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Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

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Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Writing Craft » Book Business » Page 22

Book Business

Print: A Thing of the Past?

By Karen Ballon June 22, 2011
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by Karen Ball

Remember the musical Oklahoma? Gordon MacRae singing to, of all people, Rod Steiger: “Poor Jud is daid, poor Jud Fry is daid…”

Well, the way folks have been talking lately, I’m waiting for the new musical, “Digital World,” where a Gordon MacRae-esque editor will stand next to a book and sing out, “Poor print is daid, poor print books is daid, they’re lookin’ oh, so tattered and passé…”

Seriously, I keep hearing the rumblings:

Digital is taking over.

No one is buying print books.

Brick-and-mortar bookstores are closing every day.

The future of publishing is uncertain.

What does this mean for authors?

How will this change our contracts?

And on and on it goes. When the person sitting next to me on a flight several months found out I was in publishing, she asked me about this very thing. We had an interesting conversation about it all. Of course, I heard some of these same doom-and-gloom thoughts from her.

I just smiled, and pointed to her lap. “What are you reading there?”

She held up her book–not her Kindle, mind you, her book--and we talked about the author. Halfway into a sentence, she stopped, looked at the book, then at me.

And then she smiled.

“Now, look around us,” I said. “How many Kindles do you see?”

She hopped up and, on pretext of heading to the oh-so-spacious bathroom on the plane, took an informal poll. Upon her return, her smile was even broader. “Two. On this whole plane, only two.”

“How many books did you see?”

Smile shifts to grin. “Too many to count.”

“So is print dead?”

She settled back in her seat, hands caressing the cover of the book in her lap. “I don’t even think it’s sick!”

Our own Steve Laube brings a voice of much-needed reason to the whole discussion in an earlier blog post. Be sure you read the comments, too. Good stuff.

Yes, publishing is changing. Yes, e-books are on the rise. But no, print’s not dead. In fact, as my friend on the plane finally concluded, it’s not even sick. It’s just…changing. What gets published, and how it’s published are morphing even as I type. But we authors and editors and agents and most especially publishers need not fear those changes. Instead, let’s work to understand them, what’s behind them, and how we use them well to benefit all.

 

 

 

 

 

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Category: Book Business, Get Published, Publishing A-Z, TrendsTag: Print, publishing, Trends

The Fear of Rejection

By Steve Laubeon June 20, 2011
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Randy Ingermanson recently interviewed author Mary DeMuth in his "Advanced Fiction Writing E-Zine" and the topic of rejection surfaced. I thought it was very insightful and, with permission, am posting their conversation.

_______________

My friend Mary DeMuth recently published an e-book with the title The 11 Secrets of Getting Published.

Given that the price is only $2.99, I assumed the …

Read moreThe Fear of Rejection
Category: Book Business, Get Published, Rejection, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Get Published, Rejection, Writing Craft

A New Agent Joins Us!

By Steve Laubeon May 17, 2011
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We are thrilled to announce that Tamela Hancock Murray is joining The Steve Laube Agency as a new literary agent for the firm. For the last ten years she has been with the Hartline Literary Agency representing a number of successful authors.

She interned on Capitol Hill and at the U.S. Department of State before graduating with honors in Journalism from Lynchburg College in Virginia. Tamela …

Read moreA New Agent Joins Us!
Category: Agency, Book BusinessTag: Agents, Book Business

Book Tour Lesson: Listen to Publisher

By Steve Laubeon January 10, 2011
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Melanie Benjamin, author of Alice I Have Been, reflects on book tours, in an article for the Huffington Post.  Especially the difference between the one she put together herself several years ago and the one she is currently doing with the help of her publisher.
"I've also learned to listen to my publisher. When a bookstore contacts me personally about an appearance, I pass the request on to my …

Read moreBook Tour Lesson: Listen to Publisher
Category: Book Business, Career, MarketingTag: book tours, Marketing, publisher

Lawsuit over Hyperlink?

By Steve Laubeon December 20, 2010
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In Canada a man is suing another person for linking to allegedly damaging web content on a web site (the suit is currently before the Canadian Supreme Court).  A big "thank you" to Mac Slolcum for writing about this issue last week. In his article Mac asks the pertinent question, "Is a link on your web site equivalent to an endorsement of that content?" Think about it for a second. If you click …

Read moreLawsuit over Hyperlink?
Category: Book Business, Legal IssuesTag: Endorsements, Facebook, Internet Usage, Marketing

All About E

By Steve Laubeon December 17, 2010
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This was the year of the E word. "E-Books." The topic replaced the other "e" word...the Economy...as the number one topic among authors, editors, publishers and agents. And the news media reported every nuance with breathless excitement. The iPad, the iPhone4,  the Droid, the avalanche of tablets, the Kindle, the Nook, and a deluge of e-reading devices, all commanded our time and attention.

But …

Read moreAll About E
Category: Book Business, E-Books, Get Published, TrendsTag: Book Business, Digital Books, E-Books, Get Published, Trends

E-Book Buyers Buy More Books

By Steve Laubeon November 18, 2010
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New research by the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) has made some interesting discoveries.

E-book consumers say they are buying more books overall, but fewer in print, and are decreasing their total dollars spent
More than 40% of e-book readers have reduced the number and dollars spent on hardcovers and paperbacks.
Retailers are becoming more important than publishers as a source of …

Read moreE-Book Buyers Buy More Books
Category: Book Business, E-Books, TrendsTag: Book Business, E-Books, Trends
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