Morning Coffee – 8 June 2020
Here are a few stories to read this Monday morning.
- The Authors Guild is whining again because Google can’t wave a magic wand and make piracy disappear from the internet.
- Someone wrote an 8-bit simulator for the British Library. It reminds me of the games I used to play on my dad’s Compaq luggable.
- Huffington Post delves into how the legacy book publishing industry is struggling during the pandemic.
- Emily Powell, CEO of Powell’s Books, was interviewed by the NYTimes.
- Project Gutenberg has been mistakenly blocked in Italy.
Comments
Gordon Horne June 8, 2020 um 1:05 pm
re: Pirate Sites–It’s a bit disingenuous to talk about the "bewildering variety" of links returned for a "free book" or "download ebook" search without discussing what fraction of those links eventually lead to pirate books and what fraction just lead to false fronts that collect credit card data on the promise of free books. It’s not a 1-to-1 relation of links to sites, either. There are many more links to false fronts than to actual download sites. The scammers cast a wide net. Actual pirate sites keep a lower profile. (With one notable exception.)
It also glosses over that someone searching for "free book" is not a likely customer for the paid product in any case and cannot in good faith be counted as a lost sale.
Either the Authors Guild is fundamentally ignorant about the technical and social issues involved, or they are counting on the legislators being so.
Anna Castle June 8, 2020 um 7:16 pm
It’s fun to read that HuffPost piece about the tragic loss of book tours for new authors right after reading KKR’s blog post about how fragile the traditional publishing marketing model is is.
https://kriswrites.com/2020/06/03/business-musings-book-promotion-2020/
Very different perspectives! So glad I never had to a tour.
Nate Hoffelder June 8, 2020 um 7:56 pm
thanks! (I am running behind on reading her blog)