On Thursday afternoon and evening, two groups debated hypothetical declarations about Amazon. The first, “Should Amazon Be Constrained, And Can They Be?,” was interrupted at the beginning with a grammar correction from the audience. The second, “Is Amazon the Reader’s Friend,” required definitions of “reader,” “friend,” and of course, “Amazon.” Both scored equally high on entertainment and irritation value. But such is the way with debates on Amazon: the sugar high is nice. The ensuing crash less so. Both panels were ably moderated, the first by Ken Auletta (who had spoken of his own experiences with that other tech behemoth, Google, in a […]
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DBW Survey Points to Author Dissatisfaction With Traditional and Self-Publishing
Having already offered a sneak peek at some of the results, CUNY professor Dana Beth Weinberg presented some additional data and analysis of the Digital Book World and Writer’s Digest author survey, which focused on the advantages and disadvantages of traditional publishing and self-publishing. While the survey pointed to some obvious conclusions — namely that “authors in general do not seem overly pleased with their publishing experiences, whether with traditional publishing or self-publishing — it offered up some interesting data points about preference, such as 24.1 percent of traditionally published surveyed authors being “very satisfied” with the pricing of their […]
Buzz Books 2013 International List
BUZZ BOOKS 2013 will also be released in an international edition for non-U.S. distribution only, and includes excerpts from these 17 titles: Part One: Fiction Adam Langer, The Salinger Contract (Open Road Media) Peter Gethers, Ask Bob (Henry Holt) Dianne Dixon, Book of Someday (Sourcebooks Landmark) Nicola Griffith, Hild (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Joshilyn Jackson, Someone Else’s Love Story (William Morrow) Deborah McKinlay, That Part Was True (Grand Central Publishing) Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea (Riverhead) Kim Stanley Robinson, Shaman (Orbit) Part Two: Debut Fiction James Thomson, Lies You Wanted to Hear (Sourcebooks Landmark) Part Three: Nonfiction Larry […]
Buzz Books 2013: Fall/Winter Titles
BUZZ BOOKS 2013: Fall/Winter includes excerpts from: Part One: Fiction Jonathan Lethem, Dissident Gardens (Random House) Peter Gethers, Ask Bob (Henry Holt) Bob Shacochis, The Woman Who Lost Her Soul (Atlantic Monthly Press) Diane Chamberlain, Necessary Lies (St. Martin’s Press) Carla Norton, Edge Of Normal (Minotaur Books) Pierre Lemaitre, Alex (MacLehose Press) Dianne Dixon, Book of Someday (Sourcebooks Landmark) Chang-rae Lee, On Such a Full Sea (Riverhead) Kim Stanley Robinson, Shaman (Orbit) Wally Lamb, We Are Water (HarperCollins) Amy Tan, The Valley of Amazement (Ecco) James Franco, Actors Anonymous: A Novel (New Harvest) Adam Langer, The Salinger Contract (Open Road Media) […]
Kohn’s Komic Appeal
Here are all seven pages of Bob Kohn’s graphic appeal reply (or just download the PDF).
Harper Starts Selling Discountable eBooks Under New Agreements–At Higher List Prices
At least some new pricing for ebooks is starting in advance of any indication from the court whether an appeal might stay formal imposition of the settlement with the Department of Justice. Spokesperson Erin Crum told Publishers Lunch Monday afternoon, “HarperCollins has reached agreements with our e-retailers that are consistent with the final judgment.” The results of those new agreements–including discounts on at least some ebooks–were reflected during the day on Harper ebooks, first noticed at Amazon and BooksOnBoard.com, which had emailed customers offering 24 percent off Harper ebooks this week as they “welcome[d] back discounts for HarperCollins ebook titles.” […]