Blogger

As The Line Between Platform And Publisher Continues to Blur, Who Wins And Who Loses?
February 10, 2014

As publishing tools have become cheaper and more distributed, many have benefited from this ongoing democratization of distribution - whether it's Twitter users posting newsworthy updates from war zones, or would-be authors publishing their thoughts on Medium. That's the power of a platform that allows anyone to publish. It's when the line blurs between platform and publisher that things start to get tricky, not just for writers but for readers as well.

Random House Launches Blogger Community For Sci-Fi & Fantasy Fans
August 2, 2013

Random House's science fiction and fantasy online community Suvudu has launched a blogger community called Suvudu Universe. The site is filled with original content about science fiction and fantasy media written by the community of writers.  Writers that are published on the community can earn badges for placement and access to interact with authors. Suvudu will publish appropriate content, but the writer remains the owner of the media. Here is more about the submissions process from the site:

Publisher Threatens to Sue Blogger for $1-Billion
May 16, 2013

Jeffrey Beall is a metadata librarian at the University of Colorado at Denver, but he's known online for his popular blog Scholarly Open Access, where he maintains a running list of open-access journals and publishers he deems questionable or predatory.

Now, one of those publishers intends to sue Mr. Beall, and says it is seeking $1-billion in damages.

The publisher, the OMICS Publishing Group, based in India, is also warning that Mr. Beall could be imprisoned for up to three years under India's Information Technology Act, according to a letter from the group's lawyer.

AAP Criticizes Amazon’s Bid for .Book Domain Name
March 7, 2013

The Association of American Publishers criticized Amazon’s bid for “closed generic Top-Level Domains” (gTLD), an attempt for “exclusive” control of the new .book domain name.

Click here to read a PDF copy of the letter. Nine different companies have applied to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for access to the undoubtedly useful Internet domain name extension, including Amazon and R.R. Bowker.

AAP general counsel Allan Adler explained in a letter to ICANN:

Would Hemingway Blog?
September 26, 2012

I know many writers are hesitant to the idea of blogging. It feels like just another social media chore, but nothing can be farther from the truth. In fact, blogging is probably the ONLY form of social media that 1) draws from a writer’s strengths and 2) doesn’t try to fundamentally change our personality.

Yes, as a social media Jedi, I will tell you that it’s a good idea to tweet and learn to use Facebook, but I’m also going to tell you something you already know.

BookExpo America Announces New, Earlier Dates for 2013
July 9, 2012

Officials at BookExpo America (BEA) have announced that BEA in 2013 will take place one week earlier than previously announced.  Organizers have been seeking the earlier date from the Javits Center for a while as it is expected to drive down hotel prices by 10% - 20% depending on the property.  The surprise availability of the new dates was just confirmed by Javits officials this week.   The new dates for exhibits at BEA in 2013 will be Thursday, May 30th - Saturday, June 1st.  Conference Day will take place on Wednesday, May 29th

BookExpo America Kicks Off Today
June 4, 2012

BookExpo America officially kicks off today, with a number of concurrent shows. On the south end of the mammoth Jacob Javits Convention Center is the BEA Education Program, featuring panels on topics such as raising your revenue with direct-to-consumer sales and managing the digital rights marketplace, as well as a special focus on publishing in Russia.

Marketing Interview: The Move Toward Fluid Content
August 1, 2008

The Web is an ever-changing animal. Keeping that in mind, the most successful online marketing executives must think in the future tense: coming up with inventive, original ideas to help publishers stay ahead of the game. Jeff Yamaguchi, associate director of online marketing for Random House Inc. division The Doubleday Publishing Group, is one such innovator, and he fills us in on a little secret—that the future tense is not enough. In June, Yamaguchi launched Doubleday’s newly revamped Web site, which uses a WordPress platform to simulate the look and usability of a blog while maintaining Doubleday’s integrity and standards as a