Dead Tree Books, eBook

Literary Agents Reaching Out to Self-Published Authors

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Self-publishing can be an uphill battle. If you’re an author – not a publisher – you’ve had to either develop a whole new set of skills, or settle for only selling your work to relatives. That is, until now.

Dystel & Goderich Literary Management has announced that they’re now working with self-published authors to get their work digitally published. According to D&GLM, “we have been following developments in e-publishing with great interest. As an agency that has prided itself on being a bit of a maverick among the stodgy old guard, we have always been more intrigued than scared about this new world of e-books. The consensus among us, even after listening to the doomsayers, has been that e-publishing will re-energize our business and create more readers.”

Continue reading →

Dead Tree Books, eBook, Self Publishing, Writing

DBW: Ebook Revenues Rising Abroad For American Publishers

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Yep, even as ebook prices take a weekly tumble – or momentary rise – on the rollercoaster of retail sales, American publishers are reporting that the revenues coming in from ebook sales continues to rise.

Digital Book World is reporting that there are double-digit percentage increases in revenues for ebooks, while physical book revenue rose a far more modest 1.3% internationally.

Continue reading →

Dead Tree Books, eBook, Self Publishing, Writing

Forbes: Quick-To-Market Ebooks Now Norm, Not Exception

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Forbes has taken note of how quickly eBooks can rise up the charts, and – as better and better tools become available through places like Vook, Division, and Byliner – we will see books hitting the eShelves as fast as the authors can type them.

In the example cited, it took the author 72 hours to write the eBook, 36 hours to produce it, and less than 24 hours to publish it (between you and me, though, I if he’d REALLY pushed it, he could have had a physical book out through Createspace, too!).

Authors: the world is your oyster.  Get your fingers typing, and use all of the tools in your arsenal to get your work into the hands of your readers.

From the article:

Linsanity, as the craze surrounding him became known, also swept the publishing industry. Half-a-dozen books were scheduled to be published when his compelling story reached national prominence, none more stunning than Linsanity: The Improbable Rise of Jeremy Lin.

Continue reading →

eBook, Self Publishing, Writing

Barnes and Noble puts brakes on Nook tablets

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Barnes and Noble announced some significant changes with the Nook today, following the press release of their fourth-quarter and full-year earnings reports. They took a beating, but they’re going to pivot.

Barnes and Noble will stop manufacturing the Nook tablets after the holiday season, but will continue to make eReaders.

From the press release:

The company plans to significantly reduce losses in the NOOK segment by limiting risks associated with manufacturing. Going forward, the company intends to continue to design eReading devices and reading platforms, while creating a partnership model for manufacturing in the competitive color tablet market. Thus, the widely popular lines of Simple Touch and Glowlight products will continue to be developed in house, and the company’s tablet line will be co-branded with yet to be announced third party manufacturers of consumer electronics products. At the same time, the company intends to continue to build its digital catalog, adding thousands of eBooks every week, and launching new NOOK Apps.

With the discounting of Nook tablets, now might be a good time to pick one up…

You can read the full press release HERE.

eBook, Self Publishing, Writing

How eBooks Are Fueling Untraditional Sales Outlets

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Jason Illian has posted an article on Good E-Reader about the how eBooks are fueling untraditional sales outlets.  From the article:

Inside of publishing, there is tremendous concern around the declining number of physical bookstores and limited shelf space. And for good reason—authors and publishers want to sell more books. As such, they need visibility and distribution to do so. Bookstores are also communities where readers naturally congregate, discover new books, and connect around content. Without them, publishing is clanking along like a dryer full of army boots.

Continue reading →