Andrew Franklin

Andrew Franklin, recently the subject of some fairly fierce criticism on TeleRead and elsewhere for his splenetic comments on self-publishing, has been in the headlines again in another spat—this time on the receiving end. The occasion, according to a report in the London Evening Standard, was a farewell dinner at London’s beautiful Wallace Collection for the [...]

The post Andrew Franklin’s back — in a faceoff over an unbelievable agenting internship auction appeared first on TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics.

After my coverage of the remarks by Profile Books’ Andrew Franklin, also picked up by others, I linked the original Guardian article to the KBoards Writer’s Cafe, the Kindle platform community’s author forum, inviting comment. Within a day, the thread attracted 134 responses. Here, as confirmed with the authors, are one or two of them. “What [...]

The post From the KBoards, feedback on Profile Books’ managing director Andrew Franklin appeared first on TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics.

I went through a phase where I wanted to become a book reviewer. Not just the books everyone else was reading, but indie books as well. My plan was to read a self-published book one week and a traditionally published book the next. I intended to go back and forth that way for quite some [...]

The post Hey, Andrew Franklin: Self-published books enhance my world appeared first on TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics.

Yesterday, we reported that self-published books now make up 20% of the genre ebook market in the UK. That figure was first announced on Tuesday by Steve Bohme, the research director of Bowker Market Research, at the literary consultancy conference, Writing in the Digital Age.

But, as the Guardian’s Alison Flood noted on Tuesday, self-published books also “came in for a slating” at the conference from Andrew Franklin, the founder and managing director of Profile Books. An excerpt of Franklin’s remarks, per Flood’s report, is below:

UK independent publisher Andrew Franklin, founder and managing director of Profile Books, delivered a virulent assault on the current self-publishing environment at the Literary Consultancy conference Writing in a Digital Age in London, as reported in The Guardian. “The overwhelming majority [of self-published books] are terrible—unutterable rubbish,” Franklin said. “They don’t enhance anything in the [...]

The post Profile Books founder Andrew Franklin lays into self-publishing appeared first on TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics.

Markus Dohle, Chief Executive of Random House, must have had a long hard think about what a booklover could possibly treasure more than a Kindle.

The answer is, of course, a Penguin. Everyone loves Penguin. Their paperback covers have become such a design cult that people flock to buy not just their books, but also bags, mugs, postcards, and even deckchairs, trussed up in Penguin livery. If Random House wants to stand up to the mighty Amazon, then this strong brand is a boost to their arsenal.

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