Technology researcher Forrester released a survey of US publishing executives yesterday which uncovered an interesting disconnect: 82% were optimistic about the digital transition of books, but only 28% thought their own company would be stronger as a result. The explanation? “Publishers have started to do the hard work of making the digital transition and they’re [...]

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Australian bookselling icon Dymocks last week launched a self-publishing service called D Publishing. While the service looks fine, its publishing contract is dreadful. Even if you’re not in Australia, you should look at it to see just how bad a publishing contract can be in the wrong hands. The issue was exposed by The Australian [...]

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I was in Brisbane last week talking to Queensland librarians about ebook lending in public libraries and why HarperCollins wasn’t really the bad guy in this conversation. One view seemed to have a lot of support, both among the audience and my fellow panellists. It was that publishers, especially the big multiunationals, were doomed. I [...]

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The Association of American Publishers released its US book sales figures for February 2011 and it looks like 2011 will be the year the trade book business has to finally confront serious declines in its core print business. Up until now, print sales have largely held up while ebook sales boomed, giving the industry the [...]

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Newspapers and magazines are still trying to figure out how to cash in on the huge digital growth that the humble book is experiencing. So this piece from Ken Doctor, author of Newsonomics and respected digital thinker for the newspaper industry got me thinking about which publishers — newspapers, magazines or books — will stand the best [...]

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