Shelfari launched in 2006, a few years before the big e-book boom. Amazon was an early investor in the company and then bought it outright in 2008. The website allows users to build virtual bookshelves of the titles they own or have read, and can rate, review, tag, and discuss their books. Users can also create groups that other members may join, create discussions, and talk … [Read more...] about Amazon is Shutting Down Shelfari
Digital Publishing News
Penthouse Magazine Suspending Print Edition – Focusing on Digital
Penthouse Magazine has not been profitable since 2008 and the publication has announced they are suspending their print edition. They are instead focusing on their web and mobile products. Last year Playboy announced that they were not longer featuring nudity in their magazines and instead are hoping to appeal to the mainstream audience. They reasoned at the time that … [Read more...] about Penthouse Magazine Suspending Print Edition – Focusing on Digital
The e-Reader Industry Needs to Address e-book Content Errors
Major publishers collectively sold 250 million e-books in 2015 and a significant number of titles fail in the quality and control department. Some e-books have spelling mistakes and others have formatting issues. Unfortunately Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Google are not doing enough to empower users with the ability to report e-books who have content … [Read more...] about The e-Reader Industry Needs to Address e-book Content Errors
Penguin Random House Drops Degree Requirements for New Jobs
Penguin Random House UK has dropped all of their degree requirements for new positions. The company is hoping to attract people who did not graduate from a top university or get a degree for anything publishing related. According to the Bookseller , human resource director Neil Morrison said he made the decision following increasing evidence that there was no simple … [Read more...] about Penguin Random House Drops Degree Requirements for New Jobs
Iranian Book Publishers Are Excited About Prospective Swift Changes
The Iranian publishing industry is visibly excited about being able to sell books outside of their own country. The is due to the announcement from the head of Iran Chamber of Commerce Mohsen Jalalpour who told reporters in Tehran on Sunday that today Iran will re-apply to join the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication or SWIFT. In early 2012, SWIFT … [Read more...] about Iranian Book Publishers Are Excited About Prospective Swift Changes
The Digital Publishing Industry is on a Hiring Spree
Over the last two weeks many companies involved in e-books and digital publishing have been on hiring sprees. Kobo, Scribd, Blurb and many others have been bringing in new executives in order to spearhead new verticals. Scribd Last year, Scribd hit many milestones: They introduced content from all of the “Big Five” publishers to their subscription service and launched … [Read more...] about The Digital Publishing Industry is on a Hiring Spree
Please Pay My Bills So I Can Write
Female authors are dominating the romance and erotica genres when it comes to overall e-book sales. The Top 5 bestselling authors on iBooks are all women and in any given week they also account for 64% of the Top 100. Meanwhile at Amazon, 56% of the top 100 bestsellers are women and there have been times when the Publishers Weekly top 25 has been dominated by women. How is it … [Read more...] about Please Pay My Bills So I Can Write
Author Organizations Demand that eBook Royalties Should Increase
Organizations that represent authors have been issuing press releases and making dramatic statements that traditionally published authors are an endangered species. The main argument is that publishers are not paying appropriate e-book revenue and this is forcing authors to write more to make ends meet or take on a second job. Author organizations want higher e-book … [Read more...] about Author Organizations Demand that eBook Royalties Should Increase
La Presse Abandons Weekday Edition and Goes Completely Digital
La Presse is the first major newspaper to abandon making print copies of their daily edition and exclusively focus on digital. Their app accounts for 80% of their entire revenue stream and it makes sense that they would focus on it as a core aspect of their business. The La Presse+ app for smartphones and tablets attracts close to 250,000 readers per day, which is about … [Read more...] about La Presse Abandons Weekday Edition and Goes Completely Digital
Hearst Hires Former Yahoo Exec To Run Digital Newspaper Division
Hearst has just hired Robertson Barrett, the former VP of media strategy and operation at Yahoo, to run their digital newspaper division. Barrett will be responsible for 15 daily and 36 weekly newspapers. Mark Aldam is the president of Hearst Newspapers and he has his product grow significantly in the last four years. Their audience has increased 23 percent, while revenue … [Read more...] about Hearst Hires Former Yahoo Exec To Run Digital Newspaper Division