Tuesday, 6 March 2012

More News: Random House, Slate And Publishing

Publisher Random House triples the prices of e-books they sell to libraries. A slightly more detailed report by The Huffington Post says that libraries were informed that "wholesale charges for e-books would rise by more than 20 percent for new adult releases and more than double for new children's books."

The dawn of the immortal e-book that can be circulated without falling to pieces has put publishers in a bit of a spot, says the report. It is also noted that "HarperCollins' e-books 'expire' after 26 uses, Hachette and Macmillan only make part of their list available, and others like Penguin and Simon&Schuster don’t allow library lending at all."

The American Library Association has asked Random House to reconsider citing the financial pressures US libraries are also facing, as funding dries up and libraries close. "In a time of extreme financial constraint, a major price increase effectively curtails access for many libraries, and especially our communities that are hardest hit economically," said ALA president Molly Raphael in a statement.

  • Slate finally gets a book review section. Followers of Slate should be excited, but if you're a book reviewer, some of the stuff already published may shrink your reviewer's balls to the point of dessication.
  • It seems that book publishers in India aren't familiar with the concept of buying rights to sell foreign books, or that books, like music, are subject to copyrights.
  • Get your book e-published for a traditional book deal. But would you wanna? Rachel Abbott, author of Kindle hit Only the Innocent, reportedly turned down a deal "because it didn't feel right." But it seems the book needs some ... touching up.
  • Nine foreign words the English language "desperately" needs. ...I guess you can call me a "pilkunnussija". More such words here ... is there a book?
  • Are painters of Hindi pulp novel covers going the way of movie poster painters?
  • Some more tips on pimping your book. Because you can never have enough tips.
  • Eight bad book blurbs by good writers, including Martin Amis, Joyce Carol Oates and Jeffrey Eugenides. Guess some people are just better at long-form writing.
  • The "gay marriage" issue of the Archie comic has sold out, despite 'concerns' raised by conservative US group One Million Moms.

    Archie Comics co-chief exec John Goldwater: "We're sorry the American Family Association/OneMillionMoms.com feels so negatively about our product, but they have every right to their opinion, just like we have the right to stand by ours. Kevin Keller will forever be a part of Riverdale, and he will live a happy, long life free of prejudice, hate and narrow-minded people." A-men.
  • When writers censor themselves - and why.
  • Can writing as a career affect what one writes for art? Personal experience says it does, but I reckon there will be exceptions.
  • A new French law passed to deal with the issue of orphan works - "out of print, still-in-copyright books, films, photographs, etc. whose rightsholders can't be found" - makes Google Book Settlement look good.
  • "If you’re a book publisher, you’ve got the blues real bad." Crikey rubs it in - with salt.

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