Journalists and analysts of the business of publishing have been saying for some time no one really knows just how large is the digital market. The reason for that is publishing data that’s reported is collected primarily from the Big Six publishers. And while data from digital retailers like Amazon and Kobo is analyzed, that data usually is in reference to actual dollar sales, rather than unit sales. Why these data aren’t even close to…
Five Rivers has some fabulous books coming to you this summer. We’re so excited we’re ready to shout. The first of our trio of fabulous books releases June 1, 2011, from well-known Five Rivers author, Nate Hendley. Crystal Death: North America’s Most Dangerous Drug, is a hard-hitting look at the most dangerous illegal drug in North America. A fact-based account featuring up to the minute interviews and life stories from users, dealers and doctors, with a…
It was back in 1985 I first ventured into publishing, releasing a small book of poetry by Vaughan G. Harris, The Cabinetmaker’s Art, under my then wee imprint, Keystone Press. I published a few other chapbooks of poetry and short fiction. And quietly drifted away. In those days publishing for a microscopic press was cumbersome, ridiculously expensive, heart-breaking hard work that often meant slogging books out of the trunk of your car. It was a…
It came to our attention yesterday that Kobo had arbitrarily started discounting eBooks by indie publishers and authors who distribute through Smashwords, the sort of discounting that lurks within Amazon’s manipulative corporate strategy. The discounting, apparently, was such that publishers and authors were only to be paid the net on Kobo’s set retail, not on the publisher’s retail (agency model). Much to our astonishment, when Five Rivers checked on that allegation, we were astonished to…
Patrick Lima & John Scanlan The publishing world heard of the demise of one more icon of Canadian publishing this week, Key Porter. The report wasn’t exactly surprising, given Key Porter had closed its Toronto offices in the fall of 2010 and moved to owner Fenn’s offices in Bolton. Even previous to that Key Porter was shedding its midlist authors in an attempt to restructure. What was Key Porter’s loss, however, has become Five Rivers’…