This week in publishing (January 2 through January 9)
Posted By Sue Collier on January 10, 2011
Here’s some of what’s happening in publishing right now:
From E-Reads: Do authors make good publishers?
“Do authors make good publishers? The answer is no. But it’s fascinating to watch them try.
“Years ago as the e-book revolution dawned, we said that in order to keep pace with the new digital culture, authors would have to become more like publishers. ‘As electronic technology hurtles too fast for even futurists to keep up with,’ we wrote, ‘a generation of readers is emerging that will not accept text unless it is interactively married to other media.’”
From Media Bistro: “2011 will be the first year traditional publishers feel the need to compete against the indie ebook alternative”
“If 2010 was the year eBooks went mainstream, 2011 will be the year indie eBook authors go mainstream.
“According to Smashwords founder Mark Coker, indie eBook authors are becoming more professional and sophisticated, and they’re starting to climb the best-seller charts without the assistance of a publisher. 2011 will be the first year traditional publishers feel the need to compete against the indie ebook alternative.”
From the Savvy Book Marketer: How to plan your virtual book tour
“What is a virtual book tour, why do you want to do one, and how do you make it happen?
“A virtual book tour is a promotional tactic that lets you interact with bloggers and online media outlets in ways that help you get the word out about your book. Just like an in-person book tour, you select a timeframe for the tour and work to schedule specific appearances.”
From Online College: 10 biggest predictions for the future of book publishing
“The future of books is at stake, for some readers and industry members. But even those who are nostalgic for smelling pages before they’re read can get excited about what’s to come in book publishing.
“Obviously, predictions should be taken as just that. Just because some educated experts formulate projections based on trends and observations doesn’t necessarily mean they will come to pass.”
From Aaron Shepherd: CreateSpace Connections—Lightning Source, Ingram, Baker & Taylor, and the expanded distribution channel
“An early major weakness of Amazon’s CreateSpace was that the only major outlet for its books was Amazon.com. CreateSpace has now remedied much of this deficit with its Expanded Distribution Channel, offering self publishers the capability of selling to other booksellers, schools, and libraries throughout the U.S. and beyond.
“But few CreateSpace publishers have a good idea of exactly how this Rube Goldberg system works, or what they can expect from it. So, let’s take a look.”
From the Huffington Post: Rewriting Huckleberry Finn twists Twains intentions
“As a consequence of the recent press coverage given to Alan Gribben’s newly sanitized version of Mark Twain’s classic Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The staff at the Mark Twain House & Museum has been inundated with requests for a comment, and while we greatly appreciate the media attention, we are very disappointed by the cause of it.”
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