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In reading a book about the Cold War, I came across interesting definitions of the types of information groups like the CIA share. Cover stories are designed to make something false appear to be true. Disinformation is designed to make something true appear to be false. Disinformation is, by far, the more pernicious of the […]

I got a call from a writer friend last evening. We spoke about digital books and I answered some questions about why I had chosen which formats to sell through my store. We discussed sales strategies and how I’d seen things evolving. And then he offered a comment: “I just have this feeling that somewhere […]

I spend a lot of time writing and talking about electronic publishing. One of the issues that comes up from both writers and readers is this: With everyone publishing out there, how do I know what is good? (The author version of that question is, “With everyone publishing out there, how can I make my […]

My last post painted a gloom-and-doom scenario for the publishing industry. I wasn’t trying to be hyperbolic. I believe everything I wrote, and I wrote it in the vain hope that some folks in traditional publishing might read the warning and act to negate my vision of the future. Like most folks, I love books […]

It’s no secret that I have been a strong proponent of ebooks. I’ve encouraged every author I know to convert their backlists into ebooks to be sold via their own websites, via Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and any other site that makes a reasonable offer. In one post here, I even lined-out the Nine […]

Yesterday I mentioned two things in my discussion of royalty statements that I wanted to talk a bit more about today. One was returns: Returns are a crucial part of the current book publishing model; and are one of the reasons it’s collapsing in on itself. Back during the Great Depression, book publishers started making […]

Amazon released the news that, in the fourth quarter, ebook sales outstripped paperback sales. There are a couple of significant points in the story that need exploring, because they indicate how the business will shake out. I’ll do the analysis without much math, and I fully admit that I have a gross bias here. While […]