David Gaughran: Self-Publishers Aren’t Killing The Industry, They’re Saving It

Vik RubenfeldFor Readers, For WritersLeave a Comment

David Gaughran bring amazing historical perspective: We aren’t the first to be accused of killing the industry. In 1939, Robert de Graff threatened to kill publishing, too. At the tail end of the Great Depression, when hardcovers regularly sold for between $2.50-$3.00, he started selling paperback Pocket Books for $0.25. To put that in 2012 dollars, hardcovers cost roughly $40-50. The … Read More

It’s About Time This Conversation Got Started: Publishers Need to Offer More Value to Authors

Vik RubenfeldFor WritersLeave a Comment

From @JaneFriedman: Last month, I gave a 15-minute presentation in Berlin, Germany, called The Future of the Author-Publisher Relationship, as part of an innovative publishing think-tank event called LitFlow. To accompany my talk, I wrote a 2,500-word article that was posted on LitFlow’s website. You can read it here. In a nutshell, I suggest that—given the changes happening in the … Read More

Traditional Publishing Lives – Barnes & Noble Opens Massive New Store

Vik RubenfeldFor Readers, For WritersLeave a Comment

I love physical bookstores. I love walking through the aisles and discovering new books. It’s an experience that isn’t yet (and may never be) replicated in online book stores. So I’m glad to see this good news from Barnes & Noble:

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced the debut of a new bookstore on November 7 at the Central Park shopping center, 1220 Carl D. Silver Parkway, in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The store will include a vast sales floor of more than 60,000 books, newsstand titles, gifts and DVDs, a NOOK Boutique showcasing the company’s family of award-winning NOOK Readers and Tablets, a new Educational Toys & Games Department, and a Café featuring Starbucks coffee. The Central Park Barnes & Noble will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. on Sunday. The store will serve the suburban Washington, D.C. market including Spotsylvania County and employ approximately 75 people from the community.