There is a question that every agent and publisher is dealing with, because authors surely are. And that’s this: when should an author self- (or indie-) publish? The answer is certainly not “never”, and if there is anybody left in a publishing house who thinks it is, they should think a little harder. For a […]
Now HERE is an experiment that looks like it worked and is worthy of replication
The new opportunity to publish a book without printed inventory has been popularized primarily by self-publishing authors and by new fledgling publishing enterprises like Entangled and Byliner following in the footsteps of earlier pioneers like eReads and Ellora’s Cave and, more recently, Open Road. This changes the economics of publishing substantially, taking a very large […]
7 starter principles for digital book marketing learned from Peter McCarthy
Times are changing in publishing and publishers know it. Almost every publisher recognizes that their value to authors, and therefore their future, is dependent on their ability to deliver effective marketing at scale. In this day and age, that means digital marketing, which also has the characteristic of being “data-driven” marketing. And not only is […]
Two thoughts: what was one book business may divide by format and backlist may be the neglected marketing opportunity
It’s a busy week for us this week, with BookExpo America in town. We have our all-day Publishers Launch conference on Wednesday, May 29, and a solid two days of appointments on Thursday and Friday. I have the time today to present two ideas we’ll be touching upon at the conference and that I’ll be […]
More on atomization: why the new publishers are coming
The most recent post here laid out a future for trade publishing that will be less and less about traditional publishers and more and more about non-traditional publishers delivering books into the marketplace without the financing or “approval” of a profit-seeking publisher. That’s a radical change from the industry we’ve seen grow over the past […]