Comments on: What Publishing Can Learn, Part I

By: Do chapters need books?

Do chapters need books? — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 21:10:58 +0000

[...] I thought I would turn the chapter/book question around. Instead of asking how one might rethink the genre of the chapter that underlies the taxonomy of the book, what about asking the question of whether chapters need books. In the same way that “the album” is dying out as the standard bearer of distribution for the music industry — due as much to the individual pricing of songs as to illegal downloading — we might ask whether the unit of the book as less than the sum of its parts. Should publishers be making book chapters available online for a lower price than the cost of books? Would someone pay $9.99 for a chapter? (For another take on these questions in a commercial context, see Ted Striphas’ reflections at The Late Age of Print.) [...]

By: Steven Harris

Steven Harris — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 23:01:26 +0000

Perhaps we could return to the age of serial novels: delivered wirelessly to the Kindle!

I heard or read a story (citation now lost) about The Da Vinci Code that a buyer at B&N or Borders or some such giant became enamored of the book and pushed it for all she was worth.

By: We Interrupt This Broadcast… — The Late Age of Print

We Interrupt This Broadcast… — The Late Age of Print — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:10:56 +0000

[...] responses over on Conversational Reading and The Reading Experience to installment one, on The Da Vinci Code. There, I argued that the publishing industry might take some inspiration from books like Dan [...]

By: What Publishing Can Learn, Part II — The Late Age of Print

What Publishing Can Learn, Part II — The Late Age of Print — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 01:28:24 +0000

[...] ← What Publishing Can Learn, Part I [...]

By: Jenny Fremont

Jenny Fremont — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:37:01 +0000

Sorry, in response to other poster… When I was posting daily for my blog, folks kept asking for more & longer posts. But I understand what’s ‘below the fold’ often goes unread.

By: Jenny Fremont

Jenny Fremont — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:35:17 +0000

Enjoyed this. Will keep in mind length as I work on chapter summaries and sample chapter for my book proposal. Looking forward to another installment.

By: PaleFire

PaleFire — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:09:04 +0000

This is true for blogs as well. I tend to get overwhelmed when I see really long posts and even though I know the content is useful and intriguing, I tend to skip over them or mark for later reading, which does not happen as frequently as I’d like it to be.

By: Ted Striphas

Ted Striphas — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:33:43 +0000

Oops! My bad. I’ve made the correction. Thanks for pointing out the error.

By: futurizing books

futurizing books — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:59:37 +0000

small point: lewis-kraus’s article is in the march 2009 harper’s, not march 2008.