I recently read a blog post / article written by a best-selling Amazon author who noted that after all of Amazon's small print, he was only getting about 20% revenue share on the sale of his work (comparable to the traditional publishing industry) rather than Amazon's frequently lauded 70%. Can anyone find the post / article in question?
posted by whimsicalnymph
on Apr 8, 2013 -
6 answers
I'm especially interested in films about writers of color and writers from the global south. Any kind of film is fine - need not be a documentary. But a progressive/radical/critical outlook is appreciated! Particularly looking for films that will appeal to an intelligent but not super-theorized audience - ie, that documentary about Derrida is
not what we're looking for, and even the recent one about Zizek is an edge case.
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posted by Frowner
on Jan 9, 2013 -
4 answers
Is there often public and legal backlash against authors who write confessional stories? How well do audiences typically receive confessional stories?
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posted by Knigel
on Apr 7, 2012 -
9 answers
Has anyone come across a Really Big List of [Author-/Poet-/Filmmaker-/Artist-/Musician-] Librarians?
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posted by activitystory
on Mar 27, 2012 -
4 answers
Who are good candidates for reasonably being labelled "The Brazilian Shakespeare"?
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posted by Bwithh
on Feb 21, 2012 -
5 answers
I'm looking for the best sci-fi and speculative fiction written
by women in the past 10-or-so years. I don't care if it's hard or soft sci-fi, merely that it creates a realistic world and is well-written. If it helps, my favourite authors include Umberto Eco, Susanna Clarke, and George R. R. Martin. I'm still chewing through Perido Street Station, so I don't quite know if I like Mieville or not. Any recommendations?
posted by flibbertigibbet
on Feb 20, 2012 -
38 answers
In the post-printed-book era, how has distribution to bookstores changed? Indie author seeks distribution across the world!
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posted by chrisinseoul
on Feb 13, 2012 -
3 answers
Seeking your top shelf recommendations for excellent books about sports. If you've read (and liked) David Halberstam, H.G. Bissinger, or John Feinstein, your recommendations are particularly helpful. Picky details below the fold.
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posted by MoonOrb
on Feb 1, 2012 -
15 answers
Need recommendations for a good literary short story (or two) on which to write a 1200-1500ish word paper.
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posted by Gymnopedist
on Jan 28, 2012 -
24 answers
I'm looking for films that have writers as the protagonists. I find the films inspiring. My favorite thus far is
The Tenants (2006), which stars Dylan McDermott and Snoop Dogg! Any ideas? Thanks in advance...
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posted by lrnarabic
on Jan 8, 2012 -
35 answers
Internet estate curation, or: How to get a better biography of an author "out there"?
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posted by progosk
on Aug 30, 2011 -
4 answers
Ok so I have asked a similar question recently but I wanted to be more specific to get some feedback from people. Thanks.
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posted by Monkeyzulu
on Jun 30, 2011 -
5 answers
BookFilter: Seeking recommendations for book-club-type novels or short story collections about nature and the outdoors.
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posted by Miko
on Jun 27, 2011 -
27 answers
Hi I am starting a ebooks community site where people can submit their books and then we will publish and sell the books for the authors.
I was wondering if anyone knew a good way to reach independent authors and how to market our site to them? We are looking for writers of self help, recipes, novels, and anything else. We really want to empower writers to get their stuff out their and to help them make some money in the process. Any help on how to find people like that would be much appreciated! Thanks!
posted by Monkeyzulu
on Jun 23, 2011 -
8 answers
Can anyone point me towards examples of authors (or other artists) who have produced work with a theme that runs contrary to their own established political or social views?
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posted by MShades
on May 27, 2011 -
26 answers
What is the title or author of this older fiction book? The main character says "Well!" throughout it.
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posted by magnoliasouth
on Apr 10, 2011 -
1 answer
What interesting questions would you ask of a panel of writers on the subject of researching a novel?
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posted by storybored
on Mar 31, 2011 -
11 answers
I would like to read speculative and adventure fiction by authors with lots of life experience related to the stories they tell. Oh, they also have to write well. For bonus points: the experience shouldn't be in technology or military.
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posted by jetsetlag
on Feb 25, 2011 -
18 answers
I'm looking for snippets of song lyrics that reference authors, books, or reading, and I'm looking for ones that can (more or less) stand on their own outside the context of the song.
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posted by redsparkler
on Nov 17, 2010 -
60 answers
What contemporary American authors of literary fiction are considered masters of creating compelling, multi-dimensional characters?
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posted by ferociouskitty
on Nov 3, 2010 -
17 answers
What is your favorite travel book/essay/blog? Who are your favorite travel writers?
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posted by rinosaur
on Oct 29, 2010 -
30 answers
I have a very narrow taste in fiction, and I'm running out authors. Overall, I like
how things are written more than what they say. But even given that, I'm terribly picky. Help me find more authors to love!
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posted by hopeless romantique
on Sep 3, 2010 -
48 answers
I'm a big fan of the author Aleksandar Hemon, especially The Question of Bruno, and wondering what former Yugoslav authors he would have read growing up.
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posted by Ideal Impulse
on Aug 15, 2010 -
1 answer
There's no shortage of excellent "what to read" threads around here, but I'm looking for something a bit more specific. The tricky part is I'm looking for a style and a point of view, rather than a particular genre or subject.
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posted by TayBridge
on Jan 29, 2010 -
46 answers
I belong to a mystery writers club and I have been asked to moderate a panel in February.
On the panel will be three mystery authors who have just recently published their first books.
If you were in the audience what questions or topics would you (as a reader, aspiring writer or published writer) like the panel to cover?
posted by storybored
on Jan 21, 2010 -
10 answers
What author would you recommend to an individual whose favorite writer is Orhan Pamuk but who has already read all of his available works in English?
posted by Morrigan
on Jan 3, 2010 -
5 answers
Please help me remember the title and author of a short story I read maybe 15 years ago. A handicapped woman, living with her sister and her sister's family, sees a man in church she feels quite sure is the devil. In order to get away from him, she struggles to regain the physical independence she had given up. (She had gone into a wheelchair because walking was possible, but too painful.) She does manage to become self-sufficient enough to move out on her own--and then wonders if it was worth it, after all. I am almost sure the author was Italian. Can anyone help?
posted by uans
on Nov 16, 2009 -
0 answers
With NaNoWriMo looming ever nearer, I would like to hear your best tips, tricks, habits, and techniques for staying chained to the keyboard.
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posted by BitterOldPunk
on Oct 22, 2009 -
26 answers
Please recommend authors who use fiction to convey religious beliefs, a la C. S. Lewis.
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posted by SLC Mom
on Sep 28, 2009 -
37 answers
I'm looking for examples of creative works which seem to have come from a place outside the artist's deliberate, conscious effort (be it the collective unconscious, drug-induced, the subconscious of the author finally culminating, whatever).
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posted by lhall
on Sep 25, 2009 -
29 answers
In writing a research book, how far along should I be before approaching publishers, agents, etc? Help needed to get my nonfiction pop culture centric book into bookstores
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posted by anonymous
on Aug 3, 2009 -
7 answers
My uncle recently mentioned to me that he's never read any book written by a woman. Apparently this is because he doesn't think they'll be any good - he seems to think women can only write romance novels. I find this both horrific and hard to believe, but he seemed serious. So, Hive Mind, I need your help in drafting a list of the very best books written by female authors. Help me teach him the error of his ways!
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posted by badmoonrising
on Jul 29, 2009 -
92 answers
How often are the stories of a comic, novel, play, TV series, movie, or song conceived by the writer's friend, relative, acquaintance, neighbor, mailman, dog, etc?
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posted by TheSecretDecoderRing
on May 28, 2009 -
14 answers
Say I'm writing a story and I want to emulate the old practice of referring to proper nouns by initials: i.e. Dr. M— from the town of S—. Where and when did this start? Why did they do this? (It hides the person's name, but from the author's perspective, is it to give his story an air of veracity, as with Defoe and Cervantes's works?) Would some names remain hidden and others not? Do I hide the last name only? If a man came from Monte Cristo, would I write M— C— or simply M—? I want as much information on this as possible. The name of this practice, if there is one, might be useful.
posted by Busoni
on Apr 7, 2009 -
13 answers
OK, I've posted on this subject before. Each time, I'm a little further along. Here is where I am right now. I've been working on a book since March. The idea upon which the book is based has been getting a lot of attention recently and has consistently been in the news for about four years.
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posted by CollectiveMind
on Dec 8, 2008 -
5 answers
I need some new favourite writers! Please recommend some ones that I'll love as much as Mark Kurlansky and Italo Calvino, etc.
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posted by troika
on Nov 17, 2008 -
30 answers
Are there any reasonably well-known (or even famous) writers who are truly multi-genre?
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posted by wackybrit
on Nov 10, 2008 -
54 answers
ProseFilter: Nabokov's
Lolita was once hailed as "a love letter to the English language." I'm looking for modern and contemporary authors with similar aspirations.
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posted by zoomorphic
on Sep 12, 2008 -
43 answers
Years ago I saw a website that displayed authors' names in a rotatable 3D space, with genre, style, and theme indicated by proximity.
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posted by BitterOldPunk
on Aug 27, 2008 -
4 answers
BookFilter: My reading list is getting very short and I'm looking to the hivemind to help me queue up a few more books to get me by.
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posted by wavering
on Aug 27, 2008 -
32 answers
