Publishing Optimism

There’s such a lively debate out there in the blogosphere around...

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:33:59 -0500

There’s such a lively debate out there in the blogosphere around books and ideas and so on and so forth, and that kind of world is exploding. And there’s lots of experiments and innovation and so on, you know, like the Open Road Integrated Media and companies where people are experimenting with new models and new ideas and so on.

(via Is Publishing Doomed? JOHN B. THOMPSON with Williams Cole - The Brooklyn Rail)

Tweet of the Week J. W. Eagan on Hollywood adaptations, via Word...

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:30:37 -0500

Tweet of the Week J. W. Eagan on Hollywood adaptations, via Word and Film

(via DBW Weekly Roundup: 11/12/10 | Digital Book World)

Libraries’ Silver Lining (Roundtable: 11/11/10)

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 19:22:51 -0500

Libraries’ Silver Lining (Roundtable: 11/11/10):

The Roundtable is a live, interactive webcast gathering some of the most outspoken industry professionals to debate the hottest publishing issues of the week, as being discussed in…

Tweet of the Week Erik Christopher on cost/value of ebooks. (via...

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:45:59 -0400

Tweet of the Week Erik Christopher on cost/value of ebooks.

(via DBW Weekly Roundup: 11/5/10 | Digital Book World)

It’s definitely a thought-provoking list, and proves that...

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:44:20 -0400

It’s definitely a thought-provoking list, and proves that genre fiction is still producing plenty of books with literary pedigree.

(via The 10 best SF/fantasy books of the year, according to Amazon.com)

The truth is that there will not be as much money in the selling...

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:41:25 -0400

The truth is that there will not be as much money in the selling of content as there has been. That’s a result of content ubiquity. The lie is that most publishers have to go bust. There are a myriad of potential revenue streams when communities are the source of monetisation.

(via The Future of Publishing: Like Minds)

For me, the real job of a publisher is many, many things, all of...

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:38:55 -0400

For me, the real job of a publisher is many, many things, all of which center around the incredibly rewarding challenge of connecting authors and readers. In the end, whether physical or digital, the role of the publisher is to create an audience for the author. It’s to bring the author and the book to market. It’s never really been about printing. And that’s really clear now, isn’t it? It’s always been about connecting authors and readers.

(via On ebooks: A Publisher’s View of the Digital Transformation)

“Tail. Long Tail.” (Roundtable: 11/4/10)

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 05:12:59 -0400

“Tail. Long Tail.” (Roundtable: 11/4/10):

The Roundtable is a live, interactive webcast gathering some of the most outspoken industry professionals to debate the hottest publishing issues of the week, as being discussed in…

Tweet of the Week: Samantha Francis on digital opportunities for...

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 10:05:32 -0400

Tweet of the Week: Samantha Francis on digital opportunities for literary authors.

(via DBW Weekly Roundup: 10/29/10 | Digital Book World)

Jessica Faust, the eminent book biz blogger and CEO of BookEnds...

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 10:02:24 -0400

Jessica Faust, the eminent book biz blogger and CEO of BookEnds Literary Agency says unequivocally that “The reason mysteries sell better than romances or science fiction is they cross gender. That is, women will read tough action books with outlaw heroes, and men will read cozies for the warm relationships and sense of community.”

(via Mystery and crime fiction is bloody booming)

glecharles: Am I exceptionally gifted in all of these media? Of...

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 10:00:23 -0400

glecharles:

Am I exceptionally gifted in all of these media? Of course not. But I’m clever, creative and curious enough to know it’s in the best interest of my career to bust beyond any self-inflicted Perception Prison and just be a “writer” or “novelist.” I’m a multifaceted Storyteller. If I can’t stellarly execute a particular multimedia storytelling element, I’ll ask around until I find someone who can help realize me. That’s what the Internet is for.

(via Writer Unboxed » Blog Archive » Become A Better (And Future-Friendly) Storyteller: Embrace Other Media)

THIS!!!!!

Those who claim the novel’s time has passed ignore its value....

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 11:04:51 -0400

Those who claim the novel’s time has passed ignore its value. Nothing captures the quality of consciousness like fiction. Only a great novel can make you truly feel what it is like to be someone else, alive in a different place and time. Literature exercises our empathy, salves our loneliness, and helps us learn how to live. Without Flaubert, Balzac, Dostoyevski, and Joyce, our understanding of human psychology would be greatly impoverished.

What doesn’t really matter, though, is how people choose to read. Literature is important; the choice of paper or plastic is not.

(via Publishers Weekly: Literature, Plugged In)

Tweet of the Week: Rana June Sobhany on enhanced ebooks and...

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 10:12:30 -0400

Tweet of the Week: Rana June Sobhany on enhanced ebooks and devaluing content.

(via DBW Weekly Roundup: 10/22/10 | Digital Book World)

“And as I’ve said stubbornly for a couple of years,...

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 09:31:02 -0400

“And as I’ve said stubbornly for a couple of years, I believe that soon it will matter again what one publishes more than how one publishes it. Quality will out.”

—Fred Ramey, co-publisher of Unbridled Books

(via Shelf Awareness: Robert Gray: Hearing Voices About Indie Publishing)

UNDERGROUND » Pictures help us learn.

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 09:27:57 -0400

UNDERGROUND » Pictures help us learn.

Like Haroun, we in publishing can sometimes become filled with...

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 16:27:47 -0400

Like Haroun, we in publishing can sometimes become filled with a sense of hopelessness and failure. But like Haroun, we have been taken in by the magic of the Ocean. And like Haroun, we’re perched atop a tapestry of breathtaking complexity.

Undeniably, it is a time of remarkable opportunity in publishing, one in which we are able to find and build upon those strands of stories, in context.

—Brian O’Leary, Founder and Principal, Magellan Media

(via Context first)

Tweet of the Week: @eBookNoir on publishers and transmedia (via...

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 09:46:54 -0400

Tweet of the Week: @eBookNoir on publishers and transmedia

(via DBW Weekly Roundup: 10/15/10 | Digital Book World)

2. George Orwell’s publisher didn’t feel the title to Orwell’s...

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 09:44:41 -0400

2. George Orwell’s publisher didn’t feel the title to Orwell’s novel The Last Man in Europe was terribly commercial and recommended using the other title he had been kicking around—1984.

5. Ernest Hemingway’s original title for The Sun Also Rises was used for foreign-language editions—Fiesta. He changed the American English version to The Sun Also Rises at the behest of his publisher.

(via mental_floss Blog » What 10 Classic Books Were Almost Called)

deadwriters: A lovely little poetry animation just in time for...

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 09:37:22 -0400

deadwriters:

A lovely little poetry animation just in time for Halloween! Edgar Allan Poe “reading” his classic THE RAVEN!

Poe claimed to have written the poem very logically and methodically. His intention was to create a poem that would appeal to both critical and popular tastes, as he explains in the follow-up essay: “The Philosophy of Composition”. The poem was inspired in part by a talking raven in the novel Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of ‘Eighty by Charles Dickens.[3] Poe borrows the complex rhythm and meter of Elizabeth Barrett’s poem “Lady Geraldine’s Courtship”.

Social Media Reality Check (Roundtable: 10/14/10)

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 01:28:30 -0400

Social Media Reality Check (Roundtable: 10/14/10):

The Roundtable is a live, interactive webcast gathering some of the most outspoken industry professionals to debate the hottest publishing issues of the week, as being discussed in…