Good morning everyone! This week, we're hosting author Kendra Leigh Castle and, as a plus, you can see my review of her new book, Wild HIghland Magic. Plus there's still time to enter my contest for a free purse holder so read all the way to my section to see how to win.
You can read the article here http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/2009/04/guest-kendra-leigh-castle.html
Monday, April 27, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
From PW Daily
British Publishers Try to Find the Money in E-books
By Lynn Andriani -- Publishers Weekly, 4/21/2009 6:42:00 AM
A standing room only crowd jammed into the Cromwell Room at Earls Court mid-morning on day two of the London Book Fair, hoping to learn the answer to what moderator Torin Douglas, media correspondent for BBC News, called “the $64,000 question: where’s the money” in e-books? Heads of some of Britain’s largest and most powerful publishing houses entered into a heated hour-long discussion, all of them of the mind that e-books can’t be ignored, but differing in their ways of dealing with the pitfalls of e-books, namely piracy and pricing.
Gail Rebuck, chairman and CEO of Random House Group, was probably the most pro-e-book speaker on the panel; she said the Sony Reader has “revolutionized my life” and provides “almost a more immersive experience” than reading a physical book. Tim Hely-Hutchinson, CEO of Hachette Livre UK, is less of a fan; he said he owns an e-reader “but haven’t taken to it.” Still, he said, “It’s not about me; it’s about where readers want to go.” Victoria Barnsley, publisher and CEO of HarperCollins UK, prefers the physical book for now. And “we are believers,” assured Penguin Group chairman and CEO John Makinson. Yet Makinson warned his colleagues of the “complicated” problems that e-books raise, especially in regards to copyright protection and pricing.
Once the discussion turned to piracy, speakers clamored for the mic. “Publishers should have zero tolerance for piracy,” declared Hely-Hutchinson, while Makinson harped on the difficulty of policing sites like Scribd.com, which he called “the YouTube of text.” Makinson’s concern is that it is difficult to monitor the sharing of illegal copies of books on sites like Scribd. Douglas brought up familiar comparisons with the music industry and piracy of content, but Hely-Hutchinson agreed with the other panelists that “We won’t win by suing consumers.”
The topic of pricing also drew heated commentary. “We need to adapt our thinking about payment” said Makinson, who is of the mind that publishers are “short-changing authors” if they don’t price e-books the same as physical books. Rebuck, too, called for parity in pricing while e-books are in their infancy in the British market, and said, “as we go on we can adjust.” And Barnsley came out strongly against the practice of “micro pricing” and selling chapters individually, preferring a subscription model. She said e-book reader manufacturers, network providers and others involved in the retail chain would like e-books to be priced as low as possible. But “they see [the book] as the petrol in the car, while we see it as the wine in the bottle.”
In the end, of course, no one solved the $64,000 question—yet the panel certainly provided plenty of food for thought for international publishers who are just dipping into the e-book market.
By Lynn Andriani -- Publishers Weekly, 4/21/2009 6:42:00 AM
A standing room only crowd jammed into the Cromwell Room at Earls Court mid-morning on day two of the London Book Fair, hoping to learn the answer to what moderator Torin Douglas, media correspondent for BBC News, called “the $64,000 question: where’s the money” in e-books? Heads of some of Britain’s largest and most powerful publishing houses entered into a heated hour-long discussion, all of them of the mind that e-books can’t be ignored, but differing in their ways of dealing with the pitfalls of e-books, namely piracy and pricing.
Gail Rebuck, chairman and CEO of Random House Group, was probably the most pro-e-book speaker on the panel; she said the Sony Reader has “revolutionized my life” and provides “almost a more immersive experience” than reading a physical book. Tim Hely-Hutchinson, CEO of Hachette Livre UK, is less of a fan; he said he owns an e-reader “but haven’t taken to it.” Still, he said, “It’s not about me; it’s about where readers want to go.” Victoria Barnsley, publisher and CEO of HarperCollins UK, prefers the physical book for now. And “we are believers,” assured Penguin Group chairman and CEO John Makinson. Yet Makinson warned his colleagues of the “complicated” problems that e-books raise, especially in regards to copyright protection and pricing.
Once the discussion turned to piracy, speakers clamored for the mic. “Publishers should have zero tolerance for piracy,” declared Hely-Hutchinson, while Makinson harped on the difficulty of policing sites like Scribd.com, which he called “the YouTube of text.” Makinson’s concern is that it is difficult to monitor the sharing of illegal copies of books on sites like Scribd. Douglas brought up familiar comparisons with the music industry and piracy of content, but Hely-Hutchinson agreed with the other panelists that “We won’t win by suing consumers.”
The topic of pricing also drew heated commentary. “We need to adapt our thinking about payment” said Makinson, who is of the mind that publishers are “short-changing authors” if they don’t price e-books the same as physical books. Rebuck, too, called for parity in pricing while e-books are in their infancy in the British market, and said, “as we go on we can adjust.” And Barnsley came out strongly against the practice of “micro pricing” and selling chapters individually, preferring a subscription model. She said e-book reader manufacturers, network providers and others involved in the retail chain would like e-books to be priced as low as possible. But “they see [the book] as the petrol in the car, while we see it as the wine in the bottle.”
In the end, of course, no one solved the $64,000 question—yet the panel certainly provided plenty of food for thought for international publishers who are just dipping into the e-book market.
Monday, April 20, 2009
This Week on Star-Crossed Romance - Laurie Brown
Good morning, everyone! Today we have Laurie Brown, author of What Would Jane Austin Do? visiting us. I haven't had the opportunity to read either of Laurie's books yet but they sound really good.
You can see her article here: http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/2009/04/guest-laurie-brown.html
I wanted to remind everyone to join my newsletter group if you're interested. I have a birthday coming up (I'll be, let's see, how about, 29, yes, 29 years old...again :-D) and I'm offering a special prize to one lucky member of my group. Oh and you can see a picture of my Wookie Baby who'll pick the winner :D She's very good at that, lol
Hope to see you there!
My Website: http://www.lyndakscott.com
My Blog: http://www.lyndakscott.blogspot.com
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You can see her article here: http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/2009/04/guest-laurie-brown.html
I wanted to remind everyone to join my newsletter group if you're interested. I have a birthday coming up (I'll be, let's see, how about, 29, yes, 29 years old...again :-D) and I'm offering a special prize to one lucky member of my group. Oh and you can see a picture of my Wookie Baby who'll pick the winner :D She's very good at that, lol
Hope to see you there!
My Website: http://www.lyndakscott.com
My Blog: http://www.lyndakscott.blogspot.com
Tweet me: http://www.twitter.com/lyndakscott
Be My Friend on:
Bebo: http://www.bebo.com/lyndakscott
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lyndakscott
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/lyndakscott
To join my newsletter, send a blank email to:
LyndaKScott-Newsgroup-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Monday, April 13, 2009
This Week on Star-Crossed Romance - Jina Bacarr
Good morning everyone! Today's guest is the award-winning Jina Bacarr. Jina loves adventure in exotic locales, which led her to write the RIO Award-Winning erotic novel, The Blonde Geisha (the only erotic novel to win the top spot in Mainstream Fiction), as well as the award-winning non-fiction book, The Japanese Art of Sex.
Jina is offering a prize to one lucky reader. Read the blog to see how it could be you.
You can read her article here: http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/2009/04/guest-jina-bacarr.html
My Website: http://www.lyndakscott.com
My Blog: http://www.lyndakscott.blogspot.com
Tweet me: http://www.twitter.com/lyndakscott
Be My Friend on:
Bebo: http://www.bebo.com/lyndakscott
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lyndakscott
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/lyndakscott
To join my newsletter, send a blank email to:
LyndaKScott-Newsgroup-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Jina is offering a prize to one lucky reader. Read the blog to see how it could be you.
You can read her article here: http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/2009/04/guest-jina-bacarr.html
My Website: http://www.lyndakscott.com
My Blog: http://www.lyndakscott.blogspot.com
Tweet me: http://www.twitter.com/lyndakscott
Be My Friend on:
Bebo: http://www.bebo.com/lyndakscott
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Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/lyndakscott
To join my newsletter, send a blank email to:
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Monday, April 06, 2009
This Week on Star-Crossed Romance - Devon Ellington
Good morning everyone! Today we have a terrific author visiting us - Devon Ellington. Devon's subject is one we haven't had on Star-Crossed Romance before and it's one I find utterly fascinating -- Create a Tarot Reading for Your Character.
Oh, make sure you read all the way to Lynda Again section to see how you can qualify to win a special giveaway from Devon.
You can read her article here http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/2009/04/guest-devon-ellington.html
Hope to see you there!
My Website: http://www.lyndakscott.com
My Blog: http://www.lyndakscott.blogspot.com
Tweet me: http://www.twitter.com/lyndakscott
Be My Friend on:
Bebo: http://www.bebo.com/lyndakscott
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lyndakscott
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/lyndakscott
To join my newsletter, send a blank email to:
LyndaKScott-Newsgroup-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Oh, make sure you read all the way to Lynda Again section to see how you can qualify to win a special giveaway from Devon.
You can read her article here http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/2009/04/guest-devon-ellington.html
Hope to see you there!
My Website: http://www.lyndakscott.com
My Blog: http://www.lyndakscott.blogspot.com
Tweet me: http://www.twitter.com/lyndakscott
Be My Friend on:
Bebo: http://www.bebo.com/lyndakscott
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lyndakscott
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/lyndakscott
To join my newsletter, send a blank email to:
LyndaKScott-Newsgroup-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Sunday, April 05, 2009
PW Daily Briefs
April 3
O'Callaghan to Succeed Lucki at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Former Random House executive David Naggar is joining Amazon where he will be v-p of Kindle Content. In that role, Amazon said, Naggar will “be working with the team to continue building a massive selection of content in the Kindle Store.”
Naggar left RH at the end of 2007 where he was president of Random House Audio and also headed the Random House Information and Fodor's Travel groups. He joined the online media company iAmplify.com soon after as president.
April 1
Despite Big Loss, Marshall Confident of Borders's Future
by Jim Milliot
Book sales fell 2.8% in 2008, to $24.25 billion, according to estimates released Tuesday by the Association of American Publishers. Sales declined in eight of the 13 categories measured by AAP with the largest decline coming in the spokenword audio segment where sales fell 21%. The e-book segment had the strongest showing in the year with sales jumping 68%, but the estimated sales of $113.2 million represent about 0.5% of total industry sales.
The two trade hardcover segments had difficult years in 2008 with adult hardcover sales down 13% and juvenile sales falling 12.4%. Paperback did better, with the trade paper segment up 3.6% and juvenile ahead 6.4%. Sales in the mass market paperback segment, however, fell 3.0%. Religious book sales dropped 7.6%. Book club and mail order sales fell 3.4%.
You can sign up for the free newsletters here.
O'Callaghan to Succeed Lucki at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Tony Lucki is retiring as CEO of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and will be replaced by Barry O’Callaghan, chairman and principal shareholder of Education Media & Publishing Group, HMH’s parent company. Lucki took over as CEO of HM in 2003 and oversaw the integration of HM with Harcourt following the purchase of Harcourt.
Former Random House executive David Naggar is joining Amazon where he will be v-p of Kindle Content. In that role, Amazon said, Naggar will “be working with the team to continue building a massive selection of content in the Kindle Store.”
Naggar left RH at the end of 2007 where he was president of Random House Audio and also headed the Random House Information and Fodor's Travel groups. He joined the online media company iAmplify.com soon after as president.
April 1
Despite Big Loss, Marshall Confident of Borders's Future
by Jim Milliot
A series of one-time charges and lower sales lead to a loss from continuing operations of $184.7 million at Borders Group for the year ended January 31 compared to a loss of $19.9 million in the previous year. Total revenue declined 8.9%, to $3.27 billion. Sales fell 9.4% at the company’s superstores in the year, to $2.65 billion, and declined 14.7% at Waldenbook Specialty Retail, to $480.0 million. Comp sales were down 10.8% at the superstores for the full year, with book comps off 8.2% and non-book sales down 16.1%. Walden comps were off 5.1%.
by Jim Milliot
Book sales fell 2.8% in 2008, to $24.25 billion, according to estimates released Tuesday by the Association of American Publishers. Sales declined in eight of the 13 categories measured by AAP with the largest decline coming in the spokenword audio segment where sales fell 21%. The e-book segment had the strongest showing in the year with sales jumping 68%, but the estimated sales of $113.2 million represent about 0.5% of total industry sales.
The two trade hardcover segments had difficult years in 2008 with adult hardcover sales down 13% and juvenile sales falling 12.4%. Paperback did better, with the trade paper segment up 3.6% and juvenile ahead 6.4%. Sales in the mass market paperback segment, however, fell 3.0%. Religious book sales dropped 7.6%. Book club and mail order sales fell 3.4%.
You can sign up for the free newsletters here.
Saturday, April 04, 2009
From Publishers Lunch
April 3
Among yesterday's over 40 new deals: Tad Williams' new fantasy series; Sissel-Jo Gazan's THE DINOSAUR FEATHER; Alison Armstrong on enhancing relationships by understanding men's motivations and language; Gary Vaynerchuk's ten-book deal; sister of President Obama, Maya Soetoro-Ng's picture book; and more.
March 31
ohn Perkins' PERSPECTIVES OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN; David Levien's next two thrillers; Helen Simonson's debut novel MAJOR PETTIGREW'S LAST STAND; Aatish Taseer's debut novel THE TEMPLE-GOERS; and more
Among yesterday's over 40 new deals: Tad Williams' new fantasy series; Sissel-Jo Gazan's THE DINOSAUR FEATHER; Alison Armstrong on enhancing relationships by understanding men's motivations and language; Gary Vaynerchuk's ten-book deal; sister of President Obama, Maya Soetoro-Ng's picture book; and more.
Lucki to Step Down at HMH; Financier O'Callaghan Will Run Publisher
CEO of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Tony Lucki, 60, is retiring on April 15 according to an internal memo reported by the WSJ. Barry O'Callaghan, the 39-year-old genius who built the parent company with a mountain of over $7 billion debt will make himself ceo, while still running Education Media & Publishing Group. Lucki will keep his title as nonexecutive chairman of the publisher, and O'Callaghan says "he's going to continue to be my publishing mentor."
"Our biggest challenge is the U.S. economy," O'Callaghan tells the Journal. "Our biggest customers are the states of Florida and California, and we all know what has happened to their sources of revenue regarding sales taxes and property taxes. But this is a timing issue. Core curriculums [sic] will have to be modernized." When the company renegotiated terms on their debt earlier this year, they said they expected flat revenue and 20 percent growth in ebitda this year.
The FT adds that "EMPG remains in talks to refinance $1.7bn of second lien debt on the operating company and $900m at the holding company level. The negotiations, which are expected to result in debt for equity swaps, are progressing well, a company spokesman said.
WSJ
"Our biggest challenge is the U.S. economy," O'Callaghan tells the Journal. "Our biggest customers are the states of Florida and California, and we all know what has happened to their sources of revenue regarding sales taxes and property taxes. But this is a timing issue. Core curriculums [sic] will have to be modernized." When the company renegotiated terms on their debt earlier this year, they said they expected flat revenue and 20 percent growth in ebitda this year.
The FT adds that "EMPG remains in talks to refinance $1.7bn of second lien debt on the operating company and $900m at the holding company level. The negotiations, which are expected to result in debt for equity swaps, are progressing well, a company spokesman said.
WSJ
March 31
ohn Perkins' PERSPECTIVES OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN; David Levien's next two thrillers; Helen Simonson's debut novel MAJOR PETTIGREW'S LAST STAND; Aatish Taseer's debut novel THE TEMPLE-GOERS; and more
Pershing Square Gives Borders Another Year
The biggest worry of the year for book publishers has been answered, as Borders appears to have been granted another 12 months to sort itself out. Leading shareholder and lender of last resort Pershing Square has extended their $42.5 million term loan to Borders until April 1, 2010.
But Pershing has once again won big concessions for that extension: The "put" option to buy the Paperchase chain (which Pershing never wanted to own in the first place) will expire, and the big grants of 14.7 million warrants will be reset from the previous price of $7 a share down to yesterday's stock price of just $0.65 per share.
CEO Ron Marshall, hand-picked by Pershing, says in the announcement, "The extension of the loan gives us some necessary breathing room, which is important in the current economic environment." Borders will announce fourth quarter earnings after the close of the market tomorrow.
But Pershing has once again won big concessions for that extension: The "put" option to buy the Paperchase chain (which Pershing never wanted to own in the first place) will expire, and the big grants of 14.7 million warrants will be reset from the previous price of $7 a share down to yesterday's stock price of just $0.65 per share.
CEO Ron Marshall, hand-picked by Pershing, says in the announcement, "The extension of the loan gives us some necessary breathing room, which is important in the current economic environment." Borders will announce fourth quarter earnings after the close of the market tomorrow.
"Final" Robert Jordan Book to be Published in Thirds
Tor announced today that Brandon Sanderson's much-anticipated completion of the late Robert Jordan's unfinished final installment of the Wheel of Time series has expanded so much that it will be published in three (sizable) volumes. Having promised fans a book this year, the first part, comprising a manuscript of about 300,000 words, will be published as THE GATHERING STORM on November 3. (The next two volumes are tentatively titled SHIFTING WINDS and TARMON'GAIDON, though Sanderson notes on his blog the title of the first one changed rather quickly. Together the three installments comprise A MEMORY OF LIGHT.)
Editor (and Jordan's widow) Harriet McDougal says "the scope and size of the novel was such that it could not be contained in a single volume." Already some fans are upset that this year's book will not be the promised conclusion of the series. Sanderson responds and explains extensively in his posting: "To get this into one book, I'd need to railroad the story from climax to climax. I'd have to ignore a lot of the smaller characters--and even some aspects of the larger characters. I just couldn't justify that. It wouldn't do the story justice. I cringed to consider what I would have to cut or ignore.
"Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps readers would have preferred a single, condensed volume so that they at least knew what happened. But I just couldn't do it. The Wheel of Time deserved better.
"This was not an easy choice. I knew it would anger some readers. I knew it would take a lot of time, and I would end up dedicating a great deal more of my life (and my family's life) to the Wheel of Time than I'd initially anticipated. At the very least, I was contemplating writing a book three to four times the length of the initial contract--essentially, doing four times the work for the exact same pay."
Editor (and Jordan's widow) Harriet McDougal says "the scope and size of the novel was such that it could not be contained in a single volume." Already some fans are upset that this year's book will not be the promised conclusion of the series. Sanderson responds and explains extensively in his posting: "To get this into one book, I'd need to railroad the story from climax to climax. I'd have to ignore a lot of the smaller characters--and even some aspects of the larger characters. I just couldn't justify that. It wouldn't do the story justice. I cringed to consider what I would have to cut or ignore.
"Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps readers would have preferred a single, condensed volume so that they at least knew what happened. But I just couldn't do it. The Wheel of Time deserved better.
"This was not an easy choice. I knew it would anger some readers. I knew it would take a lot of time, and I would end up dedicating a great deal more of my life (and my family's life) to the Wheel of Time than I'd initially anticipated. At the very least, I was contemplating writing a book three to four times the length of the initial contract--essentially, doing four times the work for the exact same pay."
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Romance In The Backseat with Linda Wisdom
Wow, found a great video interview of my pal, Linda Wisdom, as she talks about her Witch books.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
From PW Daily
Kensington to Sit Out Smaller BookExpo America
By Jim Milliot
With BookExpo America about two months away, show director Lance Fensterman acknowledged that the number of exhibitors will be down in 2009 from previous years. “We’re trending behind last year,” Fensterman said. “The show will be smaller and tighter, and there will be fewer exhibitors.”
One of the largest publishers to decide not to exhibit at BEA in 2009 is Kensington Publishers. President Steve Zacharius said that given the state of the economy, “we decided it makes more sense to spend our marketing dollars where it will have more of an impact on sales.” Kensington has taken space in the BEA Rights Center and will have staff walking the exhibit floor, Zacharius said, adding that the publisher will also host some cocktail parties. Read more...
By Jim Milliot
With BookExpo America about two months away, show director Lance Fensterman acknowledged that the number of exhibitors will be down in 2009 from previous years. “We’re trending behind last year,” Fensterman said. “The show will be smaller and tighter, and there will be fewer exhibitors.”
One of the largest publishers to decide not to exhibit at BEA in 2009 is Kensington Publishers. President Steve Zacharius said that given the state of the economy, “we decided it makes more sense to spend our marketing dollars where it will have more of an impact on sales.” Kensington has taken space in the BEA Rights Center and will have staff walking the exhibit floor, Zacharius said, adding that the publisher will also host some cocktail parties. Read more...
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