Simon & Schuster is Up For Sale
It looks like the Big Five is about to become the Not-So-Big-Four. Variety reports that ViacomCBS (or whatever they are calling themselves today) is considering a...Continue reading
Category: Publishing
The Authors Guild Rehashes Bogus Author Income Survey as a “New” Report
Earlier this week The Publishers Authors Guild released a report that "explores the factors leading to the decline in the writing profession. Alas, this report is...Continue reading
Penguin Random House Pulls eBooks and Audiobooks From Netflix-Style Subscription Access Services
PRH is backing out of its contracts with ebook and audiobook subscription services. Last week they pulled their ebooks from several Europe-based Kindle Unlimited competitors, and...Continue reading
Publishers Object to Losing the Ability to Profit From Publishing Papers They Didn’t Pay For (And Research They Didn’t Fund)
I don't say this enough but one of the problems in academic publishing is how journal publishers are exploiting the academic "publish or perish" imperative to...Continue reading
Say Good-Bye to the Ten-Digit ISBN
The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) announced last week that newly purchased ISBNs sold through Bowker will soon be sporting a 979 prefix. Bowker's John Purcell...Continue reading
Ten Tips for Authors Going to Their First Book Fair (updated)
Book fairs and other local events can be a great way for authors to connect with readers and make new fans. They are immensely valuable, but...Continue reading
Kobo and FNAC Partner to Launch a POD Service
Earlier this month Kobo partnered with the French retailer Fnac to offer a print-on-demand service through Bookelis. Authors who have their books in Kobo Writing Life can...Continue reading
KDP Print Expands to Canada
Amazon's POD service has expanded into the land of moose and snow. The retailer announced in the KDP support forums last week that KDP Print could...Continue reading
ISBN Registrations Jump 40% After Createspace is Merged Into KDP Print
Bowker, the private company responsible for issuing ISBNs in the US, released its annual report on the number ISBN's sold last year. The data doesn't tell...Continue reading
Why Is It a Big Deal That HarperCollins Puts “Hundreds” if Titles in Kindle Unlimited When They Already Have “Thousands” in Scribd?
The hot publishing news story this week has everyone talking excitedly, but it's left me scratching my head. There's a (paywalled) story over on The Bookseller...Continue reading
Is Anyone Else Not Seeing the New Audiobook Section in Kobo Writing Life?
One of the more interesting news stories last week was Kobo's announcement that Kobo Writing Life now distributed audiobooks (I didn't expect this to happen until...Continue reading
Washington Post Revises a Year’s Worth of Best-Seller Lists, Assures us the Problem Will Not Recur
It has long been acknowledged that getting on a best-seller list has little value to authors; it won't help you sell more books, and is really...Continue reading
Publisher Revenue Up 4.5% Through April 2019, eBook Revenues Down 2.5%
For some reason I do not understand, I have fallen off the AAP's mailing list. Here is a belated report on publisher revenues from the Association...Continue reading
AAP: Publisher Revenue Up 6.7% in First Quarter, eBook Revenue Down 4.5%
The Association of American Publishers the March StatShot Monthly report which includes data for the first three months of 2019 on Monday. Among the highlights: Overall...Continue reading
PRH Buys Half of F+W Media At Auction, Including Half of Writer’s Digest
Do you know that story in the Bible where Solomon orders a baby cut in half in order to settle a dispute about who was the...Continue reading