Archive for 'business'



Is POD Gaining Respectability?

Even though the likelihood of a POD getting reviewed in a major print publication*, the POD phenomenon keeps churning along. Recently, Jayne reviewed Susan Higginbotham’s self published novel, Hugh and Bess, giving it a B review.

An article in Business Week takes a look at on demand publishing and how it is changing the face of self publishing. Since its inception in 2002, Lulu.com has printed up 236,000 separate paperbacks with a monthly volume in November hitting 14,745. Business Week touts places like Lulu.com as a great alternative because it does not require authors to pay for a print run. Instead, they can wait until the orders come in and then ship out the book when it is ordered.

What the article fails to acknowledge is that authors who go the self publishing route, whether through a vanity press or a print on demand, are not likely to gain respectability with traditional publishers. The author of the article does state that it appears that being a NY published author is still the goal. Yes, anyone can have a book published, but what exactly does that mean?

Via Galley Cat.

* In NBCC’s reviewers ethic survey, 60.5 …

Stay in a room with Eve and Roarke

NYT Bestselling novelist, Nora Roberts, and Bruce Wilder have plans to run a Bed and Breakfast in Boonsboro, MD. The six bedroom B&B will have theme rooms based on famous couples in literature. Opposite of the Bed and Breakfast, the couple hopes to open an Italian restaurant called Vesta to replace the eatery owned by their son Dan which was burned down in January.

Of course, the most interesting part of the article was that Nora Roberts’ pen names include Sarah Hardesty and Jill March. You learn something every day.