When President Obama defeated Mitt Romney to win the 2012 election, ebook innovator Vook had two books standing at the ready. One was entitled Why Obama Lost, and the other was Why Romney Lost. Not very imaginative titles, to be sure, but that wasn't the point. The purpose of the books was to have a product to distribute to readers the moment the election results were in. It … [Read more...] about Want to Win an Election? Write an eBook
Digital Publishing News
Self-Publish Your e-Books in Germany via Tolino
There once was a dream in Germany that local businesses could band together to combat the Amazon threat. The Seattle company controls 75% of the digital book market in the US and 95% in the United Kingdom. Germans did not want a foreign company to have that much clout and the dream was realized.Weltbild, Hugendubel, Bertelsmann Club, Deutsche Telekom and Thalia all formed a … [Read more...] about Self-Publish Your e-Books in Germany via Tolino
Google Starts Innovation Fund for Digital Publishers in Europe
Google has started a digital news initiative in conjunction with eight major newspaper publishers. The aim is to develop new products and services that will gain more eyeballs on their publications.When it comes to search in Europe, Google enjoys a 90% market-share and this is garnering some unwanted attention. The European Union is investigating whether or not Google is … [Read more...] about Google Starts Innovation Fund for Digital Publishers in Europe
The Author Bullying Saga Just Got Real
Authors have existed pretty much since the dawn of the written word and, without a doubt, someone became a critic shortly after that. Unfortunately, whether the opinion of the critic is harsh or complimentary, someone will most likely take issue with it.Author and reviewer "bullying" has taken on a life of its own in the past few years, and it's led to some pretty crazy … [Read more...] about The Author Bullying Saga Just Got Real
Is the Scholastic Storia Streaming e-book Platform Viable?
There has been a sudden influx of e-book subscription services that allow you to read as much as you want, for a low monthly price. Adults have been gravitating towards Entittle, Kindle Unlimited, Oyster and Scribd. When it comes to our kids though, there are scant options, aside from Amazon Freetime Unlimited. Is there room in the market for a major player to target … [Read more...] about Is the Scholastic Storia Streaming e-book Platform Viable?
New Kindle Direct Publishing Dashboard to Help Indie Authors
Amazon is famous for surprising its authors with new features, new offers, and newly revamped designs, all while keeping quiet about it. Past moves have included adding whole new sales territories in foreign countries, and only revealing to authors that their books were available in Mexico, for example, when they found the country listed on their sales dashboards. It's akin to … [Read more...] about New Kindle Direct Publishing Dashboard to Help Indie Authors
Publishers Target e-book Pirates
The International Publishers Association is taking e-book piracy seriously and has started to target websites offering free downloads. A series of websites have been targeted that have a massive collection of pirated content from 16,000 different publishers.The IPA has successfully won a judgement for $37 million dollars against Avaxhome and Avaxsearch which illegally … [Read more...] about Publishers Target e-book Pirates
When Will Publishers Learn? Direct to Consumer Doesn’t Work
We're going to go out on a limb here and make a sweeping prediction, one that hopefully will be ridiculed in fifty years: consumers do not buy books directly from the publisher. Why not? Because in most cases, they don't know who the publisher is. In even more dire news for publishers, consumers also don't care who the publisher is.That truth hasn't stopped Penguin Random … [Read more...] about When Will Publishers Learn? Direct to Consumer Doesn’t Work
Library of Congress Releases Digital Audio of 75 Years of Recordings
When the technological push behind the publishing industry first took off, one of the many great promises about this wave of the literary future was in the ability to record and store great works for all time, protecting our literary history in an indestructible archive. Google's ambitious digitization project has started on that path to preservation, but the initial release … [Read more...] about Library of Congress Releases Digital Audio of 75 Years of Recordings
UK Authors Earn £11,000 per Year
The vast majority of authors in the United Kingdom are not raking in a copious amount of money as originally thought. The average author is only making £11,000 per year more than £5,000 below the income level considered to be a socially acceptable standard of living.The Business of Being an Author: A Survey of Authors Earnings and Contracts was commissioned by the Authors’ … [Read more...] about UK Authors Earn £11,000 per Year
Is the Traditional Publishing Industry Finally Catching Up?
Only a handful of years ago, self-published authors fought for legitimacy and respect while readers, retailers, and the traditional publishing industry scoffed at the notion that anyone would buy a book that hadn't been passed through the infamous "gate." Even with the names of early multi-million selling authors being thrown around, names like Amanda Hocking and Bella Andre, … [Read more...] about Is the Traditional Publishing Industry Finally Catching Up?
Gillian Anderson to Pen New Title, WE
Fans of the old X-Files television show got a much-needed surprise when Fox announced it was bringing back the series. Not only that, instead of a reboot or some futuristic attempt at relaunching the series with younger, hipper actors, the original stars are back and by all accounts, the show will simply pick up where it left off.In the meantime, actress Gillian Anderson, … [Read more...] about Gillian Anderson to Pen New Title, WE
Libraries Opening to Self-Published Authors
There is no question that public libraries are in a difficult position. They're charged with providing valuable technology resources, learning opportunities, and of course, books to their communities while working within the most meager of budgets. As if those budgets weren't already spare enough, libraries are constantly under threat of further cuts, manpower and salary … [Read more...] about Libraries Opening to Self-Published Authors
Off the Page: Age-Appropriate eBooks for Readers with Obstacles
Having been a teacher of at-risk high school students, I'm going to go out on a limb and declare a recent innovation by two teachers from New Zealand to be the most game-changing application of publishing in 2015, if not in the entire age of digital publishing. What's so astounding about their project, Off the Page?Have you ever looked at an illiterate twenty-year-old with … [Read more...] about Off the Page: Age-Appropriate eBooks for Readers with Obstacles