In the future, predicts Sourcebooks CEO Dominique Raccah, “Publishers are going to take more risks and authors are going to take that risk with them.” As a follow-up to her PubWest conference keynote address, she spoke with Chris Kenneally about the evolution of publisher-author relationships. Raccah describes a business partnership that is meant to be [...]
Archive | 2009
BTB #141: Words of the Year from the Dictionary Man
At Merriam-Webster, the editors are always adding new words, of course, but now with online tracking technology, they can also tell what words we look up the most – something not possible before the Web. In 2009, this online vocabulary traffic took inspiration from Michael Jackson, H1N1, the economy, and, of course, politics. John Morse [...]
BTB #140: For Book Sales, It’s Beyond the Bookstore
“Sales outside the bookstore is a great route to go for independent publishers,” advises Scott Flora, who heads up the publishers trade association SPAN. “It could be corporate clients, it could be to educational clients, associations, museums.” For independents who want to avoid returns (and the associated problems around cash flow), these non-bookstore sales have [...]
BTB #139: Netflix for Books?
That’s the pitch from BookSwim, which offers books for rent the way many of us rent DVDs. From “The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association,” a how-to for getting published professionally, to “Superfreakonimics,” bestsellers and perennial hits are all available for monthly fees. As BookSwim’s Eric Ginsberg explains, think of it as an online [...]
BTB #138: Chaos at Miami Book Fair: The Garfield Scenario
Advertising Age pundit and National Public Radio host Bob Garfield brought his own brand of chaos to the recent Miami Book Fair. Discussing his new book, The Chaos Scenario with Chris Kenneally, Garfield put forward his thesis that when it comes to the publishing world as know it, the end is near. “The chaos is [...]
BTB #138: Chaos at Miami Book Fair: The Garfield Scenario [40:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
BTB #137: Google Book Case: Wasoff Reviews Amended Settlement
Responding to concerns voiced by authors, publishers and the U.S. Department of Justice, the parties in the Google Book Search Copyright Class Action filed a revised settlement proposal on November 13, 2009. On December 10, Lois Wasoff returned to Copyright Clearance Center to explain in detail the most noteworthy changes, and to assess their potential [...]
BTB #137: Google Book Case: Wasoff Reviews Amended Settlement [58:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
BTB #136: At MediaBistro, Jason Boog Learns What’s Next
A week ahead of the Mediabistro-sponsored E-Book Summit in NYC, Jason Boog tells Chris Kenneally that the audience can expect to learn practical information on how “you can start with the digital product, blend in video, blend in some audio elements, not to replace the printed word, but to augment it.” A month into his [...]
BTB #136: At MediaBistro, Jason Boog Learns Whats Next [29:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Special Podcast: SIIA Executive Face Time
As part of an online series presented by the Software & Information Industry Association, CCC’s CEO Tracey Armstrong sat down earlier this week with Hal Espo, President, Contextual Connections, LLC, a NYC-based consultancy in digital services and applications. She described the origins of Copyright Clearance Center, and looked ahead to the future, too. “This is [...]
Tomorrow’s Innovations Fueled By Today’s Information
Even as Copyright Clearance Center creates and shapes solutions meeting the information needs of rightsholders and content consumers well into the next decade, CCC is taking stock of its last fiscal year in the company’s just-published 2009 annual report (PDF). “The corporations and academic institutions we license require rights over a broader and more diverse [...]
BTB #135: A Book Report From Sara Nelson
“Publishing as we know it will die if changes are not made,” observes Sara Nelson, one of the industry’s leading pundits. Now with O, The Oprah Magazine, as its books director, Nelson is a former editor-in-chief at Publishers Weekly. Unlike many, though, she doesn’t blame the digital revolution. “I don’t even think that Google, per [...]
