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Writers and Editors (RSS feed)

Self-publishing trailblazer Amanda Hocking shifts gears


Young Amanda Hocking's digitally self-published young-adult paranormal novels have sold a million copies online, making her rich at $2.99 and 99 cents a copy (some of which Amazon.com collects). So why is she about to sign a deal with St. Martin's Press?

"Hocking credits her success to aggressive self-promotion on her blog, Facebook and Twitter, word of mouth and writing in a popular  Read More 
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Can negative book reviews help sales?


The effect of negative reviews on books by well-known authors is a 15% decrease in sales, writes Nathan Ihara Is All Publicity Good Publicity? (MobyLives 3-16-11), reporting on a new study by the journal Marketing Science (PDF). “For books by relatively unknown (new) authors, however,  Read More 
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NYC judge rejects Google book settlement

After prolonged discussions of various positions (pro and con) on the Google book settlement, we have a decision. From his New York court, Judge Denny Chin has rejected the settlement, as going too far. The court concluded that the $125 million deal would allow Google (already a virtual monopoly) to "exploit" books without the permission  Read More 
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Librarians feel gobsmacked by HarperCollins restriction on e-book loans

HarperCollins' policy to restrict e-book use in libraries (to 26 loans per e-book) has many librarians set to boycott HarperCollins e-books, reports the NY Times As Library E-Books Live Long, Publisher Sets Expiration Date (Julie Bosman, 3-14-11). Some librarians welcome the  Read More 
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Will the e-book revolution have the same effect the paperback revolution did?

I was fascinated by Mike Shatzkin's March 13 blog post on The Shatzkin Files, Ebooks are making me recall the history of mass-market publishing, a history of how the mass-market paperback revolution changed book publishing, comparing  Read More 
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Nathan Bransford explains the e-book price wars

In his piece on Why Some E-Books Cost More Than the Hardcover, former agent Nathan Bransford provides an excellent history and explanation of the price wars publishers are fighting with the online gorilla, Amazon, to preserve the value of e-books and level the playing field, so that brick and  Read More 
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Should I work for free?

Still smiling about designer Jessica Hische's amusing and all-too-realistic pieces of graphic humor:
Should I work for free?
Invoice for ruining my day
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Margaret Atwood on The Publishing Pie

If you catch nothing else from the fascinating O'Reilly Tools of Change conference 2011, listen to this keynote address: Margaret Atwood on The Publishing Pie: An Author's View (on YouTube). This annual conferences explores emerging trends in digital  Read More 
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