Let’s recap.  Ms. Strickland is unhappy that she can’t turn a bad review into a disingenuous quote making it seem that PW is actually endorsing works when it is not.  She is also unhappy being referred to as a self published author, as if that is a bad thing.  She is not a self published author. She thought about it, even paid money to be included in a PW issue as a self published author, but she is not one. And clearly doesn’t want to be identified as one.  But she is an author who feels it is perfectly okay to obscure the truth about what  review sites have to say about her book.

Women, Sex and S&M: Mainstream Media Totally Wrong About Female Desire — Again | | AlterNet –  So yesterday, I linked to Kate Roiphe’s Newsweek piece.  I hadn’t read it but I linked to it because of the mainstream nature (newsweek) of the article but apparently it is long and wrong.  Alternet

“Yet, it remains that Roiphe speaks loudly and carries a big pen. Her views tend to go long because they sync up with existing sexist tropes and limited, gender-biased views on sexuality. Gloria Feldt, author of the book No-Excuses, observes that “co-option is rampant on all sides of this equation. It is so damn hard to change a culture while you’re living in it. The rewards of living within the patriarchal narrative are so high and the benefits of bucking it so low for most people.”

Happy Memories Become Less Special If You Talk About Them – Apparently we like things the less we talk about them. Gizmodo  

“A word-of-mouth recommendation or warning invariably impacts upon the opinion of the recipient of the information. But it forces the storyteller to reconsider the event in detail, softening the experience. If you’re talking about a great restaurant, for instance, it will make you spot the tiny flaws you didn’t think about at the time. On the flip side, if you’re recalling a bad dining experience, it might make you more likely to give the venue the benefit of the doubt. The concept extends to your love life, too.”

Judge Denny Chin on Google Books: “It Does Not Seem Those Negotiations Have Gone Anywhere” | LJ INFOdocket – This is of no surprise.  InfoDocket

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals judge said he was told by conference organisers [Fordham IP China Conference] to talk about three things: the languishing Google Books litigation he has presided over since 2005, cloud computing and his recent trip to China. Of the Google Books case, Chin said simply: “It does not seem those negotiations have gone anywhere.

Thad McIlroy – Future Of Publishing » What Have We Learned About Amazon Book Reviews? – This article summarizes a few papers on online reviewing. Anonymous reviews have a negative impact whereas negative reviews that are detailed can increase sales. The Future of Publishing

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• Cold Ridge by Carla Neggers * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
• The Harbor by Carla Neggers * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Stonebrook Cottage by Carla Neggers * $3.29 * A | BN | K | S
• The Waterfall by Carla Neggers * $3.70 * A | BN | K | S
• The Rapids by Carla Neggers * $3.70 * A | BN | K | S
• The Cabin by Carla Neggers * $3.70 * A | BN | K | S
• The Uneven Score by Carla Neggers * $3.99 * A | BN | K | S
• Night’s Landing by Carla Neggers * $3.99 * A | BN | K | S
• The Carriage House by Carla Neggers * $3.99 * A | BN | K | S
• The Groom Who (Almost) Got Away by Carla Neggers * $3.99 * A | BN | K | S

I really liked this series but be warned, the first book ends in a cliffhanger and you have to read all three to get a full flavor. Plus, I really wanted more at the end of the third book.

• The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong * $2.99 * A | BN | K | S

Related posts:

1. Tuesday Midday Links: Good YA Deals
2. Tuesday Midday Links: News and Deals
3. Tuesday Midday Links: Sunshine Deals Making a Big Impact

1) What will you consider romance (ie. differentiating between UF / Paranormal, etc)

For the titles where it’s not obvious, I’ll decide case by case based on the input of the book’s publisher and my fellow editors.

2) Will you be doing category review?

I’m open to submissions of romance novels of any kind, though of course we can’t review everything. I would especially love to see more submissions from independent presses (though no self-published books, please) and more titles featuring people who aren’t straight white well-off Anglophones. I feel very strongly that the romance section should reflect the diversity of romances and romance readers. When in doubt, any publisher who wants to know whether or how to submit romance titles for review consideration is welcome to look through our submission guidelines [http://publishersweekly.com/pw/corp/submissionguidelines.html] and then email me if they still have questions.

3) Will you be having editorial features besides reviews in the romance section?

Yes, we’ll continue to feature noteworthy romance titles in our Pick of the Week and signature reviews, and noteworthy romance authors in profiles and Q&As. Romance publishers should feel free to send me pitches for any of those (no guarantees, of course).

4) Will there be these distinct sections for all genres?

In addition to our main fiction section, there’s already a mystery reviews section (edited by Peter Cannon) and an SF/fantasy/horror reviews section (edited by yours truly), and those will continue to run as they have.

5) Will this still be oriented to the trade or do you want to reach consumers who might subscribe to RT?

PW is still absolutely a trade publication, though of course anyone who wants to subscribe is welcome to!

I think this is fantastic of Publishers’ Weekly and I can’t wait to see the new and revamped magazine.

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Profits are up at most publishing houses. What a difference a year makes, right? Because of bestsellers like Stieg Larsson’s series and Sarah Palin’s book, Random House and HarperCollins both saw increases in sales and revenue. Simon & Schuster, which lacks a big powerhouse hit, saw a better return given that it decreased its operating costs. Penguin has had the most success because of consistent hits like The Help by Kathryn Stockett and Charlaine Harris. Ebooks accounted for 8% of adult trade titles by the end of June.

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HarperCollins is rebranding its Science Fiction/Fantasy imprint to reflect a worldwide imprint comprised of EOS and the UK/Australia/New Zealand line called Voyager. The new global imprint will be called HarperCollins Voyager. I hope that this means that HC Voyager will be buying world digital rights and releasing digital copies simultaneously in e-format.

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In a disturbing update on digital media ownership, the 9th Circuit has appeared to rule that digital downloads via the iTunes store are merely licensed and not sold. This would mean that you aren’t truly in ownership of the songs and other digital media purchased through the iTunes store and at other vendors with similar contractual language.

But in reviewing a decision in a suit brought against Universal Music Group by producers affiliated with rapper Eminem, a three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that iTunes downloads (even the DRM-free variety) are encumbered by enough restrictions that they can't be considered sales at all.

If I don’t own my digital products, then I either expect the price to drop dramatically or I will have to go back to buying paper books and converting them, by hand, into digital copies.

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If you have a little time and interest in critical examination of romance, I would urge you to take a read (or two) at the discussion prompted by a blog post of Katharine Beutner. Beutner is a graduate student and author of the critically acclaimed Alcestis. According to her blog post, Beutner has taught a course on romance book narratives largely based on the traditional regency romance (I believe that is what is to be gleaned from the comments).

Beutner presents a traditional romance narrative structure based upon Janice Radway’s conclusions of what an ideal romance is beginning with the building block of “the heroine’s social identity is destroyed.” The comments contain a dizzying number of articulate replies from individuals like our own Robin (aka Janet), Jessica of ReadReactReview.com, Carolyn Jewel, Eric Selinger and Laura Vivanco from Teach Me Tonight, and author Jeannie Lin.

Two things struck me as I read this. First, the having academics who love and study romance is going to do a lot for increasing the respect given to the genre. Second, the open exchange of ideas and information that took place in that thread was remarkable. I give Beutner a lot of credit for being open minded and taking criticism of her off the cuff blog post with graciousness.

I hope if you have a moment, you’ll take the time to read it.
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Related posts:

1. Midday Links of Love: 50% off Ebooks at EHarlequin Today
2. Wednesday Midday Links: Simon & Schuster Let’s Go Half of its Sales Staff
3. Ebook Sales Up 59% in 2007

Agents and authors have verified to RWA that Dorchester is past due in fulfilling contractual obligations to some of their authors at this time. Dorchester has confirmed and while making every effort to fulfill their financial obligations to their authors, those obligations will not be met before the conference.

Dorchester has been the subject of unpleasant rumors for a couple of years now at Absolute Write Forum. Signs of its financial illness surfaced when Dorchester sold the frontlist and backlist of its biggest names to Avon.

To be sure, Dorchester is an important part of the romance publishing fabric. It has brought us genre breaking authors like CL Wilson and Marjorie Liu. It published the first Christine Feehan book. Dorchester tried innovative lines like Shomi. Dorchester has a great stable of editors including executive editor Leah Hultenschmidt who is as passionate about romance books as you would find anywhere. Leah is also just an all around great person who I have had the pleasure of meeting a couple of times. Obviously, the financial woes aren’t editorial but management. I think that we would feel the loss of Dorchester in the romance community keenly. Let’s hope that the publishing house can right its ship.

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Speaking of publishing and money, there were multiple reports yesterday that Janet Evanovich is shopping her next four books around, having fulfilled her contract with St. Martin’s Press. Evanovich reportedly wants $50 million for four books and SMP is balking. Evanovich’s last contract for her Plum books was around $10 million per book but her last contract was also negotiated by Robert Gottleib at Trident. Since then Evanovich’s son has taken over the agenting duties.

I can’t help but wonder if leaking this news is a misstep. Advances are being ratcheted down all over the place and leaking the news of the exact amount that Evanovich is looking for can be dangerous for a new house. If the new house picks her up and their top flight authors aren’t making $12.5 million per book, I would imagine that the new house would have to pacify those other top flight authors.

Further, the books are worth more to SMP because SMP has the backlist. With the movie coming out starring Katherine Heigl, interest will be renewed in the first book, not the 18th book.

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AnnMarie writes about Christian Domestic Discipline romance novels which is a trope I hadn’t even known existed in romance fiction.

Nope. CDD romances don't actually describe sex. The spanking isn't erotic. It's painful.

CDD romances teach lessons.

Lessons like don't speed. Speeding is dangerous. It can result in an accident that may harm you or others. If you do speed, you will be spanked. Hard. Hard enough to require antibiotic ointment. I am not kidding you. ANTIBIOTIC OINTMENT.

AnnMarie points out that the CDD lifestyle is fine if both the husband and wife are into that. Who are we to judge the personal kinks between consenting adults. The problem, AnnMarie notes, is that the books themselves are pure propaganda, promoting the CDD lifestyle in a not very romantic way.

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Remember the PW report on Agency pricing where publishers were all “yay, control!” and “yay, more competitors in the marketplace”? Well, Diesel eBooks would challenge that and does in an interview with Kat Meyer at Tools of Change.

ToC: Where do you currently stand in terms of access to Big 5 titles?

KLA: We are currently selling HarperCollins and Penguin. Penguin was the first go back up on the site on May 10th (Day 40) and HarperCollins on May 13th (Day 43).

Oh, readers, I’m shaking my head here too.

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Ned and I drove to Colorado last week for RomCon and it’s a 10 hour drive. Ned is an alpha male when it comes to driving and so I wasn’t allowed to touch the wheel during the entire trip there and back. (I actually don’t mind this as I hate to drive. I even hate pumping my own gas so Ned usually fills it up. Honey, my tank is low. Just FYI). So I slept. The tot watched hours of video on the iPad and Ned drove. And drove. And drove. On the way back he wanted me to download an Audible book or two. No problem.

I downloaded the books. Then I went to sync his iPhone with my iTunes and apparently you can’t sync with two computers because the one computer erases the sync with the other computer. Well, I didn’t want to lose any of Ned’s stuff on his phone and so I researched how I could possibly get these Audible files onto Ned’s iPhone. I searched cracking them (and never came up with a good solution). I searched file browsing for the iPhone. Then I realized I could add them to my new Kindle. Score! So I download the Audible Manager (and btw, we are on the road and the internet was very slow). I install all the correct software and then attach my Kindle. Except for some reason the Audible books won’t copy over to the Kindle. Argh!

I give up. When I get home I find out that Audible has released an iPhone app and it is awesome. You can download your Audible files directly to your iPhone via the app. And the App is free. Yes, I told this whole three paragraph story just to share with you the news that the Audible app for iPhone is now released.

Related posts:

1. Tuesday Midday Links: Dorchester’s Big Secret Sale
2. Monday Midday News Roundup: Dorchester Sells Frontlist and Backlist Titles
3. Thursday Midday Links: New Blog & State of the Day EBook Report

“We reject the view,” he writes in a letter to the top legal advisor at the Copyright Office, “that copyright owners and their licensees are required to provide consumers with perpetual access to creative works. No other product or service providers are held to such lofty standards. No one expects computers or other electronics devices to work properly in perpetuity, and there is no reason that any particular mode of distributing copyrighted works should be required to do so.”

Via Ars Technica by way of Teleread.org.

According to Smart Bitches, the Sony PRS 300 with a 5 inch screen will sell for $199.   That’s the cheapest e-ink Reader on the market.   it will read EPUB/BBeB (Sony’s proprietary format),/PDF (secure/unsecure)/WORD/TXT/RTF.   I love that it has native Word support.   The Sony 600 will sell for $299 with no front light but there will still be a touchscreen and ability to add “freehand notes.”   Via SmartBitchesTrashyBooks.com.

Reed Business is trying to sell a number of its divisions including Publishers’ Weekly, Library Journal and School Library Journal. RBI was for sale last year but had no takers.   Via Publishers’ Weekly.

Religious books are in decline with BISG numbers indicating a 10% drop in 2008 and a projected decrease in 2009 of 4%. Part of the reason might be because BISG is getting better data (suggesting, perhaps, that sales have been inaccurately projected too high), but mostly it is due to the same problems that all segments of publishing are suffering: a downturn of book purchases because of the contracting economy and lack of big books. Via Publishers Weekly.

Mike Cane breaks down a French video about the future of digital reading. The two screen, touch controlled device that is displayed in the videos and screen caps looks amazing. There is no question that the software and hardware for digital reading is in its infancy.

Dorothy Benton Frank is the latest author freakout over at Amazon. Her latest book, Return to Sullivan’s Island, is not getting very good reviews from her core audience. Review after review makes the same disappointed claim that this work isn’t living up to her previous efforts. One reviewer was adamant that DBF had not written this book, “In my humble opinion, Dorothea Benton Frank did NOT write this drivel!” and another ” There is an overabundance of dialogue, which seems to have been written by an amateur.” DBF did not get upset about these reviews, but two others.

The first was Susan Lane’s

I have been a huge fan of Ms Frank’s books for years. Her last 2 books were very mediocre. The Return To Sullivan’s Island is just plain terrible. I am sorry because I will miss the wonderful writing she used to do.

DBF used the comment feature to leave this:

Didn’t anyone ever teach you any manners? What kind of horrible person are you?

When another reader suggested that this wasn’t an appropriate author response, DBF argues that the review must be a fraud.

The second was a two star review left by a male reader whose past reviews, according to Ms. Benton Frank, pertained to science fiction, historical fiction, adventure travel with some business books thrown in for good measure. His review prompted this comment by DBF:

Mr. Pruette, your list of books that you have read and offered critiques to the public is overwelmingly comprised of science fiction with some historical fiction, adventure travel and a smattering of photography thrown into your mix….I am not in the business of pleasing my neighbors or business associates any more than you sir are in the business of understanding women’s fiction. I was just in High Point last week where I spoke to a sold out crowd of hundreds of WOMEN, not science fiction fans, who were lovely and supportive….Unless you are a professor, not only are you unqualified to judge, your manners are seriously lacking. I ought to tell your mother. Hopefully someone will.

Will the professors over at Teach Me Tonight go wild having now gotten approval from DBF to engage in mannerless and judgmental reviewing?

Related posts:

1. Dear Author Does a Valentine’s Day News Article Round Up
2. Publishing News Round Up
3. Weekend News Round Up

• 80% of teens have a cellphone
• Publishers are using ebooks to seed viral campaigns that promote paper book sales
• Brand authors like Meyer’s Twilight series is getting its own iphone app that has audio and ebook samples
• Sourcebooks has released an enhanced digital picture book with    Laura Duksta’s  I Love You More.   This is not the first of its kind as PW has forgot about Kidthing which features animated digital picture books with audio.   My tot listened to Horton Hears a Who every day for a month and  with a few prompts  was able to recite the book   in its entirety.
• Still challenges with cost, availability but book should equal content, not housing of the content.

Related posts:

1. Publishers Weekly Provides 15 Trend Predictions
2. The eBook Tax: Some Publishers Want Hardcover Prices to Be Ebook Pricing Standard
3. Booksales Down Overall for Year 2006

No One Heard Her Scream by Jordan Dane (Avon)
The Face by Angela Hunt (Mira)
Deadly Deceptions by Linda Lael Miller (HQN)
Heart of the Wolf by Terry Spear (Sourcebooks/Casablanca)
Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas (Bantam)

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6610357.html

Related posts:

1. USA Today Bestseller List, Week Ending February 25, 2007
2. USA Today v NYT Bestseller List Comparison, Week Ending March 9, 2008
3. USA Today Besteller List Top 150, Week Ending December 10, 2006

Via MediaBistro.

Related posts:

1. NBCC Posts Its Ethics in Reviewing Survey
2. More Evidence On the Unreliability of Amazon Reviews
3. Silh Romance Author Reportedly Sells 1.3million Books in Her Career

For readers, she’s giving away a TON of stuff today including ARCs of May books.

Related posts:

1. Barbara Delinksy Disavows Romance Writing Past
2. Happy Anniversary Dear Author
3. Drop an Author, Adopt a Blogger

Related posts:

1. Publishers Weekly December 2007 Issue Features Romances
2. Publishers Weekly Provides 15 Trend Predictions
3. Publishers Weekly Announces Books of 2007

Publishers Weekly posted its news that it is suspending its sponsorship of the Quill Award. The statement is a bit inconsistent. In one sentence it is to “suspend” backing and then in another talks about the “dissolution” of the award.

NBC is the other corporate sponsor but it has declined to make a comment. Apparently not very many readers voted and the awards did not increase sales for books. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Publishers Weekly and other Reed Business Information businesses are up for sale. More on that later.

Related posts:

1. Amber Quill Contest Winners
2. REVIEW: CB-The Fifth Favor by Shelby Reed
3. 2007 Quill Nominees for Fiction, a Little Something for Everyone

Related posts:

1. Publishers Weekly Announces Books of 2007
2. Publishers Weekly December 2007 Issue Features Romances
3. USA Today Bestseller List Predictions

I was surprised to see that PW made a couple of big errors. First, it referred to JR Ward’s Lover Enshrined as being released in January 2008 when the publication date has actually been moved back to June of 2008. (As an aside, this is my least favorite Ward cover). Second, in referring to online communities, it points to Romancing the Blog, but gets the web address wrong identifying it as romancingthe-blog.com instead of romancingtheblog.com. That sucks for RTB.

In any event, it is definitely worth a read.

Related posts:

1. Publishers Weekly Announces Books of 2007
2. Seattle Weekly Explores the Ethnic Divide in Romances
3. American Association of Publishers Report Increase in Sales for March 2007

Weirdly all the genre suspense and thrillers were deemed fiction such as Laura Lippman’s, What the Dead Know, and Karin Slaughter’s, Beyond Reach.

In the romance genre, PW picked the following books:

Twice the Temptation by Suzanne Enoch a connected novella book which I thought wasn’t well stitched together and used worn out themes.
The Perfect Bride by Brenda Joyce which I started but couldn’t make past the first chapter.
Wired by Liz Maverick which I thought was a greatly conceived idea but failed in the execution.
One with the Shadows by Susan Squires which I never read.
The Winter Lodge by Susan Wiggs, another I never read.

Related posts:

1. Publishers Eye More Non Fiction Books
2. American Association of Publishers Report Increase in Sales for March 2007
3. 2007 Quill Nominees for Fiction, a Little Something for Everyone

I read an article once where Friedman talked about a return to the branding of a publisher/imprint than individual authors. I think its interesting to see her success in that as it relates to Avon. For good or bad, Avon is synonymous with a certain type of historical. In a business where marketing dollars are tight this can be good for authors, particularly the underappreciated midlist author. It can also be bad in that a certain type of historical gets tiresome after a while.

Related posts:

1. Romance Publishers Promises to Romance Readers Part 2: Branding
2. Part 1: What New York Publishers Are Doing Right with Ebooks
3. Books Jane Is Contemplating for Read/Purchase – June 2006