One of the UK’s most vibrant and independent poetry and fiction publishers, Salt Publishing, has this week announced that it is abandoning its single-author poetry collections. Director of Salt Publishing, Chris Hamilton-Emery, explained the decision to the Guardian UK online: “We’ve seen our sales [of single-author collections] decline by over a quarter in the past…
In The Self-Publishing Kingdom, The One-Eyed Writer is King
Sue Grafton (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Okay, so Sue Grafton said self-publishing was for writers too lazy to do the hard work. I’m not so sure what all the fuss is about. Sure, Grafton should have chosen her words more carefully, but, as the self-publishing fraternity dust themselves off after the latest scuffle, they might note…
Morrison, Shatzkin and The Value of Social Media in Publishing
“But for the self-published authors, they’re the whole ball of wax. And when it is argued that self-publishing is the better course for authors, two assumptions seem to become tacit: 1) that the print-in-store sale doesn’t matter and 2) that if the marketing to be done is mainly in social networks, the publisher can’t or…
The way ahead for publishing | Books | Guardian UK
The way ahead for publishing | Books | guardian.co.uk: Here is a nice summation piece by Stephen Page in last Friday’s Guardian UK about the developments in the publishing world in 2011, and where it might be going beyond 2012… 2011 was a dramatic year for the UK books industry. Waterstones changed ownership and leadership.…
Fifty things I’ve learned about the literary life | Books | The Observer
Image by Getty Images via @daylife Fifty things I’ve learned about the literary life | Books | The Observer: “From time to time, this column is asked for advice, sometimes obsessively, about decoding the many mysteries of “the world of books”. There’s a widespread view, held by those looking from the outside, that there must…
A guide to self-publishing for academics and researchers: Guardian UK Live Chat
via Getty Images Tomorrow, Friday 2nd December, the Guardian UK host a two hour online live debate on self-publishing for academics and researchers. The debate will feature a panel of experts from education and publishing. “On Friday 2 December we aim to dig deeper into the hows and whys of self publishing and will bring…
Peter Owen – Sixty Years of Publishing | Guardian UK
The Guardian UK today began a series looking at small publishers that have made a big impression on the book publishing industry. This is a series I will certainly be following with interest. Today was the turn of Peter Owen, a UK publisher never afraid to ride left of field and celebrate and promote literary…
Every good ebook needs a good editor | Guardian UK
Every good ebook needs a good editor | Guardian UK “I don’t say publishers today are perfect, because they’re not. They’ve been far too slow to react to the digital age and don’t really, I think, fully embrace its potential. I don’t believe editorial standards in all traditional publishing houses are absolutely perfect, either. But…
EU raids ebook publishers in price fixing investigation | World news | The Guardian
EU raids ebook publishers in price fixing investigation | World news | The Guardian: I don’t believe this is just confined to France. At heart, this drives a stake through the argument that big publishing houses can price e-books at the current level (Agency Agreement) in place. “The European commission has launched morning raids on…
Authors: Young, Free and Talented or Old, Experienced and Respected??
Today’s Observer newspaper has an article by Robert McCrum positing the question, ‘A literary Career or a brilliant one-off? Take your pick.’ McCrum is reflecting on something Malcom Gladwell said on a book tour in the UK this week about how he is drawn to artists with long careers and consistency in their work, citing…
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