Major online bookstores and e-book subscription sites often have to walk a fine line between a large library and quality content. There is something very alluring about establishing partnerships with self-publishing services such as Draft2digital and Smashwords. They both have over 225,000 titles combined and can instantly make a startup very relevant in terms an overall … [Read more...] about Scribd Starts to Banish Indie Authors from its Catalog
Digital Publishing News
Millennials are the New Hot Segment in Publishing
The entire publishing industry has been zeroing in on the hottest new segment, millennials. A new gold rush is currently underway to sign up superstar YouTube celebrities who have built a ravenous community that will likely buy anything they write.The term millennials often refers to anyone born after the turn of the century and are between the 16 and 24. This demographic … [Read more...] about Millennials are the New Hot Segment in Publishing
Amazon has become the next Great Library of Alexandria
The Great Library of Alexandria would be the subject of an epic Hollywood movie. It was the grandest institution of learning in the ancient world and comprised of 700,000 scrolls, the equivalent of more than 100,000 modern printed books. When it famously burned down, its destruction has become a symbol for the loss of cultural knowledge. It took thousands of years but we now … [Read more...] about Amazon has become the next Great Library of Alexandria
News Websites and Blogs Under Fire by Mobile
Google has announced that for the first time ever more people are using mobile as a way to read the news and services such as Facebook and Twitter. This is putting dedicated blogs and news websites in a very difficult position as they are unable to properly monetize their platforms.Online advertising revenues are falling as smartphone users, who spend half of the time … [Read more...] about News Websites and Blogs Under Fire by Mobile
Penguin Random House Now Selling Books on Twitter
Penguin Random House is a launch partner for a new initiative by Twitter to turn the social media platform into a shopping experience.When you click on book related branding by Penguin Random House, such as a Tweet about a latest bestseller it will take you to a dedicated product page within Twitter. You can then check out tweets by other others talking about the book and … [Read more...] about Penguin Random House Now Selling Books on Twitter
Erotic e-Books can Only be sold After 10 PM in Germany
The German Publishers & Booksellers Association have mandated that all e-books that aimed at adult audiences cannot be sold until after 10 PM. This includes romance, erotica and any e-book whose metadata classifies it as not being suitable for minors.How do you classify an e-book as being exclusively for adults? There is a new data entry field for publishers or … [Read more...] about Erotic e-Books can Only be sold After 10 PM in Germany
Does Anyone Care About Amazon Publishing Contracts?
Amazon has now signed deals with all five of the worlds largest publishing companies to continue to sell print and e-books in the United States and United Kingdom. Does the average person really care about this sort of news even though mainstream news media all report on it?Yesterday, Amazon signed off on a new agreement with Penguin Random House, the largest publishing … [Read more...] about Does Anyone Care About Amazon Publishing Contracts?
Smashwords New Preorder System is Great for Authors
Smashwords has unveiled a bold new feature that will allow authors to start taking pre-orders without the need to upload a final manuscript or e-book cover art. This is a boon because an author can start earning money right away and help finance the actual writing.Two years ago Smashwords initiated the first stage of their pre-order system, but it required authors to … [Read more...] about Smashwords New Preorder System is Great for Authors
Linkedin Pulse Gets Totally Redesigned and It’s Horrible
The Pulse Reader app from Linkedin is one of the most popular e-reading apps out there. It allows you to quickly add in your favorite news websites and easily check out the top stories. The major selling point was being able to create dedicated pages where you can establish genres. So you could have a page devoted to tech news, another gaming news and quickly switch between all … [Read more...] about Linkedin Pulse Gets Totally Redesigned and It’s Horrible
Amazon Changes the Structure of KDP Select
Amazon has just announced sweeping changes to their Kindle Direct Publishing Select program. Under this new model, the amount an author earns will be determined by their share of total pages read rather than their share of total qualified borrows.Here are a few examples illustrating how the fund will be paid out. For simplicity, assume the fund is $10M and that 100,000,000 … [Read more...] about Amazon Changes the Structure of KDP Select
If You Use This Book Opening, You Will Never Be Published
There are certain beginnings of books that are the kiss of death in the publishing industry and I am not talking about 'its a dark and stormy night.' If you are an aspiring author or even one who has written a few books, there is one beginning that you should never use, if you have any hopes about landing a publishing deal.Many agents and publishers have admitted that … [Read more...] about If You Use This Book Opening, You Will Never Be Published
How to Submit Your Website to Apple News Publisher
Apple is getting into the news business and is hoping to disrupt established players such as Flipboard, Buzzfeed and Linkedin Pulse. Apple News is coming out this fall and will be loaded on all iOS 9 devices by default. How exactly do established news websites get their content onto Apple News?Apple News will pay developers 70% of all revenue that their publications … [Read more...] about How to Submit Your Website to Apple News Publisher
Who Needs a Publishing Slush Pile When There’s YouTube?
Once upon a time, the process of landing a book deal started with mailing sample pages of your manuscript to literary agents, hoping one of them liked your writing enough to be willing to represent you. When everything shifted to computers, that process didn't change much (except now you email those pages). For clarification, perhaps it should be said that for most authors that … [Read more...] about Who Needs a Publishing Slush Pile When There’s YouTube?