Beach Reads Finished, It’s Time for the Big Books

WIth the summer reading season now officially over, it’s time to look ahead to the publishing industry’s fall schedule which includes new books by Bob Woodward, Keith Richards, George W. Bush, Jon Stewart and more according to the New York Times’ Julie Bosman. Take a look here.

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Beach Reads Finished, It’s Time for the Big Books

Blair Heckled At Book Promotion

Protesters heckle former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, as he continues promoting his new book, The Journey, including a Friday TV appearance where he praised the Middle East peace talks. Blair has been the subject of much anti-war protest in the UK since the book arrived in stores earlier this week.

Author to Publish Direct to Fans

In what some view as a breakthrough while others see as inevitable, one prominent author has announced plans to bypass his publisher and go straight to his audience directly via ebooks, print on demand and the web. And just who would this forward-thinking author actually be?

Well, Seth Godin, of course.

Mr. Godin, the author of dozens of turn-on-your-ear marketing books (from “the Purple Cow” to his most recent, “Linchpin”) announced via his blog, that he now has acquired enough direct fans – over 400,000 via the web – that it makes more sense to publish direct.

“My audience does things like buy five or ten copies at a time and distribute them to friends and co-workers. They (you) forward blog posts and PDFs. They join online discussion forums. None of these things are supported by the core of the current corporate publishing model,” says Godin. “I honestly can’t think of a single traditional book publisher who has led the development of a successful marketplace/marketing innovation in the last decade.”

So while Seth admits he does not have a new work ready to go just yet (but you know he will), do not expect to find his next work on the shelves at Barnes & Noble. PDFs, eBooks, downloads, yes. Physical product – not so much. Sea change.

Who’s next?

Coming Soon: Ads In Books?

This week, the blogosphere went crazy with the notion that advertising may be coming to the world of books. With the declining sales of physical titles combined with the growth of electronic publishing – often at reduced rates to publishers – the notion of placing ads in books may finally be gaining traction in the publishing world.

The Wall Street Journal (itself experimenting with paid subscription models) first broke the story yesterday, comparing ads in books to the concept of product placement in movies, videos and video games. The question is: will readers rebel from a concept like this or can ads be tastefully placed along side editorial content much like a traditional magazine model?

So what does everybody think? Tolerable or bad at any price?

Link to story.

The Sugar King of Havana – The Rise And Fall of Julio Lobo (Penguin Press)

“The Sugar King of Havana – The Rise And Fall of Julio Lobo, Cuba’s Last Tycoon” is an atmospheric exploration of Cuban politics and society in the turbulent years from 1898, when the island gained independence from Spain, through the early days of the Castro revolution and on to the current twilight of that fading system. Author John Paul Rathbone, whose mother was a friend of Lobo’s daughters, interweaves family memories of a privileged life in Old Havana with the dramatic biography of his larger-than-life subject to create a story that is both sweeping and intimately personal.

Julio Lobo’s father was a self-made millionaire who re-located his family to Cuba in 1900 after being forced to leave Venezuela by a revolutionary leader named Cipriano Castro (no relation to Fidel). Sugar trading was rapidly becoming the cornerstone of Cuba’s economy. Young Julio determined to master every aspect of it and master it he did. After managing to survive “The Dance of the Millions”, a bubble market that will have the ring of familiarity for many readers, Lobo began building his empire. In 1934, in a masterpiece of market manipulation, he cornered the New York sugar market, a stunning feat that vaulted him into a position of dominance he held until his assets, along with those of his competitors, were nationalized after the revolution.

It’s a credit to Rathbone’s skill that he’s able to recount Lobo’s business dealings in a way that’s not only lucid but exciting. Nevertheless, he also makes clear that Lobo was complex and cultured, with interests ranging far beyond the mere accumulation of wealth. At one point he owned the largest collection of Napoleonica outside France. He also courted numerous women, including Bette Davis and Joan Fontaine. He was said to have filled one of his swimming pools with perfume when Esther Williams came to visit. At one point, sentenced to death by a pre-Castro government, he was pardoned minutes before facing the firing squad. Later, he survived multiple gunshot wounds from a gangland assassination attempt. Colorful as his life was, Lobo is also portrayed as a modest man, a devoted father, and a generous, progressive-thinking employer. In fact, Che Guevara had such respect for Lobo’s methods that he asked him to serve as the Minister of Sugar in the Castro government. Instead Lobo went into exile, first in New York then in Spain, where he died in 1983.

His biographer suggests that Cuba’s ultimate salvation may life in the emergence of new, modern-day Lobos. But readers of this vivid, evocative history may come away convinced that there will never again be a true Sugar King Of Havana. – David Nichols

Two New Sony eReaders to Hit Market for Holiday Season

It’s that time of year when new product launches are being leaked to the public and Sony appears to have two new products for eBook readers. According to the website SonyInsider, the company is coming out with two new products to keep pace with competition from Amazon’s new edition Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook.

“The two new Sony Reader devices will be very attractively priced, and are definitely much more compact and lighter than previous models with a possible width under 10mm (extremely thin). From what we’re hearing the new models will also have improved contrast and faster page turns. The PRS-650 will have a six inch screen while the PRS-350 will have a five inch screen. There will also be a bump in capacity from the usual 512MB or less found in currently Sony Reader models to 2GB of internal storage. We are not sure if that capacity bump extends to both devices, but will most certainly be true for the PRS-650. We also know that the PRS-650 will have Wi-Fi (and possibly free 3G), while the PRS-350 will not have any wireless connectivity (like the PRS-300).”

More here.

Video: Publish Your Nonfiction Book

Here at Blog on Books we experience a steady stream of first time, independent authors that ask for assistance on how to best get their book ideas in front of those who can get their books published. In order to demystify the process, Seattle based literary agent Sharlene Martin and non-fiction writer Anthony Flacco have assembled a primer for newbie writers looking to find an audience. Topics like writing the standout query letter, assembling the elements of a book proposal, building a credible background as an ‘authority,’ obtaining the necessary rights as well as examples of pitches that worked and, well, those that didn’t.

Given Martin’s position on the receiving end along with Flacco’s experience with the process from the writer’s side, “Publish Your Non-Fiction Book” (F&W Media) is not only an informed and useful guide, but one that shines a light into a process that can easily elude those who have not yet approached the often mystical process.

Win Free Books from Penguin!

As you know, (if you’ve been reading Blog on Books recently) 2010 is the 75th Anniversary of Penguin Books. The company has been celebrating in style with special contests, a dedicated website and the Penguin mobile Mini showing up at book events from coast-to-coast.

Well now, Blog on Books gets you in on the fun with the Blog on Books/Penguin 75th Anniversary book giveaway. Great titles like “Eat, Pray, Love”, to classics like “Moby Dick” are included in this event. All you have to do is be among the first to submit a qualified 250 word review of a recent Penguin title and you will receive a brand new copy of a book chosen from the 75th Anniversary website. Winners will be chosen on a first-come, first-served basis. So get reading and get writing and good luck from Blog on Books and Penguin Books!

Negroponte: Physical Book Dead in 5 Years

Nicholas Negroponte is being quoted for what some see as a controversial statement regarding the future of physical vs. digital books. Speaking at the Techonomy conference in Lake Tahoe, Ca, and as reported by TechCrunch, The MIT Media Lab founder likened the future of books to that of similar products like music and movies.

While, digital products in film and music have made heavy inroads over the last decade, physical music product still exceeds legal (i.e. paid) digital distribution and Hollywood blockbusters are still breaking world records, years after the first warnings that digital would kill the radio star. Negroponte cites the recent and well-publicized Amazon stats about hardcover vs. digital sales (which many observers view as a bit of a skewed statistic, given the fact that Amazon itself is an online store and would be more likely to have digital sales in the first place) as one of the lead basis for his argument.

So, will physical books be ‘dead’ in just five years time or is Nick Neg just seeking a headline for the weekend? After all, this was the man who picked a very public fight with Intel over his One Laptop per Child campaign, that is running far behind it’s original schedule. We’ll just have to wait and see.

For Sale: Barnes & Noble

News outlets today are reporting that America’s number one book retailer, Barnes & Noble, is putting itself up for sale. It seems the company has been beset with falling margins in it’s retail operations that have yet to be offset by it’s foray into the digital world via its proprietary Nook ebook reader device.

Despite a 20 percent share of the digital book market, the firm’s digital reader is being trumped by more popular e-readers like Amazon’s Kindle and Apple’s new iPad device. There is speculation that the retail-based firm may take itself private only to reemerge once the transition to digital books stabilizes over the next few years. One investor group, led by billionaire Ron Burkle, holds a significant stake in the retailer but has so far been thwarted in its attempt to take over the company by virtue of a poison pill designed to prevent such a take over in favor of the firm’s founder, chairman and largest shareholder, Leonard Riggio.

There is also speculation that B&N may attempt a merger with its smaller rival, Borders, who has seen a similar decline in its physical book outlets, closing a significant number of stores in the last two years. Barnes & Noble’s stock rose 25 percent on the news of a possible sale.

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