Hachette Book Group, who is currently engaged in a tumultuous battle with Amazon, sent out a statement to its employees regarding news that they would begin a round of layoffs that would cut three percent of its US staff, or roughly thirty people. According to the company, this news is unrelated to the drama unfolding over sales contracts with the world's largest book retail … [Read more...] about Hachette to Cut 3% of US Staff
Digital Publishing News
HM Ward on the Aftermath of Her Book Deal Decision
With so much debate currently raging about both book pricing and book deals--especially where indie authors are concerned--it's good to hear some concrete news that worked in an author's favor. While pioneers like Hugh Howey continue to release minutely specific and incredibly detailed reports on book sales for both self- and traditionally published authors, other authors are … [Read more...] about HM Ward on the Aftermath of Her Book Deal Decision
Copyright Clearance Center Launches RightsLink for Open Access
One of the chief issues that creates underlying buzz in the book industry involves copyright, specifically open access. It's the issue that no one wants to talk about until there's an intellectual property theft, or until research paid for with public tax dollars isn't available to teams of researchers elsewhere. The Copyright Clearance Center, one of the leading … [Read more...] about Copyright Clearance Center Launches RightsLink for Open Access
Smashwords Wins Inaugural Self-Publishing Service Award from ALLi
The Alliance of Independent Authors is an advocacy organization that works to further self-publishing in the book industry. One of the many ways the group works for authors is in providing up-to-date and continuous information as resources for authors. As part of its Choosing a Self-Publishing Service 2014 guide, Alli examined the opportunities authors have for assistance in … [Read more...] about Smashwords Wins Inaugural Self-Publishing Service Award from ALLi
Ingram Adds New Publisher Content to MyiLibrary
A number of pertinent announcements were made this week, many of which concerned reader access to lending or subscription-based reading. Smashwords joined up with OverDrive to make indie authors' titles available in libraries around the world, and Simon&Schuster provided access to a massive backlist of ebooks to two of the top subscription-based reading platforms. Now, … [Read more...] about Ingram Adds New Publisher Content to MyiLibrary
UK Rules eBooks Aren’t Books as Far as Taxation Is Concerned
There's no relief in sight for UK readers, as Parliament declared that there was no good reason or means to reduce the outrageous 20% VAT on ebooks. While their print counterparts enjoy a zero-percent tax--like many state and local governments in the US who feel that book purchasing should be supported--ebooks are still treated in much the same way as a software download and … [Read more...] about UK Rules eBooks Aren’t Books as Far as Taxation Is Concerned
Smashwords Authors Benefit from B&N eBook Pre-Orders
One of the truths we've been hearing from forward-thinking publishing industry experts, namely where Amazon is concerned, is that we have to stop trying to compete. There are enough readers for every genre and every retailer, but offering an identical product in the same cookie-cutter way will drive consumers to go where the price is cheapest if all other factors are the … [Read more...] about Smashwords Authors Benefit from B&N eBook Pre-Orders
BookBaby Adds New Sales Outlet, Faster Royalty Payments
There's no shortage of companies willing to take an author's manuscript and promise to produce a quality book, often for thousands of dollars. And sadly, there's a great spectrum concerning both the experience of working with the company and the quality of the finished product. Additionally, many self-publishing companies charge outrageous amounts of money for tasks an author … [Read more...] about BookBaby Adds New Sales Outlet, Faster Royalty Payments
Discoverability an Issue in Apple’s Newsstand
Digital magazines presented a slight conundrum to the publishing industry when they first became available on the high-color and easily manipulated tablets. While limited titles were available in the days of slow-to-load black-and-white e-readers, the pictures that so many readers loved--and advertisers relied on in order to be convinced to foot the bill for production--proved … [Read more...] about Discoverability an Issue in Apple’s Newsstand
Small Legal Victory for Apple’s Antitrust Battle
Apple's attorneys have managed to pull off a minor legal victory in what has become almost laughably a war against Apple. On the grounds that Judge Denise Cote's decision to move forward with the classification and damages phases of the trial on going case, Apple managed to win a stay by the three-judge panel of the Second Circuit court, at least for now. Essentially, the … [Read more...] about Small Legal Victory for Apple’s Antitrust Battle
Mark Coker’s Indie Author Manifesto
To say that self-publishing has unleashed something profound around the world is an understatement. Whether it's through the launch of ebooks and print-on-demand books or just a blogging or social media platform, digital publishing has made it possible for individuals to put their ideas in front of a broader audience. It cannot be a coincidence that the global spread of ideas … [Read more...] about Mark Coker’s Indie Author Manifesto