Independent

Does publishing need some branding strategy?

What's branding again?

I hear that question a lot. Branding is one of those terms that we all throw around as if everyone knows what it means, but when I talk to people at the social media conferences I go to, everyone has a different definition when it gets down to specifics. And don't get me started on the various theories that everyone is certain of around how to do branding right. There are as many theories about what makes "good" branding as there are good brands.

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Shelf Unbound and what to read next in independent publishing

One of the great trends I'm seeing in the publishing world is that people who have spent decades in the publishing industry are venturing out on their own and building innovative new companies. That's the story with Shelf Unbound from Shelf Media Group, founded by Margaret Brown, who had a 25-year career as an editor at leading national magazines.

She writes on their About page:

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A new tool to track author royalties

Have you ever heard of MetaComet? Me neither.

But I think we all will soon. They are unveiling a tool called AuthorPortal for authors and publishers at the upcoming Book Expo America (BEA) that could change the way everyone interacts with royalty payments and contracts.

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eBooks are good for the economy

With all the talk about the economy and the stagnant unemployment rate, it's good to know that there are in fact parts of our economy that are doing well. eBooks are an integral part of the things in our economy that are going right. In some cases that means directly making money from sales, but in others it means supporting the larger economy as a source of information and a generator of other commerce.

Here are three ways:

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What the publishing industry can learn from big independent book stores

We all know that the book industry is moving increasingly more toward a digital model everyday. Ereader and tablet sales are increasing by tens of millions of units each year, and eBooks just outsold print books for the first time.

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Indie Inklings

There are a lot of ways to publish a book, and a lot of different groups doing it. For the most part, I write about the changing nature of the Big 6 traditional publishers and self-publishing options in print and digital for authors like you and I.

But there are a lot of other approaches. One of them that I'm seeing a lot of innovation in is the small startup publisher model.

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Israel hates on Google for acknowledging Palestine

The continuing struggle between the country of Israel and the now-recognized state of Palestine has taken a new turn this last week when the folks over at Google decided to change their Palestinian home page to more accurately represent the region’s current status. Previously, the home page was labeled with “PalestinianTerritories,” the status that has existed for many decades.

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The Last Bookstore

On the corner of Fifth and Spring in downtown Los Angeles sits an unassuming bookstore. You have to be looking to find it. The first time you visit, drop bookstore expectations as you walk through the antique entryway into the cavernous space inside. Outside there may be panhandlers, financial district workers, loft dwellers or the urbane hip enjoying the renaissance of a neighborhood once deemed too unsafe to walk in. That’s changing. Inside it’s quiet and serene.

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Three other places to buy books

You're always on the lookout for an interesting, unusual used book. Maybe you have a fondness for a particular genre like 1980s cyberpunk or vintage cookbooks. And most of all, when it comes to finding books, you enjoy the thrill of the hunt. Here are some places you may have overlooked in your quest for that rare tome.

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Five fresh funding options supporting the new wave of publishing

The publishing world is changing rapidly, and that is having a ripple effect beyond writing and publishing options for authors and book format opportunities for publishers. The very nature of funding options supporting the new wave of publishing is evolving as well. Those funding options help authors support their work, help authors and publishers get new books out there and even support the kind of innovative projects that are hard to define with the terminology we currently have.

Here are five options I'm excited about that are there for utilizing:

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