A monopoly believes it is a permanent fixture in its industry. An Internet e-commerce company worries obsessively that it can be destroyed at any time if it doesn’t stay fast and smart. The contrast between Amazon and big publishing could not be more stark.
It’s not released to the public yet, but longform epublisher The Atavist is putting the final touches on a free version of its conversion tool, which will enable authors to publish to a variety of platforms at once without being tied to any one company’s overly restrictive fine print. (Yes, that’s a jab at iBooks [...]
In my recent counter-tirade against the emotional outbursts that booksellers are frequently guilty of when they should be discussing retail strategies, I mentioned that the last time I contacted a local bookstore to offer feedback on what I want as a customer, I was ignored. I thought it might be nice to publish that email [...]
Last week, Amazon tried to train consumers to openly treat local retail stores as showrooms for Amazon merchandise. It was a ballsy but ethically shaky move; I believe customers who participated helped Amazon steal resources and sales from competitors for very little compensation. It was, at the very least, retail dirty pool. But then—even though [...]
If you’re a hardcore sci-fi or fantasy reader, be sure to check out the newly opened SF Gateway website at http://www.sfgateway.com/. At present, there are over fifty authors represented (see full author list here), with more to come over time. That’s the good news. The bad news is that those old print-biased territorial restrictions have [...]
The Kindle Fire doesn’t come with a normal web browser, but with something Amazon is calling Amazon Silk, which is Amazon’s attempt at improving page rendering speed, browser responsiveness, and hardware limitations. Amazon has launched a blog about Amazon Silk, but so far the blog just displays a PR-written post and a Googlefied “here’s how [...]
Fandom breeds content, as nearly any Internet user who has ever loved a TV show, movie or book already knows. Fans love to spend time absorbed in their favorite works by inventing new adventures, filling in backstories, and expanding the characters’ worlds with fresh details. (Or just by making the characters have sex with each [...]
This Daily Show segment where Jon Hodgman discusses Borders (it starts at the 7:57 mark) was aired nearly a week ago, but in my defense, Borders officially gave up the ghost nearly a month before that, so it’s not like this is breaking news. No, the reason I’m sharing it is because it’s good weekend [...]
The heavily criticized proposed settlement between Google and a small group of authors and publishers has been dealt a final, fatal blow, reports Publishers Weekly this morning—although in this case the deathblow comes indirectly because it’s actually about a different, older legal battle. In case you need a recap of what this is all about, [...]
The Harry Potter series may take place in the modern world, but it’s always been somewhat removed from it, emphasizing magic and wizarding dynasties over digital technology. The same has held true for the actual books, which have always been sold in print or boxed audiobook versions but never as ebooks, which Rowling dismissed at [...]
In this interview, author Sidney Williams discusses retro computers, how to budget for ebooks, lost gems on Project Gutenberg, and why he’s chosen to publish his novels through Crossroad Press.