Digital Pubbing

Exploring the ins and outs of the publishing industry

publishers

Student-Managed Book Publishers

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Student-run presses are not a new concept. Most MFA programs for creative writing publish literary journals, which MFA students work on while in school. And many universities have student-run newspapers, such as UCSB's Daily Nexus. But not many schools have student-run book publishers. A couple weeks ago, I met an author whose book had been acquired and published … [Read more...] about Student-Managed Book Publishers

Self-publishing, the Slush Pile, and Print Books

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Self-publishing may be the new slush pile. In the past, the slush pile has been the pile of unsolicited manuscripts sent by aspiring authors in hopes of being picked up by a publisher. Now, some publishers are looking to pick up books that have already proven to be successful. They offer authors bigger advances and they take on less risk in doing so. One example is … [Read more...] about Self-publishing, the Slush Pile, and Print Books

Publishers Should Sell Directly

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Should publishers sell directly? Many arguments are floating around about the benefits and drawbacks. Some drawbacks are that huge retailers such as Amazon have such a large share of the market, that publishers can't hope to reach nearly enough consumers through direct channels. Others argue that this line of thinking will keep the cycle with Amazon going, since there won't be … [Read more...] about Publishers Should Sell Directly

Digital Content: Where are publishers investing and what challenges will they need to overcome?

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I've been really in to webinars lately. I think part of it is I've been finding a lot free webinars that discuss either various aspects of the publishing industry or entrepreneurship. (Although the webinars on metadata were not free, but I think it's important to learn and understand as much about metadata as possible). Anyway, today's webinar was on an Innodata survey … [Read more...] about Digital Content: Where are publishers investing and what challenges will they need to overcome?

Getting Support for Your Projects

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I've been researching ways regular people like me might be able to get their projects off the ground. One of these ways is via Kickstarter. The site is a funding platform where people can post their ideas for projects--anything creative involving Art, Comics, Dance, Design, Fashion, Film, Food, Games, Music, Photography, Publishing, Technology, and Theater--and ask people to … [Read more...] about Getting Support for Your Projects

Making Money with Mobile

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Between the iPhone, the iPad, and the Android platform, mobile and tablets are on their way to becoming hugely profitable. But it's not just the apps that are making them popular. Mobile web is still an important component of mobile as a whole, and McDonald's certainly knows that. Advertising and monetizing mobile is still being experimented with, and McDonald's has come up … [Read more...] about Making Money with Mobile

BEA Day 1

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First day of my first BEA, BookExpo America. Fortunately, because of this publishing blog, I was able to attend for free! I spent about five hours today at the Expo, and I still wasn't able to cover everything. It can be a little overwhelming, as some attendees may agree, but totally worth it. This year, BEA was held at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan. BEA took up … [Read more...] about BEA Day 1

Inside the Book World

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Every once in a while I like to update my 2 readers on all the interesting stuff I'm learning about the book world. First off, I finally figured out why the book industry has the most ridiculous/backwards business model where return on sales of books are expected and planned for. It all started in the Great Depression. Publishers wanted to encourage failing bookstores to keep … [Read more...] about Inside the Book World

The Future of Publishing…We’re In It

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Three interesting articles about the publishing industry caught my eye today. But first, I've found that reading and thinking critically about articles goes more smoothly with music, so I invite you to play the video below and enjoy the sweet sounds of "Stereo Love" while reading the rest of my post. (And yes, I may be a little obsessed with this song right now). First, … [Read more...] about The Future of Publishing…We’re In It

I may be a pack rat, but I’m not the only one

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This blog post title may sound harsh, but that's not how I intended yet. Last week, while working at Random House, I learned about something amazing: literary research collections. It started when I was assigned the task of sorting and mailing FOUL matter (manuscript versions of books once the book has been published, including copyedited versions, first-pass galleys, etc.). … [Read more...] about I may be a pack rat, but I’m not the only one

Twitter News: Borders Files for Bankruptcy

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Last week, Borders filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. It had been a long time coming, but at least they avoided a Chapter 7, which would mean they basically would have been liquidated. About 200 stores of the 600 Borders stores will be closed. I imagine the bankruptcy of Borders worries many publishers. Borders and Barnes & Noble are still major outlets and one of the main … [Read more...] about Twitter News: Borders Files for Bankruptcy

This Week in Publishing

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Theodore Gray, the co-founder of Wolfram Research, said at the O-Reilly Media Tools of Change for Publishing conference that “next-generation book publishers will need multiple disciplines—programming, writing and video—to be successful.” They need to be very high-quality, and textbooks in particular need to embrace the digital age. One example of what Gray has in mind is Touch … [Read more...] about This Week in Publishing

This Week in Publishing

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Last year Skyhorse Publishing acquired Sports Publishing, and starting this year they will be “releasing instant books about the winning teams of major sporting events—albeit with a twist.” Skyhorse will update relevant backlist titles. For example, because of the Green Bay Packers win on Superbowl Sunday, Skyhorse reissued Tales from the Green Bay Packers SidelineTales from … [Read more...] about This Week in Publishing

This Week in Publishing

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According to this blog post, the death of print media is coming sooner than we think. Amazon recently said it’s now selling more e-books than paperbacks, and “for every 100 paperback books they’ve sold this January, they’re selling 115 ebooks…” This means ebook sales are 45 percent of all Amazon book sales. But what about ereaders? Cavanaugh says, “I’m sticking by my … [Read more...] about This Week in Publishing