It seems (could just be confirmation bias) that book cover/dust jacket materials have changed over the years. I find a lot of trade paperbacks and hardcover dust jackets now have a "soapy" feel to them rather than the previous plastic feel. What is this material? Is it new? What drives choices of materials?
posted by Jahaza
on May 14, 2013 -
5 answers
Given that I've found some great novels that I could've overlooked due to being regarded as 'genre fiction', I've often been curious: are there amazing hidden gems hiding in the least literary of places? Are there stellar novels that are ignored as they're published as Harlequin, Mills and Boon, teen book-packagers or under 'inspirational fiction' imprints?
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posted by mippy
on Apr 25, 2013 -
11 answers
For the last few years, I have reviewed every book I read on Goodreads, just for my own edification. I read a lot. I have written
a lot. Is there a better use to put this content to?
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posted by restless_nomad
on Mar 16, 2013 -
25 answers
What are the legal rights and obligations of someone reading aloud in public from a published book?
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posted by anonymous
on Dec 24, 2012 -
5 answers
I just got an offer to publish my first novel. I know very little about the publishing industry and the business aspect of being an author. Help!
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posted by inire
on Oct 22, 2012 -
13 answers
Vanity Fair feature on the future of book publishing? I've been told there was an excellent one about a year ago, but I cannot find it. Does it exist?
posted by rhymer
on Nov 21, 2011 -
4 answers
Is there any good (Mac) software for making a comprehensive cookbook index from recipe ingredients?
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posted by x41-pbj
on Sep 19, 2011 -
1 answer
How are descriptive bibliographies of modern books useful to scholars & researchers? Rephrased: what questions are answered by the information they contain?
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posted by wowbobwow
on Jul 26, 2011 -
2 answers
Tell me about high quality publishing! What does it involve, where can I read more about it and who does it? I’m interested in buying old cornerstone types of works like The Federalist Papers, The Origin of the Species bound, made, etc. at the best possible quality.
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posted by the mad poster!
on Apr 14, 2011 -
11 answers
What are the the relative pros and cons of publishing a long-form non-fiction essay or series of essays in a blog vs. a book vs. a magazine article vs. a newspaper article vs. some other medium? Are there any good articles that explore this topic?
posted by shivohum
on Apr 9, 2011 -
4 answers
What's stopping me laying out the text of
these top PD books using a new PD font, designing my own covers and (occasionally) internal illustrations, and re-selling them via places like lulu.com?
Just seems a good way to practice my design / layout skills and maybe turn a profit.
Thoughts?
posted by gonzo_ID
on Jan 29, 2011 -
10 answers
What are some good resources for finding out about recent/new/upcoming non-fiction books that discuss the web or the internet?
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posted by cortex
on Jan 7, 2011 -
20 answers
Should I try to move from the newspaper industry to the book publishing industry? Or is this just jumping from one sinking ship to another? Canada-specific advice appreciated.
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posted by anonymous
on Mar 24, 2010 -
5 answers
I'm an author, and I have a great job helping my fellow faculty members publish their books with university presses. Through this job I visit presses one-on-one sometimes, but that is expensive and involves major travel.
A huge conference is coming up with 20 of our target presses in attendance, each at a booth. What is the best way to contact them pre-conference to arrange intelligent, mutually meaningful interaction? Should I write to the directors themselves, or is there a more grassroots way to poll university press staffs to get a feel for who wants to meet and discuss their take on scholarly publishing?
And what's in this for them, other than the fact that my university is reasonably high on the prestige scale? Any other benefit to them?
posted by anonyme
on Dec 8, 2009 -
4 answers
As a writer trying to press into the next stage of my career, how can I emphasize in my publishing history that "small press" isn't always a euphemism for "vanity press"?
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posted by 256
on Nov 11, 2009 -
17 answers
Innovative Books: I am looking to compile a list of the most innovative uses of the book format. Books that break the mould in their layout and design, perhaps books that use online systems to extend their content value or push their form into new places. I am most interested in narrative and theory, but any book that is interesting (artist books etc.) would be really appreciated.
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posted by 0bvious
on Nov 1, 2009 -
29 answers
Copyright filter: Do publishers of books like
Richistan,
Microtrends and
The Ascent of Money—all of which use stories from newspapers, magazines and wire services as source material—have to pay the periodicals for the use of their material?
Thanks!
posted by quidividi
on Oct 12, 2009 -
2 answers
I want to write and publish a book on the
industrial music scene from a feminist perspective. I’m a decent writer, but I have no photography, graphic design, marketing, or publishing experience, and no industry connections. Where do I start?
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posted by velvet winter
on Oct 3, 2009 -
8 answers
I have this amazing idea for a book that has never been done before and will sell like hotcakes. (No, seriously!) But I have absolutely no idea where to start. What do I do?
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posted by Madamina
on Sep 25, 2009 -
11 answers
christopher hitchens' edited
the portable atheist is probably the most current book which by using the word "portable" purports that it is an essential reader in condensed format.
but there are so many other titles which use "the portable such-and-such". how and when did this tradition start?
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posted by sardonicsmile
on Aug 20, 2009 -
4 answers
If everything goes magically and a publisher is interested in my book sometime in the future, is it damaging to post excerpts on the Internet now, while I'm shopping it around?
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posted by bobbyno
on Jul 28, 2009 -
12 answers
I often have a whole bunch of 500-3000 word articles to read - all reasonably plain English with headings and sub-headings (and occasionally images). Is there any software out there which will take an article (or articles) and write a reasonable one or two paragraph summary of the article, or produce a list of key points?
posted by zaebiz
on Jun 16, 2009 -
13 answers
Does anyone have experience creating an account with
Lightning Source? Do they have any unwritten requirements as to the scale of the publishing operation and the number of titles to be published per year?
posted by LimePi
on Apr 13, 2009 -
3 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
Something I've been involved in for several years has been getting a lot of publicity lately. And I've just been told that it is about to get some national publicity within the week.
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posted by CollectiveMind
on Nov 16, 2008 -
8 answers
Why do publishers slap on "A Novel" to the titles and/or covers of, well, novels?
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posted by CKmtl
on Oct 16, 2008 -
22 answers
My grandfather wrote a successful buck in the early '40s. He passed away about ten years ago, and just recently I've gotten the urge to see if it would be possible to release the book to Project Gutenberg and also maybe do a Librivox recording. How does one go about finding out about who owns copyrights in this kind of situation?
posted by TheManChild2000
on Jul 16, 2008 -
5 answers
Précis, outlines, abstracts for contemporary non-fiction books -- are there any sites or publications doing this?
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posted by alb
on Jun 26, 2008 -
5 answers
Why isn't the sequel to
The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters out in America yet when it's already published in the UK? The UK published the first book after America did, so why would the UK publish the sequel first now? Is it even going to be published in the US? Help me, booksellers and those knowledgeable in publishing!
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posted by Locative
on May 27, 2008 -
4 answers
I have been asked to put together a package to find publishing companies to sponsor some work of a non-profit - also called corporate underwriting. It's not publicists I want, I think I need marketing departments. I have a few questions on how to do this...
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posted by parmanparman
on Apr 9, 2008 -
1 answer
BookPublishingFilter: I've been an editorial assistant for six months, and I'm trying to figure out how to best learn more about the business. I read
Publishers Weekly every week, but I have yet to understand what I'm supposed to get out of it. Folks in the business (past or present): do you find
PW useful? If so, how? What parts of it are good? If not, what industry pubs
are good? (Or should I just stick to things like the
NYTBR and
Bookforum?)
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posted by ocherdraco
on Mar 20, 2008 -
10 answers
I have a web site. I want to write a book based on the topic. I have publishers/agents asking to talk to me, but I don't know if I'm ready. For one thing, I'm not convinced traditional publication is best — I'm intrigued by self-publishing and e-books. I'm looking for general advice: What are the pros and cons of each method? It seems that unless I'm lucky, traditional publishing offers the lowest dollar return. But are there other, intangible benefits I'm missing? Exposure? Having somebody who knows what they're doing guide me along? And how do I approach a discussion with agents/publishers so as to get the best deal?
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posted by jdroth
on Jan 7, 2008 -
13 answers
What are "heading notes"? This is a book publishing question, not computer programming.
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posted by anonymous
on Dec 16, 2007 -
5 answers
When was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea first published? Using search engines, I get answers that say 1868, 1869, 1870, 1873, and 1873.
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posted by 23skidoo
on Aug 31, 2007 -
7 answers
I love finding books and authors who have been forgotten until a long time fan decides to make their work available again through some labor of love small press. Do you know of a publisher that has a somewhat esoteric focus along these lines? Who are they? Fiction or non is fine. It doesn't have to be someone who republishes old books though. If you know a house that has great taste with contemporary authors, go ahead and share. I would also like to hear about small presses that do particularly beautiful editions of good reading books as long as they are reasonably priced (barely breaking a $100). I've got a few examples inside.
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posted by BigSky
on Jun 21, 2007 -
19 answers
