Lastest Articles

Walmart Fights Kindle with Kobo

Launching a partnership announced earlier this year, Walmart and e-book retailer Rakuten Kobo detailed plans to offer an array of e-book content, reading services and devices via Walmart stores and cobranded iOS and Android apps. The new service, Walmart eBooks by Rakuten Kobo, launches today and will deliver a newly organized digital books and services catalog to Walmart consumers based […]

50 Shades of Submission

Janet Reid writes… I’ve recently had an agent request the first 50 pages of my manuscript after being “intrigued” by my query and first 5 pages. Good news, for sure. Here’s the thing: a MAJOR plot development happens on page 60; a real WOW moment (at least I hope). I didn’t press my luck. I submitted the first 50 as […]

Tor (SciFi Publisher) Embargos Libraries

The announcement last month that Macmillan’s Tor division (perhaps the world’s best-known science fiction publisher) has instituted a four-month embargo on new e-book titles for libraries is an unwelcome development. Tor officials say the change is designed to test whether library lending is affecting retail e-book sales. Librarians, however, see the move as an unwarranted restriction that will needlessly impact […]

More Problems for B&N

From Michael Kozlowski Major publishers have attended meetings with the founder of Barnes and Noble and have voiced their displeasure that the booksellers management team is in a constant state of disarray. They indicated that they have a strong interest in Barnes & Noble running a healthy and stable business, to counteract the clout of Amazon. Barnes and Noble has […]

The Price of Editing…

From BLAKE ATWOOD at The Write Life: For comparison purposes, let’s look at the editing rates and use an average page-per-hour and an average hourly rate. For instance, the EFA lists basic copyediting of 5–10 pages per hour at a cost of $30–$40 per hour, so I’ve assumed 7.5 pages per hour at a cost of $35 per hour. The other […]

Investment Group Acquires 5.7% Stake in B&N

According to a filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Schottenfeld began buying B&N shares on May 29 and made his most recent purchase July 16, accumulating 4.2 million B&N shares. Schottenfeld paid between $5.32 and $6.57 per share for his stake. B&N’s shares began the year trading at $6.70, and closed at $5.65 per share on July 23. […]

North American Comics Market Declined 6.5% in 2017

Combined North American sales of graphic novels and periodical comics declined about 6.5% to $1.015 billion in 2017, according to a joint estimate made by pop culture trade news sites ICv2.com and Comichron. The overall sales decline was due to a 10% drop in the comics shop channel which was somewhat offset by only a 1% decline in sales to […]

Practical Writing Tips

I don’t like to share promos or ads. But this advice from Writers Life is pretty good. It matches a lot of what I’ve been telling my writers at the Agile Writer Workshop. While I don’t necessarily endorse the Writers Life products, I do like their advice. Caveat emptor… Practical Writing Tips You Can Actually Use 1. Say something; Think about […]

Bookstore Sales Rose $741M

Bookstore sales rose from $741 million last May to $745 million in May 2018, according to preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The $4 million rise in sales amounted to a 0.5% increase year over year. The small May gain is in keeping with the sluggish start bookstore sales have had in 2018. Through the January to May […]