Tag Archives: ebooks

Are Kindle's Best-Sellers Really "Selling"?

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In light of the revelation in the New York Times* today that “more than half of the ‘best-selling’ e-books on the Kindle … are available at no charge,” one has to ask whether the publishing profitability isn’t actually being sabotaged by the profit motive itself.

After all, the business concept behind free product is always to entice the free-taker to also be a pay-buyer; Amazon isn’t offering free books for the pleasure of giving.  But, with book prices already being dragged down by slimly priced digital books, is free really a wise idea? Continue reading

Publishing Links That Need No Introduction

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Let’s just start right off with the best news, from the perspective of prospective authors: Amazon increases royalty rates on Kindle books!  As New York TimesMedia Decoder blog points out, “Amazon’s move is also a clear bid to woo authors away from traditional publishing houses.”  Things just got interesting.

Jessica at BookEnds answers “Should I revise my manuscript before sending out the next batch of queries?” and other random questions.  Meanwhile Rachelle Gardner discusses email protocol and the power of word-of-mouth.

Lauren at Dystel & Goderich offers some advice on titling, while her colleague Miriam disses the sarcmark.

Kassia Krozser at Booksquare expresses her doubts about enhanced ebooks, while Alan Rinzler at The Book Deal teaches us about hooks that snag great book deals.

Finally, John Fox tells us why he doubts book reviews, while Suzannah Windsor Freeman (guest-blogging at Nathan Bransford‘s site) negotiates the struggle between Word Nerds and Grammar Rebels.

Enjoy!

Sunday Brunch Publishing Links

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Okay, so most readers won’t stumble over these links until well after Sunday brunch, but they’ll still be great for a rainy Sunday afternoon (if you’re on the East Coast) or even a Monday off.  So, let’s dive right in…

There are 18 print-on-demand Espresso Book Machines worldwide, and 5 of them are in the Seattle area.  Seattle Times writer/artist Gabriel Campanario provides an look into the dynamics of print-on-demand.

Rachel Gardner discusses some WordServe analysis of how online publicity efforts effect sales, and pointed my way to The Most Interesting Bookstores In The World.  Nice.  She also discusses why authors still need agents.

And if Rachel can’t convince you that you still need an agent, the Wall Street Journal digs into the reasons that publisher slush piles of unsolicited manuscripts are becoming a thing of the past.  However, Brianna Goodspeed responds that this may not be true for everyone.

On the subject of agent slush piles, literary agent Janet Reid explains how slush still works, and what exactly slush means.

You know how good things come in threes?  Well, Jessica at BookEnds tackles three topics dear to an aspiring writer’s heart: querying, submitting manuscripts, and avoiding scamsKristin Nelson also serves up one, two, three excellent pieces on query letters.

Finally, a completely different Jessica at Dystel & Goderich points the way to a piece in A Public Space on Cairo’s up-and-coming writers, and a New Yorker article on Arabic novels in translationŠukran jazílan!

Questions Answered this Week, by Lit Agents

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Authors are overflowing with two things: stories and questions for literary agents.  This week’s publishing links are dedicated to the latter.  Our cupth runneth over!

Got a question?  Read on… one of my favorite literary agents may have the answer.

Lit agent Jessica at BookEnds responds to a question about the submission process with both good advice for authors, and some pointed commentary on agents who insist on a “no simultaneous submissions” rule.  Hint: they don’t come off well in her analysis.

Chasya at Dystel & Goderich also poses a question from a blog reader — “What are the biggest mistakes writers make when pitching their work at a conference?” —and publishes responses from several agents at the firm.  Bonanza!

The Editorial Anonymous blog takes on the mysterious rejection “Not for me, thanks” and what it really means in all of its possible permutations. (Warning: may induce chuckling.) Thanks to Janet Reid for pointing me toward this one.

Agent Kristin Nelson answers two series of questions this week (count ’em: one! two!), tackling issues like revisions, the struggling economy, and angels vs. vampires.  (My initial thought: both groups are immortal but only one is sparkly and vaguely pedophilic?)

If I were going to ask a literary agent a question, it would probably be about the use of pen names.  Lo, and Behold!  Nathan Bransford has answered that very question in a recent blog.

Author and Knight Agency lit agent Lucienne Diver tackles the publishing buzz question of the year: “Can any device save publishing?”  She answers the question by questioning it.

HIGHLIGHT LINK DU JOUR DE LA SEMAINE: At the Book Deal blog, publisher Alan Rinzler answers some fascinating questions about writing in light of discoveries in neuroscience.  You don’t have to write cyberpunk to appreciate these methods for hacking your readers’ brains.