It is hard not to see today’s press release by Simon & Schuster UK as a direct and aggressive reaction to the wave of negative publicity surrounding last week’s launch of self-publishing imprint Archway Publishing, which will be run by Author Solutions, the giant self-publishing solutions provider every author of a writing blog is suddenly queuing…
Simon & Schuster Take The Self-Publishing Train – Mind The Step!
It was not the most lengthy press release today, but news that big six publisher Simon & Schuster has dipped its feet into the self-publishing arena with Author Solutions Inc. is significant only in relation to the fact that it has been in the pipeline for a while. The recent purchase of ASI by Pearson may have kept…
Simon & Schuster Enter Self-Publishing Service Market with ASI
Big six publisher Simon & Schuster has made the plunge into the self-publishing field with the launch of Archway Publishing in a partnership with Author Solutions. Simon & Schuster is now the second of the big six (or big five as it will be next year) to offer publishing services to authors after Penguin launched Book Country…
Lulu Layoff Staff with Restructure
Image via CrunchBase DIY self-publishing service provider Lulu confirmed earlier this week that nine staff members had been let go from its head office in Raleigh, USA. Lulu’s Chief Operating Office, Tom Bright, confirmed the news in an email (via Triangle Business Journal) that the decision was part of Lulu’s overall strategy to refine its platform focus.…
CreateSpace, Smashwords and Author Solutions Dominate Self-Publishing Market | Bowker
Bowker Press Release: [Editor’s Note: Bowker annually release figures and reports like the one referred to in the press release below, however it should be noted that Bowker only rely on titles with an ISBN, and given that Amazon KDP lists over 200k self-published titles and Smashwords lists 60k titles for 2011 (against Bowker’s claimed…
Full-service publishers are rethinking what they can offer | The Shatzkin Files
“There is plenty of evidence that publishers are thinking along these lines. The most obvious recent event suggesting it is Penguin’s acquisition of Author Solutions. Penguin had shown prior interest in the author services market by creating Book Country, a community and commercial assistance site for genre fiction authors. Penguin suddenly has real scale in…
Author Solutions Remove Jared Silverstone Social Media Accounts
Is the ASI ‘fake social media pages’ issue the first sign that new owners Pearson won’t tolerate questionable practices or have ASI just been caught with their pants down in public? Related articles Morrison, Shatzkin and The Value of Social Media in Publishing It’s Their Fault – Not Mine! I Was In The McCloud Morrison!…
The Future of Publishing 2020: Control, Coker and ASI
This is a pretty thought-provoking post by Smashwords‘ Mark Coker. There are a number of strong arguments he makes for the control and advantage indie authors may hold over traditionally published authors in regards to ebook pricing. “One surprise, however, was that we found $2.99 books, on average, netted the authors more earnings (profit per…
Publishers Lunch | ASI-Pearson Deal – Related Links
Publishers Lunch » Penguin Acquires Self-Publishing Service Author Solutions For $116 Million One significant area this Publishers Lunch coverage does raise is the argument that the POD bubble may be on the wane. ASI has put a great deal into the launch of Booktango, as an ebook self-publishing platform, and the sale of ASI may…
Opinion: Pearson Acquisition of Author Solutions – Change, What Change?
There is certainly nothing out of place with today’s acquisition by Pearson – Penguin’s parent company – of the largest self-publishing service provider, Author Solutions (ASI). While the purchase of ASI might raise a few furrowed brows in the established publishing industry, the sale by ASI’s parent compant, Bertram Capital, has been on the back burner for…