Publishing news and industry blogs for 11/2-11/15.
Publishing News
Judge Denise Cote will soon be ruling on the damages in the States vs Apple price-fixing case. Bob Kohn, known in part for the comic on the DOJ vs Apple case he submitted, requests that Cote examine Amazon's pricing policies, but is once again denied (on the basis that Amazon's behavior is not the basis of the case, and if it is to be examined, it should be done in its own case--this case, Cote says, was about Apple).
In the Authors Guild vs Google bookscanning case, the judge rules fair use and dismisses the case.
Amazon offers indie authors the chance to sell Kindles in stores and receive a cut of the profits... but many indie stores aren't thrilled with the idea, with concerns that it encourage readers to buy from Kindle instead of them. Others are interested, under the thought that they'll start making a profit from the show-rooming that was happening anyway.
HarperCollins is adding digital content to print books through allowing readers to scan the book's code to access digital extras.
If you were an author who signed with All Classic Books, and you've recently got an e-mail offering to let you buy back your contract before the company goes out of business... well, it's sort of spam. Victoria Strauss on Writer Beware explains. If you with 2 Moon Press, looks like things aren't turning out well, at least not for authors who got ripped off by the company and who won't see justice after police don't press charges. Gotten an email from Bloggingbooks? Throw it out; you're looking at a bad deal. Gotten an invitation to a JM Northern Media's Book Festivals? Yeah, toss that as well--it's a money-making "award" scheme (Note: money-making for them, not you) that really isn't worth it.
The Espresso Book Machine finally makes a debut in a drugstore.
Industry Blogs
QueryTracker's Publishing Pulse for 11/8 and 11/15.
Publishers Weekly talks about how Google's win expands fair use, and offers a podcast on the ruling.
Heard about any good pitch contests? Thinking about entering one? QueryTracker has some advice.
Agent Janet Reid answers more questions. If submitting to a "query pool" where an agency has all queries sent to a central location, is okay to address it to a single agent? Usually yes (read the guidelines of course), just don't send it to that agent's private email address. What about personalizing your query with details specific to that agent--is this good? For most agents, but Reid admits she prefers you skip when submitting to her.
Should write what you love, or write for the market? Um, both. Rachelle Gardner advises professional writers to find where their passions intersect the market and gives advice on doing so. She also talks about other seeming dichotomies writers deal with every day (such as being both creative people and business people). How about your privacy as an author? Can you survive anonymous to the net? It'll sure make your books hard to sell. That doesn't mean you can't keep some things private; you should just be prepared to reveal enough about yourself so you can make a genuine connection with fans. Pick and choose. And don't make the 12 mistakes authors often make in connecting to fans.
Agent Kristen Nelson usually gives out great advice on contracts and publishing-related things... but now it's from her newsletter, not on her blog. Sign up here.
On the Editor's Blog, advice to build all scenes aiming towards the end. (Fun but meaningless side quests are for video games, not novels.)
Writer Nathan Bransford collects some of his readers' favorite writing tips, as shared on Twitter.
Writer Augustina Van Hoven explains why she loves being part of a local professional writers' organization. (A lot of the things she lists are things I love about my local chapter of the Romance Writers of America, the HCRW.)
Do you edit yourself and your writing because the government may be spying on you? A survey says about 25% of authors do, at least in phone conversations and emails. (Government agents: My book is full of interesting stuff. You should buy a copy and read it. All of you, in case the others miss something important.)
An interesting infographic on the best-selling books of all time, on GalleyCat through Lovereading.co.uk .
What interesting publishing news have you encountered in the past couple of weeks?
Publishing News
Judge Denise Cote will soon be ruling on the damages in the States vs Apple price-fixing case. Bob Kohn, known in part for the comic on the DOJ vs Apple case he submitted, requests that Cote examine Amazon's pricing policies, but is once again denied (on the basis that Amazon's behavior is not the basis of the case, and if it is to be examined, it should be done in its own case--this case, Cote says, was about Apple).
In the Authors Guild vs Google bookscanning case, the judge rules fair use and dismisses the case.
Amazon offers indie authors the chance to sell Kindles in stores and receive a cut of the profits... but many indie stores aren't thrilled with the idea, with concerns that it encourage readers to buy from Kindle instead of them. Others are interested, under the thought that they'll start making a profit from the show-rooming that was happening anyway.
HarperCollins is adding digital content to print books through allowing readers to scan the book's code to access digital extras.
If you were an author who signed with All Classic Books, and you've recently got an e-mail offering to let you buy back your contract before the company goes out of business... well, it's sort of spam. Victoria Strauss on Writer Beware explains. If you with 2 Moon Press, looks like things aren't turning out well, at least not for authors who got ripped off by the company and who won't see justice after police don't press charges. Gotten an email from Bloggingbooks? Throw it out; you're looking at a bad deal. Gotten an invitation to a JM Northern Media's Book Festivals? Yeah, toss that as well--it's a money-making "award" scheme (Note: money-making for them, not you) that really isn't worth it.
The Espresso Book Machine finally makes a debut in a drugstore.
Industry Blogs
QueryTracker's Publishing Pulse for 11/8 and 11/15.
Publishers Weekly talks about how Google's win expands fair use, and offers a podcast on the ruling.
Heard about any good pitch contests? Thinking about entering one? QueryTracker has some advice.
Agent Janet Reid answers more questions. If submitting to a "query pool" where an agency has all queries sent to a central location, is okay to address it to a single agent? Usually yes (read the guidelines of course), just don't send it to that agent's private email address. What about personalizing your query with details specific to that agent--is this good? For most agents, but Reid admits she prefers you skip when submitting to her.
Should write what you love, or write for the market? Um, both. Rachelle Gardner advises professional writers to find where their passions intersect the market and gives advice on doing so. She also talks about other seeming dichotomies writers deal with every day (such as being both creative people and business people). How about your privacy as an author? Can you survive anonymous to the net? It'll sure make your books hard to sell. That doesn't mean you can't keep some things private; you should just be prepared to reveal enough about yourself so you can make a genuine connection with fans. Pick and choose. And don't make the 12 mistakes authors often make in connecting to fans.
Agent Kristen Nelson usually gives out great advice on contracts and publishing-related things... but now it's from her newsletter, not on her blog. Sign up here.
On the Editor's Blog, advice to build all scenes aiming towards the end. (Fun but meaningless side quests are for video games, not novels.)
Writer Nathan Bransford collects some of his readers' favorite writing tips, as shared on Twitter.
Writer Augustina Van Hoven explains why she loves being part of a local professional writers' organization. (A lot of the things she lists are things I love about my local chapter of the Romance Writers of America, the HCRW.)
Do you edit yourself and your writing because the government may be spying on you? A survey says about 25% of authors do, at least in phone conversations and emails. (Government agents: My book is full of interesting stuff. You should buy a copy and read it. All of you, in case the others miss something important.)
An interesting infographic on the best-selling books of all time, on GalleyCat through Lovereading.co.uk .
What interesting publishing news have you encountered in the past couple of weeks?
Great information. Thanks
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