Read this Techcrunch story and find out! And read this update to the story here.
Amazon has just launched Amazon Encore as another fantastic way for you to have the opportunity to publish your book.
Here’s an excerpt from the announcement, “AmazonEncore is a new program whereby Amazon will use information such as customer reviews on Amazon.com to identify exceptional, overlooked books and authors with more potential than their sales may indicate. Amazon will then partner with the authors to re-introduce their books to readers through marketing support and distribution into multiple channels and formats, such as the Amazon.com Books Store, Amazon Kindle Store, Audible.com, and national and independent bookstores via third-party wholesalers. “
Here is the link for all the information from Amazon.
I’ve been covering FiledBy.com since it was in beta and encouraging authors to officially register their pages on the site and use it as another way to get some Web 2.0 traction.
This morning Tamara Crabtree was kind enough to send me their latest press release , and it serves as a good reminder to urge all of you to claim your pages. (And hat tip to my pal Charles Decker who is brilliant and was the one to tell me about FiledBy.com in the first place nearly a year ago when it was still in beta.)
Why should you take 4 to 5 minutes and fill out your profile on the site? Because it’s worth your time in Web 2.0 and it would be silly not to do it.
The site currently has over 1.8 author pages and more than 7.5 million book pages. It’s like Wikipedia for authors except without the geeks running it who are fighting over what people can submit and how to keep it pure (like they are on Wikipedia.) The site also offers really cool bells and whistles for authors to utilize.
“Go, go and do this now,” she says, (in her clean up your room voice.)
Note: I love geeks and am married to one who is taking a “hall pass” tonight with his buddy to go see Wolverine and can’t wait to see Star Trek. So geeks are good – just not when they’re fighting.
I have to say that yesterday when I posted the Funny Sundays little did I know how quickly the publishing wheels would bring an ironic twist to add as an addendum to the aforementioned mirthful Bill Scheft interview. Scheft notes Glenn Beck in his interview and Scheft’s book is also a release by Simon and Schuster.
So what is the news on Beck? He inked a deal with Simon and Schuster as reported by The Wall St. Journal and other outlets, which brings Beck a publishing deal described by the Journal as, “a perk that publisher has traditionally reserved solely for its most important writers, such as Stephen King.”
Beck receives a smaller advance, substantial share of the profits and has secured more creative control over how the books are marketed etc. The deal also extends to different formats including an ebook, an audiobook and a new non-fiction title.
And just in time for XMAS, Beck’s children’s picture book release, The Christmas Sweater. If S&S really wanted to go all out with that children’s book they would include a set of red, white and blue knitting needles and a pattern for creating the most magnificent and patriotic sweater anyone has ever seen, in the tiny size of your child’s Ken or Barbie(TM) dolls.
Humor aside, the deal represents how publishers are trying to stay afloat in the competitive market of publishing. I think actually that the more adaptive publishers can be in terms of these deals, the better off the publishing world is overall. (Whether ye be democrat or republican! We all like to read books and want them to stay around!)
On the plane yesterday to and from Dallas, I read what I think is the best article on the history and current state of publishing. The article is in the March 2009 issue of Harper’s Magazine and is titled, “The Last Book Party: Publishing Drinks to a Life After Death,” by Gideon Lewis-Kraus. (Kraus is a brilliant writer.)
Unfortunately, when I went to Harper’s online the article is not retrievable or viewable UNLESS you are a Harper’s subscriber.
Drats! Darn! UGH! Drats!
So though it’s very frustrating that Harper’s does not have this article online (Harper’s please trust the Web and get your stuff online completely), I have to urge all of you to go and buy Harper’s Magazine and read this article.
Read it read it read it.
Great story on Writer’s Digest about author William P. Young and his book, “The Shack”, very inspiring path to publishing.
I always encourage independently published authors to enter the IPPYs (Independent Book Publisher Awards) and the deadline is soon upon us! Go to this link and enter your book.
Here’s a superb sampling of the best enewsletters and how companies, individuals and non-profits are using them to foster leads, engagement and community.
Resolve to do an e-newsletter this year. It will be a great benefit to you and your prospective customers.
Here are three e-newsletter companies you can use to push your news out:
Riveting article by Boris Kachka in New York Magazine, on the book publishing world and the challenges it faces in terms of staying afloat.








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