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HarperStudio Division Discussed

January 27, 2009 in press, publishing by Kim | No comments

Shelf Awareness, my favorite morning e-mail, wrote a special issue on HarperStudio yesterday that highlights some responses to the ongoing publishing and bookselling issues.  It will be interesting to see how this attempt to adjust to the new reading and buying reality works out.  The post is well worth reading.  It discusses in detail some of the policies HarperStudio, a division of HaperCollins, is trying out.  Here are some of the main points:

  • HarperStudio is encouraging booksellers to buy the books on a nonreturnable basis by offering a large discount on these books
  • Advances are lower to the author in exchange for a larger potential royalty
  • People who buy the paper book with be given the option to buy it cheaply in downloadable audio and digital form so it can be read in all formats
  • Marketing will concentrate on the Internet by using social networking, Twitter, related blogs and similar avenues

The debut book, Who is Mark Twain?, a compilation of previously unpublished stories, will be out on  April 21st.  Six of the stories are unfinished, so there will be a “I am the Next Mark Twain” writing contest allowing the entrants to finish a story.  I’m looking forward to that!

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A Couple of Links to Make You Think

January 12, 2009 in press, publishing, used books by Claire | No comments

Sometimes I just want to listen to what other people are saying

Over the last few weeks, I’ve come across or been sent some interesting articles about publishing and writing books, and since a lot of the issues raised are ones Kim and I have touched on in previous posts (like this one, about the demise of publishing), I wanted to share them with you all.

David Streitfeld had a piece in The New York Times over winter break that relates to the ongoing discussion Kim and I have been having about the morality of buying used books (see our previous posts about it).  In the piece, entitled Bargain Hunting for Books and Feeling Sheepish about It, Streitfeld essentially blames the decline of the independent bookstore and possibly the entire publishing industry on the habits of readers–like himself–who lazily buy the cheapest copies of books they can find on the Internet (new or used) and  also on those who resell the books they’ve read right out of their homes. Read the rest of this entry »

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Gift Ideas from Small Indie Presses in California

December 1, 2008 in gifts, press, recommended reading by Claire | 4 comments

Support Your Local Presses!

Bronwyn Mauldin forwarded to us a list compiled by the Future of Publishing Think Tank (see the end of this blog for more info on that group) of small, independent presses in Southern California that we should all think about supporting. 

In their e-mail release about these presses, the Future of Publishing Think Tank wrote,  “Check them out online or visit an indie bookstore, and enjoy the warm holiday feeling that comes from knowing you supported local artists and businesses instead of overseas sweatshops and multi-national retail chains.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

The following list is the Think Tank’s, but I’ve done a little research on my own to see what books they publish and which ones I would personally most want to find wrapped under the Christmas tree or tossed next to the Chanukah menorah. 

I figured I’d pass along the titles of the books that piqued my interest, so anyone who might be thinking about holiday presents right around now can see if there’s anything on the list that sounds “just right” for that special someone.

Read the rest of this entry »

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