It’s an interesting time for the publishing world, to say the least. Those with e-book aspirations—authors, publishers, and e-book sellers (Amazon, Apple, et al.)—continue to jockey for front row seats to watch the continued implosion of retail giant Barnes & Noble. Posting a fiscal first-quarter loss, the vultures continue to circle the B&N carcass. Some, […]
There is timing in the whole life of the warrior, in his thriving and declining, in his harmony and discord. Similarly, there is timing in the Way of the merchant, in the rise and fall of capital. All things entail rising and falling timing. You must be able to discern this. —Miyamoto Musashi Depending which […]
Today’s lesson is, if you ever perversely doubted it, not all top management is infallible. In a bizarre four-way race with British Petroleum, AT&T and Sarah Palin to see who can deny reality the longest, Apple made my prediction come true regarding the giving away of free “bumpers” for the iPhone 4 in order to […]
Much has happened in the world of e-books this past month. In the face of iPad juggernaut, Amazon.com has been forced to accept reality. The Kindle’s price has been brought more in line with it’s abilities compared to the full-functionality of the iPad. With the Kindle down to $189 from $259, and the Wi-Fi-only version […]
I felt very fortunate to get a blurb for Beneath Stars Long Extinct from the literary powerhouse that is Stephen Dobyns. If you’re not familiar with his work, Dobyns is worth looking up. Here’s a paragraph of his achievements we’ve used on the Camber Press site when he judged our poetry award a few years […]
Borders announced they’re entering the electronic book market with a low-priced piece of hardware called Kobo. At a hair under $150.00, Kobo is part of a two-pronged attack to not only get inexpensive hardware in readers’ hands, but to tout their own eBook store, which promises to allow consumers to read titles across a variety […]
Apple has released sales figures for the first month of the iPad, and publishers are taking note. Publishers Marketplace (no, I don’t understand where the apostrophe went) has reported significant sales of e-books during the initial 28 days of iPad. More significantly, Apple reported 1.5 million e-books were sold in the initial period. This isn’t […]
Just in case the publishing industry needed another Internet-era corporation to take the smoking gun from Apple’s hand, load a few more rounds into it, and fire a couple of more times into the lifeless body of the “The Book of Dead Trees,” Google has stepped up to the plate today. Unlike Apple and it’s […]
Advanced copies of Beneath Stars Long Extinct have arrived today. Red Hen Press came through in time for the Baltimore readings. Film was rolling for the documentary, and Ab caught me unboxing the first copies. Looks awesome. Cover photo by Julie Jones Ivey. Author photo by Baldomero Fernandez. I was talking a lot. Wonder what […]
Randy Cohen and his alter ego, the Ethicist, recently weighed in on a the ethics of pirating format number two if you already purchased format number one. In this case, surprise, surprise, we’re talking about e-books. As a consumer who has bought music, for instance, on an original album release, a cassette release, a CD […]