Monthly Archives: May 2012

It was with some wistfulness that we bid our Spring 2012 intern, Sarah Boyle, a fond farewell last week. Now that she’s completed her time with us, she’s Canada-bound and ready to find her first job in publishing. Sarah’s insightfulness, social media savvy, and perennial good cheer were all sorts of wonderful to have around here, and we can only wish the best for her and the future corner of book-business lucky enough to snag her!   What specific tasks or projects completed across the summer do you feel were ... Read more

Every week we recommend 5 links that the young book professional should read to feel more informed and connected. There are only 5, so even if you weren’t able to read a thing all week, these should help keep you in the know.       Maurice Sendak, beloved author of Where the Wild Things Are, passed away this week: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/books/maurice-sendak-childrens-author-dies-at-83.html Pocket Star will produce only digital books: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/51842-pocket-star-to-be-e-book-only.html Kindle snags Harry Potter…for a Limited-Time Only: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-57431938-501465/harry-potter-series-coming-to-kindle-owners-lending-library/ Time to write a strongly worded letter…if you think the DoJ should give Agency a chance: http://news.bookweb.org/news/aba-members-urged-make-their-voices-heard-re-agency-model ... Read more

Ever since an article on the subject in the New York Times several weeks ago, there’s been a lot of buzz about what it can mean for a young writer to self-publish. One such author, Max Leone, was kind enough to share his experiences with us, but also his thoughts about why self-publishing could be a smart move for his potential future career in book business. by Max Leone  I understand that the publishing industry is a rather unforgiving place at the moment, and steadily becoming more so, but I ... Read more

Every week we recommend 5 links that the young book professional should read to feel more informed and connected. There are only 5, so even if you weren’t able to read a thing all week, these should help keep you in the know.       Microsoft is investing in Barnes & Noble’s Nook ereader: http://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=1729#m15967 And, in other Nook-news, Barnes & Noble is teaming up with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to produce preloaded schoolbook Nooks: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/nook-and-hmh-partner-school-deal.html Target will no longer carry Amazon’s Kindle: http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/2/2993142/target-stop-carrying-amazon-kindle-conflict-of-interest Remember how you forgot about Google’s ... Read more

You may have noticed the term “agency model” cropping up in industry news and blogs lately. But just what is the agency model and what does it have to do with the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit, filed April 11th, against Apple and five of the Big Six publishing houses? The case has the book industry buzzing, but why does everyone seem to care so much about the seemingly uninteresting question of how to price an ebook? The Cast of Characters Amazon: Mustache twirling menace to book publishers everywhere… ... Read more