Today In Book Publishing
January 14, 2016 at 1:38 pm
Book marketing is perhaps one of the most upended areas of the publishing industry, thanks to the rise of the internet and digital content. As physical bookstores have shuttered, removing much of the marketing space books once occupied, publishers and authors have had to fight for reader attention online. And that fight for attention is…
January 13, 2016 at 12:59 pm
While many publishers are striving to solve the book discovery problem through semantic recommendation algorithms and expansive book metadata, for the past two years Penguin Random House has employed a decidedly old school approach during the critical holiday bookselling season. Instead of generating automated book suggestions based on clicks, PRH staff manually creates completely personalized…
January 12, 2016 at 11:46 am
While other ebook subscription services have shuttered, Mofibo a Copenhagen-based subscription service, continues to grow, boasting 15,000 new users every month and over 1 million pages read on its platform daily. The service has achieved sustainable growth and profitability due to its purposeful focus on developing local markets and providing ebooks in local languages, writes…
January 11, 2016 at 3:43 pm
Much like the book industry, magazine publishing has experienced near-constant change for the past decade. As new platforms for engaging readers and building community around like-minded people have emerged, the magazine business has had to quickly evolve. To that end, Book Business has developed a robust website, launched a daily e-newsletter, presented countless in-depth webinars,…
January 11, 2016 at 11:21 am
Ebook preview widgets have been around for quite awhile but when was the last time you saw one on a blog or website? I can’t recall the last one I saw but I’ll bet that’s about to change. Amazon recently released their Kindle Instant Previews widget and it does what its name suggests. In short,…
January 8, 2016 at 9:02 am
Successful book publishers market their books using an assorted mix of promotional media. A powerful communication mix includes publicity, advertising, sales promotion, content marketing, and personal selling. Many publishers focus on publicity and avoid advertising -- print advertising in particular. In part that is a cost decision, since it has become easier and more affordable…
January 7, 2016 at 3:16 pm
Data enables book publishers to connect with their readers in deeper and more meaningful ways — and sometimes, interact for the very first time. As digital exchanges between publishers and readers increase, data insights culled from those interactions continue to emerge and make a significant impact on how book publishers operate. Publishers are using data…
January 6, 2016 at 1:36 pm
The decade-long scuffle between the Author’s Guild and Google may return to trial in 2016, this time in the Supreme Court. On December 31st, The Author’s Guild put forth a petition for the case to appear in front of the Supreme Court, arguing that a judge’s previous ruling, which dismissed the Author’s Guild lawsuit on…
January 5, 2016 at 12:48 pm
Although 2015 was a big year for ebook subscription, with more publishers participating in subscription services like Oyster, Scribd, and Entitle than ever before, the year also marked a significant stumbling block for this market. Both Oyster and Entitle shuttered their doors in 2015, leaving Scribd and Kindle Unlimited as the leading ebook and audiobook…
January 4, 2016 at 9:21 am
Rather than speculate on what might happen in the ebook sector this year I thought it would be wiser to simply list the developments I’d like to see. So although some, and perhaps all, of these are a long shot, here’s my short list of hopes and wishes for the ebook market in the New…
