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The No-Publicity Bestseller: On Harper Lee
A first novel, a coming-of-age story set in the South. The author is utterly unknown, has no academic or media affiliations, no Web site, no blog, no Facebook page, no Twitter account. She is shy. What's a publisher and a publicist to do?
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On Being Wrong
From an expert in making mistakes. 'Writing your first book is, at least in my experience, one long lesson in being constantly, stupendously wrong.'
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iFilch's Sneak Peek at Floppatronic's Reader
Posing as the chief digital officer of a Big Six publisher, iFilch's ever-resourceful tech blogger managed to examine Floppatronic's forthcoming reading device and spent enough time with it to smuggle out a set of specs.
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How About 'Both' Instead of 'Either/Or'?
Would you pay extra to enjoy your favorite songs on both your iPod and your home stereo? If the price were right, I certainly would.
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The Question of The Question Mark
The question mark is a book title's last remaining problem child—the toddler of the punctuation family, perpetually shrugging its shoulders.
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What If?
I'm letting the publishing world in on a little secret: the Internet is not destroying literature. In fact, a recent examination revealed scads of words spread across the Internet. Almost a Web, if you will. This "Web" is itself organized into pages, much like what we commonly call a book. I'll even go a step further: the new medium could breathe new life into a few old ones.
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Fear and Trembling Before The iPad
Writers are careening into a new age of media convergence.
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John Edgar Wideman Embraces the Future
My decision to self publish evolved gradually. An invitation to contribute a 500-word story for a special section of microfiction in O magazine started me thinking. I'd been observing glumly the shrinking space allotted to fiction in national magazines. Could O's interest in microfiction, even if it lasted only a single issue, be a good omen?
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Book Expo America 2024: Reading Lives!
Dear Book Lovers, I am delighted to report that the 2024 Book Expo America was a smashing success, shattering every record imaginable! Over 40 people attended, an increase of roughly 5% over last year's 38. Once again, the Expo was held at Ruth Cohen's apartment on Riverside Drive (thank you, Ruthie!).
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Apples and Oranges
Perhaps the greatest contribution made by Amazon to the book industry over the past 15 years has been the depth it has provided to the book-buying experience.
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Winning With Social Media
The last few years have been quite challenging for the publishing industry, but I think the few coming up are going to be the hardest yet. We can, however, do something about it. Social media tools and the entire social networking space are perfectly suited to promote and extend books and magazines into new ways of entertainment and information exchange.
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Books Are Not Dead. They're Not Even Dying
I've heard people aren't reading so much anymore, but as far as I can tell—and I've been into publishing for 14 years now—they're reading as much as ever. At least they're reading my books as much as ever. I'm the publisher of a very small press called Pleasure Boat Studio. The weird name was inspired by a Sung Dynasty Chinese poet, Ouyang Xiu, who explained in an essay that his wea...
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Born Famous
Unless you're the offspring of Michael Jackson, the likelihood that you sprang from the womb with a star on the Walk of Fame is unlikely. So why do so many writers behave as though they are already part of the elite groups of authors? The elite being the ones who actually make a living writing. Only about 3% of authors actually make a living on their writing alone.
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Hooray for The ISBN
As the digital landscape for books increases, new entrants to the market are puzzled by its insistence on the ISBN. To many—particularly e-book—only publishers—it seems that the industry is insisting on using an antiquated standard. Why can't the ISBN be adapted to include suffixes that describe different formats? What use is the ISBN on the Web, where there are no bar codes? ...
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'Post' Traumatic: A Cautionary (Fairy) Tale
We modern authors can magically publicize our work—worldwide—within seconds. It's a fairy tale world. But also, in a second, we can lose control.
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Free Books
I didn't expect to give away my fourth novel. Then my editor left, and my book entered the queasy limbo of the orphaned book.
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You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up
I get to watch my husband charm the pants and advances out of rooms full of attractive editors. We close our deal the very same day. We promise to stay together until the paperback.
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'Pirating Is Now Safe'
Pirating used to be difficult and left you prone to viruses-this kept the honest people honest (like the lock on a door). But this is no longer true. It's similar now to stealing office supplies-wrong, yes, but who does it hurt if I'm not going to buy it anyway?
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Soapbox: A Symbol of Individuality
A framed photograph of J.D. Salinger hangs over my desk at work. Taped near the door is a copy of a typewritten letter signed by him to a teacher named Madeline dated May 12, 1991, the original of which I bought off a reputable dealer on eBay (an indulgence others questioned, but one I've never regretted).
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Soapbox: Reimagining Books
When I was growing up, there were no books in my house. It was the '70s, and my dad loved the TV so much that he wouldn't turn it off, even when no one was home to watch it. I'd often come home from school to an empty house and find Perry Mason arguing a case in my living room or Gilligan drinking out of a coconut.
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