With one sentence, The Atlantic Wire changed their editorial direction and, in the last six months, their traffic has exploded. According to digital director, Bob Cohn, this is the secret: "No More Stories That No One Will Read." Simple. Bob Cohn via MediaBistro … [Read more...] about The Atlantic’s One Sentence Traffic Growth Secret
Scary Great Ideas
A few months ago, Paul Graham, founder of the startup incubator YCombinator, wrote that most really big ideas are frightening. He believes that you can tell if you are on the scent of something really ground-breaking by how much anxiety it produces personally and institutionally. This phenomenon is … [Read more...] about Scary Great Ideas
Guidelines for Content Aggregation and Curation
In this week's New York Times, David Carr reports on a new committee to formulate standards for content aggregation. The committee, created by Ad Age columnist Simon Dumenco, has the support of some of the major media websites, but few prominent bloggers. Dumenco decided to form the committee after … [Read more...] about Guidelines for Content Aggregation and Curation
Dear Author’s Letter to Publishers — “What Have You Done For Me Lately?”
Dear Author's Jane Litte, romance blogger of the first rank, published an interesting take on IPG's public spat with Amazon, in which the Internet retailer removed the "Buy" buttons from IPG's books and IPG responded with a request to the public to stop buying from Amazon. Jane's response was … [Read more...] about Dear Author’s Letter to Publishers — “What Have You Done For Me Lately?”
Can Writers Have “Careers?”
Tim Parks in The New York Review of Books, explores the question's history in under 2000 words. Parks doesn't take on the actual historical role of the writer, only the perception left on those attempting the profession. Let’s leave aside how accurate this is historically; it’s what they taught us … [Read more...] about Can Writers Have “Careers?”
Assocation of American Publishers: Ebooks’ Sales Explode, Print Declines
The Association of American Publishers reported today that e-book sales increased 117% in 2011. All print categories showed revenue declines, with trade paperback falling 15.6 percent. The AAP represents 300 publishing companies, including all the big six. Via Publishers Weekly. … [Read more...] about Assocation of American Publishers: Ebooks’ Sales Explode, Print Declines
Is Amazon’s Larry Kirshbaum an Author’s Best Friend or Publishing’s Worst Nightmare?
Amazon claims that they've hired Kirshbaum, former head of Time Warner Books, to manage a publishing laboratory, "where authors and editors and marketers can test new ideas." Established publishers see that, by taking on ebook production itself, Amazon can decimate their business by paying authors … [Read more...] about Is Amazon’s Larry Kirshbaum an Author’s Best Friend or Publishing’s Worst Nightmare?
Study Shows Hockey Stick Growth for E-Book Readers
Though not in those words. After conducting several phone polls, the Pew Research Center believes that in the early part of the year the percent of U.S. adults with e-book readers doubled from 6% to 12%. By December, the figure had increased to 18% and as of this week, the number had jumped to 29 … [Read more...] about Study Shows Hockey Stick Growth for E-Book Readers