Smashwords reported via their blog that their sales rose by a third last year, to $20 million. Revenues rose less than title volume, which grew 45 percent. eBook data deniers should take careful note, including founder Mark Coker’s warning to authors that “2014 could be the first year where ebook sales, measured in dollars, decrease.” It’s a great business to build from scratch but still very modest in scale. While Smashwords added about 86,000 new titles in 2013, Amazon said recently that “more than 200,000 exclusive books were added to the Kindle store in 2013.” Amazon-owned Goodreads posted their own […]
Archives for January 2014
People, Etc.
Novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard, 90, “who is said to have sparked a love of literature in her stepson Martin Amis,” has died at home following a short illness. Martin, son of her third husband Kingsley Amis, called her “the most interesting woman writer of her generation.” Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, age 70, “accidentally fell at his home in Washington State Wednesday evening and fractured his first vertebrae.” His book DUTY: Memoirs of a Secretary at War publishes January 14, and “he will be promoting [it] wearing a neck brace.” Byliner editor at larger Will Blythe “was fired the […]
Kensington Acquires Digital Publisher Lyrical Press
Kensington has acquired digital publisher Lyrical Press, which has published more than 250 romance, YA, and other genre titles. They will operate it as a digital-first imprint under the oversight of Adam Zacharius, Kensington’s director of special projects and alternative media. Lyrical Press founder Renee Rocco will remain with the imprint as managing director. All books published by the imprint will be DRM-free, with print-on-demand editions available for titles that exceed 60,000 words. Kensington ceo Steven Zacharius said in the announcement that he had been looking to acquire “a digital imprint that works efficiently like a small independent press.” He […]
January Books of the Month; February Indie Next Picks
Amazon agrees that THE INVENTION OF WINGS by Sue Monk Kidd, already featured by Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 and the No. 1 Indie Next January pick, is the book of the month for January. The retailer’s full list of choices also features: The Kept, James Scott Andrew’s Brain, E. L. Doctorow Windfall, McKenzie Funk On Such a Full Sea, Chang-Rae Lee The Wind Is Not a River, Brian Payton Radiance of Tomorrow, Ishmael Beah Before I Burn, Gaute Heivol and Don Bartlett Ping-Pong Diplomacy, Nicholas Griffin Apple Tree Yard, Louise Doughty Hollow City, Ransom Riggs Separately, the Costco Pennie’s Pick for […]
People, Etc.
At Start Publishing, Meghan Kilduff has been promoted to associate publisher for the Salvo Press, Night Shade Books, Start Classics and Start Science Fiction imprints. In addition, Natalie Pao has been named production associate for ebooks. Kate DiCamillo has been named the Library of Congress’ next National Ambassador to Young People’s Literature, succeeding Walter Dean Myers, who was appointed in 2012. DiCamillo will spend the next two years traveling (including required appearances at the National Book Festival and Children’s Book Week) and told the NYT: “It wasn’t until my fifth or sixth book where I realized I’m trying to do […]
Harper UK Discloses Sales
Harper UK filed their annual report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013 with Companies House. Reports from the UK miss the larger context, which is that the parent company reported results for the same period months ago in the US. What’s useful, then, is disclosure of the division’s share of the publisher’s sales. Harper had full-year sales of $1.369 billion and EBITDA of $142 million. Harper UK reported sales of £190.6 million (up £8 million), as pre-tax profit fell to £2.8 million from £8.3 million. At June 30, 2013 conversion rates, Harper UK’s sales were about $290 million. (The UK market […]