Collaboration is the Killer App – #DIYdays
For a writer, it’s an amazing opportunity to leverage the full depth of their creations through a truly collaborative process — ideally starting after the first draft is written, IMO — instead of parceling out chunks of rights for a licensing fee and complete loss of control.
The Future of Publishing is Bright
Six months ago, Digital Book World didn’t exist. And yet, 48 hours ago I had the honor of giving the closing remarks at the end of our first annual Digital Book World Conference. Simultaneously exhilarated and exhausted, I communicated most of what I’d hoped to say, but I wanted to reiterate and expand upon it here (and share my slides) because it was a message not just for those in attendance, but for everyone working in this industry that I’m so passionate and optimistic about.
Five Highlights from SXSW Interactive
Today is the last day of the SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, TX, but it wrapped up for me last night, and while I’m still digesting everything I took in, a few highlights have already become clear. Overall, the festival has been a chaotic mix of truly inspired presentations, thinly veiled sales pitches, over-the-top demagoguery
New Think for Old Publishers: SXSWi for the Bookish
This will be my first year attending, and while a few presentations immediately jumped out at me as must-sees (eg: You Are Not a Gadget author Jaron Lanier), I decided to ask other people in publishing why they are going and what/who they are most looking forward to seeing.
On DBW, SXSWi, Upcoming Gigs and Steampunk
You’re losing control of your own destiny. Authors, distributors and readers are getting closer to each other. –Shiv Singh, Engaging Readers in the Digital Age Three weeks ago, when I last posted something here, I was on the verge of completely disappearing into Digital Book World, both the conference and the community that spun out
Generalization Fail
When you’re ranting about the evils of “Big Publishing”, it helps to remember that for every My Life Outside the Ring, there’s also Boneshaker, and The Poetry of Pablo Neruda, and the entire First Second catalog! All of those happen to fall under the Macmillan umbrella. I’m not saying publishing isn’t all screwed up right
It’s Hard Out Here for a Pragmatic Optimist
“Publishing was never a business based on Wharton standards. It was a rich boy’s hobby.” –Steve Wasserman (Kneerim & Williams) Working in publishing isn’t for the meek. Neither is writing for that matter. They’re two things I’m really passionate about, though, and I’ve always counted myself lucky to work in the publishing industry, despite the
New Year’s Publishing Predictions, Resolutions
I’m not usually one for making predictions — the only thing I hate more than gurus and pundits are self-proclaimed futurists! — but I couldn’t pass up offering my two cents to Folio: for their 2010 round-up of magazine and media predictions: Consolidation and debt restructuring will continue apace. More niche brands will focus on
Reflections on, Takeaways from #eBookSummit
“I suppose we could sum up this entire two-day conference under the headline ‘too early to tell.’” –Steve Wasserman (Kneerim & Williams) I attended MediaBistro’s eBook Summit this week and Wasserman’s summation is perfect; consumer book publishing is smack in the middle of the digital transition, and solid answers about how it will all play
5 Things Books Should Learn From Magazines
Like my favorite writers, the magazines I truly value introduce me to new things, or show me new angles on the familiar, that I’d not have come across on my own. In my own series of posts for Folio: a few months back, I made the point that content + context = value, declaring that magazines that nail the equation will survive. That same math is also valid in the conversation about the future of books.