New publisher Just World Books uses POD technology to publish blogs as books, focusing on the latest, most pertinent international issues.
Who is the “Author” of This Book of Tweets?
This article is part of a series on publishing in the Middle East which is sponsored by the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. By Yasmina Jraissati On the eve of their fifth birthday, Twitter published some remarkable statistics: on average, per day users send 140 million tweets and 460,000 new accounts are opened. Without a doubt, we are living interesting times. The …
DISCUSS: Should Tweeters Be Compensated for Contributions to Books?
By Edward Nawotka Today’s feature looks at some of the copyright and compensation issues surrounding the publication of the book Tweets from Tahrir, a collection of tweets that has been collated, edited and expected to be published shortly by OR Books in the United States. The issue is complicated and has implications for how publishers will treat social media contributions …
Is this Holiday Punch Spiked or Was 2010 a Year of Hope?
By Erin L. Cox Looking back on 2010, I see a year of hope and success, enthusiasm and ingenuity, and a renewed vision for book publishing around the world. As a literary agent, this year has been challenging: books that would’ve sold three years ago are being roundly passed on (“I like it, I don’t love it”), the midlist is …
From Frankfurt: OR Books Preaches Elegant, Direct Model
By Chad W. Post Speaking at both Tools of Change and the International Digital Rights Symposium, John Oakes of the newly launched OR Books elucidated his business model. Compared to traditional publishing structures, its simplicity is quite revolutionary. Launching last fall, OR Books has a few specific strategies: it offers its authors relatively low advances (and high royalties), edits the …
Are There Too Many “Middle Men” in Publishing?
By Erin L. Cox Today’s lead story by Douglas Rushkoff describes his move from Random House to the much smaller OR Books. Among the advantages of working with OR Books he mentions in the story is the speed at which the publisher was able to bring the book to market and his ability to work closely with the actual publisher. …
TOC Frankfurt Preview: Douglas Rushkoff on Upstart Publishing, Staying Human in a Digital World
• In advance of his keynote speech at today’s Tools of Change Frankfurt conference, Douglass Rushkoff discusses his new book Program or Be Programmed and the advantages of working with a small, digital publisher instead of a traditional corporate one. • “People accept the tools and interfaces that they’re presented with as if they were pre-existing conditions of the universe,” says …