One of the top issues plaguing authors and publishers alike is book discovery. Everything from a glut of content to a lack of understanding of metadata has been blamed for lagging sales and author anonymity. But one organization representing a branch of publishing that has always been at the forefront of digital publishing innovation has announced a product that stands to … [Read more...] about RWA’s Novel Engagement App Solves Book Discovery Issue
Bookselling News
Goodreads’ Otis Chandler on Book Discovery
Goodreads has had an interesting journey, but according to Otis Chandler, that journey was driven by the innate ability of social media. Likening the service to that bookshelf we all have that contains our favorite books, he addressed how readers discover new titles through their connections.Goodreads has done a tremendous amount of innovation in the last few years. From … [Read more...] about Goodreads’ Otis Chandler on Book Discovery
IDPF: Publishing Outside the Big Five
In a panel moderated by Porter Anderson of Publishing Perspectives, the IDPF stage hosted a cluster of professionals who are making tremendous advancements and innovations in the industry, but are in the world between major traditional publishing houses and self-publishing. Some of these so-called independent publishers, not to be confused with the current concept of indie … [Read more...] about IDPF: Publishing Outside the Big Five
Digital vs Print: What Is The Future of Reading?
Bestselling and Pulitzer-nominated author Nichoals Carr kicked off this year's IDPF Digital Book conference with a keynote presentation on the future of reading. This is a topic that has headlined presentations since the digital revolution began, but interestingly, we still don't have the full picture of what reading will look like in even one year, let alone ten, fifty, or one … [Read more...] about Digital vs Print: What Is The Future of Reading?
Coker: Publishers Are Disposable to Amazon
Smashwords' CEO and founder Mark Coker has written an in-depth look at the battle raging between Amazon and one of the Big Five publishers, Hachette Book Group. The battle over contract terms has seen Amazon raise the price of Hachette titles while directly offering consumers a cheaper alternative title, the out-of-stock notices that inform readers they'll have to wait an … [Read more...] about Coker: Publishers Are Disposable to Amazon
New Author Earnings Report Examines Revenue of Startup Authors
Self-published author and indie author advocate Hugh Howey turned the publishing industry on its head, not with his beat-the-odds success story that made him a household name, but for his willingness to throw open the vault of secrecy surrounding what authors of every ilk actually earn. Considered a taboo subject to the point that discussing exact book sales actually violates … [Read more...] about New Author Earnings Report Examines Revenue of Startup Authors
BookCon Aims to Connect Readers Directly with Publishers
The publishing industry has put forth a focused effort in the last few years to try to engage directly with readers in order to not have to rely on major retailers to sell their content. So far, those efforts have lagged, largely due to the effort already involved in book discovery. Finding great new reads is already a chore for consumers, but efforts such as having publisher … [Read more...] about BookCon Aims to Connect Readers Directly with Publishers
Amazon, Hachette Battle Continues as Pre-Order Buttons Are Removed
First publishers hate Amazon, then they want legal action to require them to sell books? That's the sentiment from bestselling author James Patterson, who's bemoaning his lost income now that Amazon has taken down the pre-order buttons on a number of Hachette Book Group's upcoming titles, as well as imposed lengthy shipping delays on titles from the publisher until they come to … [Read more...] about Amazon, Hachette Battle Continues as Pre-Order Buttons Are Removed
Publishing Startups Unveiled for Book Expo America
Book Expo America is doing something different this year and is putting the emphasis on young publishing startups. Last year they co-sponsored a hackathon that happened at the Alley in New York. This year, everything is happening right in the convention hall. As the publishing industry evolves to embrace the digital revolution, BEA is becoming a space where companies merging … [Read more...] about Publishing Startups Unveiled for Book Expo America
BitLit, Kobo Founder Raise Seed Funding for Print-to-eBook App
eBooks suffered the same initial criticism that happens whenever a new movie format is launched: do I have to buy all of my favorite books over again, just to enjoy them in digital? Thanks to BitLit and its latest round of funding, that answer is no.BitLit bundles ebooks and print by having readers "prove" they own the print edition. Users simply write their names on the … [Read more...] about BitLit, Kobo Founder Raise Seed Funding for Print-to-eBook App
Self-e Plans to Curate Self-Published Titles for Library Inclusion
With exciting new announcements like the one this week from Smashwords, who's now partnered with OverDrive to add an additional 200,000 self-published titles to the 22,000 partner libraries' ebook catalogs, one concern does come up: who will read and approve of all of those titles? While self-published books have always had a bad reputation for low quality, even the fact that … [Read more...] about Self-e Plans to Curate Self-Published Titles for Library Inclusion
Is Flipkart Poised to Become the New Amazon?
People who've made a study of the rise of Amazon's retail empire can attest to the fact that in the early days of introductory meetings, publishers loved Jeff Bezos. He offered them a new opportunity to sell what they thought would only be their print books, at would only be their established prices. But with the growth in product content Amazon was able to sell, the prices … [Read more...] about Is Flipkart Poised to Become the New Amazon?
Amazon’s One-Sitting Short Reads Meets Need for Fast Fiction
A number of platforms have offered great content in a short essay, long-form journalism environment, but it has typically been informative, expository non-fiction pieces. But news came out this week about a quiet launch from Amazon that will offer short works of fiction to be consumed in one-sitting, as the site is referring to it. Amazon's Short Reads, which features short … [Read more...] about Amazon’s One-Sitting Short Reads Meets Need for Fast Fiction
Amazon Compiles Bestsellers, Most Well-Read Cities Lists
As big data works its way into the publishing industry mindset, information gathered from online retailers can provide an insightful peek at what's happening in the world of bookselling. Amazon's editors have once again compiled comprehensive lists based on sales data, figures which have helped translate that information into rankings by not only bestselling titles but also … [Read more...] about Amazon Compiles Bestsellers, Most Well-Read Cities Lists