While the publishing industry as a whole shows minimal growth, independent publishers are growing by leaps and bounds!
“Publishers netting $500,000 to $5 million annually grew at five times the industry average, at a rate of over 15 percent, while publishers netting less than $500,000 annually grew at four times the industry average, at a rate just under 13 percent.”
Of finding supporters for his book project, David Lang says: “To me, it’s not about traditional vs. self-publishing, it’s about finding the best way to serve the readers. Book writing is a lonely process. I’d rather make the entire experience something the readers can participate in. Sure, it’s going to be harder to write a book in public, but I think everyone who’s along for the ride will get more out of it. And I actually believe the end-product will be of higher quality.”
Michael Pietsch, the soon-to-be CEO of Hachette Book Group, is excited about the current age of publishing.
“What has changed in a really exciting way is the ways you can get people’s attention. It used to be one book review at a time, a daily review, maybe you get into Time magazine. Now there’s, with the Internet, this giant echo chamber. Anything good that happens, any genuine excitement that a book elicits can be amplified and repeated and streamed and forwarded and linked in a way that excitement spreads more quickly and universally than ever before. And what I’m seeing is that really wonderful books — the books that people get genuinely excited about because they change their lives, they give them new ideas — those books can travel faster, go further, sell more copies sooner than ever before. It’s just energized the whole business in a thrilling way.”
Click here to read highlights or listen to his entire interview.
Anne Frank’s diary is said to be one of the most widely read books in the world, second to the Bible. Now it gets the interactive treatment from Viking, Penguin, and Trademobile. It’s like a portable museum exhibit! (from Publishing Perspectives)
What does it take to keep an indie bookstore open (from Galley Cat)?
A very informative article from the New York Times about the business of book reviews. One commenter makes the point that the amazon review system is open to manipulation. To what degree should we believe the reviews that we read?
Learn about Frankfurt Book Fair’s Storydrive and crossmedia publishing. (from Publishing Perspectives)
China Miéville predicts the future of the novel at the 2012 Edinburgh World Writer’s conference. Very interesting. Little known fact: China Miéville is a big fan of Sleight.
Publishing Perspectives’ Mad Lib about the future of publishing. Winners’ predictions will be featured in their Frankfurt Book Fair editions. Awesome!
In his new book The Publishing Business: From p-books to e-books, Kelvin Smith illuminates the constants of publishing and teaches us how to confront rapid technological changes in the industry. (from Publishing Perspectives)
“Perhaps because the physical book is coming to seem more like an object than ever before, the current landscape of shops blurs the line between bookstore and gallery in rollicking, unpredictable fashion.” An overview of NYC’s most fascinating art-book stores. (from the New York Times)
Are publishers just an “intermediary” between writers and readers, or are they essential to the book industry? We think the latter. What do you think? (from The Huffington Post)
Ariel Schwartz makes a case for libraries as much-needed information hubs in developing countries. (from co.EXIST)
Melville House author John Reed reflects on the decade in publishing, based on his experience publishing Snowball’s Chance. His reflection takes the form of a charticle. (from Publishing Perspectives)
A collection of links for current and former Coffee House Press interns. Topics include publishing, editing, job hunting, and anything else I think might be of interest.
