has it. As a reader, I recognize it.
People who say it is mediocre must not like the genre.
Amanda Hocking would have eventually been found even if she hadn't promoted. Even if her book wasn't 99 cents.
She has IT.
Some people have a talent to write literary fiction. Some can write picture books. Some write poetry. Most of those will not sell big. They may win awards, though. It's just a different talent.
Amanda Hocking can write YA commercial fiction. And that is the reason she sold big.
Dang! PhatPuppy Art is incredible -- I'd probably be swayed to buy an eBook just based on one of their covers alone. I have a manuscript I'm not too wild about languishing on my hard drive. Sort of makes me wonder if I should dust it off, purchase one of these covers and run with it under pen name. Thanks for the information!
I know exactly what you mean! I fell in love with the artwork at Phatpuppy Art. It's so beautiful, I had the artwork dancing around in my head after looking at one picture after another for hours. It's very special.
Lucy said, on 3/26/2011 10:10:00 PM
Ok, that was an awesomely fun video--and I love Mr. Rogers. Thanks, Nathan!
Crayons....love it. Every bit as good as potatoe chips.
Great links, as always, Nathan. Jane's blog about proper manners in author/agent relations surprised me a little because rude is just plain rude and not acceptable in any professional arrangement.
The attitudes she described are WHY some authors SHOULD go self-publish, do it their way--right or wrong.
Seeking traditional publishing helps authors profect their talent, learn the craft, and learn manners for success (even jumping through those blazing hoops).
If an person is hungry, if they need a job to survive, they wouldn't be rude to those with the power to hire them. Query letters are a type of resume and should include respect and cooperation.
Respect is a two-way street between agent and author, but one thing a lot of authors forget is the same two-way street between agent and publisher/editor. If authors look beyond their own little world or magical words and consider what agents must endure with publishers and editors....the road would be a lot less bumpy for all traveling down it.
Thanks again for another wonderfully linky blog.
Lucy
Anonymous said, on 3/27/2011 4:44:00 PM
"Amanda Hocking would have eventually been found even if she hadn't promoted. Even if her book wasn't 99 cents."
I tend to agree with this. And I know she has been around for a while and writing for a long time, so this isn't exactly an overnight success story. She's worked hard.
I just hope she knows what she's doing with this St. Martin's contract. I know it's what all writers dream about. But she's already proven herself, and she's done it on her own terms without having to answer to anyone. Now she'll have to deal with what the publishers want. And I can tell you from experience they always want something. When they offer a contract that large, they are buying you and your work. And when they want something they aren't shy about asking for it.
I hope all works out well for her, and she loves working with a publisher instead of being in control of all her own work. But after working with publishers for many years and getting screwed over (often with a smile) I would have continued self-publishing my work after building such a large readership.
Unfortunately, her decision to go with St. Martin's Press, suggests innocence. But I have a feeling she's going to be very surprised when they start telling her she can do this and can't do that.
Great article on Borders' closing. I loved that detail at the end: than when they did a study on the economic implications of losing a local indie to a big chain, Borders got the shaft. Very interesting.
BTW, I only saw one comment of the week listed, unless I missed something...
Phoenix said: "I have to say the reasons given are no different than all the reasons other corporate employees in other industries have given for not relocating or for offshoring."
-->Which was more or less precisely my point. And yet all sorts of businesses continue to maintain offices in New York and Boston (which has a higher cost of living, thank you), and London, and Tokyo, and, and, and...
Big publishing remains clumped in NYC because there's no reason--at the corporate level--not to.
Smaller publishers are typically located in less expensive parts of the country. When they get large, often a NYC publisher buys them out and consolidates all the work to the existing infrastructure in NY. Funny how that happens.
I would be thrilled to see a smaller publisher grow and not sell out, and instead become a large publisher wherever they happen to be. That's how big publishing will move out of New York.
Next week is WONDERBAR publication week and I'll be kicking off on Monday with a giveaway of some kind! And don't forget, if you're in the Bay Area next Friday please join me for the WONDERBAR launch party at Books Inc., Opera Plaza at 7pm. Here's the invite, hope to see you there.
Fun fun!
Meanwhile, I caught a few links this week and here they be.
I've long said that the idea that there's no such thing as being "just an author," and the New York Times has a great roundup of some author-as-self-promoting-brands of yore, including Herodutus paying for his own book tour in 440 BC. Self-promotion is as old as writing.
Agent Kristin Nelson has a great post on the art of the blurb request and how to go about that delicate task.
And Amanda Hocking has announced another deal with St. Martin's for her previously published Trylle Trilogy. This will be interesting to track as she acknowledges that the e-book prices will be going up from where they are now, but they'll probably still be lower than regular e-book prices.
Hey, I think the Top 10 Romance profession link is meant to be this one: http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/10-most-popular-professions-for-romance-novel-heroes_b28447
"I'm shocked SHOCKED that Social Media Manager didn't make the list."
Given the the research methods of Ogas are less-than-scientific (http://dearauthor.com/features/industry-news/monday-midday-links-4/), I really wouldn't be too shocked.
I imagine Social Media Manager is at least in the top five. :)
I think that's Maru in the tumblr feed. :) A scottish fold which belongs to a Japanese girl who posts funny videos of him on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_AbfPXTKms ... Maru also has a blog, two books and a DVD out. http://sisinmaru.blog17.fc2.com/ :)
I enjoyed reading your "How I Write" series this week. It was very enlightening.
I personally enjoyed your post on why you chose to go with a traditional publisher.
I am looking forward to having my copy of Jacob Wonderbar in my hands next week. I wish you luck with it.
Beth said, on 5/6/2011 10:57:00 AM
Hmmm. My hero: museum curator. Didn't make the list.
On another note, Karl Lagerfeld (director at Chanel and Fendi) is launching a new fragrance that smells like...books. I guess you can spray it on your Kindle for that warm and fuzzy feeling.
Wow, the ads on the Kindle are not as intrusive as I would have expected; I was expecting them to be visible while reading as well. If I didn't already have one, I'd probably still spring for the $139 model, but this is good to know for some of my friends who are considering purchasing e-readers.
And yes, that cat's face says it all! (Although I wish my cat would look that happy when I'm brushing him...although he does get that face when he's sleepy and cuddly. And now I sound like a cat person, even though I do prefer dogs.)
And don't worry, I'm sure social media managers as romance heroes is the next big trend. And it will have more longevity than vampires, and possibly even space monkeys.
Sommer rules! (Bryan, too, of course) I love cats! (awwww) I don't read romance, but if I did, I think I'd want the man to be Professor That Wears Corduroy Jackets. Boss? Just generic "boss"? Like a boss... I have ordered Jacob Wonderbar and am very excited to dig into it with my seven year old daughter,
I'm very excited and pleased and honored and overwhelmed and nervous but mostly excited by my new adventure. I am ready to do battle with spambots. *pats trusty raygun*
B. I realize that I am a little lazy about some stuff. But can someone explain Tumblr to me? I...don't get it. Do I need to? Am I going to have to Tumbl? I totally love Tweeting, so maybe I'd adapt to Tumbling, if I must...
I noticed on that list of job types for those romantic guys, several ones are left out: the intellectual thinker, the writer, and the musician. (and did you ever notice that most of those occupations require a 'costume' of some type?) e.g., cowboy, doctor, king, knight. .) Say no more.
I think you could extend the occupation 'boss' to mean Bruce Springsteen. He'd do fine as a romance type. And there are appealing bosses, but that's a sticky wicket to deal with. I think I've said enough.
Sommer is a great pick to co-sheriff with Bryan, but are we getting rowdy in the forums that we need two? Or does Bryan want a holiday?
Nathan, thanks for this week of sharing your writing process. This Yoda fan thanks you very much, she does.
Fabulous week of Post's (is post a proper noun? i've seen it used in lower and upper). You should write about your own (successful) writing more often.
OMG, Tahereh's picture is amazing. That's what I want my life to feel like. ALL THE TIME.
This was a wonderful week, Nathan. I loved, loved, loved learning more about you.
And not only that, but there's next week to look forward to! Yay! Not only on the blog, with a giveaway, but a certain book will be released that I have very much been looking forward to reading. Yay!
I so wish I could come to the party, but I actually have a meeting for school. On a FRIDAY NIGHT. Truth! Proof that school really does sort of suck, if people had any doubt. But I will definitely be there celebrating in spirit.
In terms of romance heros, I occasionally dip into romance reading, and I admit to never seeing Social Media Manager, which is truly a travesty. I have, however, quite often seen a hero who holds the enviable occupation of Writer. So there you go, Nathan.
And Sommer as Sheriff! That is just terrific!! Kudos, Nathan, on choosing someone who will bring wonderful leadership to the forum. And congratulations to Sommer! That is so awesome that you have taken that role on, Sommer. What a great team you have, Nathan.
Okay, back to work. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.
Thank you to Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Arlington Hts., IL, for hosting last night's event. It was a great success! If you would like to schedule a school visit or book signing for any of my books, please drop me an email.
Here I am explaining how a story becomes a book. The original art for the cover of "Champ's Story" is framed and displayed on my table along with copies of the book.
Here I am with local authors Michael Bellito and Jackie Pilossoph, who were also signing their books.
Another shot of the original art and the book cover.
1 Comments on Champ's Story book signing!, last added: 5/26/2011
I'm taking an 8 week Writer's Workshop through McDaniel College. I'm learning so much about receiving and giving critiques. It's amazing how I can read something a hundred times and still not see something that my classmates have point out.
Our instructor is the fabulous Jill Santopolo who is an author and and editor for Philomel.
On the SCBWI front, the Central and Southern Ohio is planning a fundraising Bookfair at Barnes & Noble on Saturday, June 25th from 11:00-4:00. Hope to see you there.
Thank you for the updates. You posted such a fantastic clandestine shot of New Your. Love it.
I was hoping you were going to say Atari was coming out with a device that let you enjoy stories on your television. Er ... wait.
That was an awesome interview.
Yeah, the interview was great :). And so was the article about the different paths to success. I remember reading about Ben Fountain's long road to success in Poets & Writers. Pretty amazing, especially his wife.
Barnes & Noble got a long-needed thumping. Some of the executive arrogance was gone from the financial report and the conference call.
In particular, they seem to have learned that when someone is thinking about buying a tablet, the name B&N doesn't spring to mind. That should've been obvious, but I guess it wasn't.
They still don't seem inclined to listen to their customers, though. The executives clearly know better what their customers want than the customers themselves do.
Their BN.com operation continues to lose them money after more than fifteen years, but all they had to say about that was "we're repositioning [it]." I don't know what that means. Are they going to clean up the user reviews? Are they going to start moderating their forums? Are they going to have people updating the site on weekends, so that Amazon doesn't get a 2-day jump on new titles and reduced prices?
B&N execs don't seem to grasp just how infuriating the Philippine customer disservice operation they've used for the past couple of years is. Nothing at all was said in the financial reports or the conference call about this matter.
B&N is a long way from financial collapse, but they've been bankrupt in customer-orientation for a long time. I don't know if the B&N execs don't notice, or if they just don't care.
Loved the Gladwell article, particularly since I have a Ben Fountain novel sitting on my top To Be Read Shelf.
I have never understood B&N's move away from stocking their store with actual, you know, BOOKS. Especially with Borders gone, they had a chance to increase their power as a place to go browse, read, and hang out.
Instead they took up prime retail space selling e-readers. (If I wanted to read online, I'd be home in my pajamas reading online; I wouldn't have come all the way out to the store!) Instead they started carrying fewer books, stocking their stores with random junk you don't go to a bookstore to buy.
If they want to prepare for a movement of the market away from print books, they should work on their cafe space. Make it even more friendly as a place to plug in, read, write, meet friends. The cafes are already there, and they provide an experience that shopping online at home doesn't.
I loved the albums-to-books post! Thanks for the link. :)
Being sued for 'breathtaking amounts' because a publishing company has supposedly conspired to raise the cost of ebooks sounds a bit insane to me. I mean, surely, companies can charge whatever they want for their own product? Could this whole thing be a kind of money-grab by a Government Dept?
Thanks for the very interesting links, Nathan :)
However, on second thoughts, I suppose the charge refers to the major companies supposedly making an agreement whereby they're not going to undercut each other on a certain price for a certain product - ebooks. Again, I don't see a problem, really, especially as independent publishers and self-publishers could then gain an advantage by charging much smaller amounts for their ebooks. I imagine that indies and self-publishers would have a harder time making sales, so being able to undercut the big boys would help the aforementioned find their own niche in the market.
Folk who would rather pay less for ebooks might have a case for being disgruntled, but then we'd all rather pay less for everything not just ebooks. And with larger companies more people need a slice of the pie, so it makes sense that their products would cost more than those of someone doing it alone or with only a few people involved.
I don't know how you keep up with all the changes. I rely on you to find the news. Thanks for doing the hard work that only requires me following links!
Hi Nathan! Thank you so very much for taking the time to do this. It is always very helpful!
Rebecca
Cool picture!
And great links, so many of them, thank you! :)
I thought the story about how the bookseller went and bought books at Target was pretty funny. You can't even chalk that up to Publishing practices - that's more about bureaucracy, and how crazy it gets! :)
On the other hand, it's noticeable that when all the stories about sock puppet reviews were going around, there were letters of protest, and much gnashing of teeth and pointing of fingers. But authors talking about buying their way onto bestsellers lists - with the blessing and guidance of their publishers? Where's the hair pulling and the accusations and the righteousness about that?
Seems like a double standard.
Although, on a - not a double standard note - I wish they would stop giving Barnes and Noble a hard time. Seems like there's an article every few hours about how Barnes and Noble is messing up. I wish they would leave Barnes and Noble alone for awhile, ease up on the pressure and let them think.
The records as book covers were pretty funny.
And I liked your interview, although I'm holding out for the 'elephant in the room' or maybe the 'middle-aged' Mick. :)
Oh, I wanted to respond to Wendy.
@Wendy - I'm not an expert, but from my understanding, no, this wasn't a money grab.
What the Publishers did was white collar crime. It was a felony that could have meant not only heavy fines, but jail time. The reason the penalties are so stiff is to discourage corporations from doing this. They can make ALOT of money through anti-trust actions (which is what this was), so the penalites have to be even higher to make it a very unappealing option if they get caught.
Five Publishers were sued not for raising prices, but for getting together to control the market. They all cut a deal with Apple, and then forced Amazon to take the same deal.
Coporations are not supposed to:
a. Get together and agree on a policy.
b. Force a less preferred retailer (Amazon) to accept it.
This is about competition. Business are supposed to be in competition with one another, they are not supposed to get together to try to control the marketplace, and hurt one retailer over another.
The point of this is to protect the free marketplace. If we didn't have anti-trust laws, we'd probably have one big corporation that controlled everything as it amassed all the wealth. It would be a corporate dictatorship, and no, I'm not exaggerating. This is why a free and competitive marketplace is such a big deal. Competition is supposed to help protect the consumer against corporate greed.
What the Publishers did cost Amazon money, and it cost the consumers money, too. Several States have successfully sued to get the consumers their money back. But the real issue is the llegal collusion.
I hope that all made sense, like I said, I'm not an expert. You could google 'anti-trust' law and get alot more information.
One of the best feeling in the world is when you're hugging the person you love, and they hug you back even tighter.
You know, I saw those Calvin and Hobbes photos and I'm not sorry for the guy. There was absolutely no credit given to Bill Watterson on the post I saw. I realize that doesn't mitigate copyright issues, but it struck me as incredibly rude.
Thank you for the updates, Nathan! I just read your old post discussing the idea that bookstores may go the way of the old record stores. I totally agree with you.
We had a lovely little independent bookstore downtown in my New England suburb. Back in October of 2007, Borders opened up a huge store in a newly built shopping plaza about a three-minute drive from downtown. The indie store survived for a little while longer, but eventually most everyone started shopping at Borders instead. It was a sad day when the indie store went out, but I couldn't really blame anyone for choosing the corporate giant, with all the advantages it offered.
Then, almost two years ago, I saw the standard email from the CEO of Borders announcing the closing of the business. I actually wrote an open letter response outlining what I believe to be the formula for success when it comes to brick and mortar bookstores. They have to give the consumer something an online store simply cannot, in the form of face-to-face interaction.
Amazon has many great forums, but it's not the same as getting together with a group of people in person and passionately discussing a book you've all read. The immediate back-and-forth dialogue, the constant interruption of each other because you wholeheartedly agree or passionately disagree.
You must create a place where local authors come and speak, and university professors offer lectures, a place where people get to know their neighbors over a cup of coffee and some lively discussion. You have to build a literary community center...that also sells books.
Sorry for the long comment—I’m really passionate about this subject!