NEWS
Barnes & Noble to Purchase Publisher
12 December 2002
Further blurring the lines between publisher,
distributor and retailer, Barnes and Noble Booksellers announced today
that it will buy Sterling Publishing, described as the leading publisher
of how-to books in the US, and one of the top 25 publishers in the
country.
Steve Riggio said that B&N intends to use Sterling
to publish and promote 'exciting' titles for its customers, and to use
Sterling's established sales force to distribute B&N publications to
the trade.
The companies expect the deal to be finalized in Jan
2003.
more:
B&N Press Release
Booker Remains Commonwealth prize
18 November 2002
The Man Booker Prize attracted some controversy this year over
discussions about opening the prize to writers from outside the British
Commonwealth. Organizers have now decided to stay with the traditional
format. Sorry, America!
NWU Surveys Authors On Publishers
11 November 2002
Publishers' Weekly reports the results of a National Writers' Union
survey of around 80 published authors. According to PW, the authors felt
that publishers are 'publishing too many books', and that publishing
houses as a result may lose their historic mission. Funny, most
unpublished authors feel that publisher publish too few books -- by
unknown authors, that is!
Other complaints included too many editors leaving before projects
were complete, and lack of appropriate promotion -- this latter coming
from authors at small and mid-sized houses.
more:
PW
Article
Adult Trade Book Sales Down
8 November 2002
If you had trouble
shifting your book in September, you're not alone. Industry figures say
Adult Trade Book sales were down 17% from last year for hardbacks, down
11% for mass market paperbacks, and up a teeny 2.4% for trade
paperbacks.
Mixed Conditions Reported in the
Publishing Industry
30 October 2002
Variety columnist Jonathon Bing writes about the
mixed fortunes of young writers embraced by the publishing industry; and
about the industry's perception of itself in relation to the economy.
more:
Variety
article
Supreme Court Considers Copyright
Extension Law Challenge
9 October 2002
The US Supreme Court is considering whether the 1998
Copyright Extension Law passed by Congress was unconstitutional.
Before the new act, works received copyright
protection for the author's life plus 50 years. Since 1998 that term has
been extended to the author's life plus 70 years, for new and existing
works. This keeps, amongst others, "Gone With The Wind" out of
the public domain for another 20 years.
Opponents claim the extension limits free speech by
locking up works that should be in the public domain, and that the
extension does not give the public adequate compensation for that loss.
more:
Guardian article
Forbes article
NJ Poet Laureate Row
7 October 2002
New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey is seeking to fire the state's poet
laureate Amiri Baraka. Baraka wrote a poem about Sept 11 that included
the lines: ""Who told 4,000 Israeli workers at the Twin Towers
to stay home that day? Why did Sharon stay away?".
McGreevey says the issue is one of stating falsehoods as facts,
Baraka denies accusations of anti-Semitism.
more:
AP article
A Work of Staggering Nerve...
23 September 2002
Dave Eggers, author of A
Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius has published his latest
novel, through his MacSweeney's magazine company. The novel, You
Shall Know Our Velocity had a 10,000 copy print run. Eggers is
distributing the book only to independent bookstores that have been
supportive of MacSweeney's. Eggers has been quoted as saying this
was the only way to ensure the integrity of the novel, and that this is
an experiment that may or may not work.
more:
Globe and Mail article
Salon Writes About Book Reviewers
16 Sept 2002
Online magazine Salon features an article about
book promotion and book reviewers. While not terribly encouraging to
self-publishers, it makes for an interesting read: illustrating what
it's really like out there in book-review land. Fore warned is fore
armed!
more:
Salon article
Bertlesmann Seeks to Sell BOL.com
6 Sept 2002
Publishers' Weekly reports that Bertlesmann (owner of Random House
and BMG) wants to sell its wholly-owned BOL.com sites in Europe. The
company confirmed that it has held talks about selling its online
bookselling operations to Amazon.com. The company will retain its
jointly-owned ventures.
more:
Publishers' Weekly article
NYT stories
Palm e-Book Bestsellers
3 Sept 2002
Palm Digital Media has announced a
list of the top ten best-selling e-books for August 2002.
Predictably, most are from brand-name authors and major publishers. Palm
does not disclose how many copies of each book have sold, but does say
it carries over 6,000 titles, including titles from most major
publishers.
Hugos Awarded
1 Sept 2002
The winners
of Science Fiction Achievement Awards (also known as the Hugo Awards)
were announced at The 60th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon)
in San Jose, CA. Winners included Neil
Gaiman for Best Novel, "American Gods", Jo Walton, John W.
Campbell Award for Best New Writer of 2000 or 2001. "Lord of the
Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring" won a Hugo for Best Dramatic
Presentation.
more:
complete list of
winners
Neil Gaiman's
online journal
B&N.com Delisted?
16 August 2002
BarnesandNoble.com has been warned by the NASDAQ that its shares will
be 'de-listed' if it cannot improve its performance.
Launched in May 1999 the company's stock sold at $22.94 at the end of
the first day of trading. Today it is listed at $0.69.
Book Producers Roll Out Short Run
& POD for Publishers
7 August 2002
Book printing giants Quebecor and R.R. Donnelly have announced
short-run printing options to help publishers manage their paperback
backlist, keeping titles in print longer. According to PWNewsline
both are offering a combination of digital printing and title management
to publishers.
Bertlesmann No More for Middlehoff
5 August 2002
Bertlesmann, owner of Random House (among other
things) has fired CEO Thomas Middlehoff. Bertlesmann replaced the
visionary Middlehoff with the older (wiser?) Gunther Thielen.
Former POD book #10 on NYT Bestseller List
21 July 2002
Laurie Notaro, former POD author, saw her book
"The Idiot Girls' Action Adventure Club" debut on the New York
Times Bestseller list at #12, moving up to #10. Laurie, a newspaper
columnist in Phoenix, AZ, sold her book to Villard, a Random House
imprint, after 10 months in the iUniverse system.
more:
NYT List
The book
The author
FirstPublish RIP
16 July 2002
POD provider FirstPublish, a division of The Breckel
Group, has ceased operations. Although there is no announcement at their
website, FirstPublish authors confirm that the company has informed them
it will no longer sell their books. The company has promised to send all
the authors a CD-Rom containing their books' digital files, which may
help the authors find a new home for their books.
BookSurge and Bowker's
1 July 2002
Booksurge.com, and online bookstore and provider of POD services to publishers and authors, has
announced a deal with R.R. Bowker, the publisher of industry database 'Books In Print'. Under the
new deal, books listed in BookSurge's POD programs can be listed (for an additional fee) in Bowker's
direct ordering online systems. Bowker is offering publishers POD services through
BookSurge.
More:
BookSurge Announcement
WriteNews article
Independent e-Book Awards Shortlist
27 June 2002
The Independent e-Books Awards Shortlist for 2002 has been
announced.
The Independent e-Book Awards are designed to recognize and reward
talent in electronic books and digital storytelling from authors with
independent publishers and self-published authors.
Prizes will be awarded at the Digital Literature Festival, November
1-3, 2002.
more:
The Shortlist
eBook Awards Homepage
The Digital Literature Festival
The Imagination is Mightier Than The Screen
10 June 2002
Children's author William Nicholson has refused a large payment for
the film rights to his 'Wind Singer trilogy'. According to Yossarian's
Diary, (at the Ottakars Bookseller site) "He claims he wants them
to remain in people’s imaginations, rather than become a fixed
celluloid image, from whence the original books 'will fade into
nothing'."
more:
Yossarian's Diary
Ottakars
Wind Singer books
Do-It-Yourself Palm
eBooks
21 May 2002
Now you can make, sell and distribute your own eBooks in Palm format.
Palm Inc. announced that the company has licensed the software required.
Personal users, businesses and publishing companies can convert books to
Palm format with the new Palm eBook Studio authoring and licensing
tools.
The standard ($29.95) version of the Studio will not allow encryption
or sales but can be used, the company says, for personal documents and
family newsletters. Publishers will need to buy the Commerce edition, at
$129 (coming in June). This edition, by itself, does not allow
encryption but does allow for sales. To produce encrypted files
publishers will need an additional program, the Palm Retail Encryption
Server Software (PRESS). No price was given.
more:
Palm Press Release
Peanut Press (Palm format bookstore/publisher)
Marketing blurb for Palm eBook Studio
Borders Teams With
Publishers
20 May 2002
Publisher's Weekly
reports that Borders book stores will partner with publishers to manage
book buying in its stores. For a mere $110,000 a year (plus fees for
employee training) a publisher can become 'captain' of a category,
influencing buying and display decisions. According to PWDaily,
HaperCollins and Random House have already signed on to captain
cookbooks, romance and early reader sections. In return, Borders will
conduct extensive market research with its customers and share that
information with all publishers.
As PWDaily's editor Steve Zeitchik points out the expense effectively
cuts small and independent publishers out of the process - and can
HarperCollins really be expected to recommend a competitor's titles over
its own?
more:
Borders Corporate Site
PW Interview with CEO Josefowicz
Not-so On-Demand at
Replica
17 May 2002
POD publisher Superior Books is seeking $1 million in damages from
Replica Books, the Print On-Demand division of distributor Baker &
Taylor. Superior claims that B&T changed their contract (from
producing single copies on demand to requiring minimum orders of 40
copies) which didn't fit in with Superior's business plan of advertising
just-in-time print on-demand fulfillment to its stable of authors. Quiet
Vision Publishing, specializing in classics and tools for reading
education, echoed Superior's complaints.
more:
Publisher's Weekly article
Replica Books
Superior Books
QuietVision Publishing
Book Expo America
Open In NYC
1 May 2002
This year's Book Expo America is taking place at the
Javits Center in New York, May 1-5. This is the first time the show has
been held in NYC for 11 years.
more:
BEA
Javits Center
Publishers Weekly's Daily Coverage
Amazon-Borders
pick-ups
23 April 2002
Amazon has announced a scheme to allow its customers to order books
at its site and pick them up at their local Borders. Amazon currently
runs the Borders.com website.
[why would anyone want to do this? - ed]
E-Pub experts
relaxed
22 April 2002
Publishers Weekly reports that the top movers and shakers in
e-publishing seem relaxed and optimistic about their long-term
prospects.
PW was listening in on the University of Virginia's annual conference
at the Library of Congress
Underground
Promotions
19 April 2002
Underground California takes place in April. UC is a joint program to
help the state's independent presses gain visibility in California's
independent bookstores. Put together by Poets & Writers magazine,
Small Press Distribution, and the California Arts Council, the program
is a book festival of sorts, celebrated in various local indie
bookstores. Underground California is in its second year.
Xlibris Launches Picture Books
15 April 2002
Print on-demand provider Xlibris announces a new service for authors
who wish to produce full-color picture books.
[I've seen one of the Xlibris books and I have to say, I'm
impressed-ed]
more:
Xlibris Picture Book Service
eBookstand Full-Color POD
E-Book Readers
Pulled?
9 April 2002
Press reports allege that RCA is withdrawing its support of Gemstar's
e-book reader. Warehouses are empty and Gemstar is reported to have
bought back units from RCA.
The RCA-branded Gemstar e-Book was the successor of both early e-book
readers, SoftBook and RocketBook.
POD Machine In
Book Store
5 April 2002
The Globe and Mail newspaper reviews an in-store Print On-Demand book
machine, available at Book Express in Cambridge, Ontario.
more:
Globe and Mail story
Oprah's Book Club
Ends
5 April 2002
Publishers Weekly reports that Oprah Winfrey will no longer make
monthly book selections. She will, they report, still mention books when
she feels they merit her heartfelt endorsement.
iPublish book nominated for Stoker
Award
2 April 2002
An book published by the defunct iPublish has
been nominated for a Bram
Stoker Horror Award.
The Horror Writers' Association
has nominated Skating
On The Edge by d. g. k. goldberg for an award in its First Novel
category.
Despite the fact that iPublish no longer exists, author goldberg reports that she is
still being paid by Time Warner and has the choice of remaining in print with them, or
regaining all her rights.
Hats off to Time Warner for doing the right thing.
more:
Skating On The Edge
dgk goldberg's site
Bram Stoker Horror Awards
William F.
Buckley on Endorsements
28 March 2002
Ve-ery interesting insider
view from William F. Buckley, on how the big publishers solicit
endorsements from celebrities for book jackets...even to the point of
sending them 'suggested endoresment' language.
B&N
Profits
21 March 2002
Bookseller Barnes & Noble announced that its
bookstore sales for 2001 were $3.7 billion, up 3.6% from the year
before.
more:
BN Corporate Site
POD Book Hits
The Big Time
19 March 2002
Former Print On-Demand title Queenmaker:
A Novel of King David's Queen by India Edgehill, is reviewed
favorably in today's issue of Publishers
Weekly's daily email update.
Edgehill originally published Queenmaker with Xlibris
in 1999. She then worked with her agent to sell the historical work
fiction, to St. Martin's Press.
St. Martin's also published another biblical best-seller, Anita
Diamont's The
Red Tent.
iPublish Doesn't
Pay
18 March 2002
Publisher's
Weekly reports that iPublish authors have not been paid for works
that were published by the now-defunct publishing experiment from Warner
Books. Nor, says horror writer J. Knight, has he even received a
sales statement.
A Warner's spokesperson said that there has been a
delay but invited concerned authors to contact the company.
PW also reports that most of the iPublish books that
were offered to WB's traditional printing arm, were turned down.
F & W Publications bought by
Primedia's Reilly
6 March 2002
F & W Publications, home of Writer's Digest,
Writer's Market. Writer's Digest Books and many other niche
publications has been bought by former CEO of Primedia, William F.
Reilly.
Reilly says he has no plans to move F & W Pubs
away from its niche focus into the larger general interest areas served
by his former company.
more:
NYTimes
article
F & W
Publications site
Top 10 Poetry
Books
5 March 2002
The American Booksellers' Association has announced its picks for the
10 best American poetry books - in anticipation of April's National
Poetry Month.
more:
Top 10 Books
ABA homepage
National Poetry Month
UK Bookseller
providing tools to small publishers
5 March 2002
UK bookseller Ottakars has announced that it will launch an online
stock information and ordering system that will help small publishers
get their books into the book chain's sales channels. The system should
be in place by the end of 2002.
more:
The Bookseller article
Ottakars Homepage
Read An E-Book
Week
5 March 2002
Sunday March 10 marks the start of National Read An
E-Book Week. E-Book authors are encouraged to contact their local media
and drum up excitement about this form of publishing.
resources:
Burrelle's media directory
Recent e-book statistics
March Is Small Press
Month
1 Mar 2002
Every year the publishing industry
celebrates Small Press Month, and yes, self-publishers with a single
book do count. This year's theme is "It's What's Between The Covers
That Counts".
Events range from the Small Press Fair
at New York's Small Press Center on March 23-24, to panels and
discussions
More:
ABA article
Small Press Center
23 Things To Do For Small Press Month
Small Press Month Poster
AAP E-book
Findings
28 Feb 2002
E-book sales from traditional publishing houses have
experienced solid growth despite several high-profile closings in recent
months. Covering the Association of American Publishers' annual meeting,
the Associated Press's Hillel Italie, reports: "While annual
numbers for individual publishers remain small — in the tens of
thousands of copies sold — Simon & Schuster, St. Martin's Press,
HarperCollins and others report double-digit growth over the past
year."
In the same report Italie quotes AAP President
Patricia Schroeder as saying she has yet to be able to 'bring myself to
try' the new format.
[I'd like to respectfully
suggest that, as President of the Association of American Publishers
Schroeder has a duty to force herself to at least look at what is
undoubtedly an important development in the field her organization
covers! I don't buy the excuse that she's 61 and can't change. In what
other industry could an opinion leader get away with saying that? -Ed]
more:
AP Story on AAP Annual Meeting
AAP Web site
Confessions
of a Slush-Pile Reader
25 Feb 2002
Salon features an article
for any would-be published author out there. If you thought sending an
unsolicited manuscript might get you published, read this
article by Patricia Chui and think again! Find out how editors
really view authors who submit this way...
Plagiarism
Plagues Goodwin
25 Feb 2002
Popular historian Doris Kearns Goodwin
is the latest author to be swept up in allegations of plagiarism.
Goodwin blames the 14 year old errors on her own sloppy research methods
early in her career. She has offered to foot the bill for destroying the
publisher's existing stock and replacing it with corrected versions.
Her publisher, Simon & Schuster,
decided to pick up the bill.
[Look our for my upcoming article
in Writer's Digest about how to avoid accidental plagiarism.]
more:
NYT
article
AP
article
"Editors
scan POD company pages"
iUniverse author Laurie
Notaro signed a deal with Random House 10 months after her book was
published through POD publisher iUniverse.
Notaro says many editors
look through listings of POD sites for 'the next big thing'. Notaro
herself, did her deal by hiring an agent who shopped the book to
publishers more traditionally.
more:
iUniverse article
B&N's
Publishing Program Expands
21 Feb, 2002
Barnes & Noble exec Alan Kahn
declares that he and Chairman Len Riggio "are convinced that
publishing is the next great frontier" for the company. At a
meeting to discuss the company's performance, Kahn explained that
B&N will continue to publish its reprint and promotional books and
focus increasingly on children's books and general interest hardbacks
and paperbacks.
Kahn was made President of the newly
formed Barnes & Noble Publishing Group earlier this year.
Rumblings have been heard at other
publishing houses about whether or not it is appropriate for a major
bookseller to be publishing books, and whether books from rival
publishers will suffer in the battle for shelf space.
Len Riggio has dismissed these
concerns, saying that first booksellers were often the first publishers.
And he's right - early booksellers
in 16th Century Venice, hired experts in the new printing technologies
to print books at their expense. Venetian bookseller and publisher Aldus
Manutius is credited with popularizing (and possibly saving) the Greek
classics. These recently rediscovered works were much admired but few
copies were available until the bookseller undertook a project to
publish them all in small, affordable volumes. [-Ed]
more:
Publishers Weekly article
Barnes & Noble Press Release
information on Aldus Manutius
more on Aldus
1998
Copyright Law Challenged
19 February 2002
The US Supreme Court agreed to hear a
challenge to a 1998 law that extended copyright protection to 70 years
after an author's death (previously it had been 50 years).
The case was brought by Eric Eldred who
publishes on online archive of classical literature. Eldred is
apparently concerned that the law keeps being changed to suit
publishers, hampering public access to copyrighted works. Historians and
biographers also claim that extending copyright hampers their ability to
conduct and publish research.
more:
Chronicle of Higher Education article
Washington Post article
"Opposing Copyright Extension" action group site
Interactive
online novel in print
19 Feb 2002
Daniel Ruskoff's interactive online novel 'Exit
Strategy' is to be published in print by Soft Skull, an independent
publisher.
Ruskoff's online novel allowed readers to make
suggestions and 'footnote' the book. The print version will contain
these comments.
more:
Exit Strategy at Yahoo Internet Life
Soft Skull Press
Poetry
in NYT Review
15 Feb 2002
The New York Times Book Review began publishing
poetry by new and established authors in its Feb 17 edition. Book Review
Editor Charles McGrath will select the poetry along with Elizabeth
Schmidt, the Book Review's poetry reviewer. Contact them at The New York
Times, 229 W. 43rd St. New York NY 10036.
more:
WriteNews
article
Author
Dis(cus)ses Book Tours
11 Feb 2002
Author Ann Beattie writes
an interesting article on the uselessness of book tours and author
appearances, published in the New York Times. A must-read for all
self-promoting authors.
more:
NYT article
Grisham's Back
4 Feb 2002
John Grisham's first legal thriller in two years hits the stands this
February. The New York Times published an interesting interview with the
man who defines 'bestseller'. The interview is a must for anyone with
stars in their eyes about the publishing world. For example Grisham, who
has been branching out into other genres, sighs, "Obviously if I
was not getting paid for the books, I wouldn't write them...I have this
contract with Doubleday that calls for me to write a couple more legal
thrillers."
more
New York Times Article
The Summons at
Amazon
Distributors
Join Forces
22 Jan 2002
Publishers Group West (PGW) has agreed to
be acquired by Advanced Marketing Systems(AMS). PGW is North America's
largest distributor of Independent publishers' books. AMS concentrates
mainly on warehouse retailers and membership wholesale clubs.
more:
WriteNews report
Publishers' Weekly report
Stage 02 Festival Call for Plays
& Performances
16 Jan 2002
The Stage 02 Festival, run by New York
City's Singularity company is looking for plays and performances up to
30 minutes long. The festival runs from April 8-20, 2002, in Manhattan.
Applications should be submitted by Feb 15, 2002. Source: backstage.com
more:
Singularity
Theater Production Company
TIME WARNER'S iPUBLISH CLOSES
AOL Time Warner's attempt to move into innovative publishing,
iPublish, has been closed.
Announced with great fanfare in 2000, the venture opened for business a year later. The idea behind
the site had writers submitting texts to iPublish for e-publishing and potential adoption by Time
Warner's trade book division. Readers were to read and judge the manuscripts. The most popular titles
would be considered by TW editors for publication.
The company was criticized by some writers' groups for small advances and taking exclusive rights to a
'first look' at a chosen author's next title.
Last month AOL Time Warner announced that they were closing
iPublish, citing the downturn in the economy and the slow adoption rate of e-books by
readers.
more:
iPublish site
Wired
article
MIGHTYWORDS SHUTS DOWN
12 Jan 2002
MIGHTYWORDS, the e-content site, ceased operations on January 12, 2002.
While MightWords reportedly still had several millions of dollars in the bank, executives said
demand for e-books and e-content had not advanced as quickly they expected and that they were
quitting while they were ahead.
Originally launched as Fatbrain.com, MightyWords always had the feel of an experiment. It went
through several evolutionary stages, all aimed at selling short works electronically.
The site's FAQ says "Q. Why did MightyWords close? A. This was a difficult business decision. As of
Jan 12, 2002 Mightywords will cease operations".
Enlightening!
more:
MightyWords Site
Wired
article
iUNIVERSE OFFERS E-BOOKS
Print On-Demand Publishing Services Provider iUniverse has added e-book production to its
services. Authors will be able to make their books available in Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Reader
formats. These formats can be downloaded and read on desktop computers or on hand-held devices such
as Palms and Pocket PCs.
more:
From iUniverse's service info
UPDATES
[ in print!][
speaking!
][ online ]
out now!
Writing Success Nov 2002
"Micro Market Your Fiction" Identify
your novel's micro-markets and your book will become as easy to promote
as non-fiction. Special issue from Writer's
Digest
Writing Success May 2002
'Selling Outside of the Bookstores -
3 Secret Sales venues', in the May edition of this publication (used to
be called Publishing Success). Special issue from Writer's
Digest
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.
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.
new!Writers'
Room Of Buck's County - Salon on Sunday October 13, 2002. 1.30
pm. "The Art and Commerce of Self-Publishing"
new! DIY
Conference@CMJ - November 2, 2002, NY Hilton, 1335 Ave of the
Americas, between 53 and 54th.
3 pm panel "Distribution Online and Offline," featuring reps
from Palm Digital Media; the Open EBook Forum; and Soft Skull Press.
_______________
(in the past, I'm afraid)
WritersWeekly.com's
'Publish' email list Guest Expert of the Week
Sept 8-14, 2002.
Fear Of Writing Chat
Feb 13, 2002
(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
