This week's (rather shorter than usual) publishing news and industry blogs post covers 12/3-12/12.Publishing News
Barnes & Noble's plans for Nook are discussed. Looks like the college textbooks may remain as part of the retailer's major holdings, while Nook Digital would go to Microsoft.
The Authors Guild vs Google lawsuit heads to the Second Circuit of Appeals court, where prosecutors try to prove the case should not use the Authors Guild vs Hathitrust suit as a precedent.
Hachette experiments with selling books through Twitter.
In England, the ban on sending books to prisoners is overturned.
Industry Blogs
On QueryTracker, Martina Boone gives questions writers should ask during The Phone Call with an agent (the one wherein you and the agent decide whether or not you can work together and if they want to rep you).
And on the Fantasy, Futuristic, and Paranormal blog, how do you know what agent you should even look for in the first place? Also, the benefits of using multiple deep POV in a manuscript.
On Writer Beware, Victoria Strauss explains that even if it's tempting if you have a deadbeat publisher, simply changing the title and republishing and hoping said deadbeat publisher "doesn't notice" is a terrible and potentially costly idea. She also warns writers to stay away the Game of Thrones Compendium.
Agent Janet Grant of Books & Such agency explains how a talk with a publisher about marketing plans should go.
Agent Jessica Faust explains the very basics of a synopsis. She gives a client's synopsis that worked. And she gives a detailed video interview about the basics of the business of publishing for writers.
Agent Janet Reid offers advice and answers questions. Is it okay to post about sensitive topics on your blog? (Personal choice. It can lose you readers, but maybe you're okay with losing those readers.) If an agent asks for the first 50 pages but it ends better on page 53, is it okay to play with font to make it fit? (The agent will reformat it anyway and it'll become 53 again, plus you'll look like you don't know what you're doing. Don't take the "50" as a hard and fast number; end at a good stopping place.) You're not sure if your manuscript is just a hard sell or if your query isn't good enough; should you self-publish instead? (Get facts before you make up your mind. That's not a question to answer on supposition.) One agent says not to submit during holidays; is this a universal rule? (No, it's agent-specific.) Agent #1 never responded to a request for a full; is it okay to query Agent #2 at the same agency? (Yes, and Reid explains how.)
Agent Nephele Tempest offers a gift list of gifts you can get for writers. She also gifts us with an assortment of links to interesting blogs.
Amazon has reconciled with Hachette, and Authors United is slowly winding down in turn. an interview with Authors United founder Douglas Preston reveals his feelings about AU's role in the deal, as well as the group's continuing plans to submit a packet of information in hopes of the DOJ bringing an anti-trust lawsuit against Amazon as a last major action.
What publishing news have you encountered in the past week and half?
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