Finance

The UK's biggest book retailer Amazon now sells more ebooks than hardbacks and paperbacks combined, the company has said. For every 100 print books sold through the site, Amazon said it sold 114 titles for its Kindle e-reader device. It added that the average Kindle owner bought up to four times more books than they did before owning the device. The strong figures have been boosted by titles such as multi-million selling erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey. The book has sold more than 31 million copies worldwide, with two million ebooks of the title selling in less than

Late last month, St. Mark’s Bookstore in New York City launched its first crowdfunding campaign on a website called Lucky Ant. The blunt truth is that it’s a last ditch effort for survival. It’s that simple. In this climate, they can’t afford to keep paying their rent of over $20,000, which was already reduced by over $2,000 earlier this year until November. The owners, Bob Contant and Terence McCoy, hope that if they raise the cash, they’ll be able fund a relocation into a new space.

When John D. Loudermilk wrote (or, at least, got credit for writing) the song Tobacco Road, he did not have the publishing industry in mind when he penned the line: "Blow it up, start all over again."

Springer, in collaboration with PCG (Publishers Communication Group) released a white paper, Scholarly eBooks: Understanding the Return on Investment for Libraries, today.  It is available for a free download from the Springer site.

From the million-plus dollars raised for a graphic novel about stick figures to an all-female anthology showcasing the works of women in comics, the crowdfunding website Kickstarter has become one of the biggest graphic novel publishers in the US.

Research by US book industry magazine Publishers Weekly puts Kickstarter – which is set to launch in the UK later this year – in fourth place in a ranking of the US's top five graphic novel publishers over the three-month period from February to April.

It is difficult to make a living as an independent publisher if you view yourself as a purveyor of books through bookstores. Typically, when one responds, “I’m an author,” to the question, “What do you do for a living?” the inquiring party usually follows with, “But what do you do to earn money?” However, if you reply, “I’m a publishing professional,” you are usually received with nodding understanding. The difference is as enormous as it is subtle. A publishing professional runs a business, relying on multiple streams of revenue for maximum income.

Relying exclusively on book sales can limit your income. This wall might be reached because of seasonal demand for your content, or your reliance on sales only through bookstores: bricks and clicks. You may have a small target market, inadequate planning or insufficient funds for promotion. The list goes on. But the fact remains that a variety of circumstances can conspire to limit the sale of your books, and subsequently your income.

"Back in January, Cory re-posted my analysis of the reader survey I used to determine the price and title of my newly self-published book. Self publishing has been a fascinating process, and the survey actually led me to price the book higher ($50) than I had originally thought was feasible. That's $8 less than my publisher was charging, but high enough to give me discounting flexibility.

If you price your book incorrectly you may doom your publishing venture. Discover how you can avoid the these 8 mistakes most untrained authors make.

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), has acquired the full publication list of SciTech Publishing, which adds more than 70 renowned titles to its current list of 300 books and e-books.

1DegreeBio Inc., the largest independent review website for research-grade antibodies and related life science products has closed a Series B round of funding, led by Macmillan Digital Science Limited. Philip Armstrong, CEO of Jovian Capital Corporation, and 1DegreeBio senior management also participated in the round.