NEWS
from 2001
E-Ink Coming Along Nicely
9 Nov 2001
Publishers' Weekly reports that technology company E-Ink demonstrated
its new screen technology this week at NIST, the e-publishing
conference, in Washington D.C.
The screen will be "virtually as light, bright and flexible as
paper" and should be on sale by 2003.
(Bring it on! -Ed)
more:
@Random No More
9 Nov 2001
Random House has announced that it is discontinuing its electronic imprint, At Random, due to lack of sales. Instead, Random House will issue titles under established imprints.
more:
Random House's Site
RosettaBooks/Simon & Schuster Deal Dies
9 Nov 2001
A collaboration that would have seen between e-publisher RosettaBooks being distributed by Simon & Schuster, has been killed by S&S. Rosetta made a deal to collaborate with print publisher iBooks, whose titles are distributed by S&S, with the understanding that RosettaBooks' titles would become part of that distribution
network.
On hearing about the agreement, however. S&S made it clear that they are under no obligation to distribute the RosettaBooks titles, even if iBooks prints them.RosettaBooks and iPrint are rights-buying publishers.
more:
RosettaBooks
Simon & Schuster
e-CliffsNotes
9 Nov 2001
The popular quick-study books from CliffsNotes are being published as e-books, in a joint venture with Palm Computing.Since the
CliffsNotes analyses of titles like Romeo and Juliet are both short and popular with teens and college students, they may represent the beginning of the wider acceptance of the ebook format (I hope so! -Ed)
more:
Palm Press Release
CliffsNotes Home
State of the POD
9 Nov 2001
[A quick update on the health of three of the first POD companies.]
iUniverse announced the sale of its 750,000th book this week. The company, partners with businesses as well as individuals to provide publishing services, says it has over 10,000
titles.
Meanwhile, rival Xlibris's CEO John Feldcamp was quoted in Foreword Magazine as saying his company has sold 350,000 copies of its books and has published 6,000 individual authors.Both companies can name titles that have been picked up by traditional
publishers.
1stBooks Library claims 6,000 titles on its virtual stacks. Earlier this year 1stBooks stated that it was 'on target to generate $10,000,000 in revenue, but doesn't specify over what period. The company was formed in 1997 and works mainly with individuals.
1st Books has announced that it is currently making a profit.
more:
1st Books Library
Foreword Magazine Article
iUniverse Press Release
Xlibris
POD
introduces bookstore returns scheme
25 October 2001
SuperiorBooks.com, a selective POD company, has
introduced a scheme intended to make bookstores more willing to take a
chance on books printed on-demand.
Bookstores agree to order at least six different
titles from SuperiorBooks.com and in return they are given a 60%
introductory discount and allowed to return copies if they do not sell.
Superior hopes these initial copies will help generate special order
sales that can be placed through their normal distributor (Baker &
Taylor) and at their normal discount (45%).
In their explanation of the scheme, targeted at
independent booksellers SuperiorBooks stresses the advantages of the POD
system for book selling - no inventory, no waste.
more:
SuperiorBooks Announcement
SuperiorBooks.com
Brill's Content
& Inside.com follow Contentville
24 October 2001
Shortly after announcing the closure of Contentville,
its sister companies Inside.com and print magazine Brill's Content
have been closed. Inside.com, a portal for entertainment news, has been
acquired by part-owner Primedia company, and will now be a fee-based
service, distributing Primedia content.
more:
Writer's Write article
Inside.com
24 Oct 2001
'NSync star Justin Timberlake's publisher announced that his novel
has been shelved because he doesn't have time to do a separate
promotional tour.
(editorial rant: Justin Timberlake had a novel contract? Justin.
Timberlake.
So much for all those people who criticise self-publishing as 'vanity'
and say 'at least the traditional publishing industry forms some kind of
filter, some kind of guarantee of quality.' Not that I've read any of Mr
Timberlake's writings, but I'm quite sure they're no better than most of
the books currently languishing in slush piles... rant over. Sorry!)
UK POD company
joins PMA
20 October 2001
Author.co.uk has joined forces with Publisher's Marketing Association, the powerhouse advocate
for self-publishers and small presses, based in the US.
more:
PMA website
Author.co.uk website
iUniverse
bags Venture Capital
15 October 2001
POD publisher iUniverse announced an $18m investment from Warburg
Pincus. Industry insiders speculate that this might lead to iUniverse
concentrating on the lucrative business-to-business marketing, rather
than on individual authors.
Contentville is Ghost-town
4 Oct 2001
Steve Brill's attempt to provide a
home for electronic content has been closed. Contentville was launched
in early 2000. It offered magazine articles, dissertations, short
content and electronic books. Like Fatbrain before it, Contentville
suffered from the reading public's current unwillingness to convert to
electronic documents. Contentville also briefly ran into copyright
problems when it displayed content without compensating the
copyright-holders.
Interestingly,
Inside.com, the
publishing news site, doesn't seem to have a story on this - or maybe I
just missed it. (Contentville's founder Steve Brill is Inside's
CEO.)
more:
Reuters
Article
Associated Press Article
Contentville's Homepage & Announcement
Penguin dives
into e-publishing
4 Oct 2001
Venerable British publisher, Penguin,
has launched e-Penguin with some best-selling novels and non-fiction.
Books are available in Microsoft Reader and Adobe Acrobat formats.
more:
e-Penguin's
home page
Xlibris raises book
prices
15 Aug 2001
Print on-demand publishing services provider Xlibris
recently sent a letter to its authors informing them that the price of
their books will be increasing this Fall. Price will be based on
page-count for the first time in Xlibris's history. An average trade
paperback will sell for $22-$24, hardbacks for over $30.
Oxford American
pleads
for its life
10 Aug 2001
Literary quarterly The Oxford American recently sent an
unusual letter to its subscribers. Editor Mark Smirnoff asked faithful
readers to help save the magazine by helping to drum up new readers.
Although the magazine touts itself as 'The Southern Magazine of Good
Writing' Smirnoff insists that it is not just for Southerners, instead
comparing it to The New Yorker - just without the New York focus.
Literary magazines are the most promising market for new writer, yet
many struggle to survive because of low subscription volumes.
The Oxford American was founded by its publisher, best-selling
author John Grisham.
More:
source: The Write News
MediaLife magazine article
Related sites:
Oxford American Home
Page
Subscribe to The Oxford American
Time-limits on
ebooks?
9 Aug 2001
RosettaBooks, an e-book publishers, announced a plan
to offer e-books that 'self-destruct' after 10 hours. While few people
are prepared to read a book at a single sitting, Rosetta believes this
format may be useful for samples, review copies and the e-equivalent of
bound galleys.
More:
RosettaBooks
Knopf reportedly pays $10-12million
for Clinton memoir
8 Aug 2001
Literary publishing house Alfred A. Knopf has
reportedly paid $10-12 million to publish former President Bill
Clinton's memoirs - more than the $8 million his wife received, or the
reported $7.1 million recently awarded to GE CEO Jack Welch. Industry
insiders estimate that Clinton's book will have to sell more than 2
million copies to break even. This is part of a trend in which
publishing houses take huge financial risks on celebrity authors,
publishing fewer books by unknowns.
More:
Interesting
Christian Science Monitor article
The Knopf press release
Mystery Writers of
America Partners for Print On-Demand
4 Aug 2001
iUniverse,the print on-demand publisher, has formed an agreement with the Mystery Writers of
America writers' organization, to help MWA authors bring their books back into print.
Authors will pay $299 and provide two copies of their books to be
scanned. They also grant iUniverse an exclusive license to carry the
book for three years. This agreement automatically renews after that
time, a year at a time, unless the author cancels.
More:
iUniverse's home page
Mystery
Writers of America's website
iUniverse Press
release on Internet Wire
Print On-Demand
Picture Books
4 Aug 2001
Xlibris, print on-demand provider, has announced that it is looking into producing children's
books. The company is currently inviting children's book writers and illustrators to take
part in a test of the service. This seems to be the first venture into producing picture books
on-demand.
More:
Xlibris' Home Page
Contact point for interested authors/illustrators
First US
National Book Festival To Be Held, Sept 8, 2001
31 July 2001
First Lady Laura Bush and Librarian of
Congress Dr. James H. Billington have announced the first US National
Book Festival, to be held in Washington DC, on Sept 8 this year. The aim
of the festival is to celebrate the wonders of reading. Taking place in
the grounds of the Capitol, the Festival will feature appearances by
well-known authors such as Sue Grafton, Stephen Ambrose and Scott Turow.
Other attractions include, readings, music, tours, exhibits and story
telling.
More:
Information from the Library
Of Congress
Related Stories:
Reported
in The Washington Post
Writers
Digest Announces Self-Pub Book Award Winners
20 July 2001
Writers Digest announced the winners of it's 2000
Self-Published Book Awards. For the first time, the awards featured one
winner and several honorable mentions for books produced using Print
On-Demand. WD Editor Melanie Rigney says, "The rules were changed
to acknowledge the changing marketplace."
More:
An interview with the authors
The
Writers Digest site
Amazon Launches
eDocuments Store
15 July 2001
eDocuments, defined as 'short works read on screen'
are now available at Amazon.com. Amazon hopes to succeed whether others,
like MightyWords.com, have failed, by ensuring quality content, offering
short works from established research companies like International Data
Corporation and Accenture.
More:
Amazon's
eDocument Store
US
Supreme Court Passes Judgement on Freelancers' Rights
25 June 2001
A controversial case about copyright, availability of
information, and good old money, has finally passed through the US Supreme Court. The Justices concluded, in a 7-2 vote,
that freelancers did not automatically give up their electronic rights when selling an
article. This case is controversial because it may result in online
databases such as Lexis-Nexus removing material, rather than trying to
track down the copyright holding freelancers to ask for reproduction
rights.
The case relates mainly to freelance
work done before the mid-nineties, when it became more common for
contracts to address electronic reproduction issues explicitly.
This decision:
Comments from the
NWU (plaintiffs)
Reported
at CNN
Related stories:
Reported
at ZDNet
Barnes & Noble Introduces
Long-Awaited 'New Writers Nights'
22 June 2001
Barnes & Noble Chairman Len Riggio
has announced that Barnes & Noble stores will be hosting New Writers
Nights, aimed at offering a showcase for self-published authors. The
chain angered many self-published authors late last year by stating that
stores would no longer be host book signings or readings for
self-published authors using Print On-Demand services such as Xlibris or
the 29%-BN-owned iUniverse.
Company sources at the time, stated
that the print on-demand system caused many problems in the ordering
system, because it is such a new process.
iUniverse authors were particularly
outraged, feeling that they had been led to believe the relationship
with the chain store would result in benefits for them and their books.
In an open email at that time, BN.com's Steve Riggio promised that these
events were in the planning stages.
Barnes & Noble stores will host a
New Writer's Night approximately every three months. Authors will still
have to persuade store staff that their book should be chosen for the
open nights. It is not yet clear whether these events will be open to
all self-publishing authors, or only iUniverse authors.
more:
iUniverse
announcement
Publishers
Weekly article
WHSmith Introduces Book
Vending Machines
15 June 2001
WHSmith has launched a new e-book kiosk at its airport stores. Essentially a high-tech vending machine with books, the Zoom Systems E-book Stores may be just a taste of more sophisticated
things to come...
more:
Zoom Systems press
release
Yahoo! News article
NWU Petition
for Tax Deduction for Artists
-30 May 2001
The National Writers' Union (NWU) is supporting efforts
for a new tax deduction for US writers and artists. Known as The
Artist-Museum Partnership Act (S 694), the act would allow artists to
deduct from their taxable income the fair market value of works donated
to non-profit organizations. They have provided a form
email letter that you can send to your senator if you support the
measure.
Themestream
April 2001
MY RANT ON THE DEMISE OF THEMESTREAM
(hey, everyone's doing it...)
Themestream (a pay-per-click site) has closed down
(and no, I will never see the $10.80 they owed me for three months'
revenues on 12 articles), but it was an interesting experiment - for me
and for the online community. The site was funded by revenues from
advertising, a shaky model that has suffered greatly in the economy of
the early 21st Century. I seriously think that pay-per-click sites may
actually succeed in future. Companies are at work now on online commerce
engines that will provide an alternative to the current credit
card/shopping cart world. This will provide a way for consumers to drop
two cents or five pennies or a dollar or a franc, for information they
want to read. If a safe, easy way can be found (perhaps in a
later generation of the passport or wallet technology) to facilitate
this, a descendent of Themestream might arise from the ashes, and once
again offer beginning writers a place to stretch their wings.
In the meantime, my Themestream experiment convinced
me that there was no real money for the author in the model. I liked the
idea of getting a token something for the content I created, but
realized I was going to have to keep sending out those query letters --
look for my article on Doing Business With Booksellers in the Fall issue
of Writer's Digest's special issue Publishing Success.
Meanwhile, I send good wishes to everyone associated
with Themestream. You were bold. You gave it a shot.
UPDATES
out now! Publishing
Success 2001
Look for my article in the Fall edition of the
Writer's
Digest special issue. The article, entitled 'Get Your Book On The
Shelf', teaches authors who's who in the bookselling world, and how to
talk to bookstore staff in their own language.
coming soon! 1st
Books Newsletter
The December issue of POD firm 1st
Books' newsletter will feature a reprint of my article Promoting
Your Fiction or Poetry Through Press Releases.
More events coming soon...
(You missed this one:)
October 18-21, 2001
Express
Yourself Conference
Valley Forge, PA
(and this one:)
August 17
Greater Philadelphia Christian
Writer's Workshop
Langhorne, PA
JDWrite Online
Inscriptions
Magazine
Featuring a reprint of my "What's
In An Author Website" article.
Writing
World
Moira Allen's Writing-World.com
will feature my article on promoting a book by repackaging the
contents
Fiction
Factor
The October 2001 update of Fiction
Factor features the first four parts of my Print On-Demand Series
Writer's
Manual
The March 21, 2001 issue of Writer's Manual features a
reprint of The Beginner's Guide to Writer's
Workshops and Conferences
The Feb 21, 2001 issue of Fiction Factor features
a 'reprint' of one of my articles and an interview
with me, by Tina Wagers. It's nice to see my name up in lights!
The Beginning Writer Newsletter
This nifty little newsletter, packed with great
information for writers, linked to one of my articles in it's "Best
of" writing articles section. Thanks, Liz! To subscribe to this
great resource, send a blank email to The_Beginner_Writer-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or hop on over to its
home page
