Just as many entrepreneurs no longer need venture capitalists to launch their companies, authors no longer need publishers to publish. Mark Coker, Do Authors Still Need Publishers? Picture this: In the future, as the risks of publishing shift from the publisher to the author, publishers will be able to invest in technologies that allow them … Continue reading Do Publishers Still Need Authors?
Tag: Ebooks
New Media’s Credibility Problem
By offering consumers a low cost digital product, the economics of ebooks create a virtuous, self-reinforcing cycle. The low price expands the available market by making it affordable to more consumers; low production and distribution expenses allow the publisher to earn a healthy margin; and the larger addressable market allows publishers to sell more units … Continue reading New Media’s Credibility Problem
Motivational Cliches Aren’t Business Models
"If the people who make the decisions are the people who will also bear the consequences of those decisions, perhaps better decisions will result." John Abrams, The Company We Keep: Reinventing Small Business for People, Community and Place I hate pundits. [ETA: Maybe I should have said I hate Twitter? Update at the end of … Continue reading Motivational Cliches Aren’t Business Models
Will eBook Exuberance Kill Publishing?
"Originally, we weren’t exactly sure how to market the Touch. Was it an iPhone without the phone? Was it a pocket computer? What happened was, what customers told us was, they started to see it as a game machine. We started to market it that way, and it just took off." --Steve Jobs, Steve Jobs … Continue reading Will eBook Exuberance Kill Publishing?
The Bookstore of the Future is… a Tree Museum?
"I would be the most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves." --Anna Quindlen GalleyCat had a provocative post last week, "Is This the Bookstore of Tomorrow?", spotlighting novelist Moriah Jovan's anti-septic floorplan anchored by two Espresso machines (POD, not coffee) surrounded by workstations for … Continue reading The Bookstore of the Future is… a Tree Museum?
Publishers should be idea advocates
I attended my second BookExpo America last Friday -- walking the main floor, talking to several exhibitors and attendees, checking out a couple of panels, hanging out at the #beattweetup later that night -- and came away with an odd sense of deja vu. It reminded me a bit of the last National Poetry Slam I attended as more … Continue reading Publishers should be idea advocates
Free Chapbook: Crazy White Devil
It's been years since I created a chapbook. Six, to be exact. I released Selected Squares of Concrete -- a de facto "best of" poetry collection of new, revised, never-before-released and old favorites -- back in March of 2003, smack in the middle of the razor-thin slice of time between my return to the NYC … Continue reading Free Chapbook: Crazy White Devil
Goodbye Borders, Hello Kindle?
Things are looking shakier by the day for Borders, with GalleyCat now reporting that a Major Distributor Raises Concerns about their financial situation: GalleyCat has received a copy of a "special alert" sent from a major book distributor specializing in independent publishers to its clients, warning them that Borders, whose financial difficulties are widely recognized, … Continue reading Goodbye Borders, Hello Kindle?
5 Good Reasons Against Opening a Comic Book Store
1) "Bookshops' latest sad plot twist" THIS is the paradox of modern bookselling. Even in an entertainment-saturated age, people still buy books. But the casual reader has many other places to get bestsellers and topical books, from warehouse stores to the mall. Meanwhile, book nuts -- the ones who simply must buy several volumes a … Continue reading 5 Good Reasons Against Opening a Comic Book Store
On The Shelves: 1/17/07
Reading is fundamental. Don't waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 1/17/07. The full shipping list, as always, is available at ComicList. [NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure … Continue reading On The Shelves: 1/17/07