Book Marketing Blogs

It’s time to veg out; summer is just about over, back to school is around the corner (if not already underway). Let’s kick back as key events in the publishing world play out. Will Barnes & Noble be sold or become privately owned? Will Wiley Agency’s e-book imprint Odyssey succeed? What will happen with the digital book and digital reading device price and product wars? We’ll just have to wait and see.

We’ll consider lighter matters: Celeboirs (aka celebrity memoirs) to anticipate, fear or loathe in the coming year. These include: annoying reality star The Situation (ghost writer for sure) ; singer Natalie Cole; rapper Jay-Z; actress/comedian Betty White, who gets a 2-book deal from Putnam; actor Rob Lowe; actress Barbara Eden; singer Ricky Martin; teen idol Justin Bieber; actress Kate Jackson; actress Soleil Moon Frye; actress Ashley Judd; singer R. Kelly; actress Susan Lucci. Meanwhile, actress/train wreck Lindsay Lohan supposedly worked on her memoirs while in jail. Perhaps she’ll suffer the same fate as Octomom Nadya Suleman, who wrote an autobiography, but no one wants to publish it so far. Have you heard of a few, some or all of these people? Most promising: White’s look back at her long, fruitful career; ditto with Eden’s memoir.

Other news in publishing:

* Dr. Seuss’ ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ turns 50 (and it’s outsold Harry Potter), http://bit.ly/b07Xmo.

* Can you name these books from the portion of their covers? Try it! http://bit.ly/5TaPQu.

* ‘Librarians save the day! 11 great movies in which they star,’ http://huff.to/aGusEN.

* “The Secret” sequel ‘The Power’ is a boon to book sales, http://bit.ly/dAJcjA.

* ’6 Great Novels that were hated in their time,’ http://bit.ly/aJ2fxK.

* ‘What would ATTICUS do?’ Bookstore’s bumper sticker sales take off, http://bit.ly/cxg3Jb.

* ‘U.S. neighborhood bookstores thrive in digital age,’ http://bit.ly/dwlm9t.

* ‘HarperCollins launches new Vampire Diaries series,’ http://bit.ly/aZsQw5.

* ‘Kobo e-reader price to drop to $99 by Christmas,’ http://bit.ly/b8lAEE.

* ’5 great books about obscure presidents,’ http://bit.ly/aAt4bt.

Related articles by Zemanta

• This Week in Publishing – Bits and Bites from June 26, 2010 (amarketingexpert.com)
• This Week in Publishing: Bits and Bites for July 10 (amarketingexpert.com)
• This Week in Publishing – Bits and Bites for July 3 (amarketingexpert.com)

While Barnes & Noble gets ready to put itself up for sale, there is speculation that Len Riggio, chairman of the board, wants to take the company private. But first he’ll have to contend with a possible proxy fight with the second leading shareholder, Ronald Burkle.

Although B&N offered a positive financial forecast in June at its investors conference, based on the introduction of its Nook digital reader and its move into digital publishing, Wall Street was less impressed. Shortly after, there was news that B&N would be put up for sale.

It will be interesting to see what develops… you can read more here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/business/13burkle.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-reporting/article/44152-after-court-rules-for-b-n-burkle-starts-proxy-fight.html

*************************************************

Also in publishing this week:

* ‘The Worst Negative Book Review Clichés,’ http://bit.ly/aL5o2i.

* Three new e-book platforms are nearing their debut, http://bit.ly/abAcDy; Meanwhile, the e-reader market continues to shake out: Plastic Logic pulls the plug on Que, http://tinyurl.com/32o89cw.

* ‘The Top 10 Most Expensive Rare Books Sold On AbeBooks This Month,’ http://huff.to/a2D2KZ.

* ‘50 Famous Books That Were Posthumously Published,’ http://bit.ly/cIPGsR.

* Last words of 10 famous authors, http://tinyurl.com/23ljxev.

* ‘25 Pickup Lines to Use on New Bookworm Dating Site Alikewise,’ http://bit.ly/bgBtjx.

* ‘The Library of Bad Books’ – be sure to add your pick(s)! http://bit.ly/buOO7O.

* ‘Artist Builds Rooms Out of Books,’ http://bit.ly/bkx41Y.

* Shelf lives of bookstore cats, http://bit.ly/dzTTn0.

* Books of the world, stand up and be counted! All 129,864,880 of you, http://bit.ly/db4XOx.

* ‘California Coffeehouses and Book Culture’ – e-readers not welcome, http://bit.ly/9sJYNV;  ‘Respectful squatting in the digital age,’ http://bit.ly/a8q6Ig.

* ‘Will Independent Bookstores Be the Last Ones Standing?’ http://bit.ly/9OUJwY.

* Banned Books Week is Sept. 25 – Oct. 2, 2010 – see how you can participate, http://bit.ly/13TwRM.

* ‘The Truly Best-Dressed Characters in Literature,’ http://bit.ly/cECeBT.

* ‘Jane Mount’s Ideal Bookshelf’ – custom art of your favorite book spines, http://bit.ly/9hA0UU.

* ‘Book, Movie, Love: Best Sellers and the Hollywood Bounce,’ http://bit.ly/b0lNMD.

* ‘The 20 Strangest Celebrity Dedications,’ http://bit.ly/d6qnzu.

* Kobo offers free use of its e-readers at 10 Fairmont hotels, http://bit.ly/9t5WXh.

* ‘Pete Hamill, Patriarch of Print, Goes Direct to Digital With Next Release,’ http://nyti.ms/akhOch.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Burkle attacks Barnes & Noble at poison pill trial (reuters.com)
• “Over 1 Million Digital Books Now Available Free to the Blind and Print-Disabled” and related posts (internetarchive.wordpress.com)
• Banned Books Week: Be Your Own Robot ” an Ad a Day (anadaday.wordpress.com)

Just when it seemed like the dog days of summer had descended on the publishing world, The Wylie Agency fired the shot that echoed throughout the industry – a shot that will have far-reaching consequences. The agency launched a digital publishing business, called Odyssey Editions, to sell e-book editions of classic titles that are available exclusively on Amazon.com by such Wylie clients as Philip Roth, Martin Amis, Salman Rushdie and John Updike.

Already, Random House has stepped forward to say that because they have the print rights to those authors’ works, they have the digital rights, too. Meanwhile, many in publishing have weighed in, with the sentiment across the board highly critical of Wylie’s decision.

It will be interesting to see how this develops, for more, check out:

Wylie, Random House Dispute Heats Up -

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/43937-wylie-random-house-dispute-heats-up.html

Random House Prepared to Challenge Wylie Agency’s New Publishing Biz  -

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/43925-random-house-prepared-to-challenge-wylie-agency-s-new-publishing-biz.html

Digital Shockwave: How Millions of Dollars and the Survival of the Publishing Industry are at Stake -

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-pinter/andrew-wylie-sets-off-dig_b_655653.html

Konrath on Wylie -

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2010/07/konrath-on-wylie.html

*******************************

In other publishing news:

* ‘The Secret’ author Rhonda Byrne’s follow-up, ‘The Power,’ is out next month (will it set sales records like the first book?), http://bit.ly/cLMqzi.

* Is the true saviour of publishing Starbucks? An interesting piece, http://bit.ly/bWkv33.

* B&N, Blackboard to offer NookStudy, e-textbooks, http://bit.ly/cJVr5F.

* The Celebrity Book Frenzy – it doesn’t always lead to bestsellers, http://bit.ly/9MrOVh.

* Amazon says its e-book sales outpace hardcover sales, http://bit.ly/dr7q8n.

* Choose your ruined future with the Literary Dystopia Quiz, based on one of the hottest genres in publishing right now, http://bit.ly/bkWYkT.

* Celebrate! 11 literary holidays that every book lover should know, http://bit.ly/cjUMUb.

* A review of Borders’ Kobo e-reader, http://bit.ly/9XGFlu.

* B&N files an application for a new e-reader, http://bit.ly/du42w8.

* Karl Rove, former advisor to President Bush, now has a summer book club (he used to have reading contests with President Bush), http://bit.ly/d1n5gA.

* Penguin creates an ‘amplified’ Ken Follett e-book, just in time for the launch of the TV miniseries, http://bit.ly/brumYy.

* The bookcase you’ll want to live in, http://bit.ly/aFkGw2.

* How Google plans to crush the e-book market, http://bit.ly/9zhepJ.

* Can fart jokes get boys reading? http://huff.to/dtZNST.

* A $20 e-reader will eventually hit the market, http://bit.ly/aJ4s8v.

* ‘Why The Next Big Pop-Culture Wave After Cupcakes Might Be Libraries,’ http://n.pr/9wWtfG.

* Woody Allen records his first audiobook, http://tinyurl.com/2e36u6l.

* Hate Hemingway and other classics? Check out actual one-star Amazon reviews of books from Time’s 100 best novels from 1923 – present http://bit.ly/nvhoD.

* Eat, Pray, Cancellation – no book for Elizabeth Gilbert’s ex-husband (who was going to write a memoir to give his side of the story), http://bit.ly/cBu2cy.

* Apple iPad owners outnumber Amazon Kindle’s, says analyst, http://bit.ly/ar9cin.

* Sharp plans to launch an e-book reader this year, http://bit.ly/aKUQFC.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Amazon strikes sweet exclusive deal – good for them, bad for consumers (crunchgear.com)
• The Secret Author to Publish The Power (readersread.com)
• What IS an eBook, Anyway? (go-to-hellman.blogspot.com)

To Tweet or not to Tweet – it’s a question many authors and publishers ask. The truth is, tweeting in and of itself does not generate book sales. But in terms of exposure, Twitter is a great tool for authors and publishers, and this week one big topic du jour in the publishing world concerned Twitter, and in particular, the use of hashtags to highlight a subject (such as #dearauthor). Read all about it below, and enjoy the rest of the week’s news – plenty of digital book news, new memoirs, summer reading for kids, a self publishing success story and much more!

* Could hashtags – used on Twitter in order to follow topics – save publishing? http://bit.ly/cZoYGx; Twitter’s #dearpublisher hashtag taking off, http://bit.ly/doD7nv.

* New Mark Twain biography offers a new look at the author and his life, http://nyti.ms/9i6cVd.

* Summer reading for the kids (to stop them from saying I’m bored!) http://bit.ly/9QhlK8.

* Book cover design gives a boost to old books, and is important for e-books, too, http://bit.ly/bY6Fjl.

* A happy ending for the buyer of a damaged thrift shop book (see how the publisher responded), http://bit.ly/b2Q10Z.

* Barnes & Noble introduces NOOKstudy, a free e-studying tool, http://bit.ly/9POjUj.

* 50% of college students plan to buy e-readers, http://tinyurl.com/2c8fqw3.

* Selling 14,000 (self-published) books on a subway? You bet, and learn how one author did it, http://nyti.ms/a07FId.

* “I Write Like” program compares your writing to famous authors – take the challenge! http://bit.ly/cMEzI4.

* “Is it sweet to tweet or is Twitter twaddle?” Both sides, pro and con for Twitter, weigh in on its value (or not) for books and publishing, http://bit.ly/9m2xMu.

* Bookstore Bingo FTW – or why it’s great to be a bookstore customer instead of the staff, who face a barrage of absolutely ridiculous questions, http://bit.ly/9xmpip.

Image via Wikipedia

* Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor gets a deal with Knopf to write her memoir, http://bit.ly/a8hDoe.

* Book excerpt: “How to Land (and Keep) a Literary Agent,” by agent Noah Lukeman, http://bit.ly/bJox5X.

* ‘Nanny Lit’ (a la The Nanny Diaries) still in vogue, http://bit.ly/9syoIK.

* Millions of books are digitized for the disabled, http://bit.ly/alhZGC.

* Book excerpt: “How to Write a Great Query Letter” by agent Noah Lukeman, http://bit.ly/dlja8V.

* Author Dean Wesley Smith on “Writers Must Be Taken Care Of,” a myth he tackles in “Killing Sacred Cows,” http://bit.ly/pC8mH.

* Are smaller iPads in the works? http://bit.ly/cCiEly.

* “Will Self Publishing Make You Die?” (A very tongue in cheek piece that is worth reading) http://bit.ly/cSpTOm.

* “Four Ways E-books Will Change Your World” (from Jane Friedman of Writer’s Digest) http://bit.ly/cG9Lya.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Barnes & Noble Adds Free Classics to Nook Store [Ebooks] (gizmodo.com)
• Publishing eBooks: Kindle, iPad, Nook, Kobo? [Publishing] (gizmodo.com)

I get this question a lot: “Now that I’ve self-published I need to find an agent, how do I do that?” Well, it might seem to be a simple and easy transition. I mean you’re already published so it shouldn’t be that hard, right? Not so fast. There are a number of things you need to know before you run headlong into an effort to get a publishing contract.

First off, publishers like what other people like. Well, generally they do. If you’re building success for your book, getting great reviews, building your audience and online presence this is a good thing and will often be viewed favorably by publishers. While there are agents and publishers that won’t even consider a self-published book, there are a number of them who will. The key is to find those agents and publishers and get to know what they specialize in. Since there are a million articles and books on how to craft a query letter and submission packet I’ll skip that. For the purposes of this article, though, we’re going to focus on personal branding and industry positioning.

The first question authors will ask me is how do they know they’re “ready” to submit? Ok, so you’ve got a dozen or so great reviews, you’ve been blogging regularly and you are a regular at author events. Sales, however, are still slumping. You’ve sold 1,000 copies at best and struggled to even make that meager number. Is that a bad thing? Not always, but it depends on how your book was published. If, let’s say, your book was published through a print-on-demand company, a thousand copies is a fairly high number (the average print-on-demand book sells 75 copies).

Also print-on-demand is limited in its distribution, meaning that even if you’ve gotten great media interviews, reviews, and buzz for your book, the reason you’re not selling a ton of copies is the broken distribution systems these books often wrestle with. Bookstores won’t stock them because of the non-returnable factor. (Note to the savvy author, avoid, at all costs, the “returns program” POD publishers offer, bookstores don’t care if you’ve paid to have your book returnable. Don’t believe me? Sign up for it, pay your $500 and then do some calling around to find out).

Here’s the deal: print-on-demand has for years been the red-headed stepchild of publishing. Are there good books published through POD publishers? You bet. But for most of these authors it’s like pushing a boulder uphill. Now don’t get me wrong, all of my first books were published via POD and still they’ve been successful despite the biases and all the other things New York publishing likes to heap on this form of publishing. But the point being: knowing your market and understanding how the market works will go a long way to giving you the insight you need to be successful. Distribution is not defined as a place on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, because anyone with an ISBN can get this type of placement.

Distribution is defined as a distribution company actively marketing your book to bookstores and other sales channels. This doesn’t happen in POD and the New York publishers know this. So, if your book is still selling well despite these obstacles then you’ve got a winner on your hands, and it might be time to seek a bigger publisher for your work. On the flip side, if you have self-published and you do have a distributor in place, then consider trying to pitch your work after you’ve sold over 3,000 copies of your book. But there’s a small catch: you don’t want to sell out of your market. Generally speaking this won’t happen, but in certain cases it could.

Let’s consider, for example, that you wrote a regionally-focused book about the history of a town or state and you’ve focused all of your marketing efforts in that region. It’s likely that if you’ve sold 5,000 copies a publisher or agent could view this as sold out of the majority of the market. You might counter that you could sell this in other markets but unless there’s some tourism angle, it’s not likely and even then, the appeal needs to be really strong. Most books based on towns or cities are sold in the city and generally not outside of that area unless they are big tourism draws, in which case the market becomes much more competitive. Also note that if you’re thinking of trying to cheat the system you should know there’s a little thing called Nielsen BookScan that logs all sales by book and author, so no fair counting your author purchases as sales – BookScan notes sales through commercial sales channels only (major market retailers and bookstores).

All right, so you’re ready to pitch your book. You meet the sales criteria and you know you haven’t sold out of your market. What’s next? Next, ask yourself what your platform is. Platform is one of those words that agents and publishers love to toss out to unsuspecting authors. So what does platform mean? Well, it’s a bit tricky because it varies depending on what you’re writing. Platform isn’t who you know but who knows you. It’s your area of influence. For fiction writers it could be your e-mail list, the subscribers to your blog, conventions you speak at, conferences you attend (as a participant, not just an attendee). For non-fiction authors, defining your platform is a bit easier. Often non-fiction books are tied to speaking, coaching, or some other business model. These are all part of your platform.

When I pitched Red Hot Internet Publicity, one of the first things I listed on my marketing/book outline was my platform: subscribers to the Book Marketing Expert Newsletter, business revenue, speaking events I am booked on, average client base – everything. All of this is your platform and all of it lends itself to having a built-in audience. This is what publishers look for. Regardless of how you publish you still have to market your own book, and publishers know it’ll be easier to market a book that has a following than one that doesn’t.

After you define your platform the next thing is to define your hook. Especially with self-published books, agents and publishers expect you to have a hook. Since the book is published, if you don’t have a hook this is a tell-tale sign that you haven’t been marketing this book correctly, if at all.

How can you find the right agent or publisher for your book? The traditional ways certainly work: getting books and guides designed to give you agent and publisher contact info, but there might be a better way. Try going to some writers’ conferences that allow you to schedule editor and agent appointments. This is a great way to get some immediate feedback on your book, pitch, and the possibility of selling your work. There are a number of conferences around the country, just be sure to look for ones that offer one-on-ones with publishing professionals.

And finally, it’s sometimes tempting to switch genres to get published. But unless there’s some compelling reason for you to genre-hop, like a changing focus in your business, I recommend sticking with what’s been successful for you. Don’t one day write on true crime and the next day start offering dieting advice unless that’s where you want your ultimate focus to be. Also remember that if you’ve been writing true crime for years, and have built an audience and following, you’ve now lost that base by jumping ship.

The truth is that the odds aren’t always in our favor. With several hundred books published each day in the US the market is narrow, to say the least, but if you know your market, have a platform and are selling books, you’re already 90% of the way there – the rest is just finding the right match for your book and maybe a little bit of literary luck.

Related articles by Zemanta

• DIY MFA: Why You Need an Agent (Part Four) (stirrup-queens.com)
• Self-Publishing Thrives As A Cottage Industry (huffingtonpost.com)
• I Am A Writer, And This Is Where I Write (litkicks.com)
• As literary world’s floodgates open, who must wade through the slush? Yes, us (guardian.co.uk)

What’s better than an anniversary? In the publishing world, the classic bestseller To Kill a Mockingbird turns 50. While author Harper Lee may be a bit of a recluse, that hasn’t stopped fans of the book and author from celebrating – there are events all around the country. Interestingly enough, all this buzz about To Kill A Mockingbird has put the book back on the bestseller list!

We’d be remiss not to mention the latest development with digital books. Borders is now a player in the market, having opened its e-bookstore this past week. Apple, Amazon, B&N and Borders are currently vying for dominance, but by next month another rival enters the fray: Google, with Google Editions. Things are getting very interesting indeed!

Now it’s a question of whether Google can really help indie bookstores, see http://nyti.ms/a2Ldec.

Google Editions will launch later this summer, selling digital books that will be readable online and on any e-reader – not locked into a particular format or device.

In addition, there are reports that Google is completing a deal with the American Booksellers Association, the trade group for independent bookstores, to make Google Editions the primary source of e-books for hundreds of indie booksellers in the U.S. Clearly, summer is no longer the slow time in publishing!

And now for the roundup of the rest of the news:

* Books-A-Million launches an e-bookstore, http://bit.ly/buXOkP.

* ‘In Defense of Privacy: The 20th Century’s Most Reclusive Authors,’ http://bit.ly/9Obcvo.

* The Top 10 rare books, http://is.gd/dbCUU.

* The top 10 high school summer reading books (have you read all these? We haven’t!) http://bit.ly/cE1Dcq.

* James Patterson sells more than 1 million e-books – a record! http://bit.ly/ciUx11.

* Bookstores plan events for ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’s 50th anniversary, http://bit.ly/aSvuNQ; and, ‘Mockingbird’ runs up the bestseller charts for a second time, http://bit.ly/bGAJZV.

* Amazon Kindle dual-screen e-reader patent granted, http://bit.ly/bdIzhe.

* What does the digital book mean for book covers  (in our opinion, covers still matter, even if they’re a thumbnail on a page – compelling graphics/design and clear headlines stand out!) http://bit.ly/cQXBN6.

* Denver library increases e-book titles, http://tinyurl.com/2ero86b.

* A novel book club idea: Books and Bars, http://bit.ly/bCNo7n.

* Borders opens its e-bookstore and takes on Amazon, Apple and B&N, http://bit.ly/9KuYym.

* Amazon.com announces ‘best books of year’ (so far): http://bit.ly/aoAGtL.

* Will reviewers want digital galleys? HarperCollins hopes so, http://bit.ly/c062Uh.

* Top 10 pubs in literature, http://bit.ly/b3BGY4.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Borders Has Massive E-Book Plans, No Intentions Of Being Killed By The Future (thenextweb.com)
• E-Books Rewrite Bookselling (online.wsj.com)
• This Week in Publishing – Bits and Bites for July 3 (amarketingexpert.com)

It’s the week of fun edition; with crazy book titles, the worst how-to books, odd author items sold at auction and more – perfect for summer. Oh – and there’s some serious publishing news mixed in, too. Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!

* Advice for authors on book promotion and reviews, http://bit.ly/d290Nf.

* GetGlue, a social network for entertainment, partners with book publishers for summer’s hot reads http://bit.ly/9OYwiG.

* Gay themed novels for young readers enter the mainstream, http://bit.ly/99Brz4.

* Celebrities poke fun at other celeb’s books (see Brady Bunch mom Florence Henderson as Madonna reading ‘Sex’), http://bit.ly/bxr0GG.

Image via Wikipedia

* Libraries and librarians are endangered species: what you can do to help, http://huff.to/cs9CuU.

* Small chain to sell Kindles at their 11 airport bookstores, http://bit.ly/bjYWgQ.

* It’s never too late: 82-year-old grandmother lands three-book deal, http://dld.bz/jC7N.

* Advice to authors: respect the reader, put a lot of effort into writing, editing, revising your book, http://bit.ly/91TBz5.

* Competition among e-book readers heats up – learn how to make your book available, http://bit.ly/96AWbA.

Image via Wikipedia

* Barnes & Noble captures 20% of e-book market, http://bit.ly/9olHBO.

* The most ridiculous how-to books of all time, http://huff.to/aQL3Tr. You mean you aren’t interested in How to be Pope?

* More celebs get book deals: I Dream of Jeannie’s Barbara Eden; Rob Lowe, http://bit.ly/bksPXV.

* Librarians join forces to create online e-book library: http://bit.ly/a3L6EN.

Image via Wikipedia

* Kindle DX gets a new look and new lower price of $379, http://bit.ly/a70AWC.

* Can Google really help indie bookstores? Will it save the brick and mortar stores? http://nyti.ms/a2Ldec.

* 12 of the worst book titles ever, http://huff.to/boL9Vu. Living With Crazy Buttocks is definitely eligible.

* Author’s book title inadvertently becomes Facebook Fan Page phenom, http://bit.ly/9auByU.

Image via Wikipedia

* Ten summer young-adult books you’ll want to read, despite your age, http://bit.ly/bJ51gH.

* Jane Austen’s hair, Dickens’ dog collar: 9 of the most surprising auctioned author memorabilia, http://huff.to/9qJIRB.

* 27 reasons that Eclipse the movie is better than Eclipse the book (snarky slideshow!), http://bit.ly/9c9fGo.

* Molly Ringle writes the worst sentence of 2010 (it’s pretty bad!), http://bit.ly/asJQyh.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Amazon.com offers new Kindle DX, lowers price to $379 from $489 (taragana.com)
• Get 70% of Kindle book sales (ireaderreview.com)
• This Week in Publishing – Bits and Bites from June 26, 2010 (amarketingexpert.com)

Image via Wikipedia

It’s hard to get away from digital books – even if you don’t own an e-reader, they are in the news and this past week was no exception. As soon as Barnes and Noble lowered the price on the Nook, Amazon followed suit by lowering the price on its Kindle, with both now under $200; and Borders was right on their heels, with a great deal and gift card for its Kobo. And the outcome: at least for now, great deals for the consumer.

Cover of Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)

Here’s a look at some other news, and of course, it could not be complete without Stephenie Meyer and the ‘Twilight’ series – the latest movie, ‘Eclipse,’ opens June 30.

* Interesting piece about valuing the books that have already been published and how technology makes these books more accessible: ‘The Tyranny of the New: Why the Future of Books May be Old Books,’ http://ht.ly/217zm.

* The June 26 lunar eclipse is ‘Twilight Night’ in 12 cities – the first 2 Twilight movies will be shown outdoors, http://ht.ly/217J8.

* Great for consumers: e-reader price wars begin and e-readers are now under $200, http://ht.ly/21vmU and http://is.gd/cZjtm.

* ‘E-books, hardcovers, online booksellers and stores: Why everybody can win,’ http://ht.ly/21D28.

* 11 bestselling and very cool book apps for adults & kids (Dr. Seuss, the Bible and more!), http://ht.ly/21D77.

Image via Wikipedia

* What are the best book covers of 2009? http://ht.ly/2227L.

* Prepare for the ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ juggernaut as the movie starring Julia Roberts opens in August, http://ht.ly/222aH.

Image via Wikipedia

* Ellen DeGeneres lands a book deal for her memoir, http://ht.ly/22×46.

* Vintage typewriters that belonged to Kerouac and Updike ring in huge sales, http://ht.ly/22x5c.

* Top 10 women travelers in fiction – anyone you’d add? http://ht.ly/22x6f.

* More staggering Kindle sales stats (and advice) from J.A. Konrath, http://ht.ly/22x7m.

* Quote of the week – Stephenie Meyer: ‘I’m Really Burned Out on Vampires,’ http://ht.ly/23dz2.

* Simon & Schuster releases an e-book timed to coincide with President Obama accepting General McChrystal’s resignation, ‘Truman Fires MacArthur,’ http://bit.ly/9RUKCA.

* Drunk writers were better sober, psychiatrist says, http://bit.ly/degOGB.

Image via Wikipedia

* Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 scheduled for March 2011 release, since the first movie was a hit, http://bit.ly/aNm8pr.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Twilight/Wimpy Kid mash-up due out in May (independent.co.uk)
• Stephenie Meyer’s “Bree Tanner” Available for Free (beliefnet.com)
• Opening Doors for Reluctant Readers: ‘Twilight’ by Stephenie Meyer (brighthub.com)

What is the future of publishing? That’s been the question on many minds for some time now, and this week at the Untethered Conference in NYC, publishers tried to sort it all out. The conference produced some good news and information for the industry according to its standard-bearers, while many observers live tweeting the event wondered if the speakers were on an acid trip (really – this was the Tweet from @SmartBitches: #unteth and that’s the end of the CEO panel. I don’t think i dropped acid but perhaps i did and this is alternate universe).

Image via Wikipedia

Who to believe? Without a crystal ball, it’s hard to say, but here are some stories and tweets from the event – some retweeted by our own Penny Sansevieri (http://twitter.com/Bookgal) – so you decide:

iPad Love and the Future of Book Publishing at Untethered 2010 from Publishers Weekly.

Bold Predictions for the Tablet Market Need a Dose of Reality from DailyFinance

What is the future of publishing? – books any way you want them. Follow the consumer

Why is ‘realistic page turning’ an #ereader feature? Was the Model T mktd as ‘smells like a horse’? #unteth

Harper Collins CEO Brian Murray predicts digital will make up 40 to 50 pct of book sales in 5 yrs.

Osnos, Steinberger, Murray & Reidy say book publishing biz model is “healthy.” /via @calreid (I am pondering definition of healthy)

Yet again myth that consumers expect content for free is trotted out.

The book publishing CEOs are delivering upbeat messages but their voices are like they’re at a funeral

And now for the rest of the news:

* Don’t doubt the power of social media. During the Lakers-Celtics finals Thursday night there were more than 3,000 tweets per second during the game

Image via Wikipedia

* Juicy novel alert: ex-View host Star Jones pens book about ‘Daytime Talk Show Revenge’ http://ht.ly/1Y8r1

* Gift book ideas for Father’s Day (still time for last-minute shopping!) http://ht.ly/1Yeai

* Bestselling self help author Wayne Dyer accused of plagiarism http://ht.ly/1YMeG

* Amazon.com is the #1 financially healthiest retail company for two years running http://ht.ly/1YMi8

* 16 year old sailor just rescued from Indian Ocean to write book http://ht.ly/1YN6x

* 5 lessons publishers can learn from film and music http://ht.ly/1Z48n

Image via Wikipedia

* Is the compromise Kindle e-book price going to be $12.99? http://ht.ly/1ZAr5

* What are the 5 ‘buzziest’ summer beach reads? http://ht.ly/1ZAur

* The Kardashian sisters get a book deal, Kardashian Konfidential, an “advice book with lots of pictures” http://ht.ly/2032F

* ‘My Publishing Journey from eBooks to pBooks’ (author Boyd Morrison for Huffington Post) http://ht.ly/20372

* ‘Publishers are not as dumb as some people think’ (re: how many publishers have the upper hand regarding electronic book rights) http://ht.ly/2038L

Related articles by Zemanta

• Untethered (I Hope) (smartbitchestrashybooks.com)
• Publishers Comment on the iPad “Changing Business” (macstories.net)
• Star Jones Lands Book Deal With Gallery Books (readersread.com)

The publishing world does not really slow down in the summer months – there is always something happening …

Image via CrunchBase

* In the complain and sometimes you get results department, Amazon now has live paid and free hourly Kindle Bestseller lists available: http://amzn.to/9ZigzK.

* Already a hot seller, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer is now available for free through July 5 if you are willing to read it online: http://ht.ly/1V8g3.

* No matter how much texting they do (and it’s A LOT), teens still seem to prefer print books over digital formats: http://ht.ly/1VbXE.

* They’ll quibble over what this means, but iBook users have downloaded more than 5 million e-books, says Steve Jobs http://ht.ly/1VH2z.

Image by StudioEgo via Flickr

* However, Apple cannot become complacent since the brawl to dominate the e-book market is only just beginning: http://ht.ly/1VH83.

* The show may be over but there’s still news: BEA 2010 Survey of Book-Buying Behavior (interesting findings!) http://ht.ly/1VHFc.

* Some very interesting thoughts on Kindle pricing, business models and competition from marketing guru Seth Godin: http://dld.bz/gqZx.

* Actress Demi Moore’s memoir reportedly sells for $2 million – will you read it? http://ht.ly/1Wki7.

* Gleeks rejoice: the first in a line of Glee-themed books will hit stores in August: http://ht.ly/1WjA5.

John Grisham via last.fm

* 25 iconic book covers as noted by AbeBooks: http://ht.ly/1WEs0.

* With his latest book in stores, John Grisham is now a bestselling children’s author, too: http://ht.ly/1Wiv3.

* The New York Times takes a comparative look at the big e-readers: “smarter devices and more choices” http://nyti.ms/cc1ttR.

* The Author’s Guild and Wiley Publishing is having a dust-up over royalties that the publisher proposed for its authors, with a lot of back and forth that Publishers Weekly recaps: http://ht.ly/1XqHT.

Related articles by Zemanta

• As Apple Bites E-Book Market, Should Amazon Go ‘Paperback’? (blogs.wsj.com)
• Trouble at Twilight? (When Good PR Intentions Aren’t Enough) (pamil-visions.net)
• Paperback Kindle (sethgodin.typepad.com)

• HOME
• AME Blog Carnival
  • Carnival Thank You
• SERVICES
  • CASE STUDIES
• Sweepstakes
• STORE
• AME AUTHORS
• TESTIMONIALS
• ABOUT
  • Penny Sansevieri
  • Paula Krapf
  • Amy Cornell
  • Katie McCoach
• MEDIA
• CONTACT US
  • Thank You