Publishing

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    Pantheon Graphic Novels News

  • Dash Shaw

    4 Feb 2010 | 2:19 pm
    In a starred Booklist review, Ray Olson says Dash Shaw, author of the forthcoming BODYWORLD, "shows himself as adept at dire comedy as he is with midlife family crises."

  • Dash Shaw Q&A w/PW

    14 Jan 2010 | 10:39 am

  • Pantheon e-newsletter/la's orchestra sweepstakes

    12 Jan 2010 | 10:13 am
    Love Pantheon's graphic novels? Maybe you'll love our regular books just as much! Click here to sign up for the brand new Pantheon e-newsletter, and automatically enter a contest to win a free copy of La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith, published by Pantheon. The sweepstakes begin January 12th, 2010, and final submissions are due by 11:59 pm (Eastern Standard Time) on February 5th, 2010. Praised as a "fresh and unforgettable story about the power of human kindness" by Booklist, bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith (most famous for his No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency…

  • 4 Jan 2010 | 10:49 am

    4 Jan 2010 | 10:49 am
    In addition to being featured as one of Entertainment Weekly's Best Books of the Year and one of Vanity Fair's 10 Books from 2009 to Read on Your Holiday Vacation, David Mazzucchelli's ASTERIOS POLYP was named New York Magazine's #1 Best Comic of 2009, with Josh Neufeld's A.D.: NEW ORLEANS AFTER THE DELUGE coming in a runner-up.

  • MTV picks A.D.

    15 Dec 2009 | 3:17 pm
    MTV.com chooses Josh Neufeld's A.D. as the best non-fiction comic of 2009! "By chronicling the stories of seven very different survivors of Hurricane Katrina and the New Orleans floods, Josh Neufeld provides one of the best examples of comics as journalism to hit the shelves this year. With stories that are equal parts inspirational, thought-provoking and, in some cases, terribly frustrating, "A.D." is collective memory that goes a long way toward helping us learn from our mistakes instead of repeating them." Read more and find out what other comics were picked!
 
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    Publishers Newswire

  • Children’s Chapter Book, ‘Sir Licksalot’ by D.L. Carroll wins a 2009 Readers Favorite Award

    Angela Polchat-Ferris
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:43 am
    SANTA CLARA, Calif. /Publishers Newswire/ — Children’s Chapter Book, “Sir Licksalot & The Maverick Fools” (ISBN-10: 1-60474-917-2), wins a 2009 Readers Favorite Award. In a statement made by Author D.L. Carroll, “This book was written for tweens who hate to read. Providing these children with a story that they can actually enjoy is inspiring. To be recognized by industry professionals is incredibly rewarding. I am currently working on the second book in the series.” Readers Favorite was created to help authors with honest reviews of their work and to…

  • ‘The Smarter Preschooler’ by Authors Renee and Mike Mosiman Receives The Gold Mom’s Choice Award

    Angela Polchat-Ferris
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:19 am
    MESA, Ariz. /Publishers Newswire/ — Authors Renee and Mike Mosiman have received the Gold Mom’s Choice Award for their book “The Smarter Preschooler: Unlocking Your Child’s Intellectual Potential” (ISBN: 978-0-9816426-5-9). The Mom’s Choice Awards (MCA) is an awards program that recognizes authors, inventors, companies, parents and others for their efforts in creating quality family-friendly media, products and services. Parents, educators, librarians and retailers rely on MCA evaluations when selecting quality materials for children and families. The…

  • New book, ‘Prosperity Plans’ by architect Donald J. Berg may help your dreams of a new home

    Angela Polchat-Ferris
    8 Feb 2010 | 1:23 pm
    ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. /Publishers Newswire/ — Has today’s economy made you put off your dreams of a new home? The new book, “Prosperity Plans” (ISBN: 978-1450559645), just published by architect Donald J. Berg, might get you dreaming again. Berg’s new book proposes that today’s architects, builders and prospective homeowners can all learn from a series of fascinating “Growing House” designs created in 1934. That was the time of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl droughts, when Americans faced economic horrors that make today’s problems…

  • Brain Drain: Doctor’s New Book Shows Us How To Tap Into the Power of the Mind

    Angela Polchat-Ferris
    5 Feb 2010 | 12:34 pm
    POMONA, N.Y. /Publishers Newswire/ — Brain Drain (ISBN: 0984196307; 978-0984196302) authored by Charles F. Glassman, M.D., FACP, is a powerful new book that teaches people how to break free of their brains’ automatic responses through understanding and controlling their mind/body connections. Brain Drain was patient driven. Five years ago, Dr. Glassman, founded the New York Center for Longevity and Wellness – its goal to take a comprehensive approach to medicine and to balance mind/body concepts with conventional medicine. Two years later, he began distributing a weekly,…

  • Business & Decision and Sofon Sign Partnership Agreement for North America

    Angela Polchat-Ferris
    5 Feb 2010 | 11:42 am
    PHOENIX, Ariz. /Publishers Newswire/ — Sofon and Business & Decision today announce that they have signed a partnership for the marketing, sales and implementation of Sofon Guided Selling by Business & Decision in the North American market. Business & Decision, an international Consulting and Systems Integration company with over 2,700 employees worldwide, has added Sofon Guided Selling to its portfolio. Sofon Guided Selling is a standard software solution for accelerating, simplifying and improving the sales and quotation process. Business & Decision will market…
 
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    Book Publishing News

  • Zondervan and Baker Announce Free, Easy Alternative to the Self-Publishing Model

    31 Jan 2010 | 10:02 am
    Authors of unsolicited manuscripts will no longer see their work returned to them with a "Thanks-but-no-thanks" letter from Christian publishers like Zondervan and Baker Publishing Group. Instead, they will receive a letter or email encouraging them to post their manuscripts, free-of-charge, on authonomy.com/Christian."authonomy.com allows authors to quickly get valuable feedback from consumers on the relevance of their work and gain traction in the market without giving up any of their publishing rights," said Steve Sammons, Zondervan's executive vice president of Consumer Engagement. "It…

  • How unknown first time author is Amazon No.1 Best-selling business book

    31 Jan 2010 | 9:59 am
    Victoria B.C./San Francisco Vancouver Island first time author Dawn McCooey saw her new business book "Keeping Good Employees on board - Employee Retention Strategies to Navigate Through the Economic Storm" rocket to the top slot on Amazon Canada best-selling business books yesterday. It is every first time author's dream to achieve this within a few weeks of launching their book so we asked her to share her secret. You can watch the 3 minute interview aired on Shaw TV featuring six local authors and Dawn McCooey giving an inspirational message about their journey to become published authors…

  • Fastpencil Offers Free Printed Book And Ebook

    31 Jan 2010 | 9:57 am
    FastPencil today announced a promotion offering the first 1,000 people to register at https://www.fastpencil.com/offer/consumerpromo a free paperback and eBook copy of their work. FastPencil gives these authors an end-to-end authoring and publishing platform where they can maintain control of the content creation, price, distribution and sales activity every step of the way. FastPencil blends social media, marketing, production and distribution while offering total flexibility in choosing when and where they distribute to hardcover, paperback and eBook. The authoring service strips out the…

  • Social Science and Humanities Publishers Stood Up to Challenges in 2009

    25 Jan 2010 | 7:33 am
    Faced with challenges from disruptive technologies, an uncertain future for its traditional publishing model and a titanic global recession, the market for social science and humanities publishing has still managed to grow, according to "Social Science and Humanities Publishing 2009-2010" (http://www.simbainformation.com/redirect.asp?progid=76566&productid=2071801), the latest strategic market report from Simba Information, a leading media industry forecast and analysis firm.The global social science and humanities publishing market grew total sales 1.6% to $2.4 billion in 2009. Poor…

  • Amazon Announces New 70 Percent Royalty Option For Kindle Digital Text

    25 Jan 2010 | 7:32 am
    Amazon.com announced details of a new program that will enable authors and publishers who use the Kindle Digital Text Platform (DTP) to earn a larger share of revenue from each Kindle book they sell. For each Kindle book sold, authors and publishers who choose the new 70 percent royalty option will receive 70 percent of list price, net of delivery costs. This new option will be in addition to and will not replace the existing DTP standard royalty option. This new 70 percent royalty option will become available on June 30, 2010.Delivery costs will be based on file size and pricing will be…
 
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    Publishing News

  • Will You Be E-Mailing This Column? Ita s Awesome

    9 Feb 2010 | 10:16 am
    Published: Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 6:01 a.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 5:09 a.m. Sociologists have developed elaborate theories of who spreads gossip and news - who tells whom, who matters most in social networks - but they've had less success measuring what kind of information travels fastest.

  • Guardian Media Group sells regional arm to Trinity Mirror

    9 Feb 2010 | 6:10 am
    Historic newspaper link to Manchester severed in deal worth A 44.8m, A 7.4m of it in cash, but excluding Channel M local TV The old Guardian and Evening News building in Cross Street, Manchester, which the papers shared from 1879 The Guardian severed its historic newspaper link to Manchester today with the sale of its regional media business to ...

  • Marian Burros to write about childhood obesity for Rodale

    9 Feb 2010 | 1:45 am
    Nationally-known food writer Marian Burros will begin a series of articles and online updates about First Lady Michelle Obamaa s proposed Childhood Obesity Initiative today on Rodalea s web site.

  • David Paterson Has Not Resigned Today

    8 Feb 2010 | 9:35 pm
    New York Gov. David Paterson consulted with "key Democratic leaders" over the weekend to discuss either a) his imminent resignation pending a New York Times report that he is a corrupt snuggling swinger or b) just talk about stuff.

  • Landmark newspaper chain names Todd publisher of New Mexico's Los Alamos Monitor

    8 Feb 2010 | 5:09 pm
    Landmark Community Newspapers, Inc., has named Keven Todd publisher of the Los Alamos Monitor.
 
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    Packt Book Feed

  • Exclusive Discount Offer: Liferay Portal 5.2 Systems Development -Up to 50% Off

    9 Feb 2010 | 4:37 am
    Exclusive Discount Offer: Liferay Portal 5.2 Systems Development -Up to 50% Off Tuesday, February 9, 2010 | Java Packt has come up with a special offer on one of its titles -Liferay Portal 5.2 Systems Development This book shows how Java developers can use Liferay as a framework to develop custom intranet systems, based on Liferay portal platform thus helping you to maximize your productivity gains. Get ready for a rich, friendly, intuitive and collaborative end-user experience!Using this book you can customize Liferay into a single point of access to all an organization's data, content, web…

  • jQuery 1.4 DOM Insertion Methods

    9 Feb 2010 | 3:57 am
    jQuery 1.4 DOM Insertion Methods Tuesday, February 9, 2010 | jQuery All of the methods in this article by Karl Swedberg and Jonathan Chaffer, authors of jQuery 1.4 Reference Guide, manipulate the DOM in some manner. In a previous article we saw methods that simply change one of the attributes of an element, while others set an element's style properties. In this article we cover methods for DOM insertion—inside, outside, and around. These methods allow us to insert new content inside and outside an existing element, and also surrounding existing content. See More

  • Forms in Grok 1.0

    8 Feb 2010 | 10:54 pm
    Forms in Grok 1.0 Tuesday, February 9, 2010 | Open Source Grok has a mechanism for automating the creation and processing of forms. We'll see how it works in this article by Carlos de la Guardia, author of Grok 1.0 Web Development, along with a few other form-related subjects: What is an interface What is a schema How interfaces and schemas are used to generate forms automatically, using Grok's form components How to create, add, and edit forms How to filter fields and prevent them from appearing in a form How to change form templates and presentation See More

  • jQuery 1.4 DOM Manipulation Methods for Style Properties and Class Attributes

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:31 am
    jQuery 1.4 DOM Manipulation Methods for Style Properties and Class Attributes Monday, February 8, 2010 | jQuery All of the methods in this article by Karl Swedberg and Jonathan Chaffer, authors of jQuery 1.4 Reference Guide, manipulate the DOM in some manner. A few of them simply change one of the attributes of an element, while others set an element's style properties. All of these methods are referred to as setters, as they change the values of properties. A few of these methods such as .attr() also act as getters, retrieving information from DOM elements for later use. See More

  • Exclusive Discount Offer: Learning the Yahoo! User Interface library - Up to 50% Off

    8 Feb 2010 | 2:52 am
    Exclusive Discount Offer: Learning the Yahoo! User Interface library - Up to 50% Off Monday, February 8, 2010 | WordPress Packt has come up with a special offer on one of its titles -Learning the Yahoo! User Interface library Learning the Yahoo! User Interface Library introduces the popular open-source YUI JavaScript library and takes the user through each of the fully released components in detail looking at the classes that make up each component and the properties and methods that can be used. It includes a series of practical examples to reinforce how each component should/can be used.
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    Penguin Blog (USA) - Penguin Group (USA) -

  • Listen to Audiobook Excerpts for February New Releases from Penguin Audio

    Penguin Group USA
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:37 am
    (View entire post here)Flirt Unabridged CDsLaurell K. HamiltonAudiobook: CD Unabridged | Penguin Audio | 5 Hours; 5 CDs | 04 Feb 2010 9780142428016 Listen to an audio excerptSummer According to Humphrey Betty G. Birney Audiobook: CD Unabridged | Penguin Audio | 4 Hours; 3 CDs | 04 Feb 2010 9780143145585Listen to an audio excerpt  Adventure According to Humphrey/Audio Betty G. Birney Audiobook: CD Unabridged | Penguin Audio | 4 Hours; 3 CDs | 04 Feb 2010 9780143145578Listen to an audio excerpt The PostmistressSarah BlakeAudiobook: CD Unabridged | Penguin Audio | 11 Hours; 9 CDs | 09 Feb 2010…

  • Penguin Online Digest - New Content 2/2 - 2/8

    Penguin Group USA
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:39 am
     Author Q&A'a (1) Author Q&A - Pocket Peace Allan Lokos (Tarcher)Excerpts (6) Excerpt - Caught Harlan Coben (Dutton) Excerpt - Pocket Peace Allan Lokos (Tarcher)Excerpt - The Watchers Shane Harris (The Penguin Press) Excerpt - Ravishing in Red Madeline Hunter (Jove) Excerpt - Keith Haring Journals Keith Haring (Penguin Classics) Excerpt - Safe Patients, Smart Hospitals Peter Pronovost and Eric Vohr (Hudson Street Press)Videos (1) Video - A Company of Heroes Marcus Brotherton (Berkley)

  • Listen to our Author's Podcasts Running the Week of 2/8

    Penguin Group USA
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:49 am
        >>Julie Klausner discusses her book, plus how pop culture has influenced her views on love and her similarities to Miss Piggy from the Muppets. >>Read more about I Don't Care About Your Band Julie Klausner I Don't Care About Your Band Music Podcast Author Pengun Books

  • Absinthe—Back to the Future, by Paul Owens and Paul Nathan

    Penguin Group USA
    8 Feb 2010 | 4:02 pm
    (View entire post here)By now, you've heard all the brouhaha over the legalization of absinthe and probably read a few stories about the traditional way it's served and all the famous Belle Epoque artists who once drank it. We love to knock back a glass of absinthe and water, and we can't find much to complain about in Paris, but the "Absinthe Is Back" stories missed the point.The point is not that absinthe is fashionably naughty again. The point is that one of the world's great liquors-with the virtuosity of wine and the punch of a good whiskey-has taken its…

  • Bestsellers, Penguin Group (USA) Weekly Update - 2/8

    Penguin Group USA
    8 Feb 2010 | 9:59 am
    (View entire post here) Penguin Group (USA) Continues to Have the #1 Bestselling Hardcover Fiction Title, Leading a Great Week on the New York Times Bestseller Lists The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Amy Einhorn Books/ G. P. Putnam’s Sons) is #1 on The New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list for the fourth consecutive week – the first time a Putnam title has achieved a four-week run at the top of this list since September of 2001, when Clive Cussler matched this feat with Valhalla Rising. There are more than 1.75 million copies of The Help in print and the book has now been on The…
 
 
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    mediabistro.com: GalleyCat

  • Literary Journal Namesake Timothy McSweeney Has Died

    9 Feb 2010 | 11:23 am
    Last month the namesake of the literary journal McSweeney's passed away at 67-years-old. In 1998, Dave Eggers named "Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern" after an man who had sent letters to his mother. Timothy McSweeney was an MFA art student and onetime studio art teacher at Rutgers University. The site described his work: "The canvases he leaves behind are filled with haunting and beautiful imagery. They are also filled with a palpable desire--to be heard, to connect, to be understood better by others and himself." McSweeney suffered from mental illness, and was hospitalized for many…

  • The Future of Crime Fiction: "I don't really see the point of making up crimes"

    9 Feb 2010 | 9:23 am
    "There's so much that happens in real life that we don't understand and we can't even fathom. I don't really see the point of making up crimes. The crime genre is the perfect tool to understand why crimes happen," explained our special author guest this morning. Today's guest on the Morning Media Menu was David Peace, one of the most critically acclaimed mystery novelists in the world. He is the author of The Red Riding Quartet (about the Ripper murders in England), The Damned Utd (which was recently turned into a film), and Tokyo Year Zero. He was chosen as one of Granta's 2003 Best Young…

  • GalleyCat Readers Debate Controversial Book Club Bud Light Super Bowl Ad

    9 Feb 2010 | 8:23 am
    Meet the Super Bowl commercial that launched a thousand literary blog posts. During the most watched television show ever, Bud Light unveiled the beer ad embedded above, poking fun at book clubs, male readers, female readers, and book reading in general. The ad shows a couple fun-loving beer drinkers crashing a book club, playing with all sorts of stereotypes about American readers. Our post on the topic generated a wide range of reader responses. One reader wrote: "If ya' can't laugh at yourself... I'm a writer and reader (and book club member) and don't drink much beer, but it didn't bother…

  • Third Annual Black Quill Awards Announced

    9 Feb 2010 | 7:23 am
    Dark Scribe magazine has announced the winners of the Third Annual Black Quill Awards, celebrating the best work in dark horror, suspense, and thrillers. Two awards were handed out in each category, one for editors' choice and one for readers' choice. The editors' choice for Dark Genre Novel of the Year award went to Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. The readers' choice went to Drood by by Dan Simmons. Editors' choice for Best Small Press Chill went to Kelland by Paul G. Bens Jr. and the readers' choice went to As Fate Would Have It by Michael Louis Calvillo. See all the award winners at this…

  • Rosalind Wiseman's Sponsored Book Tour

    9 Feb 2010 | 6:23 am
    As writers around the world struggle with evaporating book tour budgets, one writer has uncovered a unique solution--corporate sponsorship. This week, Rosalind Wiseman will partner with Family Circle magazine and Dove "Go Fresh Deodorant" for her ten-stop Girl World Book Tour. The author is selling $40 pairs of tickets (for a mother and daughter) to each two-hour event. Attendees will receive a 12-month subscription to Family Circle and a Dove gift bag. They will also get copies of two books: Queen Bees & Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New…
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    Pub Rants

  • You Are Invited!

    Agent Kristin
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:57 pm
    STATUS: Too busy a day to even mention here.What’s playing on the iPod right now? IF I COULD WRITE A BOOK by Harry Connick, Jr. Thrilled to pieces that links are back on at Amazon. Not because I don’t value independent bookstores but because it’s hard not to include possible sales from the largest online bookseller.Any author would want ALL venues available when launching a debut literary novel in this current economy.So to celebrate, Nelson Literary Agency is throwing a pre-Tattered-Cover-Highlands-Ranch book party for Denver client Paula Reed—Friday, February 19, 2010.Click on play…

  • Opening Pages--Action

    Agent Kristin
    5 Feb 2010 | 4:43 pm
    STATUS: Heading to the mountains to ski. It’s supposed to snow. Fresh PowderWhat’s playing on the iPod right now? VERTIGO by U2Because we’ve been talking about openings, what works, what doesn’t, I wanted to show you an example from an author who is the master of action in the opening pages. Nobody does it better than Linnea Sinclair.I would also recommend reading this author, even if this isn’t your genre, in order to learn about escalating conflict. Beginning writers often suffer from the fact that they don’t have enough conflict to drive their stories forward in a meaningful…

  • The Latest On Macmillan-Amazon

    Agent Kristin
    4 Feb 2010 | 2:58 pm
    STATUS: A bit frustrated with all this Amazon stuff.What’s playing on the iPod right now? NEVER THERE by CakeWhich is to say the latest is not much. The links are still not on. February 16 is fast approaching for my author Paula Reed and the debut of HESTER.As authors, if you are impacted, I think it’s important to have your voice heard on the Amazon Kindle forum where there is a lot of chatter going on. The average everyday customer really doesn’t know much about the ins and outs of publishing and what the hoopla is about.This in from John Sargent earlier today….To: Macmillan Authors…

  • Why Prologues Often Don’t Work

    Agent Kristin
    3 Feb 2010 | 3:52 pm
    STATUS: Not happy. Still no Amazon links to Macmillan client books.What’s playing on the iPod right now? HUNGRY FOR YOU by The PoliceKristin’s incomplete list of why prologues don’t work:1. When the sole purpose of the prologue is to fill the reader in on the back story so the real story can begin.This is so easy to point out but harder to explain.In the example of UNDONE, Brooke needed a prologue to show how it all started. To juxtapose who the girls were when they first “meet” versus who they are when chapter 1 begins. The prologue also serves a strong purpose. It sets tone,…

  • Opening Pages (While We Wait For Amazon To Quit Shooting Themselves In Foot)

    Agent Kristin
    2 Feb 2010 | 6:25 pm
    STATUS: It’s 7 pm so I’m ready to head out the door and to home.What’s playing on the iPod right now? SAILING by Christoper CrossSince I’ve been obsessively checking about every hour, the answer is no, the links to my Macmillan client books have not been turned back on. In talking with an editor at Macmillan this afternoon, she said she had no new news to report. Nor had John Sargent made another company-wide announcement. I hope for news tomorrow.However, I did derive lots of enjoyment out of reading John Scalzi’s posting on the issue.Meanwhile while we wait for Amazon to get head…
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    From the Balcony, A Publisher's Blog

  • The Khrushchev school of architecture

    Máirtín Ó Muilleoir
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:01 am
    To cheer you up, here's a couple of pictures of the tilting bridge in Newcastle-upon-Tyne (admittedly in the fog), as well as the inside of the Sage concert hall (yes, it's called after the account software package multinational which is based in the area) with its Guggenheim New York style curved floors.This morning I was also cheered up when I attended a breakfast discussion hosted by Lord Mayor Naomi Long to look at how we can make our city work better. The Lord Mayor challenged us to ensure the "feelgood" factor was felt across the city, including in our areas of greatest need. Mark…

  • Maith sibh

    Máirtín Ó Muilleoir
    8 Feb 2010 | 10:48 am
    Chinese university steps up to teach Irish.

  • 40 under 40 in New York

    Máirtín Ó Muilleoir
    7 Feb 2010 | 11:16 pm
    At last count, we had a singer-songwriter, a developing world activist, a Chicago politician, an environmentalist from Massachusetts, an entrepreneur, a dance teacher, a lawyer, a lawyer, another lawyer (this is America, after all), a mediator in disputes involving domestic violence, an activist in the burgeoning Unite Ireland campaign from San Francisco, a Mitchell scholar, an opera singer, a teacher and a co-ordinator at the Tenement Museum in New York...and then some.All in all, the third annual Irish Echo 40 Under 40 in New York on 18 February (in the consulate offices of Ireland on Park…

  • Let's follow the Taoiseach's lead and stop speaking Irish in public?

    Máirtín Ó Muilleoir
    7 Feb 2010 | 12:27 pm
    How come at the Hillsborough Press conference to announce the new deal, Taoiseach Brian Cowen didn't just the first official language at all.Is this the same policy evidenced on official invitations from the British-Irish Joint Secretariat which are in English only?And if so, will someone tell us who came up with the policy and what its purpose is.For, in effect, it meant the only person who used Irish on Friday morning was Martin McGuinness, whose knowledge of Irish is extremely limited, while a fluent Irish speaker, An Taoiseach, missed the opportunity to send out the message that a. Irish…

  • A summer Saturday night in February (brought to you by Northern Rock)

    Máirtín Ó Muilleoir
    6 Feb 2010 | 4:05 pm
    I am in Newcastle, England, to which I have brought not coals but young fans of Niall Quinn and Andy Reid, both of whom have a connection to Sunderland AFC.I will blog later about the impressively transformed Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art (in former Baltic Flour Mills) with its waste-of-space Damien Hirst Pharmacy, the tilting bridge (swear, I saw it bow today), the Sage concert hall and a jarring statue to the ignominious slave trade on the quayside.But before that let me salute drinking on a Homeric scale, surely not witnessed on this scale From The Balcony since a British…
 
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    Booksquare

  • Amazon, Macmillan, Agency Models, and Quality (Oh My)

    Kassia Krozser
    31 Jan 2010 | 6:44 pm
    Be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it. Consumer expectations will rise if prices do Over the weekend, we rode a rollercoaster as Macmillan laid out its demands for ebook pricing to Amazon, and Amazon responded by pulling (nearly) all Macmillan titles from its store. Late Sunday, Amazon announced they would “capitulate” to Macmillan’s demands on pricing. It almost goes without saying that this will be the go-forward model for all major publishers, and maybe their independent brethren as well. Publishers have gotten what they want. Man, it seems like a…

  • What Are Enhanced Ebooks?

    Kassia Krozser
    19 Jan 2010 | 12:33 pm
    Short answer: nobody knows. Longer answer: the magic elixir publishers are injecting into ebooks in hopes they will entice people to pay higher prices. As you might guess, I am a bit of an “enhancement” skeptic. I have a few reasons. First, they feel like an attempt to skip the walking phase. Right now ebooks are crawling, technical quality-wise, and enhanced ebooks will be (theoretically) leaping and pirouetting. Second, what is being proposed in some publisher statements sounds a lot like standard print material (reader guides) and marketing fluff. Finally, I’m not sure…

  • On Facts and Piracy

    Kassia Krozser
    18 Jan 2010 | 9:23 am
    Brian O’Leary on the major problems surrounding today’s discussions about piracy. More facts, less breathless assumptions. At this point, there’s not much clarity in the debate. If this is an inflection point, we need data to establish trends. Declaring the answer limits discussion. Grounded in reality

  • Tools of Change, or The Future of Publishing Isn’t What You Think It Is

    Kassia Krozser
    11 Jan 2010 | 9:58 am
    Today is the final day for early registration for the Tools of Change for Publishing conference, to be held in New York, February 22 – 24, 2010. Recently, there have been a lot of conferences dedicated to the magical world of digital publishing, but this is the only conference focused on looking forward. It may be the greatest of ironies that the problems facing publishers today have nothing to do with finding people who want to read. People are reading (and writing) like never before. They’re publishing like never before. The pace of publishing innovations tells me this trend…

  • William Styron and Droit de Seigneur

    Kassia Krozser
    4 Jan 2010 | 9:55 am
    Over the New Year holiday, Jonathan Galassi, president of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, published an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times titled “There’s More to Publishing Than Meets the Screen”. I think he started with the intent of justifying the cost of ebooks — something publishing has handled abysmally — but he took a wrong turn. Into some very interesting territory. Let’s break it down. The first line of the article is “What is an e-book?” This is never answered because Galassi moves on to discuss the decision by William Styron’s heirs…
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    Joe Wikert's Publishing 2020 Blog

  • eReaders & eBook Prices

    Joe Wikert
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:03 am
    I considered opening with a snarky comment about the Nook ereader.  Something about how it's destined to be the RC Cola of ereaders seemed appropriate.  And when I went looking for a graphic to insert, guess what I found?  Amazon is actually selling the Barnes & Noble device on their own site!  Whodathunkit? Nevertheless, how would you like to have been B&N these last couple of weeks?  There you are, trying to get some enthusiasm for your newly-released Nook while Amazon is fighting for any sort of attention amidst the biggest announcement in years: Apple's iPad.  Good…

  • Why Publishers Should Jump on the iPad Bandwagon

    Joe Wikert
    1 Feb 2010 | 5:12 am
    The worst-kept secret in recent tech history, Apple's iPad, was unveiled last week.  Some folks were wowed by the announcement while others were left asking, "is that all there is?"  I was somewhere in between. A buddy called me that day and said he bet Jeff Bezos was..., well, requiring an undergarment change.  I told him I doubted it.  Not because the iPad won't have a significant impact on the Kindle...it will...but because Wednesday's announcement was the confirmation of something Amazon, like the rest of us, already knew about.I'll get to the Kindle…

  • Adding the Word "Free" to Your Marketing Dictionary

    Joe Wikert
    28 Jan 2010 | 6:19 am
    Today's post is courtesy of Ben Richter, eReader enthusiast and owner of Best-eReaders.com, a review site for eReaders, tablets and ebooks.  Ben wrote this as a follow-up to my earlier plea for Amazon to share the data related to free Kindle content.  Here's what Ben has to say:In today's marketing world, both online and offline, it's getting harder and harder to put your product in front of potential shoppers. The internet has turned the world upside down, and although there are more ways today to promote your product, the competition is getting tougher. So, how can…

  • Amazon, Share the Data! (Please?...)

    Joe Wikert
    25 Jan 2010 | 5:30 am
    It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that free books are popular on the Kindle.  Take a look at the Kindle book bestseller list on any given day and you're likely to find a bunch of zero-priced items.  Even as I write this post I see that 14 of the top 25 titles are free. "Selling" these free titles is easy and their publishers/authors obviously have something bigger in mind than just giving away content.  Many are hoping to be discovered, thereby broadening their audience so that these new fans will actually pay for the next title in the series, for example. …

  • Has the Magazine Industry Heard of the iPhone?

    Joe Wikert
    18 Jan 2010 | 12:02 pm
    What is the magazine industry waiting for?  The iPhone is now 3 years old and there appears to be little to no interest in creating paid apps with their content.  Go to the App Store, search for "magazine" and look at the hodgepodge results. Many of the ones that actually have apps treat them more like news feeds than new ways of rendering their magazine (e.g,. see the Sports Illustrated app, for example).  Hey, I've got plenty of news apps already.  If I'm taking the time to download your app it's because I want the magazine content, not another news feed.I…
 
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    SlushPile.net

  • WSJ Discovers the Difficulties of Unrepresented Writers

    scott
    18 Jan 2010 | 5:39 am
    On Friday, the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled “The Death of the Slush Pile.” It’s a perfectly acceptable article but what interests me is how completely not-news this thing is. I realize that WSJ readers are not writers and are probably not familiar with publishing. But still, can anyone be surprised by the fact that it’s hard for unrepresented, unknown writers to get their work read? Even for the casual reader of the New York Times with the regular “death of publishing” articles should know about the situation. And to trot out the age…

  • The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Show and the Book They Didn’t Use

    scott
    11 Jan 2010 | 12:41 pm
    Last night on Fox, I caught Morgan Spurlock’s documentary about the 20 year history of The Simpsons. It was entertaining enough and I was particularly pleased to observe a situation where vocalist Sting references literary heavyweight Cormac McCarthy while discussing yellowish cartoon characters. But during the show, I kept thinking about how much of a shame it was that the documentary couldn’t somehow involve John Ortved. A writer for Vanity Fair, Ortved published the highly entertaining and informative The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History. In the book, Ortved…

  • Ehrenreich on the Economy and Lost Middle Class

    scott
    21 Dec 2009 | 8:37 am
    Reuters conducted a question-and-answer session with Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed about the difficult economy and the prospects for the middle class. They even got her update on some of the people featured in Nickel and Dimed. It’s an interesting take on a challenging time.

  • New York Times Year-End Roundup

    scott
    30 Nov 2009 | 6:23 am
    Late last week, the New York Times presented a batch of year-end roundups. Critics Janet Maslin, Dwight Garner, and Michiko Kakutani all pick their top books of 2009. And while I certainly have my disagreements with the critics, I do find lists like this helpful for reminding me of books I might have forgotten over the year. For example, I’m ashamed to admit that I never got around to reading Wells Tower’s Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned. It just got lost in the shuffle for me. But now that I finally have some reading time available again, I’m going to pick it up. What…

  • Reading Round Up

    scott
    2 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am
    It’s been a hectic summer and fall for me, full of travel for book research and other adventures here and there. But I recently got a bit of a break where I could catch up on my reading. And I’m pleased to say that I’ve been on a run of really good books lately. First up, I finally read Dexter Filkins’s The Forever War. I’m awfully late to the party on this one since it was released almost a year ago and racked up a ton of awards, including being named a best book of 2008 by the New York Times. And after finishing this amazing book, I’m sorry that it took…
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    Thingology (LibraryThing's ideas blog)

  • Why are you for killing libraries?

    Tim
    4 Feb 2010 | 9:56 pm
    Publishing idea-man Mike Shatzkin recently wrote a provocative blog post, "Why are you for killing bookstores?" He lays out the uncomfortable facts:"Although there are probably few people reading this blog who expect bookstores to be around in 15 or 20 years (and those who do will undoubtedly leave a comment!), there are many who would like to keep them around as long as possible. There is a magic to being in a building surrounded by 40,000, 60,000, 100,000 different books. Bookstores are inherently community centers. They make possible the wide dissemination and promotion of great writing.

  • Something is the Future

    Tim
    2 Feb 2010 | 7:57 am
    Wayne Bivens-Tatum, a Princeton librarian and blogger, wrote an excellent post, called "Nothing is the Future." It attacks a certain sort of insipid library futurism—and is going all over the "Twittersphere":The kindest interpretation of statements like "the future is mobile" or "the future of reference is SMS" or "the future is librarians in pods" or whatever is that the librarians are trying to create that future by speaking it. The incantation will somehow make it so.... The less kind interpretation is that the authors of such statements are reductionist promoters, reducing a complex…

  • Shelf Browse live at High Plains

    Abby
    1 Feb 2010 | 8:03 am
    Shelf Browse—which we announced last week—is now live in High Plains Library District's catalog. As we mentioned in our brief ALA announcement, Shelf Browse lets you browse your library's shelves visually, just as you would do in the physical library.Shelf Browse lets your patrons see where a book sits on your actual shelves, and what's near it. It includes a "mini-browser" that sits on your detail pages, and a full-screen version, launched from the detail page.See it in action at High Plains Library District. Some jumping off points:The Moosewood CookbookAlmost French : love and a new…

  • Library Anywhere Prices (Public!)

    Abby
    26 Jan 2010 | 7:16 am
    As we announced last week at ALA Midwinter, we're about to come out with "Library Anywhere"—a mobile catalog for any library. In short, it provides a mobile catalog, both mobile web and native apps (see the handout).Price List. We promised that Library Anywhere wouldn't just be cheap, but that we would have published prices. This is a pretty big deal in the library world, where wiggly, negotiable prices and hidden formulae are the norm. LibraryThing Anywhere Price List!We key off buildings and locations, to be as dead-simple as possible. It's an annual subscription fee.Schools$150, plus…

  • Library Anywhere, a mobile catalog for everyone

    Tim
    16 Jan 2010 | 5:57 am
    Following on our announcement of Shelf Browse, here's another new product. We think this one's a pretty big deal.Announcing Library Anywhere! Check it out on our ALA handout (available here).A mobile catalog for any library, up and running in minutes.Mobile web and apps for iPhone, Blackberry and Android.Cheaper than you'd guess.Search, place holds, and more.Showcase hours, branches, and events.No installation process.Works with 90% of current OPACs.Comes with an "accessible version" that provides a fully Section 508-compliant version of your existing catalog.Unlike Shelf Browse, available…
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    Beyond the Book

  • Live Webcast: From the Frontlines of the E-book Wars

    rob@burstmarketing.com (BurstMarketing)
    8 Feb 2010 | 11:19 am
    From the debut of the iPad to MacMillan’s challenge of Amazon’s pricing model for Kindle book downloads, the news in recent weeks on the multiple fronts in the electronic publishing revolution has raised many questions and heightened concerns for the future of our industry. Without any doubt, E-books Wars is the first break-out story of the year in book publishing. And we can expect it to remain a leading headline-maker throughout 2010. As host and producer for “Beyond the Book,” I take seriously our commitment at the non-profit Copyright Clearance Center to serve authors and…

  • BTB #152: With E-Books, Take Time & Be Sure

    rob@burstmarketing.com (BurstMarketing)
    7 Feb 2010 | 10:00 am
    In the middle of the e-book hurricane, it may be time for some calm thinking – along with a little debunking. Founder of Unlimited Publishing and book industry analyst Danny O. Snow tells Chris Kenneally now is a good moment for publishers and authors to stop all the rushing about. “Having observed what happened in the music business ten years ago, we are on pins and needles not to be left in the dust of technology,” Snow says. “Actually, publishers are very lucky to be behind the curve, which is kind of surprising, but we can learn from the mistakes, and the good things, that are…

  • BTB #151: OnCopyright 2010, Where Ideas Collide (Not People)

    rob@burstmarketing.com (BurstMarketing)
    1 Feb 2010 | 3:03 pm
    When it comes to typical conferences on the topic of copyright, four forces – technology, society, law, and the arts – interact to generate a charged debate. Conference organizer Bill Burger tells Chris Kenneally that OnCopyright 2010 will be different. For this “Collision of Ideas,” there will be a conversation rather than a confrontation. “Many people get very charged up about copyright issues, and I think that leads to the stalemate that we’ve been witnessing,” says Burger. “It’s a little like what we see in Washington. People are unable to have a real…

  • BTB #150: Electric Literature Is Shiny New Home for Fiction

    rob@burstmarketing.com (BurstMarketing)
    31 Jan 2010 | 10:00 am
    Tired of hearing that literary fiction is doomed in the digital age? Well, Scott Lindenbaum and Andy Hunter, were – in fact they became so tired of hearing that Kindles and computers were killing literary fiction, the pair from Brooklyn College started an online literary journal with a twist: They charged real money for it, and they paid the contributors. Today, Electric Literature publishes its third issue. As before, the quarterly features five pieces of short fiction for which the editors have paid the writers $1,000 each. Readers can subscribe in every viable medium: paperback; eBook;…

  • BTB #149: Bringing Data to the Debate on E-book ‘Piracy’

    rob@burstmarketing.com (BurstMarketing)
    29 Jan 2010 | 12:40 pm
    As e-readers and e-books gather momentum in the early days of 2010, some book publishers find themselves on the horns of a marketing dilemma. Do they join the new e-book club to capture sales, or do they stand back to keep their content safe from online “pirates”? In a conversation with Chris Kenneally at the recent Digital Book World in New York, media industry consultant Brian O’Leary discussed his firm’s research on the effect on sales when a title finds its way into an unsanctioned online market. The findings – a significant jump in sales – have surprised many in…
 
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    MediumAtLarge.net

  • Happy Valentine's Day from NYAF and Kinokuniya

    Peter Tatara
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:59 am
    Peter from the New York Anime Festival here with some good news. We've got a special Valentine's present for you from Kinokuniya and NYAF. We've got some great news, too. It's not yaoi. (Well, actually, it could be.) See, from February 10-14, Kinokuniya is proud to offer a special Valentine's Day discount off of all manga and anime. To get 10% off all manga and anime at Kinokuniya Bookstore -- at 1073 Avenue of the Americas -- just print out the coupon below.And if you want to boost that 10% off to 15%, show your Kinokuniya Manga Club card -- or sign up to become a member.Whether you want to…

  • Kids Chinese New Year's Party at Ruby Foo's!

    Peter Tatara
    7 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    February 14th is Valentine's Day, and -- this year -- it's Chinese New Year's, too! Celebrate both at Ruby Foo's in Times Square, as it's hosting a special Kids Chinese New Year's Party! From 12 to 3 PM, there'll be origami, face painting, prizes, and more. Sure, a Kids Chinese New Year's Party may not be the ideal romantic event for most couples, but if you're reading this, you're probably the kind of couple that would get a kick out of it.Also, origami ain't exactly Chinese, but let's give that a pass, too.

  • Crisis on Two Earths Premieres in Two Cities

    Peter Tatara
    6 Feb 2010 | 3:57 pm
    A few weeks ago, NYCC and our friends at Newsarama hosted the premiere of Marvel’s Planet Hulk at The Paley Center in NYC and LA. We’re now proud to see Newarama and Paley working with DC to host premieres of Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths on February 16 and 18. On February 16, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths will screen at The Paley Center in New York City (25 West 52nd Street) with a media interviews starting at 5:30 PM and the screening kicking off at 6:30. A panel discussion with filmmakers and voice cast will follow. On February 18, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths…

  • Caturday

    Peter Tatara
    6 Feb 2010 | 6:59 am
    Caturday continues.

  • Comic Art, Larger Than Life, At C2E2

    Peter Tatara
    5 Feb 2010 | 7:45 am
    C2E2's been announcing a lot of big names lately -- from Gail Simone and Adam Hughes to Chris Ware and Colleen Doran. I wanted to take a moment today, though, to talk about another guest we're just announcing. Eric Maruscak. Know the name? If you don't, you know his work. Eric's the artist responsible for the massive chalk murals that are seen at conventions around the country -- including our own New York Comic Con, New York Anime Festival, and PAX -- and we're proud to be bringing him to C2E2.What'll Eric be crafting in Chicago? We can't say yet, but to get a glimpse of what he's capable…
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    TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

  • Should publishers take a warning from Warner?

    Chris Meadows
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:43 am
    A number of people have suggested that the publishing industry could afford to learn from the mistakes of the music industry over the last twenty years. Here is another possible mistake they should consider. Peter Kafka at All Things Digital: MediaMemo reports on an earnings call from Warner Music Group in which Warner revealed it has seen its growth slow significantly since it implemented variable pricing on music back  in April, moving from all-tracks-99-cents to a .69/.99/1.29 tiered scheme. Warner CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. argued that the pricing change has been a “net positive” for…

  • Calibre 0.6.38 released

    Paul Biba
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:50 am
    * Driver for the Irex DR 800 * Driver for the Booq e-book reader * Allow automatic series increment algorithm to be tweaked by editing the config file tweaks.py * Various improvements to the catalog generation. Larger thumbnails in EPUB output and better series sorting. Better handling of html markup in the comments. * MOBI Output: Make font used for generated masthead images user customizable. Digg us. Slashdot us. Facebook us. Twitter us. Share the news.

  • Wattpad teams up with Lulu and Bharti Airtel of India

    Paul Biba
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:18 am
    Wattpad has teamed up with Lulu and will open the Wattpad Marketplace on Lulu.com. The marketplace will sell POD editions and offer free and for sale ebooks as well. Additionally, Wattpad has connected with Bharti Airtel, the largest mobile operator in India with over 100 million mobile subscribers. The Wattpad mobile ebook app will now be available in the Bharti Airtel application store. More info here. Digg us. Slashdot us. Facebook us. Twitter us. Share the news.

  • The eBook Wars: The Price Battle (IV) — Value

    Rich Adin
    9 Feb 2010 | 7:43 am
    It seems like every post is about value. Low-quality books have low price values. We all agree on that. The question unanswered, however, is what value does a book have regardless of its form? That is one tough question! What brought this to mind was an article in The Economist titled “The Lowdown on Teardowns” (January 23, 2010, pp. 62-63), which was subtitled “Ripping apart smart-phones reveals their true cost.” I tried to rip apart a book to find its true cost but didn’t have any success. Unlike the smartphone, a book is primarily intangibles. But the article is intriguing. Not…

  • Ebook formatting from a publisher’s perspective – it isn’t easy or simple!

    Paul Biba
    9 Feb 2010 | 7:21 am
    Editor’s Note: I received the following email from publisher Linda Houle and I thought it should be shared with all our readers. PB I recently noticed there seems to be a trend toward “blaming” publishers for poor ebook quality. As a publisher I wanted to bring something interesting to your attention, with the idea you might want to explore it as a possible blog topic. I mentioned “apps” and formatting in my subject line because I found out something about our L&L Dreamspell ebooks. An ebook that I had formatted perfectly in Mobipocket .prc came out either…
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    Medialoper

  • The Daily Loper – Feb 8, 2010

    Lopy
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:59 pm
    Today’s links of interest: E-Reads: Panic in Blogger Park! Google Pulls Plug on FTP FeedIf you’re using Blogger.com *and* updating via FTP, this one’s for you. Apple tells devs that location-based advertising is a no-noRight. Because it’s apparently the biggest thing on the next big thing list. Google Launching Twitter-Killer For Gmail!Right. This will kill Twitter in exactly the same way Knoll killed Wikipedia. Remember Wikipedia? Remember Knoll?? Brewers erecting a statue of Selig outside parkThis Bud’s for Milwaukee. They can keep him.

  • The Daily Loper – Feb 5, 2010

    Lopy
    5 Feb 2010 | 5:59 pm
    Today’s links of interest: NBC Looking to Scrap Emmys Tape DelayYes. Yes. Yes. 1000 times YES!! It is such bullshit to have any major awards show be tape-delayed in this day and age. Third Major Publisher Dumps Amazon $9.99 E-books ModelOh, absolutely. Let’s make a nascent technology 50% more expensive from the git, thereby pricing those who are on the fence right out of the market. Has anybody learned anything in the past decade?

  • The Daily Loper – Feb 4, 2010

    Lopy
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:59 pm
    Today’s links of interest: Microsoft’s Creative DestructionIt’s sad really. Microsoft has taken all of the fun out of hating Microsoft. Now we just feel sorry for them. Google to enlist NSA to help it ward off cyberattacksThe company that knows everything about you teams up with the government agency that wants to know everything about you. No good can come from this. Sony interested in challenging Apple’s iPadYeah, let us know how that works out. Letterman Show Adds a Female Staff WriterWe love Dave, now and forever, but in 2009, this should NOT be a headline. On the…

  • The Key to Season 6 of LOST

    Jim Connelly
    3 Feb 2010 | 1:40 pm
    “We could get coffee sometime. We can go dutch.” For those of you who just regained consciousness after an eight-month coma (and if you did so, thanks for dialing up Medialoper!) (How do you like our redesign?), the sixth — and final — season of LOST premiered last night. And while I’ve read loads and loads of theory-laden recaps about the premiere from super smart people like Noel Murray, Alan Sepinwall and Doc Jensen, I’ve yet to come across anybody singling out what I think is the key to the entire season: the words that I quoted above. IT GOES WITHOUT…

  • The Daily Loper – Feb 1, 2010

    Lopy
    1 Feb 2010 | 5:59 pm
    Today’s links of interest: All The Many Ways Amazon So Very Failed the WeekendOne item missing from this great analysis. Despite all of the Amazon failure, Macmillan has essentially guaranteed that Amazon will never again sell an ebook at a loss. 8.9-inch ExoPC Slate has iPad looks, netbook internals, Windows 7 soulWindows 7 has a soul? Does Foursquare Have A Douchebag Problem?Maybe. But the bigger problem is that we can’t seem to check-in from most of our destinations because ATT 3G coverage is so bad in our part of the world. Entire ‘Lost’ final season premiere…
 
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    thedigitalist.net

  • links for 2010-02-04

    delicious
    4 Feb 2010 | 2:30 am
    Amazon Buys Touchscreen Company for Its Kindle Division [REPORT] An alleged insider told The New York Times today that Amazon has just bought a startup specializing in touchscreens, and that Amazon will merge the company and its technology into its own Kindle division. (tags: amazon kindle ipad strategy) Textbook Firms Ink E-Deals For iPad - WSJ.com Major textbook publishers have struck deals with software company ScrollMotion Inc. to adapt their textbooks for the electronic page, as the industry embraces a hope that digital devices such as Apple Inc.'s iPad will transform the classroom.

  • links for 2010-02-02

    delicious
    2 Feb 2010 | 2:30 am
    DBW Summary « Chapman/Chapman I have six pages of notes (10pt. font!) from Digital Book World. Plenty of takeaways and tips, a few of which are mentioned below (tags: ryanchapman dbw) The Amazon/Macmillan Kerfuffle « Chapman/Chapman For those of you following the craziness around Amazon pulling Macmillan titles from its store Friday night, I direct you to the New York Times wrap up and Macmillan CEO John Sargent’s statement. There’s also a great post from John Scalzi (Tor author) from the author perspective. (tags: amazon macmillan)

  • links for 2010-01-30

    delicious
    30 Jan 2010 | 2:30 am
    Overhyped, Overpriced & Disappointing: iPad? No, iPod in 2001 "I still can't believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! … I want something new! I want them to think differently! Why oh why would they do this?! It's so wrong! It's so stupid!" (tags: apple ipad ipod)

  • revolutionary

    James Long
    29 Jan 2010 | 4:33 am
    I’m coming around to iPad now, two days on. I’m having my mind gradually changed by some of the analysis and reaction out there. A particularly helpful piece from Mac Slocum is on the O’Reilly Radar. My reactions to the iBooks application stand, but I think the device is possibly more of a potential ‘replacement’ device than I previously thought. If you profile your average home computing consumer, I expect the main tasks needed are all covered by iPad - email, tapping out your CV on Pages, doing the household accounts, etc. And then, it brings the iLife into…

  • links for 2010-01-29

    delicious
    29 Jan 2010 | 2:30 am
    Digital Publishing Forum Presentation slides now available: It's convergence, Steve, but not as we'd hoped it might be (tags: paevents) IPad Pricing Is an Issue for Print Publishers - NYTimes.com With a few notable exceptions, the print world welcomed Apple’s new iPad on Wednesday, eager to tap into the 125 million customers who already have iTunes accounts and are predisposed to buying more content from Apple. (tags: apple ipad content)
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    BuzzMachine

  • Google’s Buzz(machine)

    Jeff Jarvis
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:21 am
    I still need more time to get my head around Google Buzz, which will enable users to post and share updates, links, photos, videos with the world or with friends tied to geography via the web, mobile apps, and voice. Buzz also promises to prioritize the “buzzes” we get. I think this could be the beginning of some big things: * The hyperpersonal news stream, which Marissa Mayer has been talking about. The key value here is not just aggregating our streams but prioritizing them by listening to signals that unlock relevance. Those are the buzzwords Bradley Horowitz et al used in the…

  • What Toyota should do

    Jeff Jarvis
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:19 am
    Including my parents, we own four Toyotas in my family; over time, we’ve probably owned eight or 10. Will we ever buy another? Depends. Depends on whether we can trust the company given its performance lately. There’s a reason we bought our Toyotas. They are incredibly reliable. I abuse mine, skipping service calls. But — knock wood — I’ve not had any major problems. So even though I don’t much like Toyota design and — as a professor, can no longer afford to pay for that styling with the Lexus brand — I thought I was pretty much stuck buying…

  • Stop selling scarcity

    Jeff Jarvis
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:27 am
    If you are selling a scarcity — an inventory — of any nonphysical goods today, stop, turn around, and start selling value — outcomes — instead. Or you’re screwed. Apply this rule to many enterprises: advertising, media, content, information, education, consultation, and to some extent, performance. Start with advertising. I wrote in my report on a local advertising sales roundtable we held at CUNY that sites should shift from selling media — their own inventory of banners and buttons — to selling services for merchants, helping them succeed through…

  • NewBizNews: What ad sales people hear

    Jeff Jarvis
    5 Feb 2010 | 2:33 pm
    Recently, at CUNY, we held a roundtable for ad sales people from hyperlocal blogs to big newspapers to hear what they are hearing from local merchants. We’re wrapping up our research for the New Business Models for News Project — indeed, it was Alberto Ibargüen, head of the Knight Foundation that funded this work, who said he really wanted to hear sales people’s perspective — and beginning research for Carnegie-funded work on new ad models, products, service, and sales methods, working with The New York Times on The Local. Some of what we learned; the first four are…

  • The Flip dance

    Jeff Jarvis
    5 Feb 2010 | 5:40 am
    At the Google party at Davos, I was enticed into doing the Flip dance with none less than Sir Tim Berners-Lee: Another Sir Tim video from a session on social media. The first half of this 3:44 is him talking about the need for authority signals i social networks. In the middle, he takes pains to correct people who say that he invented the internet or created the web (no, he invented the web). The last half is his intriguing call for academic study of the web: And, yes, it was a thrill to meet the man. I was wonderful seeing people come across him, spy his name tag, and gasp with glee and…
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    Publishing Insider

  • debut thrilla out today!

    publishinginsider
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:55 am
    I spoke about marketing at the Book Passage Mystery Conference two summers back, and I met a most delightful fellow: Steven Gore. He had decades of experience as an int’l fraud investigator, and would I look at a few pages of his thriller. Long story short, we signed him up for 3 books in paperback, and the first Graham Gage thriller – Final Target – is out today! Check out Steven’s great website and what other thriller writers are saying about him already!!

  • Wi5

    publishinginsider
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:47 am
    Very productive and intense days of bookseller pow-wows in San Jose. I'm still digesting it all, but our friends of Shelf Awareness have done a lot of that sorting out.

  • big easy

    publishinginsider
    29 Jan 2010 | 3:02 pm
    One of my favorite stores around – Octavia Books - in one of my favorite cities – New Orleans – has a neat video posted. Check it out!   And Go Saints!!!!

  • Stewart and Colbert

    publishinginsider
    29 Jan 2010 | 5:32 am
    I'm not watching them as much, alas, due to the early airing movnig up to 7. But did catch Kati Marton on the other night; amazing interview about her childhood in Eastern Europe.

  • an extraordinarily good use of a machine

    publishinginsider
    27 Jan 2010 | 4:48 am
    From Shelf Awareness:  Harvard Book Store "had an unusual opportunity" to assist with the post-earthquake relief efforts "thanks to Paige, our in-store book-making machine. At the request of Google, we rush-printed dozens of copies of an English/Haitian Creole Medical Dictionary to be sent to medical aid workers in Haiti. When disasters strike so far from home, it's gratifying to have a hands-on, albeit small, way to help," the bookshop's e-newsletter observed.
 
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    Eco-Libris blog

  • A new campaign is rewarding green readers with green gifts!

    8 Feb 2010 | 7:13 pm
    Hey, we've a great new campaign we're launching today - The Eco-Libris Green Gift Giveaway!For over two years Eco-Libris has been offering eco-conscious readers the opportunity to balance out their books by planting trees. At the same time the company has worked to promote sustainable reading, and reduce books impact on the environment.Now Eco-Libris is combining the two, with a special giveaway that rewards customers with green gifts that promote green reading, from gift cards at Strand Book Store and BookSwim to free “green” books that were printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper!The…

  • Want more toilet paper in your office? Start shredding some paper!

    8 Feb 2010 | 7:44 am
    How far can green innovation go? check out White Goat and you'll probably think the sky is the limit.Here are some more details: At Eco-Products 2009, Oriental Co., Ltd. exhibited a revolutionary recycling machine called White Goat, which makes toilet paper from shredded paper. White Goat also has a shredding machine in it. The shredded paper first goes into a hopper, where it is untangled in small batches, and its then dissolved in a pulper. Any foreign matter is removed in a tank, and the pulp consistency is adjusted. Next, the wet paper is thinned out and dried. The dry paper is wound into…

  • Green Printing Tip #32: Is Tree Free Hemp Paper still available?

    6 Feb 2010 | 7:43 pm
    We are back today with a new tip on our weekly series of green printing tips, where we bring you information on green printing in collaboration with Greg Barber, an experienced eco-friendly printer.Today Greg is talking about a paper that was used to print the first book made on a printing pressThe Gutenberg bible.Is Tree Free Hemp Paper still available?Tip #32Yes. We used to carry a Hemp Blend a few years back, made by the Crane Paper Mill. That line was discontinued and we now have a Hemp Line again.Recently, my firm brought Hemp Paper into stock in two cover weights and 1 text weight. We…

  • Green book of the week: GREEN ENTERTAINING for Mommies

    4 Feb 2010 | 11:36 am
    Today we review a green book that you'll need for the next event you'll be hosting.Our book today is:GREEN ENTERTAINING for MommiesAuthor: Laura Theodore Laura Theodore is creator of “The Jazzy Vegetarian.” Having begun incorporating “green” choices into her lifestyle at a time when entertaining was increasingly commercialized Laura designed and tested her own entertaining approach that was both environmentally sound and easy on one’s budget. Laura is also an accomplished vegan cook and the author of “VEGETARIAN COOKING for Mommies.”As an award winning songwriter, jazz singer,…

  • How green is the iPad - Part 3: A greener eReader or an unnecessary luxury item?

    3 Feb 2010 | 7:11 am
    In the first two parts (part 1 and part 2) of our "how green is the iPad" we brought you the opinions of other bloggers and writers, as well as a comparison between the green features of the iPad and those of the Kindle and the Nook. Today it's time for the final episode with our analysis. To simplify it we'll do it as Q&A:Is the iPad better for the environment than paper books? Maybe. No one can really tell right now as no life cycle assessment was made to reach a clear conclusion and too many details are still missing about the iPad (from manufacturing to the end of life) to even start…
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    Tate Publishing

  • Call for Entries for the 2010 Tate Illustration Competition

    13 Jan 2010 | 11:46 pm
    Enter the Tate Publishing National Illustration Competition 2010. This is a wonderful opportunity for high school and undergraduate students to receive scholarships, publication, and online exhibition. In addition, there is an unpublished book category for those students who have written and illustrated their own story.The winners will be selected by distinguished designers, art directors and illustrators, with the winning entries published in the 2010 Tate Illustration Catalog. First place prize is $1,000.Any piece created between January 1, 2009 and March 1, 2010 is eligible. Explanation of…

  • Tate Designer takes 3rd!

    6 Jan 2010 | 2:10 pm
    Congratulations to Tate Designer Lance Waldrop for his work on "Joy Comes in the Mourning". This title recently took 3rd place on Black Pearls Magazine eSpot, for their Book Covers of the Year competition. Follow the link to check out the other top contenders!

  • It's a wonderful time to be a Tate Children's book author!

    6 Dec 2009 | 7:51 pm
    The new year is just around the corner, and we at Tate have rolled out yet another reason why it's a great time to be a published Tate Children's book author. In addition to being able to collaborate with our professional illustrators, receiving an audio book with your contract at no additional cost, having the opportunity to create a book trailer, website, or social networking site with our staff, we have just now added 3-D books to our arsenal.Imagine the excitement of the little ones being able to read your full color children's book in 3-D! We've created a method in which we adapt each…

  • Book design in a self-published world

    14 Oct 2009 | 3:31 pm
    There has been a lot of talk in the news lately about big-name publishers opening up self-publishing opportunities under their same company. When a writer decides to self-publish, it's usually because he 1) can't get an agent, or get "discovered" by a big name publisher, or 2) he just wants to get a few books here and there for his close friends and family. No big deal. What about a third group? The die-hard writer who has true talent, and has the drive to get out there and market his book like nobodies business? That's where Tate comes in. We're not a self-publisher, (we don't accept every…

  • Tate Illustrator takes 3rd in Digital Artist 2009

    17 Sep 2009 | 12:33 pm
    Congratulations to Tate Illustrator, Kurt Jones, for his recent 3rd place win! Sharon Copeland recently stated regarding Kurt's piece, "Your work was hand-picked from the thousands of entries from all over the world, so congratulations!"Here is the link to view the other top winners for this category. Judge Gregory Staples commented about Kurt's piece: "Expertly rendered and executed, you can almost hear the silence in this piece." Well done Kurt!
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    Peachpit

  • Blog :: @Peachpit #FridayFreebies - 2/5/10

    2 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    The #FridayFreebies fun continues!

  • Blog :: Peachpit Wins Big at Bookbuilders West Awards

    27 Jan 2010 | 4:00 pm
    Peachpit is proud to announce that four of our titles took home an Award of Excellence in the Trade Professional category at the 39th annual Booksbuilders West Book show last night.

  • Blog :: Introducing @Peachpit Friday Freebies!

    27 Jan 2010 | 4:00 pm
    Amidst all the Apple hoopla, we've got a fun little announcement of our own! This week marks the first of our weekly @Peachpit Friday Freebies!

  • Blog :: Ballerina on a Roof

    18 Jan 2010 | 4:00 pm
    Question: Joe, on page 1 of Chapter 1 in "The Moment It Clicks" is an image of a ballerina on a very steep roof, being photgraphed by someone. Is that you? What is the deal on this shot? Where and how was it done, and how was the ballerina protected from falling off? Thanks.

  • Blog :: Peachpit TV's Top 10 podcasts of 2009

    12 Jan 2010 | 4:00 pm
    2009 was a standout year for Peachpit TV. With well over one million downloads alone across all of our channels (a record for us), we've continued to expand and educate creative professionals in the subjects of Photoshop, Mac automation, digital photography, and Dreamweaver … just to name a few. We’ve also managed to launch our very first Spanish-language channel with bilingual author Rafael Concepcion of Layers TV fame.
 
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    Tools of Change for Publishing

  • Why Mobile Will Win: eReaders are Sustaining, Mobile is Disruptive

    25 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am
    In one of the comments to Friday's speculation post about The Tablet, Scott Lewis sums up one of the most common objections to the viability of smartphone-based reading: 3.5" screen... 3.5" screen... 3.5" screen! Can't think of anything else to say. It's too small for serious reading. And Scott is correct that a 3.5" screen offers an inferior reading experience compared with a paperback when measured using the attributes that define a quality print reading experience. And that's precisely what Kindle and other eReader and eInk-based devices attempt to do, which is "help ... sustain the rate…

  • The Unicorns are Here, They're Just Not Evenly Distributed Yet

    22 Jan 2010 | 7:00 pm
    I really didn't want to do another post about The Tablet. But then I saw this piece from Fortune (via @jafurtado -- does he ever sleep?) and this sentence drove me to it: [S]ome publishing industry watchers think that if a deal were to go through, it could lead to an Apple-enabled selling platform that would allow publishers to sell books at a price they determine. ARRGHHHH! Sincere apologies to William Gibson for the the title of this blog post, but everything that publishers seem to want from this device that will deliver them from evil is in fact already here. The iPhone and the iPod (and…

  • 2009 O'Reilly Ebook Revenue up 104%

    22 Jan 2010 | 5:00 am
    During the past 18 months we've seen a dramatic shift in customer preference from print to digital when looking at sales from oreilly.com, which is a substantial sales channel for us. And looking across all of our sales channels for individual ebooks -- including mobile apps -- 2009 ebook revenue was up a staggering 104% on 2008 (which was more than 50% above 2007): Overall, printed books are still the biggest sellers for us (though Safari Books Online is our second-largest individual sales channel), but with the market for printed computer books declining at a double-digit rate, digital…

  • Ten Reasons Why You Should Sign up for TOC 2010 Right Now

    20 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am
    In no particular order, here's ten links/reasons you should sign up right now for TOC 2010: "A Conversation with Tim O'Reilly & Ray Kurzweil" Arianna Huffington is one of the keynotes this year "Bringing e-Books to Africa and the Middle East" (speakers Ramy Habeeb and Arthur Attwell interviewed by James Turner) Ignite! TOC hosted by Brady Forrest The hotel block is filling up fast We sold out the last two years "The New How" author Nilofer Merchant's workshop "Reinvention as an Economic Necessity" "Running Two Companies -- Taking Book Publishing beyond Publishing Books" An incredible…

  • Why the Apple/Publisher News isn't Really News

    19 Jan 2010 | 2:28 pm
    The interwebs are abuzz over reports that Apple has been in talks with the "big 6" publishers to make their content available on the mythical (and purportedly forthcoming) Apple Tablet. Mike Shatzkin has a nice analysis piece on why publisher-set pricing is a potential game-changer for ebooks, and while it is indeed refreshing to see retailers and publisher drop the physical-goods framework used to set most current trading terms, it's hard for me to see it as news for a few reasons: It's already been done. The "publisher" sets the price in the App Store, the Android Market, Scribd, and…
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    Michael Hyatt

  • The Healing Power of Art

    Michael Hyatt
    9 Feb 2010 | 2:00 am
    Yesterday was hard. A business deal stalled. I didn’t make much progress on several key projects. I was discouraged. And toward the end of the day, I learned that a friend had died. I just wanted to go home, put on my pajamas, and go to bed. Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/damircudic But I had signed up to attend the Recreate Conference. (What was I thinking?) Last night was the opening night. It was to begin with a mixer, then dinner, and finally a concert. As an introvert, this is not what I enjoy. It takes lot of energy to jump into the midst of a crowded room and be … well…

  • My Dream iPad Book Application

    Michael Hyatt
    8 Feb 2010 | 2:00 am
    Recently, Seth Godin blogged on his dream iPad app. I thought I would follow suit and talk about something near and dear to my heart: my ideal iPad book application. Personally, I was blown away by the iPad demo video. The hardware and the operating system are impressive. However, when I watched Steve Jobs’ full presentation and demo, I felt that the iBooks application, while beautiful, was missing some key features. Perhaps Apple is planning to include more features than Steve was able to demonstrate. That is often the case. Nevertheless, I thought it would be fun to imagine my own dream…

  • Guest Post: Becoming a “Leadership Benediction”

    Michael Hyatt
    5 Feb 2010 | 2:00 am
    This is a guest post by Dennis Jeffery. He is the Superintendent of The River Conference. He has served as youth pastor, church planter, and lead pastor in Washington, California, and Colorado for over 20 years before leading The River. He has an M.A in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary and B.A. from Seattle Pacific University.If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here. Cheryl was in a cauldron of emotions. As regional sales rep for a software company, she was a “heavy hitter” who produced outstanding results quarter after quarter. She was a loving wife…

  • Zoecity.com: A New Way for Christian Leaders to Stay Up-to-Date

    Michael Hyatt
    4 Feb 2010 | 2:00 am
    Many people admit to me that they are drowning in information. “How do you keep up?” they ask. “Between email, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and, and the constant stream of news, I am overwhelmed. I don’t know what is important and what is trivial.” Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/[photographer] Consider this: new content is being pushed out at an exponential rate. As high-speed broadband becomes commoditized, it is becoming increasingly cheaper to produce and consume content. The Internet is doubling in size every 5.32 years. (Unfortunately, my brain capacity is not doubling in…

  • Real Leaders Go First

    Michael Hyatt
    3 Feb 2010 | 2:00 am
    Years ago, when I was still in college, I was a summer intern for a non-profit organization. I had competed against scores of candidates and won a spot on a prestigious sales team. It paid $65.00 a week. I was thrilled at the opportunity and eager to get started. Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/carlofranco The job was in another city, so the first day was spent in traveling and getting settled. The second day was our first official day on the job. It began with a full-day training session. We were going to be cold-calling prospective customers, so we began with a thorough exploration of…
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    Mequoda Daily

  • My Favorite Sales Letter Landing Page Copywriting Model

    Peter A. Schaible
    9 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am
    How to use anxiety in your sales letter landing page copywriting Some wag once reduced all human motivation to the simple pleasure/pain principle. “You either want something you don’t have, or you have something you don’t want.” It’s Psychology 101. We either seek pleasure or we avoid pain. Those are the two principal motivators. Based on that simplistic summary of human behavior, and with inspiration from small business management expert Michael Gerber, I’ve developed two basic models for structuring a sales letter landing page. There are lots of variations, but these two models…

  • These Tips Will Get Your Email Read

    Chris Sturk
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am
    Valuable information on email copywriting The first live webinar I was exposed to at Mequoda Group was the Email Subject Line Smackdown. It was a very refreshing 90 minutes with three of America’s top copywriters, Peter Fogel, Mark Everett Johnson and Peter A. Schaible. Years of experience were shown through the guest panelists’ commentary and the light-hearted nature of the webinar, which made it quite enjoyable. Among the highlights from this webinar was the “Smackdown” portion. We had asked attendees to send us their best performing email subject lines, which we then asked our team…

  • Define, Index and Track Your Website’s Keyword Universe

    Chris Sturk
    5 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am
    Last chance to sign up for our webinar on keyword research Register now for Keyword Research Step-by-Step Spend 90 minutes participating in our Keyword Research Step-by-Step webinar and you will experience the exact process needed to build a Keyword Universe and a Google Visibility Report (GVR) for your website. This information will help you: -Set guidelines for your editorial and marketing staff. -Create titles for articles, books and products. -Discover niche topics your audience is searching for that you weren’t aware of. -Develop a style guide for tagging articles and other content.

  • Why the Apple iPad Will be a Huge Success

    Scott Nicholas
    4 Feb 2010 | 11:30 am
    Apple iPad Brings 3rd Generation User Interface to the Masses The iPad seems to be exactly what we need to move computing forward. But the internet verdict is in: iPad will be a flop. All these complaints sound just like “No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.” comment made about the iPod when it debuted eight years ago. The internet is always quick to lampoon new Apple products because those who are vocal on the internet are big nerds. The nerds are focused on the technical limitations of the device (no Flash, no access to the filesystem, no multitasking, no webcam) while…

  • Blogging for Profit: Knitting Daily, a Pattern for Success

    Michelle L. Rodriguez
    4 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am
    Insight from Kathleen Cubley, Editor of Knitting Daily Kathleen Cubley, Editor of Knitting Daily “I’ve been a knitter for about eight years, and my job at as the editor of Knitting Daily combines my editorial, marketing, and knitting skills. It’s not the easiest skill set to find!” – Kathleen Cubley After having her own knitting blog for several years, about six months ago Kathleen Cubley became Editor of KnittingDaily.com. She’s been in publishing for twenty years; twenty-three if you count her time on a college newspaper. Until Interweave,  she worked in print…
 
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    There Are No Rules

  • Rejection: It's What You Do Next That Counts

    Jane
    8 Feb 2010 | 10:15 am
    I have a dear friend, Dave, who has devoted his life to writing. He's made every sacrifice imaginable, sacrifices that other people won't or can't make. This year, he has been submitting to more agents and publications than ever—and getting rejected. He wrote me recently to say that he felt more jaded every day and that his cynicism was growing so strong that he was channeling it into his writing. I know Dave pretty well. And I've read his work. He does have an audience out there. But I'm not surprised he's getting rejected. So I wrote him the following, which I hope is instructive for all…

  • Help Me Choose New Tweeps to Follow

    Jane
    7 Feb 2010 | 6:21 pm
    This spring will mark the one-year anniversary for Best Tweets for Writers. From the start, I have used a combination of serendipity and RSS feeds/searches (viewed in Google Reader) to curate each week's list. While I think I follow some of the most helpful folks on Twitter, I know I see only a small part of the writing universe. So, I'm looking for your help: Who most consistently offers the best writing advice on Twitter? Who is most likely to share links that are helpful in your writing life? Who creates meaning in your Twitterstream instead of noise? I'm looking to add at least 5 new…

  • Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 2/5/10)

    Jane
    7 Feb 2010 | 6:10 pm
    I watch Twitter, so you don't have to. Visit each Sunday for the week's best Tweets. If I missed a great Tweet, leave it in the Comments. Always welcome your suggestions on improving this weekly feature. Best of Best Why I say "no" to great work @Kid_Lit Hooks that snag great book deals @BubbleCow Are you ready to query? Here's a checklist. @Janet_Reid Agent explains how to trim your query to 250 words @elizabethscraig Stand Alone It amazes me how many people need to cut the first paragraph of their query. If your query makes sense without it, it needs to go @MandyHubbard If you're a debut…

  • A Wordsmith Among Kingfish

    Jane
    5 Feb 2010 | 6:43 am
    Today's guest post is by the lovely Darrelyn Saloom. Follow her on Twitter, or read one of her most popular posts on the memoir she's writing with Deirdre Gogarty. Pictured above: Rick Bragg On the third weekend of October 2009, writers and book lovers gathered at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge to celebrate books. It seemed fitting for the festival to take place on the grounds of the 34-story limestone-clad building, the vision (and final resting place) of former governor Huey P. Long, a natural born storyteller. As part of the festival, I attended an event called Writing in…

  • My Exciting News at Writer's Digest

    Jane
    4 Feb 2010 | 12:38 pm
    You've probably noticed I've been making liberal use of guest bloggers during the new year. That's because I'm busy cooking up new content at Writer's Digest, but I'll soon return to more tough-love posts for writers! For now, I do want to share some exciting news & cool stuff that I think you'll enjoy. How to Get a Book Deal While Avoiding the Slush Pile This is my guest post over at Writer Unboxed, discussing the so-called "death of the slush pile" as reported by the Wall Street Journal. The Future of Agents & Book Contracts While attending Digital Book World, I covered the three…
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    Self-Publishing Review

  • Do writers use Twitter? You bet your sweet tweet they do.

    helengallagher
    8 Feb 2010 | 9:03 pm
    MediaBistro.com analyzed what many of us call “meaningless chatter” on Twitter and found, among all the celebrity nonsense, there are plenty of us out there too: Using highly unscientific methods (a simple TweepSearch to find all the people who included the word “poet,” “novelist,” or “writer” in their Twitter profile), GalleyCat has compiled a year-end census of the literary Twittersphere. According to simple TweepSearch queries, there are 1,790 novelists, 9,139 poets, 19,490 journalists, 28,529 authors, and a staggering 99,082 writers on…

  • Keeping it Simple for Searchers

    neil levin
    4 Feb 2010 | 4:56 pm
    I love cutting through the muck of life.  Please get me from A to B in the most efficient manner possible.  I don’t want a long song and dance.  Don’t want to be distracted on the way.  And when I get to where I am going I really, really want to know that I am actually there. We all have the same issue and it should serve as a strong reminder of why building the best possible landing page for those who search is an essential part of book marketing. This point was hammered home to me again the other day as I was working on a Google Adword campaign.   In this case as I was…

  • Amazon v. Macmillan: Authors, Are You Backing The Right Horse?

    April L. Hamilton
    4 Feb 2010 | 4:47 pm
    Herewith, I present an updated and amended cross-posting of my blog post on the Amazon v. Macmillan affair. Let me state up front, I do not agree with Amazon’s strongarm tactics, and it is not my intention to defend those actions in this post. Rather, I’m puzzled by authors’ nearly universal lack of criticism for Macmillan’s part in the matter. I can’t help wondering, if Amazon had quietly agreed to Macmillan’s requested terms, thereby depriving authors of an easy target and distraction, might they have reacted differently to Macmillan’s move?

  • Self-Published Design Review: Stay by Moriah Jovan

    Joel Friedlander
    31 Jan 2010 | 5:03 pm
    Review by Joel Friedlander, TheBookDesigner.com Click to enlarge Our next book for review is Stay by Moriah Jovan. (6″ x 9″, 332 pages, softbound, ISBN 978-0981769639, B10 Mediaworx.) This is the second book in a series titled “The Tales of Dunham.” Design Review—Cover All of Moriah’s design for this book is careful and elegant, and the tone is set by the cover. Stay is a “contemporary romance with a hint of suspense,” according to one reviewer. Here’s where I think this cover is pretty effective: Moriah has shown useful restraint in keeping the…

  • Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Open for Submissions

    Henry Baum
    29 Jan 2010 | 2:26 pm
    Since January 25, the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award is open to submissions until February 7. To register and enter you will need to submit: The full/complete version of your manuscript (the “Manuscript”), which must be between 50,000 and 150,000 words; Up to the first 5,000 words, but no less than 3,000 words, of text of that manuscript, excluding any table of contents, foreword, and acknowledgments (the “Excerpt”); A pitch statement (cover letter/summary) of up to 300 word (the “Pitch”); Other registration information as asked for on the entry page (such…
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    Self Publishing Today

  • The Power of the Talk Show – Rock Junket: New York City from Dog Ear Publishing

    Ray Robinson
    4 Feb 2010 | 1:53 pm
    Dog Ear Publishing author Bobby Pinn has been at the business of New York City tours for years. He’s built a career and reputation on showing visitors (and New York natives) the famous haunts and ‘rock-historic’ locales in New York City. He (and his book) were featured on the Fox News New York morning show. [...]

  • Self Publishing and Social Media – redux -

    Ray Robinson
    2 Feb 2010 | 1:14 pm
    Dog Ear Publishing author, Ted Karam, is taking a novel and exciting approach to using social media and the web to promote his book, Jumping on Water. The ’special offer’ approach has been used forever to help build sales for a product – but what can happen when you get literally dozens of experts contributing [...]

  • Social Media in the Self Publishing World

    Courtney the Intern
    5 Nov 2009 | 8:34 am
    An article by B.L. Ochman was released this week marking the “Ten Things Social Media Can’t Do.” As technology improves and progresses, businesses need to be able to keep up with it in order to better contend with their competitors.  That being said, social media is not the answer to everything.  Of course, it’s a cool [...]

  • Self Publishing Taking Over Traditional Publishing?

    Courtney the Intern
    29 Oct 2009 | 3:17 pm
    In Monday’s article in the Huffington Post, Mark Coker questions the future of the publishing industry.  With publishing a book, risks are involved.  Is the book marketable?  Who will purchase the book?  Will it sell?  In traditional publishing, the risks lie with the company.  There is no way to know whether a book will be a [...]

  • Publishing Trolls – Breaking Down Authors One Page at a Time

    Courtney the Intern
    27 Oct 2009 | 9:21 am
    Scenario:  You have been writing your book for some time, and it is finally completed.  After all of the work and effort you put into it, you are genuinely proud of your creation.  People may frequently look down on you because you are an author (and authors are supposed to be broke and unsuccessful), but [...]
 
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    mediabistro.com: FishBowlLA

  • Jay Leno Finally Moves Back to His Old Time Slot

    9 Feb 2010 | 11:05 am
    In the triumph of the human spirit story of the decade, the beaten but not out Jay Leno is going back to the original time slot for the Tonight Show tomorrow. What a nail biter. Tear jerker. Heart warmer. On a serious note: here are some pictures of the dismantling of Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show set. And here's a weird factually incorrect anecdote about Leno's Super Bowl spot with David Letterman and Oprah. Previously on FBLA: Jimmy Kimmel Does His Entire Show as Jay Leno The 2004 Clip of Leno Explaining What Will Happen in Five Years The Tri-Coastal Coco Protests Reddit Alien: We Are All…

  • Attention LA Theater Reviewers...Uh...Reviewer

    9 Feb 2010 | 9:51 am
    We were trying to think of a more thankless job than reviewing LA theater. It's stumped us most of the morning. We thought of tough jobs: waste collectors, bus drivers, loggers. But all of those came with a certain gratitude/paycheck/benefits. Then we thought of a Los Angeles weatherman for its pointlessness, but even they have a significant following. No, the lowest of the low has to be the LA theater critic, lower than that are the ones who aspire to the position. To illustrate our point, here's Craigslist: Los Angeles Theater Review Writing Contest Date: 2010-02-09, 5:45AM PST Reply to:…

  • Chief Investigative Reporter for Daily Beast Suspended for Plagiarism

    9 Feb 2010 | 9:07 am
    This got caught in a classic Friday news dump because we missed the first article by Jack Shafer at Slate.com interviewing chief investigative reporter for Daily Beast Gerald Posner about lifting sentences from the Miami Herald. Read the piece here. In that article it was reported that Posner will continue to write for the Daily Beast. But then Slate readers caught more instances of copying without attribution from Texas Lawyer, cementing that Slate readers are all nerds. Look at the examples of the plagiarism here. And today Shafer posted this note from editor Edward Felsenthal: Asked for a…

  • Stephen Colbert Shows Us What Satire Is

    9 Feb 2010 | 8:45 am
    The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

  • LA Weekly Redesigns Website... Again

    9 Feb 2010 | 4:53 am
    If memory serves, this is the fourth redesign in as many years. Back when this fishie worked at the LA Weekly, the editorial staff dreaded redesigns of the website, as it always seemed to mean content disappearing from the archives. And there's plenty of missing content. A quick search of the website this morning finds illustrations and photos for articles prior to 2006 mostly extinct. And while stories published before 2006 can still be found, they may not be easy on the eyes - formatting for many seem to have gone haywire. This latest redesign is certainly not to blame for all the missing…
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    Personanondata

  • Media Week 4 (Vol 3): Google Wave, Reed Elsevier, Lexis/West, Elsevier,

    PersonaNonData
    8 Feb 2010 | 2:53 pm
    Google Wave could be part of Google's plan to enter the educational market: eSchool NewsRaymond Schroeder, director of the University of Illinois’s Center for Online Learning, Research, and Service, said an instant replay of students’ waves answers “the age-old question posed to faculty members: How do you know that everyone contributed to the project?” “With playback, you can view the wave in time-lapse, blip by blip—even those that are deleted. You can see who contributed what at what time to the wave,” said Schroeder, adding that free access to Wave could be a fiscal godsend…

  • Munich: February 6th 1958 - Repost

    PersonaNonData
    4 Feb 2010 | 10:50 pm
    Originally posted on 2/6/08.Today is the 5oth anniversary of the air crash that killed eight members of the Manchester United football team among 23 who died when a plane they were on crashed on take-off. It was the aircraft’s third attempt to gain altitude but the snow and ice that had accumulated on the plane and slush at the end of the runway ensured it never achieved the lift necessary for take-off. The plane clipped a fence at the end of the runway and split open on impact. The team members who died were Roger Byrne, Billy Whelan, Tommy Taylor, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, Eddie Colman,…

  • OnCopyright 2010: The Collision of Ideas - Conference

    PersonaNonData
    3 Feb 2010 | 11:11 am
    Hosted by Copyright Clearance Center is an upcoming conference in NYC On Copyright. Here is their spiel:The debate over copyright—its value, its limits, its virtues and its future—is raging as never before. Technology innovation is creating new models for content distribution and disrupting the economics of entire industries. Ad-based media companies are wondering what the future holds and are questioning whether high-quality content is still a viable commodity. Artists are exploring new forms of creativity and pushing the edges of rights and ownership ever outward. And there are new…

  • Beyond the Book: Does Piracy Improve Book Sales?

    PersonaNonData
    1 Feb 2010 | 12:32 pm
    At the Digital Book World conference last week, founder and principal of Magellan Media Brian O’Leary discussed research his firm has conducted that shows that eBook sales are boosted by pirated copies of eBooks. Brian discussed these findings with Chris Kenneally, host of Copyright Clearance Center’s Beyond the Book (http://bit.ly/d2w2TY). Brian explains that the publishing industry has always given away content in order to sell content by citing examples like book readings, signings, etc. For more details, you can see the transcript of the interview here:…

  • Media Week 3 (Vol 3): Elsevier, Gale/Questia, Legal Improvements,

    PersonaNonData
    31 Jan 2010 | 6:45 am
    Elsevier Launches Next-Generation Digital Learning Platform (Elsevier Press Release):Accessible offline or online through Elsevier's market-leading Evolve portal, Pageburst is Elsevier's new platform for accessing a much wider array of features and functionality for its digital textbooks. Pageburst is easy for faculty and students to access and use and is delivered through the device most college students already have - a computer. Elsevier's community of health education experts designed Pageburst to enhance the way health professions students think, learn, and study. For example, students…
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    Editors Only

  • Editor and Publisher Magazine Returns

    29 Jan 2010 | 1:57 pm
    Miracle, mixed blessing, or Hail Mary pass? By Meredith L. Dias What can magazine editors take away from...

  • What to Do About White Space

    29 Jan 2010 | 11:11 am
    Less advertising means smaller issues. In turn, many editors cram more text into less space. But what about white space?...

  • Did I Remember? A Writer's Checklist

    20 Jan 2010 | 12:46 pm
    Here are twelve questions to ask yourself and find appropriate answers or solutions to as you work your way...

  • The Fog Index

    15 Jan 2010 | 10:51 am
    Assessing the readability of an MSNBC.com excerpt. This month, we assess the readability of an excerpt from the January...

  • The Editorial Package

    30 Dec 2009 | 10:00 am
    A magazine succeeds with a well-designed package -- verbally and artfully -- to attract even a one-time visitor. By...
 
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    eMedia Vitals

  • SEO, porn, bounce rate and you

    Derek Slater
    8 Feb 2010 | 7:36 am
    My website published a news article about the Chinese government's crackdown on Internet porn. I am not going to link to it because this is one of the rare instances where I do not want a CSOonline article to get more link juice. You see, for a matter of months this article ranked fairly high on Google searches for the search phrase "Chinese porn". Analytics tell us about the behavior of people landing on the site from that specific search. Their bounce rate – the percentage of visitors who left the site without visiting any additional pages – is 98%. Their average time…

  • Q&A: Dennis McKenna, CEO, e.Republic

    Naomi Reiter
    5 Feb 2010 | 7:09 am
      e.Republic has faithfully served its audience of government technology buyers for nearly 30 years. The award-winning public sector publisher’s brands include Government Technology, Governing, Public CIO and Emergency Management. The company also produces events and sells research. In an interview, CEO Dennis McKenna, who founded the company in 1983, shared his thoughts on the state of the media industry, including what he calls the “communitizing” of B2B publishing. eMV: In what direction do you see the industry moving? McKenna: The entire nature of B2B media is…

  • How clean is your customer data?

    Rob ORegan
    3 Feb 2010 | 9:18 am
    Publishers are relying on data more than ever to drive their business. Data fuels advertising campaigns, audience development efforts, even editorial decisions. There’s a heaping, growing pile of information about your audience and your prospects – and collecting, storing and managing all of it is a growing challenge. The two biggest issues: Keeping your customer data fresh, and finding a way to integrate multiple, disparate sources of information. These challenges are the major impediments to developing a clear, consistent view of your audience in order to increase the…

  • 5 tips for successful event marketing - with no ad budget

    Heather Martin
    1 Feb 2010 | 4:31 am
    Attracting and retaining audience is a known challenge for any events business. Over the years, Fierce has cultivated a successful formula for driving qualified attendees to our portfolio of live and virtual events using both paid and free registration models.  We produce an average of 10 events each year – a mix of one-day executive summits, virtual tradeshows, executive breakfasts and networking events. In an economic climate where many shows are suffering from attendee attrition, Fierce has maintained, and in some cases grown, the audience for its portfolio of…

  • Audience development: New roles, new challenges

    Rob ORegan
    28 Jan 2010 | 5:58 am
    Audience development has come a long way from managing the circulation file. Today’s audience development teams face an ever-expanding job description, with oversight of such wide-ranging tasks as subscription management, search marketing, email newsletters and social media. “Audience development has been turned upside down,” says Gloria Adams, senior vice president of audience development at PennWell, a B2B publisher of more than 40 trade publications. “It used to be pretty simple: Pay attention to the audits, set your BPA statement goals, and when you met those…
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  • Papier kann mehr: Erweiterte Realität in der Zeitung

    Charlotte Janischewski
    5 Feb 2010 | 9:07 am
    Article ID: 11155 Augmented Reality Als vermutlich erste deutsche Zeitung führte die in Koblenz erscheinende Rhein-Zeitung in ihrer Ausgabe vom 1. Februar 2010 ihren Lesern eine neue, „Augmented Reality“ (AR) genannte Technologie vor Augen. Unter Augmented Reality versteht man die Erweiterung der Realitätswahrnehmung mit Hilfe von Computer und Internet. Reale Welt und Fiktion verschmelzen. Erklärt wurde die Anwendung auf einer Themenseite der Rhein-Zeitung, in der auch die entsprechenden Aktivierungselemente, so genannte „Marker“, eingebaut waren. Um die…

  • APL-Ladevorgang

    Charlotte Janischewski
    2 Feb 2010 | 8:56 am
    Article ID: 11137 Der APL-Roboter nimmt einen Satz Platten (bis zu 6 Stück auf einmal) aus dem Rack und legt sie auf den Plattenzylinder auf. Ein APL bedient zwei Zylinder.

  • Rundgang Start

    Charlotte Janischewski
    2 Feb 2010 | 8:25 am
    Article ID: 11129 Erik Hofmann, Technischer Leiter im Druckzentrum der Freien Presse (rechts) führt Manfred Werfel (WAN-IFRA) durch das Druckzentrum. Hier in der Plattenherstellung.

  • Welcome to Dubai

    Randy Covington
    1 Feb 2010 | 6:26 am
    Article ID: 11105 The venue for WAN-IFRA’s fifth Middle East conference is the Grand Millennium Dubai, U.A.E.

  • Alternative fuel produced from paper waste

    Charlotte Janischewski
    18 Jan 2010 | 5:03 am
    Article ID: 11036 BioDME is the name of an EU project, run by Topsoe (http://www.topsoe.com), a research company specialising in clean energy solutions, and supported by a consortium of partners. Topsoe develops a method to produce DME (dimethyl aether) from biomass as a sustainable and highly competitive alternative to fossil fuels. DME combines high energy efficiency with minimal environmental impact. The exhaust from cars and trucks running on DME is much cleaner, partly because the combustion is soot-free. In cooperation with Swedish Chemrec, Topsoe will design and build the new DME…
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  • A Look at the Apple Hype Machine

    Thad McIlroy
    2 Feb 2010 | 3:52 pm
    Steve Job is considered one of the great showmen in the business (showpersons?), and the reputation is, I think, well-deserved. I’ve watched him live many times, and saw that the secret of his success on stage is no accidental talent. As one first hand, in-depth article points out, in U.K.’s The Guardian: Steve starts his preparation for a keynote weeks in advance, reviewing all the products and technologies he might include. Although development and release schedules are set far in advance, he still has to satisfy himself that the chosen products are keynote-ready. For software,…

  • The Apple iPad: Push or Pull?

    Thad McIlroy
    27 Jan 2010 | 8:38 pm
    When we evaluate new technology I believe that the key equation is “push or pull.” It is the rare new technology product released to the public where the reaction is an immediate: “I want that.” I suppose Facebook and Twitter are recent examples of “I want that” being a very common refrain. It certainly didn’t hurt that they were free. Microsoft pushed Vista for years without much success. Windows 7 is being pulled by consumers and businesses in record numbers. Many new products need to be pushed hard onto the public, with the vendor hoping that it…

  • New iPad is a Large iPhone

    Thad McIlroy
    27 Jan 2010 | 4:13 pm
    …except that you can’t use it as a phone (not out of the box, at any rate). The iPhone Gains Weight; Becomes Deaf And it’s not really a computer, because it runs on the iPhone OS. So yes, as Steve Jobs pointed out, there are currently 140,000 applications for that OS, but most of them are better described as “applets” rather than “applications” because they do so little (as makes sense when trying to work on a small phone). Jobs introduced several developers working on either expanding their existing applets for the iPad or developing new ones. Most…

  • More News About the Life of Print

    admin
    26 Jan 2010 | 9:09 pm
    “The McGraw-Hill Companies reported a 43.2% increase in fourth quarter EPS,” says today’s press release.(Log-in may be required). The big gains were in McGraw-Hill Education at 2.6% and in Financial Services at 10.6%. “Information & Media” declined by 11.4%; you’ll have to dig deeper than I have to figure that one out. The major message I’m receiving is that a very old media company is weathering the storm with some aplomb. Good for them.

  • The Potential of a Renewed Economic Crisis

    Thad McIlroy
    17 Jan 2010 | 7:27 pm
    I cheerfully admit to being a short-term economic pessimist, and a long term optimist. But I have been appalled recently to read the all-too-numerous accounts that happy days are (for sure, probably, or at least nearly) here again. My question is: What if they’re not? I believe that there is a tremendous amount of data that supports a far more grim short-to-mid-term economic prognosis. I do not deny that this is but one of three likely scenarios, from the very chipper, to the slightly melancholic, to the rather depressed. But to ignore the many facts that suggest at worst a double-dip…
 
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