It's literally been years since self-publishing took off in a major way and brought some measure of credibility with it. The days of keeping the publishing method a secret and having to purchase hundreds of copies of your book to sell from the trunk of your car are long behind us, but with every new milestone, achievement, or tool that comes along for indie authors, other … [Read more...] about Why Are There Still Issues Facing Self-Published Authors?
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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
HarperCollins, Amazon Reach Agreement
In an announcement that is certain to bring a sigh of relief to authors and readers, HarperCollins announced yesterday that it has reached a multi-year agreement with Amazon over its recent pricing dispute. While HarperCollins, like several other publishers before it, has been gunning for an agency pricing model in which the publisher sets the price of its books and basically … [Read more...] about HarperCollins, Amazon Reach Agreement
Does Agency Pricing Hurt Reading Consumers?
The publishing world is still rebounding from the effects of the DoJ suit against Apple and five of the then-Big Six publishers, and the effects of the judgement against the parties involved is still resolving itself. One of the current resolutions involves the expiration of key prohibitions against the publishers in how they deal with retailers. Following the Hachette dispute … [Read more...] about Does Agency Pricing Hurt Reading Consumers?
OverDrive Acquired by Rakuten, Owners of Kobo
OverDrive is the world's leading digital content provider of books, movies, music, and more to the public and academic library space. The company basically powers the digital lending capabilities of more than 33,000 separate libraries around the world, as one of their huge innovations was the ability to borrow content through dedicated library apps to any mobile device. And … [Read more...] about OverDrive Acquired by Rakuten, Owners of Kobo
Digital Content Adds New Layer of Relevance to Libraries
Libraries have come a long way from the days of Alexandria. Once essentially no more than a museum of great works, libraries in the 21st century have had to reinvent themselves as a community-based center of learning and production, not just a place to put your name on the list for the latest James Patterson hardcover. With everything from technology centers, MOOC learning … [Read more...] about Digital Content Adds New Layer of Relevance to Libraries
The Indie Author Dream: Fact or Fiction?
Much of the ongoing drama between the self-publishing proponents and the traditional publishing industry boils down to one chief concern: money. With whole data sets dedicated to examining not only what self-published authors truly earn but also what traditionally published authors are (or more likely, are not) earning, the facts seem pretty clear: Authors who do the work of … [Read more...] about The Indie Author Dream: Fact or Fiction?
Romance Still Tops Bestsellers at Smashwords
eBook distribution platform Smashwords has forged a lot of the paths that self-published authors have taken, and has provided a lot of groundbreaking data to help authors form career plans that may or may not include the status quo. One of the many sources of information that Smashwords provides the industry as a whole is a look at its bestsellers lists broken down for the … [Read more...] about Romance Still Tops Bestsellers at Smashwords
Smashwords Continues to be Successful, by Leveraging the Amazon Boogeyman
Smashwords is continuing to be a self-publishing juggernaut with 101,300 authors now using the service and who collectively published 336,400 titles, up 60,300 titles from 2013. New distribution channels were established in 2014, such as OverDrive, the world’s largest ebook supplier serving over 20,000 public libraries, and Txtr, a European retailer. New partners Oyster and … [Read more...] about Smashwords Continues to be Successful, by Leveraging the Amazon Boogeyman
Data Conversion Laboratory Webinar Explores eBooks in the K12 Classroom
One of the last groups to adopt ebooks in a widespread and focused way is the K12 education sphere. While digital textbooks have been painfully slow to reach the public school market, ebooks have been an even slower format when it comes to kids and reading. OverDrive has made ebooks even more accessible, though, along with initiatives like Qlovi and Smashwords' OverDrive … [Read more...] about Data Conversion Laboratory Webinar Explores eBooks in the K12 Classroom
The Stigma Around Erotica Continues
Despite the fact that Fifty Shades of Grey is old news--at least the book, the film doesn't release until Valentine's Day next year--and the door to free publishing of adult content has been thrown wide open since EL James' book took newsstands by storm, critics are still claiming the downfall of human society due to the abundance of explicit content. Interestingly, it seems … [Read more...] about The Stigma Around Erotica Continues
Smashwords’ Survey Indicates Shifting Trends in eBook Pricing, Sales
Self-publishing and ebook distribution platform Smashwords announced this week the results of its annual survey which tracks sales for the previous year and compiles an intense look at trends in ebook retailing from the data. Each year, this data has provided an in-depth understanding of how reading consumers are behaving in regards to their ebook purchases. Some of the key … [Read more...] about Smashwords’ Survey Indicates Shifting Trends in eBook Pricing, Sales
Smashwords Launches Summer Author Promotion
Just in time for summer travel, Smashwords is offering up an author opportunity that is too good too miss. In exchange for a multi-tiered discount on their titles, authors can be included in Smashwords' Summer/Winter Promotion. Why Summer/Winter? Because it's not summer everywhere that Smashwords' books are bought. By enrolling on the link on Smashwords' homepage, authors … [Read more...] about Smashwords Launches Summer Author Promotion
Smashwords Adds Daily Sales Reports for Authors
With so much emphasis and recent news on authors and what they truly earn, the industry as a whole is taking a good look at how this information is shared with the content creators. Traditional publishers have long issued quarterly sales reports to their authors, often distributed three months after the fact, and that's one of the many reasons authors cite for trying to go it … [Read more...] about Smashwords Adds Daily Sales Reports for Authors
iOS8 Means eBook Discovery for Indie Authors
Apple's fall release of iOS 8 was unveiled in a press conference yesterday, and for people who are used to big things from Apple, there's bad news: this is no iPhone launch. It wasn't world-changing stuff, just a run down of new features and enhancements that will make everything consumers love about Apple run a little better. If you're a self-published author, though, your … [Read more...] about iOS8 Means eBook Discovery for Indie Authors
Overdrive Inundates Libraries with 200,000 Horrendous Indie eBooks
Smashwords is a self-publishing service that allows authors to submit eBooks and list them for sale on Amazon, Apple, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and other major retailers. Smashwords has managed to convince the largest digital distributor Overdrive, to start offering 200,000 sub-par indie titles to all of their partners. This is a terrible move for the library buying … [Read more...] about Overdrive Inundates Libraries with 200,000 Horrendous Indie eBooks