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Simon & Schuster Sells eBook Chapters

post from mediabistro.com: GalleyCat on 03 November 2009 12:23:09 PM. © mediabistro.com: GalleyCat

Yesterday Simon & Schuster has launched a new "e-commerce solution" for selling digital editions of medical books, following iTunes' lead by offering individual chapters of books.

In the new Ask Doctor Oz site, readers can find answers to specific medical questions from different authors, including books by Dr. Michael F. Roizen and Dr. Mehmet C. Oz. Once the reader has located an answer in a specific text, they can buy individual e-chapters of the relevant title--instead of buying the whole eBook.

Simon & Schuster's Chief Digital Officer Ellie Hirschhorn had these thoughts: "It represents a transformational shift from current trade publishing models, and means that consumers may no longer have to purchase an entire book when perhaps a chapter or two will provide them with the answers they are looking for, or if they are looking to sample parts of a book before making the decision to purchase the entire work. This opens up a new world of opportunities for where and how our digital content can be distributed and sold, and we plan to expand both the chapter selling model and use of our e-commerce widget to other content categories."

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/publishing/_simon_schuster_sells_ebook_chapt
ers_142082.asp?c=rss

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KIRSCH ON ROTH

post from The Elegant Variation on 03 November 2009 12:16:25 PM. © The Elegant Variation

Writing for Tablet Magazine, Adam Kirsch finds The Humbling "thinly imagined, with few surprises in plot or language." The books he has produced since then, as he entered his 70s, can only be called late late Roth?or better still, endgame...

Read The Full Article:
http://marksarvas.blogs.com/elegvar/2009/11/kirsch-on-roth.html

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And the Publishing Beat Goes On

post from Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind on 03 November 2009 12:00:00 PM. © Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind

When I left GalleyCat a couple of years ago the prospect of covering the publishing industry on a daily basis had become something of a grind. There were other projects to pursue - some successful, others less so and hence never discussed publicly - that stuck closer to my beloved genre of crime fiction or flew further afield.

But a funny thing happened in the intervening years: I didn't burn out on publishing. Far from it, as the convergence of a recessed economy, the rise of e-books (even if just in terms of how many stories are published about said rise) and the enthusiasm of many observers and insiders who want to mold publishing into a model that better fits the 21st century all make this a very exciting - albeit disturbing and not-so-occasionally depressing - time for publishing. Twitter helped keep track of that, and occasional stints hosting Publishers Lunch over the last year and a half confirmed I had too much of a personal stake to stay away.

Now comes a new gig: As of last week, I'll be writing about the publishing industry for DailyFinance, AOL's money and finance news blog. There will be short posts (like this and this) when news breaks and longer features every week or two. DailyFinance is a business-oriented site, and so too will my stories for them, which means I can cut loose on more stat-and-numbers geekery and learn more about the twin engines - technology and financials - that will drive publishing forward.

So a word of warning: between DailyFinance, my crime fiction columns at the LA Times and the Barnes & Noble Review and other freelance assignments - not to mention some larger projects in the works - Confessions will likely operate at a reduced frequency (aka when the mood strikes me.) Of course, the moment I announce such things, I end up blogging like a demon, which is how I've stayed at this for over six (!) years. But unpredictability is a wonderful thing, isn't it?

Read The Full Article:
http://www.sarahweinman.com/confessions/2009/11/and-the-publishing-beat-goes-on.h
tml

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Publishers Should Be Asking "What's the Subtext"

post from mediabistro.com: GalleyCat on 03 November 2009 11:23:07 AM. © mediabistro.com: GalleyCat

Many publishing companies read social trends like tea leaves, trying to mirror them in books. This trend-mirroring focus has had some unexpected results, like monster mash-up overload to a book deal gold rush for comedians.

Today's guest on the Morning Media Menu was Alain Sylvain, managing director of strategy at the branding agency, Redscout. Around the 10:25 mark, Sylvain explained that publishers should stop reporting on these trends and focus on discovering the subtext behind these unexpected events.

Here's an excerpt from the interview: "If we were thinking about innovating a publishing space, we would start with account planning--really getting to the bottom of what consumers think about and want every day. The publishing community holds a mirror up to the culture...Where I think publishing has an opportunity to really offer something new is asking: 'what's the subtext?' Publishing has to get more tapped into what people are really feeling about the world around them, rather than reporting what is."

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/trends/publishers_should_be_asking_whats_the
_subtext_142059.asp?c=rss

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Women Unbound

post from bookgirl's nightstand on 03 November 2009 11:09:26 AM. © bookgirl's nightstand

When I saw the Women Unbound challenge I just knew I had to join it! Have you heard about it? Well, you can get all the details on the challenge blog but basically it’s a challenge to get readers to read books related to women studies.Eva, Aarti and Care are co-hosting this one and have [...]

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http://www.bookgirl.net/?p=1748

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Is cancer contagious

post from Maud Newton on 03 November 2009 10:29:00 AM. © Maud Newton

Inspired by her kids’ confusion over their grandma’s illness, Amy Koppelman will publish a children’s series: Is It Contagious? (Via.)

Read The Full Article:
http://maudnewton.com/blog/?p=9649

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Spring Design Sues Barnes & Noble Over Nook
Design

post from mediabistro.com: GalleyCat on 03 November 2009 10:23:33 AM. © mediabistro.com: GalleyCat

Spring Design has sued Barnes & Noble over the design of their digital reader Nook, arguing that the bookseller broke non-disclosure agreements and "misappropriated trade secrets" about the two-screen design of Spring Design's Alex Reader

According to Spring Design Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Eric Kmiec, the company had shared the device with bookseller: "We showed the Alex e-book design to Barnes & Noble in good faith with the intention of working together to provide a superior dual screen e-book to the market." Spring Design unveiled the reader on Oct. 19, 2009; a Google Android-based e-book device with wi-fi Internet browsing and a special dual screen allowing reading and browsing at the same time.

Here's more from the company's release: "Spring Design first developed and began filing patents on its Alex e-book, an innovative dual screen, Android-based e-book back in 2006. Since the beginning of 2009 Spring and Barnes & Noble worked within a non-disclosure agreement, including many meetings, emails and conference calls with executives ranging up to the president of Barnes and Noble.com, discussing confidential information regarding the features, functionality and capabilities of Alex."

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/feuds/spring_design_sues_barnes_noble_over_n
ook_design_142052.asp?c=rss

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Some New Releases: Kingsolver, Pynchon, Plath

Today arrives Barbara Kingsolver’s latest, Lacuna, “an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover.” Also out are a couple more of those nifty “Olive Editions” from HarperCollins, this time of Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49 [...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/themillionsblog/fedw/~3/yqaY0GMBu6s/some-new-relea
ses-kingsolver-pynchon-plath.html

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Jane Friedman and Jeffrey Sharp to Keynote eBook
Summit

Former HarperCollins president Jane Friedman and film producer Jeffrey Sharp will deliver the keynote address at mediabistro.com's upcoming eBook Summit in New York City--unveiling their plans for their brand new digital book outfit, Open Road Integrated Media.

The presentation will be entitled "The Art of Disruption: Thinking Differently About The Changes In Publishing." The eBook Summit will run from December 15-16 at the New Yorker Hotel in New York City. Participants also include: DailyLit CEO Susan Danziger, Sony's Digital Reading Business Division President Steve Haber, Lexcycle co-founder Neelan Choksi; Google Books product manager Brandon Badger, author Katty Kay, and Books on Board CEO Bob Livolsi.

Here's more from the program: "[Open Road] will publish eBooks from the backlists of well known authors and new eBooks from unpublished authors. Jane and Jeff will discuss their vision and explain how they also plan to produce audio and video content that aligns with their eBook offerings."

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/ebooks/jane_friedman_and_jeffrey_sharp_to_ke
ynote_ebook_summit_142048.asp?c=rss

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Don Bartlett: Interview of a Translator (part 2)

Part 1 of the interview with esteemed translator Don Bartlett, can be found here.

EC: I believe you brought Jo Nesbø to UK publishers' attention (for which we are truly grateful). Did you have a hand in bringing K O Dahl to Faber's attention?

DB: I saw Jo (Norwegian), Håkan Nesser (Swedish) and Leif Davidsen (Danish) at a very amusing crime debate in Copenhagen. Afterwards I contacted Jo?s publisher and read everything he had written, so I was ready to enthuse when asked to write a reader?s report. And to give my opinion when Christopher Maclehose was negotiating to buy two books in Oslo. I had heard K O Dahl was being sold to Faber, so I contacted them and applied to be the translator. I had read all of Dahl?s books and was keen.

EC: You mentioned at CrimeFest that you saw Harry as a northerner with a dry sense of humour, how do you characterise the main characters from Dahl and Staalesen's books?

DB: Gunnarstranda and Frølich (Dahl) are two quirky characters, each strong in his own way, not the most coherent team, but effective. Gunnarstranda is widowed, older, grumpy, easily teased by a confident woman. Frølich is single at times, younger, a willing worker, always thinking about sex. You can smile with or at both of them. Varg Veum (Staalesen) is gentle, worldly-wise, divorced, with a strong moral sense. Staalesen is soft hard-boiled crime! Neither author is short of humour.

EC: [The million dollar question] Why do you think Scandinavian crime fiction is so popular in Britain at the moment?

DB: We don?t seem to be overly open to translated fiction in Britain, so this crime wave is a welcome surprise. Some good Scandinavian writers established themselves (Mankell etc) thanks to an enterprising publisher and that created a taste for more. Scandinavia is both exotic and not so very different from here, and it?s modern, hi-tech. The best Scandi crime fiction has a strong sense of place, evocative writing, thinking characters, an interest in the fabric of society and our lives today, the ?why? of crime rather than the ?how?. It has adapted solid models in a relevant, personal way. And, of course, there is a merry band of dedicated crime fiction bloggers at large who tell everyone how good it is.

EC: Are translators more appreciated these days?

DB: Yes, I think things are changing for the better. You only have to look at THE INDEPENDENT reviews to see that. Or crime fiction websites.

To Be Continued...

Read The Full Article:
http://eurocrime.blogspot.com/2009/11/don-bartlett-interview-of-translator_03.htm
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