The week in publishing (January 30 through February 5)
Posted By Sue Collier on February 8, 2012
Here’s some of the latest in industry news and views:
From Publishers Weekly: B&N Will Not Stock Titles Published By Amazon
Ever since Amazon began expanding its publishing program, Barnes & Noble has said it would only carry physical copies of Amazon titles in its stores if it also had access to the e-book editions. B&N did not tweak its policy last week when Amazon announced a licensing deal with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt through which HMH will publish and distribute Amazon Publishing titles from the company’s New York division under the New Harvest imprint.
From BookBaby: What Are Literary Agents Looking for In Your Manuscript?
Well, perhaps not surprisingly, they’re looking for a lot of the same things as publishers; after all, that agent is going to have to convince a publisher’s acquisitions editor that you book can sell!
From HuffPost Books: The Big Reasons Indie Authors Aren’t Taken Seriously
Several predictions have stated that 2012 will be “The Year of the Indie Author”. After all, 2011 saw some awfully big moments. John Locke became the first indie to break the Kindle million-seller mark. Amanda Hocking, Queen of the indie vampire books, signed a ginormous contract with St. Martins Press. And The New York Times deigned to include indies on their best seller list, where every week at least one title – often more – are contained.
From How to Blog a Book: Editing and Revising a Blogged Book Before Publication
This month’s focus is on going from blog to book. After all, that’s what this blog is all about—helping you take your book idea and turn it into a book. However, I know some readers are also trying to book their blogs (repurpose posts into a book), and I hope to write about that this month as well. I’m at the tail end of turning my blog—this one—into a book, so I’m going to share some of my experiences with you and tell you what I learned. I’m going to ask some blog-to-book authors to share their experiences as well.
From Publishers Weekly: Books Up, Earnings Down at Amazon
Amazon reported big gains in revenue for both the fourth quarter and the full year but, as it had predicted, earnings in both periods fell. In addition, North America media segment, home to books and e-books, sales rose only 8% in the quarter, much slower than the 16% increase posted for the year. Amazon attributed the slowing rate to soft sales of video games, saying that unit sales of print books in the quarter rose by double digits while sales of digital content, including e-books, had “very strong” growth. The electronic and general merchandise segment that includes the Kindle devices posted a 51% fourth quarter increase and a 57% gain for 2011.
From All Facebook: 10 Things You Need To Know About Facebook Right Now
As Facebook filed for its initial public offer, it’s the perfect time to examine the website’s performance online and how its audience compares with that of other social networks.Given the expected $75 billion to $100 billion initial valuation of Facebook, we’re all already aware of the magnitude of the business. Below we reveal how much of a behemoth the website itself is in the U.S. and other markets.
From Bits: Amazon Has Tried Everything to Make Shopping Easier. Except This.
Much of the discussion about Amazon is focused on its digital side, yet the company is relentlessly expanding into the physical. It has announced five new United States warehouses since late December, all with more than a million square feet. It is testing out delivery lockers in New York and Seattle for those who cannot receive their goods at home.
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