TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home (Free subscription) | 05/17/2008
“Over the next few years, Amazon likely will use its power to build direct relationships with authors and gradually phase out publishers and agents. It will first go after the independent print-on-demand self-publishers and get the best authors from that world. Amazon will then take on the large publishers.” - Tech entrepreneur Sramana Mitra, [...]
*michael parekh on IT* (Free subscription) | 05/17/2008
HAPPY ENDINGS Forbes takes a crack trying to imagine how the book industry could be changed by the internet, casting Amazon as the potential savior of the humble author. This is an exercise long imagined by many internet and media observers, and the "what ifs" have been going on for almost two decades. Forbes begins to set up the argument as follows: "Archaic beyond belief, it's an industry that treats...
Ben Casnocha: The Blog (Free subscription) | 05/16/2008
In my estimate 95% of business books published each year are total crap. Someday, I'll write up my own theories about this fascinating segment of the book world. In the meantime, blogger "Uncle Saul" has a wonderful critique on why...
Rags's Soapbox (Free subscription) | 05/19/2008
Michael Parekh points to the Forbes article about how Amazon could change the Publishing business by vertically integrating and striking direct deals with authors bypassing publishers. The article notes that retailers take almost 50% of the price of a book...
MediaBistro.com (Free subscription) | 05/16/2008
On Forbe's tech site today, Sramana Mitra thinks publishing is "archaic beyond belief, it's an industry that treats its most important asset--the author--badly," and is wondering how long this can go on. Mitra brings up some good points in her commentary about how, after retailers, shippers, distributors, agents and houses take their share, there's little profit per book left for the author. However,...
