Happy New Year! The year ahead promises ch-ch-changes for this chapter as well as the publishing industry. Let’s buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Digital-book consultant Mike Shatzkin looks at the year ahead in e-books and sees five trends in trade publishing, including a continued slowdown in e-book sales and further consolidations among publishers.
The nine-week holiday sales period proved disappointing for Barnes & Noble. The Nook didn’t sell well and comparable store sales dropped due to “lower bookstore traffic.”
That report of “lower bookstore traffic” grabbed Shatzkin’s attention. He wonders whether B&N’s focus on the Nook led holiday shoppers to view the chain as a device seller rather than a book seller.
Hardcover book sales show resiliency and the popularity of tablets have cut into e-reader sales, causing e-book sales to slow, a pattern that seems to please the Wall Street Journal. The mass-market segment, however, is a digital bright spot.
Porter Anderson’s latest edition of Writing on the Ether looks at headline writing, a change in Amazon’s book-review policy, and more.
Agent Jane Dystel has signed self-pubbed authors as clients and has urged clients to self-pub. She doesn’t claim to know where publishing is headed, but she’s excited about e-books and urges fellow agents to adapt.
Hey, writers, stop obsessing about 2012 sales numbers. According to Kristine Kathryn Rusch, there’s one number that matters above all: the number of pages you wrote last year.
Chris Higgins offers eight tips to writers who blog.
Mystery writer Elizabeth Craig, who has self-pubbed and published traditionally, approaches 2013 in a relaxed frame of mind. Why? She knows she has options.
Former editor Ruth Harris lists six (positive) behaviors she’s learned from writers.
In a two-part blog post, literary agent Sarah Davies encourages writers to take their work from ordinary to extraordinary by marrying a big idea to a deeply felt theme. Here’s Part I, and on its heels comes Part II.
Chuck Wendig’s back, and he’s made a list. This time, he offers 25 writer resolutions for 2013.
I’ve got a good feeling about 2013 and where this chapter’s headed. See you next Sunday.
