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THE FLIP SIDE OF SELF-PROMOTION
It seems publishing houses no longer have the capacity to provide the kind of promotional efforts on a writer’s behalf that they would have done only a few years ago. Market pressures have combined to put far more of the responsibility on us, the writers.
Like it or not, we have to blow our own trumpets these days, and I don’t enjoy that. I’ve been a little luckier than some, with solid efforts from in-house publicists when each new book comes out. But I’d be stupid if I didn’t also work on increasing my public profile.
Writer Unboxed
WHAT DO THE NUMBERS SAY ABOUT EBOOKS
As more and more publishers release their Q2 reports, the numbers will likely validate some of the industry reports that have come out in the past month. The numbers have been impressive, with a 202.3% spike in ebook sales in February 2011 (vs. February 2010), as reported a few weeks ago in the Association of American Publishers’ February 2011 Sales Report. Digital Book World
TODAY IN RIDICULOUS FRENCH REGULATIONS: EBOOK PRICE CONTROLS!
Yesterday a French parliamentary committee voted unanimously (!) to impose a unique price on eBooks sold in France, even if they're sold from outside France. Business Insider
JUST ANOTHER SCARY HEADLINE (BUT THERE'S MORE ON GOING THAN THAT)
*"Ebooks destroying traditional publishing!" *I can't count the number of times I've seen this headline, even as some houses seem to be doing okay even if paper sales are decreasing, and consumers are apparently becoming more realistic over pricing. It doesn't seem to me that the arse is falling out of the financial trousers just yet. It may be that there are some underlying issues which will cause problems if not addressed, but in general, I am not moved to panic. FutureBook
10 NONTRADITIONAL WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR BOOK
Having troubles connecting with readers? Learn from the experience of other writers. In an enlightening thread on the Amazon discussion boards this week, a number of authors shared experiences they had while self-promoting their books. We’ve collected ten tips below–linking to the individual author’s explanation of the promotional tool. GalleyCat
IS IT TIME FOR PUBLISHERS TO OFFER ADVERTISING IN BOOKS?
One of the key questions concerns the tolerance for advertising in books. While the publisher’s perspective on this question will be addressed in tomorrow’s issue, it will be interesting to hear your perspective today?
What do you think — as the price of content is driven lower and lower, and publishers struggle for new ways to monetize their products, is it now time for publishers to consider taking advertising inside books?
Publishing Perspectives
MAKING LITERATURE GREAT
A proliferation of media, formats and devices will not deter writers frommaking great literature. If anything, democratizing the tools of production has made creation of great literature easier. Moreover, writers who create great works are motivated personally as well as financially. Brian O'Leary
THE STIGMA OF WRITING HORROR HOW THE GENRE YOU WRITE MATTERS AS MUCH AS THE STORY
There was a time when I ran from the label of being a “horror writer”. It’s tough enough as a self-published author to be taken seriously, but adding the extra burden of a horror tag to my bio made the chances of people rolling the dice on my projects even scarier – and not in a good way! The Creative Penn