Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

Jonathan Karp’s* piece in the Dallas Morning News on Sunday confirms many of the feelings I have about the state of publishing today. It’s overcrowded and publishers are driven to almost gimmick like lengths to make money. (No. 5 on his list of ways to produce growth was “Cut costs, pray to the gods of movie tie-in paperback editions, or hope that one of your authors gets his or her own talk show.“)

Karp also addresses the frenzy to increase output noting that his favorite books were years in the making but that popular fiction writers have to produce at least one a year now or maybe even more.

Karp ends with noting that the barriers to entry into the publishing are declining with the rise of POD. That’s not necessarily a good thing. Thanks Kay for the link.

*Jonathan Karp is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Twelve, an imprint of Hachette Book Group.

In an effort to “save” the literary fiction genre, Picador UK is going to simultaneously release literary fiction in both hardcover and trade paperback because it believes that only a tiny number of authors have sufficient reader loyalty to support a hardcover release.

If more publishers do this, will there be a shift in value afforded trade paperbacks? I think that there is already some belief that books in the trade paperback format as better quality that those in the mass market format. The New York Times recently modified its bestseller lists to include a separate list for trades.

Via GalleyCat.

I found, in browsing the Simon & Schuster website, a listing for Taming Him: Ellora’s Cave by Kimberly Dean and Michelle M. Pillow and Summer Devon. Price is $14.00. There are nine books listed when you do a search for Ellora’s Cave. I spoke with Simon & Schuster about this and received preliminary information that the deal currently is for 10 books and almost all will be anthologies. I did tell the publicist that many readers were anxious to read the Lora Leigh Breed books.

I’ve asked many questions regarding the distribution deal such as whether there will be actual print runs; where the books can be found; how many books will be involved; and how the books were chosen. I hope to have more information later.

edited to add: Sybil informs me this is old news. :)

It sounds like a neat article but as I do not have a WSJ subscription, I can’t read it.

Sales for Hastings and Books a Million were up in the third quarter due to improved sales of hardcover bestsellers.