Category Archives: future of publishing

July 31, 2012   abby   Abby, digital publishing, e-books, future of publishing, publishers, self-publishing  
1

Penguin’s Big Buy

You may have heard the news that Penguin Group has bought Author Solutions—one of the larger self-publishing platforms—for $116m. Not only is that a lot of money to invest in a company, it also speaks quite a bit about how traditional publishers have started to view self-publishing.

 

There’s no doubt that the current eBook market has seen a number of self-publishers find a great deal of success and notoriety. With this investment, it looks like Penguin is betting that self-published authors are a big part of publishing’s future. It is also a step in lending credibility to the self-publishing marketplace and its authors, who were once viewed as writers as who just couldn’t hack it as professional authors. Now, with the potential backing of a Big 6 publisher, that stigma may disappear.

 

It is still unclear how Author Solutions will be integrated into Penguin, though. Will Author Solutions replace Penguin’s Book Country platform? Or, more interestingly, will Penguin open up its own self-publishng arm (like Amazon’s KDP or Barnes and Nobles PubIt!)?

 

What do you think of Penguin’s big buy? Do you think we’re likely to see similar purchases in the future?

June 12, 2012   Jane   BEA, future of publishing, Jane, opinion  
2

The same is not the same

So this past week, BEA took place again in New York and, walking around the floor, I was more aware than ever of all the changes that have occurred and continue to take place in our business. This is far from those first meetings I attended so many years ago at the Shoreham Hotel in Washington.  It is also incredibly distant from the heady years where the show, held in Los Angeles, or Las Vegas or even New Orleans included multi-level booths, every bell and whistle imaginable and parties that were incredibly over-the-top.  Julie Bosman’s article in The New York Times described some other interesting changes

This year, the space itself was noticeably smaller than last year (and recent years past) with fewer exhibitors.  And despite the fact that we attended on “opening day”  the crowds and excitement seemed diminished.

The fact of the matter is that our business is going through some real upheavals. E-book sales continue to grow and this is pushing down the number of physical books sold.  The mass market distribution system has almost totally collapsed and so those categories previously published in mass market are either not being published or are being published exclusively online. The Department of Justice lawsuit has distracted everyone and if the settlement isn’t overturned or changed, the future of independent bookstores could be in jeopardy because they simply will not be able to compete against Amazon.  Self-publishing online is becoming far more “acceptable” and many writers are beginning to make a very good living doing this.  And then there are those of us who are helping in the self-publishing/e-book publishing process and establishing new branches of our business in order to keep up with the times.

Indeed, walking around the hall, I heard many who were genuinely worried about the future of our industry.  But then there are others of us who are excited about the innovation that is taking place.  Yes, many of these changes are challenging, but I am personally delighted to face them and see what we can do to help our clients understand and deal with them – and ultimately benefit from them. I think the only way to go forward at this point, is not to look back at any mistakes our industry has made and move forward to make sure the book, in whatever format, continues to thrive and that writers are encouraged to produce new and exciting material.

Most of all, we cannot forget that one of the reasons we are in this business is that our colleagues, by and large, are truly a great group, and that we all have the same goals in common.  Remembering this will make our work going forward more satisfying…if not easier. I, for one, am looking toward many more BEAs and an exciting new world of publishing.

June 05, 2012   John   BEA, future of publishing, galleys, John, opinion  
3

BEA comes to town

Today’s the first day of Book Expo America here in NYC, which, as you probably know, is the big trade show for the publishing industry. Along with publishers showing off their books, BEA is usually a time for a lot of state-of-the-industry talk, and indeed, there are a number of posts today about where we’re at and where we’re going.

From Publishing Trends, it seems like the hot topics this year are eBooks (natch) and self-publishing, with the various pros and cons debated as they’ve been ad nauseum for the past year.  From Publishing Perspectives,  we get the news that foreign publishers are going to sell eBooks here in the States, complicating further the territorial disputes that arose with the first wave of e-publishing. And then, we have this surprising piece of news from the American Booksellers Association: their membership of independent booksellers rose by 3.5%, or 55 stores, in the past year.

So on the one hand, we have eBooks and self-publishers taking over the world—and on the other, independent bookstores not just holding their own but increasing in number.

In other words–huh?

I’m heading over to the Javits Center tomorrow to check it out for myself, but if any readers have been over today, I’d love to hear impressions—especially if there are any galleys worth seeking out. Which, really, is the best feature of BEA anyway: in the end, it all does come back to the books.

May 31, 2012   Jessica   fiction, future of publishing, Twitter  
2

Serial Tweets

When I read that Pulitzer Prize winning author Jennifer Egan (A Visit from the Goon Squad) was serializing a short story via Twitter, I admit I was dubious. I could not imagine having a story delivered to me in 140 character chunks.  As she declared in an interview on NPR, Egan may love the “severity of the form” and the attendant challenges it poses, but I cannot help but feel that a story—even a short one—should be immersive, generous, enfolding.  I doubted that I could find the room to inhabit 140 words at a time.  Moreover, it smacked of theoretical undertaking, fresh-from-the-lab synthetic hybrid, like the once-hyped hypertext novel (with links leading off every which way, the text is indeterminate! Cool!) than a red-blooded, forward-moving narrative.

 

Nevertheless, I duly signed up for the Twitter feed, and was actually pleasantly surprised. While the koan-like style of the ruminations of a futuristic female spy took some getting used to, Egan found a felicitous relationship between function and form.  In fact, I liked it so well that when realized I could go directly to The New Yorker, a physical copy of which was sitting on my non-virtual couch, and read the whole thing, I abandoned Twitter entirely, proving that when it comes to reading, I have little patience or restraint. This may be less an issue with Twitterization than serialization.  Reading is one of the few areas in which the price of instant gratification—a bleary-eyed morning, a procrastinated phone call, couscous rather than rice with dinner—is relatively low.

 

Have you read or experimented with stories created especially for a digital medium? What is your experience?

May 23, 2012   Miriam   e-books, editing, future of publishing, Miriam, word count  
10

The long…and the long of it

For a literature major it’s somewhat shameful to have to confess that I find really long books  daunting.  From the Steve Jobs biography to the Game of Thrones series (both of which are on my “what I want to read next” list) page counts north of 400 pages give me pause.  So many words, so little time.

Inveterate bookworm that I’ve always been, I remember the days when nothing was as exciting as having a giant doorstop of a book at hand and a school vacation (or even a sick day) providing unfettered hours of reading.  Now, with manuscripts, proposals, blogs, articles, e-mails and all the other content fighting for attention, a really long book produces something akin to apprehension, maybe anxiety.  Which is why I found Marc Wortman’s piece in The Daily Beast so interesting.

Of course, I’ve always been aware of the economics of publishing long books—we have, on occasion, advised authors to trim unwieldy manuscripts with the warning that editors are sometimes scared of fat tomes and not just because they take so much time to edit but because they are more expensive to produce.  Wortman’s argument that e-book pricing is encouraging authors to write more and publishers to cut less is, therefore, intriguing and not altogether surprising.

Dickens and other serial writers of the 19th century got paid for content, so more was definitely more.  Now, according to Wortman, publishers want to charge more for e-books and feel they can justify doing so by offering longer books.    Interesting theory.   Not sure there’s sufficient evidence to support it, but I wouldn’t be shocked if there’s some truth to it.

How do you all feel about long books?  And, does it make a difference whether you’re reading them in print or on your e-reader?

May 16, 2012   Stacey   advice, blog-to-book, cookbooks and food writing, food, future of publishing, Stacey  
2

If you want to write about food, read this now

As you know by now, I’m a bit obsessed with food, and I love cookbooks (both selling them and using them). There have been a couple of recent articles published about food writing that have caused quite a stir in the business, so I thought I’d talk about them.

The first was published last month by Food 52 founder Amanda Hesser, and it talked about the ways in which the food writing business has changed, and resulted in an inability for an aspiring food writer to make a living the old fashioned way writing about food in newspapers and magazines. It also gave some smart advice on how aspiring food writers can rethink their options.

Then last week Wiley editor Justin Schwartz’s blog post came out about publishing a cookbook. His piece offers very straightforward and specific advice on what not to do when you’re putting together a book proposal.

The articles are very different, but it’s worth reading both to get two experienced perspectives on a broadly similar topic.

The thing that’s great about Justin and his post is that he says it like it is. No sugar coating, no nonsense, no b.s., just clear and very detailed advice. He could start a consulting business and charge money for this stuff, but instead he shares it for free so those of you interested in writing cookbooks can learn what to do, and what not to do.

It’s funny because I had not one but two cookbook clients send me revised proposals this week, and both had read Justin’s post and included things that weren’t there before, like an author photo. And it definitely made for a better package to present. Sometimes the simplest advice is the most effective.

Amanda’s piece is more of a big picture view, and while it might on the surface feel depressing, it offers valuable takeaway suggestions about how to rethink a career in the food industry. Traditional writing jobs are out, but there are other ways to build up a successful brand, like some of the bloggers she mentions including Pioneer Woman, Smitten Kitchen and Simply Recipes.

If you are interested in learning more about this area, take a look and let us know what you think of Justin and Amanda’s advice. And if you have any other tips of your own for getting a cookbook published, or trying to make a career as a food writer, please share them.

April 30, 2012   Jane   advice, future of publishing, Jane, opinion, publishers, retailers  
5

What you can do about the DOJ lawsuit

Following up on my previous blog—and having read a huge amount in the last two weeks about this matter—I feel more strongly than ever that we all, agents, authors, publishers, independent bookstore owners, and readers, can and should do something about the settlement the DOJ is proposing.

In order to try to stop the Department of Justice there is something called The Tunney Act, which allows members of the public to comment on any proposed settlement by the government on a civil antitrust suit.  The “Competitive Impact Statement” filed in court by the Department of Justice on April 11th states that the Depart of Justice will cause written comments received from any person to be filed with the court and published in the Federal Register.

If you are in agreement that the terms of the settlement are onerous for publishing and bookstores, you  need to write a letter and send it to:

John R. Read, Esq.
Chief, Litigation III Section
Antitrust Division, United States Department of Justice
450 5th Street, NW, Suite 4000
Washington, DC 20530

You may also submit your comments attached in an email to john.read@usdoj.gov (with a copy to stephen.fairchild@usdoj.gov).

Please be sure to reference the name of the litigation in your comments.  We suggest the following or similar reference:

United States v. Apple, Inc. et al., No. 12-CV-2826(DLC) (S.D.N.Y.) – Comments on Proposed Final Judgment as to Defendants Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster

All public comments received will be considered by the U.S. Department of Justice and will be filed with the Court and published in the Federal Register (the Daily Journal of the U.S. Government).

These letters and e-mails must be received by June 23rd so please read all you are able to about the issues and write and mail your letters expressing your opinions as soon as you can.

I feel strongly that we must keep the publishers and bookstores alive—both independents and the remaining chains.  I hope you all will help.

April 16, 2012   Jane   e-books, future of publishing, Jane, opinion, publishers, retailers  
10

Is the Department of Justice’s Suit Against Publishers Good for Authors?

Last week, the Department of Justice sued five publishers and Apple and charged them with collusion in the implementation of the agency model for e-book pricing. The charge is civil, not criminal.  Three of the five publishers, Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster are settling their suits, but Macmillan U.S. and Penguin Worldwide are not.  Here is what Publishers Weekly reported followed by statements from John Sargent CEO of  Macmillan and John Makinson, Chairman and CEO of the Penguin Group.

So, what does this mean to authors?

Ultimately it means that Amazon, which has had a very strong market share in discounting e-books recently with Barnes & Noble starting to catch up under the agency model, will now virtually have a monopoly on selling e-books.  The company, which as we know, sells many products other than books, can afford to lose money on their sales of e-books because they have so much other merchandise to make a profit from.

Barnes & Noble and other accounts, however, cannot afford to lose money and they will do if they are forced to compete with Amazon’s steep discounting.  In fact late last week, B&N stock took a substantial dive for this very reason.

And, if as a result of this, Barnes & Noble is forced out of business, it will be a disaster for publishers and authors alike.  There will be nowhere to display physical books any longer.

I am not a lawyer and so I can’t discuss the legalities of any of this.  What I can suggest is that if authors agree that giving Amazon a true monopoly in the e-book publishing business will be hugely destructive to the business as a whole, then they should blog, write op-ed columns, and get as much publicity possible in order to attempt to turn this situation around.  It is myopic, in my humble opinion, to believe that allowing Amazon to become a monopoly in the e-book business will ultimate benefit consumers (see David Carr’s piece in today’s New York Times).

What do you all have to say about these developments?

April 13, 2012   Michael   digital publishing, e-books, future of publishing, Michael  
4

Justice?

While Molly O’Neill and I work on our final installment of our middle grade conversation (we keep getting derailed by work), I thought I’d take a moment to link you to a debate I participated in on the recent DoJ lawsuit against Apple and five publishers. This is an important case, and one that is going to have a significant impact on book publishing for years to come, considering the terms of the settlement.  Shelf Awareness did what I thought was the best overview of the situation, which you can find here.

Before you read the debate, I want to preface it by saying this: I can’t comment on any of the legal issues surrounding the DOJ’s case against Apple and the Agency 5; I’m not a lawyer.  But as an agent, part of my job is understanding changes in the industry and contextualizing them for my clients.  I’ve been fielding questions from many of them about what the lawsuit and settlement might mean. And if you follow me on Twitter, you know I’ve had plenty of thoughts on the issue, so I jumped on the chance when the Huffington Post offered to let me write something on the matter. I do hope I can change some minds.

March 19, 2012   Jane   e-books, future of publishing, Jane, nonfiction, opinion  
12

The demise of physical copies of reference books

I knew this day would come and am actually surprised it didn’t arrive sooner.  On Thursday it was announced that there would be no more copies of the physical edition of The Encyclopedia Britannica.

Many years ago, before I became a literary agent, I was the publisher of The World Almanac.  During the years I was there its circulation increased from a million copies a year to two million copies a year.  Indeed, my colleagues thought the sky was the limit, but hearing the initial stirrings about this strange phenomenon “the Internet” I had a feeling things were going to change.

Change is exciting; in this case though, it is also kind of sad. As a kid, I remember always being told to refer to the encyclopedia or the dictionary or the thesaurus when I needed to know something.  Now, at least for the latter two, I always go online.  And the time has finally arrived that if I want to use an encyclopedia, I will use the Internet as well.

Soon there will cease to be printed copies of the phone book that will (or has that happened already?) and then, what’s next?

Last week over dinner with a client and old friend, she asked me if I thought there would come a time when physical copies of books wouldn’t exist.  I replied that I certainly didn’t think so; but for reference books of any kind, I do believe that end is upon us.

What do you think?

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