People Magazine

[AdAge] Digital Storytelling: What Can Porn and Paula Deen Teach Us?
November 14, 2011

The future of media turns out to be a return to the past. Think back to an age before mass media and subsequent fragmentation; we had one thing that we could rely on: the story. We need stories that are as dynamic as they are timeless, changing to greet contemporary audiences. Like folklore, brands must tell stories that are colored by the audience, its participation, and its re-telling of the story. Simply, we must let go.

[Bloomberg] Virginia Postrel: Amazon E-Library Is Publishing’s Profit Model
November 14, 2011

Beyond short-term earnings, Amazon's lending library is just the latest innovation to raise big questions about the whole publishing ecosystem. In an environment where books are increasingly digital, what’s the most effective way to create value for readers, for authors and for intermediaries? And -- the biggest question -- which intermediaries will survive the transition?

Amazon Introduces Kindle Owners' Lending Library
November 3, 2011

Today, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced the launch of the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. With an Amazon Prime membership ($79 annually), Kindle owners can now choose from thousands of books to borrow for free – including over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers – as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates.

Tear Down the Silo
November 1, 2011

In an effort to insulate core, legacy print-based operations, digital programs often get siloed—shut off in their own program domains—while traditional editorial and production processes continue undisturbed. While this may seem practical in the short-term, in the long-term it is a costly strategic blunder.

BBC: Steve Martin to publish book of tweets
October 28, 2011

"Due to absolutely no demand, soon I'm publishing a book of my tweets," he wrote on his Twitter account.

"Many of your replies included! All my profits to charity."

The book will be released by Grand Central Publishing in June 2012 with the title: "The Ten, Make that Nine, Habits of Very Organized People. Make that Ten."

HuffPo: An Occupy Wall Street Book Is Being Created In Zuccotti Park, Using A Process That Mirrors The Occupation Itself
October 26, 2011

How do you tell the story of Occupy Wall Street? An anonymous collective called "Writers for the 99%" is trying to do just that, creating a book for progressive publisher OR Books using a revolutionary writing method inspired by the movement's own democratic structure.

The book was announced yesterday, and OR Books co-founder, Colin Robinson, told The Huffington Post that their chosen writing method is both "terrifying and exhilarating."

paidContent.org: Steve Jobs And The Importance Of Pre-Orders
October 24, 2011

On the official morning of its release, Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs is #1 on the Kindle bestseller list, #1 in Apple’s iBookstore and #2 on the Nook bestseller list. It is not yet showing up on the Kobo or Google (NSDQ: GOOG) bestseller lists, possibly since those sites don’t offer pre-orders. Pre-orders for e-books (and other products) give retailers a way to capitalize on pre-release hype and lock in orders early.

paidContent.org: GigaOm’s Michael Wolf Launches Digital Publisher BSTSLLR
October 18, 2011

In a move he describes as akin to “having your own minor-league baseball team,” Michael Wolf, GigaOm’s VP research, is launching his own digital publishing imprint, BSTSLLR. (In response, several minor-league baseball teams are dropping all vowels from their team names.) GigaOm CEO Paul Walborsky has long been a fan of Kevin Kelly’s “1,000 true fans” principle, the idea that an artist needs 1,000 true fans, “who will purchase anything and everything you produce,” to succeed. Wolf believes that principle can be multiplied for a short story collection.

Guardian: Romantic Fiction's Passion for E-Books
October 10, 2011

"We know from research commissioned by Random House and by the industry at large that romance readers have been among the first to migrate to ebooks," says Ebury editorial director Gillian Green. "One in seven romance readers have already bought an e-book in the last year." The rising tide of e-reading devices has been a blessing to none more so than fans of romance. No longer are they forced to conceal the covers of their latest purchases (The Sultan's Choice, say, or The Temp and the Tycoon) from fellow commuters.