Author Archives: Laura Hazard Owen

10 Things We Learned from Chris Brogan at TOC

Yesterday, PT attended Chris Brogan’s “Blogging and Social Media” tutorial at Tools of Change for Publishing 2009. Brogan is a social media/community-building super blogger–check him out here. His panel wasn’t a lecture or traditional speech; rather, it was a conversation with the audience. He jumped from topic to topic; showed us his Facebook, Google Reader,…Continue Reading

Librarians on Street Lit

Brooklyn and NYPL librarians recently ran a survey about street lit (what is it? here’s Wikipedia’s entry), and they’ve written up the results in the most recent issue of School Library Journal. Some findings: 49% of the respondents worked in urban libraries, 43% in suburban libraries, and 8% in rural libraries. 92.5% offered street lit…Continue Reading

Why Do You Go to the Library?

In the most recent issue of Publishing Trends, we wrote about book rental companies BookSwim, Booksfree, and Paperspine. Read the article here. The comment that leapt out at me during the interview process and has stuck in my head since I wrote the article was from Doug Ross, CEO of Booksfree, who said: “When you…Continue Reading

Netflix for Books?

It’s hard to remember a time when Netflix didn’t seem like a good idea. The company opened its first distribution center, in San Jose, CA, in 1998, and initially aimed to create the typical Blockbuster experience: Each rental was $4, plus $2 for postage, and there were late fees. In a 2002 interview with Wired…Continue Reading

If You Build It, They Won’t Come: A Guide to Author Websites

To be on the Web or not to be on the Web—sorry, technophobic authors, that’s no longer the question. Rather, what should be on your website and how can you draw traffic to it? There’s no universal key to success. But with help from a recent groundbreaking report and four web designers who specialize in…Continue Reading

A Cup of Good Cheer: Publishers Do Good in 2008

In these tough economic times, it’s nice to hear something other than bad news. So here’s our third annual roundup of publishers doing good. We hope it warms your heart and inspires you in the New Year—here’s to 2009! Each summer, Robin Straus of the Robin Straus Agency volunteers at Circle of Tapawingo, a weeklong…Continue Reading

Mike Shatzkin and StartwithXML

This morning, I attended the beginning of BISG‘s BISAC meeting, so that I could see Mike Shatzkin of the Idea Logical Company present selected results from his recent “StartwithXML” Survey. For more info, go here: http://toc.oreilly.com/startwithxml/, or if you’re not sure what XML is, go to Tools of Change’s “XML” explanation. Also, learn more at…Continue Reading

Here Come the E-Readers

They’re not yet ubiquitous on the subway. And the “paperless office” is still a dream at this point. Our second annual industry survey of industry professionals found that 70% of respondents had never read an e-book. It’s unlikely that entry-level employees will receive shiny new Sony Readers with their company handbooks any time soon. Still,…Continue Reading

Survey Results: The Last Non-Work-Related Book You Read

What are publishing people reading outside of work?* A sampling: LITERARY-LEANING BESTSELLERS Lots of you just finished or are reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, which is Oprah’s most recent Book Club pick (as predicted by GalleyCat readers!) and #2 on the New York Times Hardcover Fiction bestseller list. David Sedaris’s When You Are Engulfed…Continue Reading

Our New E-Reader Survey

Do you work at a publishing house that supplies e-readers to some or all of its employees? We’d love it if you’d take our new survey, here: Publishing Trends E-Reader Survey Thanks!