Henry Baum

About Henry Baum

Author of three self-published novels and one traditionally published (Soft Skull Press, Canongate, and Hachette Littératures). Recipient of Best Fiction at the DIY Book Festival, the Gold IPPY Award for Visionary Fiction, and the Hollywood Book Festival Grand Prize. He lives with his wife Cate Baum in Spain. He's the founder of SPR.

Seth Godin Becomes Self-Publisher

Amazingly interesting move, reported in the Wall Street Journal:

In a significant defection for the book industry, best-selling marketing author Seth Godin is ditching his traditional publisher, Portfolio, after a string of books and plans to sell his future works directly to his fans.

The author of about a dozen books including “Purple Cow” said he now has so many direct customer relationships, largely via his blog, that he no longer needs a traditional publisher. Mr. Godin plans to release subsequent titles himself in electronic books, via print-on-demand or in such formats as audiobooks, apps, small digital files called PDFs

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2011-10-08T17:18:56+02:00August 24th, 2010|Categories: News|

The New Publishers Weekly Select

Publishers Weekly has introduced an intriguing new program called PW Select that will review self-published books.  They couch it in very positive terms:

We are returning to our earliest roots. PW dates to 1872, when it was first known as Trade Circular Weekly and listed all titles published that week in what was then a nascent industry. We have decided to embrace the self-publishing phenomenon in a similar spirit. Call it what you will—self-publishing, DIY, POD, author-financed, relationship publishing, or vanity fare. They are books and that is what PW cares about. And we aim to inform the trade.

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2011-10-08T17:19:12+02:00August 24th, 2010|Categories: News|

Tune in Tokyo: A Review and Interview with Tim Anderson

Tune in Tokyo: The Gaijin Diaries is the true-life tale of a slacker, gay, viola-playing, sardonic English teacher making his way through the wilds of Tokyo.  You know you’re in for a good read when the promo materials for the book are funny.  A lesson to writers – your promo materials can do a lot.

The memoir is about culture shock, the sometimes absurdity of Japanese culture, but it’s mostly about Tim Anderson’s unique lens into his experiences.  The book is confidently and reliably funny. The humor doesn’t have a 100% success rate, but there are so many quips that […]

2011-10-08T17:19:29+02:00August 18th, 2010|Categories: Book Reviews, Interviews, Lead Story|

The World Goes POD

A couple items of news that show with every new day there are major changes in publishing.

First, Dorchester switches to a print on demand model for its books.  Reported at Mick Rooney’s blog (with additional info here at Words of Advice for Dorchester Authors from an Indie Author):

Dorchester Publishing is to switch its entire business model to e-books and print on demand (for select titles). Dorchester was a publisher of mass market paperbacks, particularly romance and thriller novels. Dorchester will continue to publish and have books printed traditionally for its book club lines, but in essence, they

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2011-10-08T17:20:26+02:00August 11th, 2010|Categories: News|

Resource: UpHype – Get Your Message Out

A recent comment on the Web Presence Checklist post said this:

All good points, but not necessarily formulas for success. I have a web presence everywhere. I’ve done 95% of what you’ve listed above. Google me and you’ll find me listed from page 1-15, Right now my book The Price of Innocence in paperback languishes at the 1,588,000 rank mark on Amazon in the US. What do you do when you’ve done it all and then some? I’m beginning to think some of it is just plain dumb luck. I suppose if I made my 19th century Parisian prostitute

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2011-10-08T18:03:08+02:00July 28th, 2010|Categories: Resources|

IndieProse.com: Gatekeeping Self-Published Books

At LJ Sellers’ site, there’s word of a new gatekeeping operation called IndieProse.  From their site:

Over 1 million books were published last year, many a result of the explosion of print-on-demand (POD) and electronic books (ebooks). This is great news for readers who can find the gems buried in the mountain of self-published books. Unfortunately, most self-published books are expensive and many are supremely disappointing.

The bestseller lists are packed with the same old cadre of hyped (and over-hyped) celebrity authors churning out formulaic stories that all sound the same. These books are safe bets, but wouldn’t

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2011-10-08T18:03:43+02:00July 26th, 2010|Categories: Resources|

Andrew Wylie and Odyssey Editions

The big news today is literary agent Andrew Wylie starting a publishing imprint that will publish ebook editions of major authors.

Mr. Wylie said his new company would focus on older titles whose digital rights are not owned by traditional publishers. The books will be available exclusively at Amazon’s Kindle store for two years.

In making the announcement Mr. Wylie opened a new front, and a possible negotiating tool, in a debate over e-book rights for what are called backlist titles. Many traditional publishers have said they own the electronic rights to those books, but some authors and their estates

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2011-10-08T18:04:43+02:00July 22nd, 2010|Categories: News|

The iPad is Incredible: A Review

So I finally gave in and bought an iPad – trying it out 3 times in store before finally laying down the $500.  I was reluctant because of the amount of bad press, wondering if I was giving in to a fad, and if buying a first-generation device is truly short-sighted.  But actually I needed one – my Sony reader recently broke and I need something to read SPR submissions.  So I took the plunge.

It’s the best thing I’ve ever bought.  One of the main things that’s transformed for me that I didn’t foresee that it hasn’t just transformed […]

2011-10-08T18:05:04+02:00July 20th, 2010|Categories: Publisher Reviews|
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