New tax terms for authors and publishers

Here's the latest video from one of my publishers.  Jim McGovern created Big World Network and does a great job giving viewers the latest scoop on what's been happening in the industry.

Amazon Talks About Cutting E-Book Prices

A news release just announce the following:  Moving swiftly to gain the upper hand after the Justice Department announced a suit against Apple and major publishers for price-fixing on e-books, Amazon lowered prices on major titles from $14.99 to $9.99 or lower. The charges against Apple put Amazon, which once controlled 90 percent of the e-book market, back in a powerful position to set prices. 

The government has accused Apple of colluding with four major publishers to charge consumers more than they would have paid otherwise. But publishers and sellers say readers won’t be any better off in Amazon’s hands, since the online seller already dominates the market and will now have even more control.

Smashwords Helps Secure the Future of Indie Publishing

The founder of Smashwords, Mark Coker, and I are tight friends.  Well, not really, but he just sent me this important email that illustrates how the publishing world is rapidly changing:

"Great news.  Yesterday afternoon I met with PayPal at their office in San Jose, where they informed me of their decision to modify their policies to allow legal fiction.

Effective last night, we rolled back the Smashwords Terms of Service to its pre-February 24 state.

It's been a tumultuous, nerve-wracking few weeks as we worked to protect the right of writers to write and publish legal fiction.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Smashwords authors, publishers and customers.  You stood up and made your voice known.  Thank you to every Smashwords author and publisher who wrote me to express opinions, even if we disagreed, and even if you were angry with me. You inspired me to carry your cause forward.

Smashwords authors, publishers and customers mobilized. You made telephone calls, wrote emails and letters, started and signed petitions, blogged, tweeted, Facebooked and drove the conversation. You made the difference.  Without you, no one would have paid attention. I would also like to thank the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC). These three advocacy groups were the first to stand up for our authors, publishers and customers. Their contribution cannot be overstated.  We collaborated with them to build a coalition of like-minded organizations to support our mutual cause. Special kudos to Rainey Reitman of EFF for her energy, enthusiasm and leadership.

I would also like to thank all the bloggers and journalists out there who helped carry our story forward by lending their platforms to get the story out.  Special thanks to TechCrunch, Slashdot, TechDirt, The Independent (UK), Reuters, Publishers Weekly, Dow Jones, The Digital Reader, CNET, Forbes, GalleyCat & EbookNewser and dozens of others too numerous to mention.

I would like to thank our friends at PayPal.  They worked with us in good faith as they promised, engaged us in dialogue, made the effort to understand Smashwords and our mission, went to bat for our authors with the credit card companies and banks, and showed the courage to revise their policies.

This is a big, bold move by PayPal.  It represents a watershed decision that protects the rights of writers to write, publish and distribute legal fiction.  It also protects the rights of readers to purchase and enjoy all fiction in the privacy of their own imagination. It clarifies and rationalizes the role of financial services providers and pulls them out of the business of censoring legal fiction.

Following implementation of their new policies, PayPal will have the most liberal, pro-First-Amendment policies of the major payment processors.  Will Google Checkout and Checkout by Amazon be next now that the credit card companies have clarified their positions, and have essentially given payment providers the permission to adopt more enlightened policies?   Finally, thanks to Selena Kitt of Excessica and Remittance Girl for helping me to understand and respect all fiction more than I ever have before.

This is a bright day for indie publishing.  In the old world, traditional publishers were the arbiters of literary merit.  Today, thanks to the rise of indie ebooks, the world is moving toward a broader, more inclusive definition of literary merit. Smashwords gives writers the power and freedom to publish.  Merit is decided by your readers.  Just as it should be."


Thanks Mark!

Is Apple in Trouble?

 Apple didn’t get to bask in the glory of its new iPad for long. The Justice Department has warned the company—along with five of the biggest U.S. publishers—that it plans to sue them for allegedly colluding to raise the price of electronic books, sources tell The Wall Street Journal.

The case alleges that just before the release of the first iPad, Apple worked with publishers to adopt a retail model in which the publishers set a price and Apple took a 30 percent cut of sales. The move was a reaction against Amazon, which had frightened publishers by selling e-books at $9.99.
 
After Apple adopted the pricing model, the publishers were able to demand a similar one from Amazon.

Amazon Enters the Publishing Business

In publishing news today:
Amazon will soon be competing with the publishing houses that supply it.  The gigantic company is set to publish 122 books this fall in both physical and e-book form. Amazon has signed deals already with self-help author Tim Ferriss and film director Penny Marshall, and is said to be aggressively targeting top authors.

“Publishers are terrified and don’t know what to do,” says Dennis Loy Johnson of Melville House. Amazon has hired publishing veteran Laurence Kirshbaum to run the operation, which will publish both fiction and nonfiction.

The New NetGalley

My publisher, Cedar Fort Books, is a subscriber to NetGalley, a new online service for the electronic delivery of galleys and press materials. It provides wonderful opportunity of distributing these materials to the media electronically, saving thousands upon thousands of pages of paper.  Even better, it's FREE!


What’s great about NetGalley is that you will be able to register and use this service to view new titles from Cedar Fort Publishing at no cost. You can read galleys online, download PDF versions to read on your computer or nook, read on your Kindle or Sony Reader, and search within galleys.

Through NetGalley, you can view marketing materials, book trailers, photos, author bios, cover art and more.  Plus, NetGalley will reduce our environmental impact by utilizing digital content to get our titles into your hands faster!


Visit http://www.netgalley.com/ to register and request to view Cedar Fort Publishing’s galleys.  Don't you just love technology?

Quick Book News

                                                                       By Trina Boice
                                                              http://www.boicebox.com/
                                       

Less than two months after Glenn Beck and Fox News agreed to part ways, the conservative talk-show host has reached a new deal with publisher Simon and Schuster that includes the launch of a new imprint. Mercury Ink will release fiction and non-fiction titles.

Borders bookstores may have a savior. The private-equity firm Gores Group is in discussions to buy more than half of the bankrupt bookseller in a deal that would keep the business running. Borders has been soliciting offers since it filed for bankruptcy in February. Gores, which buys stakes in distressed companies and tries to rehabilitate them, isn’t the only bidder on the horizon, though the other potential buyers haven’t been named. Interest in Borders has picked up since Liberty Media’s recent bid for Barnes and Noble.

Science fiction writer Orson Scott Card is fighting with his talent managers over alleged commissions due from the film and web adaptations of Ender’s Game. A movie version of Ender’s Game has been long anticipated by sci-fi fans. The 1985 novel garnered many prizes, including the Hugo and Nebula awards, and is now regarded as a classic of the science fiction canon.