Category: publishing

“When I was a young writer, I would jump-start the next project as soon as I completed the last. Back then I believed it was more productive and honorable to hop into the saddle and strike off for somewhere rather than just lying around. Now I do a lot of lying around. Finally I have accepted that my supine dithering is fertile and far from a waste of time.”

“In terms of sales, 2010 has been the year of the Larsson. Again. Not least among the reasons for the bafflement of the industry (and fellow writers) is the amateurishness of the books – something, curiously, that Larsson has in common with Dan Brown.”

“About 350 million people worldwide speak English as a mother tongue. According to the British Council, the number learning English will hit 2 billion in the next 10-15 years. That’s a third of mankind.”

“Publisher Hyperion, which had success with similar projects connected to sister company ABC’s soaps “One Life to Live” and “All My Children,” decided to bypass a traditional TV tie-in and instead go with a Richard Castle-authored book after seeing the greenlit pilot”

“If the e-reader is the digital equivalent of the brown-paper wrapper, the romance reader is a little like the Asian carp: insatiable and unstoppable. Together, it turns out, they are a perfect couple. Romance is now the fastest-growing segment of the e-reading market.”

“Once e-books completely take over, it will become impossible to know who actually reads and who doesn’t. Pretending to read books (fiction, in particular) has long been a vague, almost subconscious habit of the modern, educated urban male.”

“Although sometimes it may seem as though every new counterculture or high-tech word eventually ends up on a label or in a business meeting, not all slang and jargon words actually make that transition…”

“Arts Council England is to take over key responsibilities from the [abolished] Museums, Libraries and Archives Council but will only get 75% of its budget, it was announced today.”

“Author interviews are always tricky. Authors whose life story is better known than their artistic work are always going to have a bigger crowd in attendance. And yet the interviewer has prepared by carefully reading every page of the novel. It’s hard to know how much time to spend on the personal questions…”

“The Chicago City Council has spared the Chicago Public Library from the budget knife. And if that were not unusual enough in these hard times, the CPL will also be hiring in preparation for the opening of four new branches this spring.”