Tag Archives: penguin

The Author Exploitation Business

Posted on May 4, 2013 by

Writing is a glamorous occupation – at least from the outside. Popular depictions of our profession tend to leave out all the other stuff that comes with the territory: carpal tunnel syndrome, liver failure, penury, and madness. Okay, okay, I … Continue reading →

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A List of Things Scott Turow Doesn’t Care About

Posted on April 10, 2013 by

Scott Turow woke up from his slumber recently to bark nonsense about Amazon’s acquisition of Goodreads on the Authors Guild blog, before being thoroughly eviscerated in the comments. Undeterred, Turow sought out the considerably larger platform of the New York … Continue reading →

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Publishers Behaving Badly, Part… I’ve Lost Count

Posted on March 13, 2013 by

There seems to be a view in certain self-congratulatory circles that publishers have finally got to grips with the digital revolution, that they have weathered the fiercest part of the storm, and that they are well-placed now not just to … Continue reading →

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Penguin’s Solution for Authors: One Racket To Rule Them All

Posted on February 19, 2013 by

Regular readers of this blog will know all about Penguin’s purchase last July of the universally reviled Author Solutions – a company infamous for overcharging writers, doing a terrible job of publishing their books, and forcing ineffective and expensive marketing … Continue reading →

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Simon & Schuster Joins Forces With Author Solutions To Rip Off Writers

Posted on November 28, 2012 by

Simon & Schuster has launched a self-publishing operation, Archway Publishing, contracting one of the most disreputable players in the business to run the show: Author Solutions. We’ll get to that distasteful link-up in a second, but first let’s have a … Continue reading →

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Self-Publishers Aren’t Killing The Industry, They’re Saving It

Posted on November 5, 2012 by

There’s a lot of talk at the moment that cheap books are destroying the industry. In traditional publishing circles especially, fingers are being pointed at self-publishers (and their chief enablers, Amazon), who stand accused of encouraging a race to the bottom, … Continue reading →

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Penguin’s New Business Model: Exploiting Writers

Posted on July 20, 2012 by

I don’t normally post here just to inform you of articles I have written elsewhere, but I think this one is important. Most of you will have heard the news that Penguin’s parent Pearson has purchased the infamous self-publishing services … Continue reading →

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How The Agency Model Led To An Antitrust Suit

Posted on April 12, 2012 by

As reported yesterday, the Department of Justice has filed its antitrust lawsuit against Apple and five of the largest publishers (Macmillan, Penguin, HarperCollins, Hachette, and Simon & Schuster). A settlement has been agreed with HarperCollins, Hachette, and Simon & Schuster; … Continue reading →

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Penguin Launches Rip-Off Self-Publishing “Service” Targeting Inexperienced Writers

Posted on November 18, 2011 by

Penguin has unveiled a self-publishing service – which will operate under the aegis of its online writing community Book Country – but questions are being asked about the huge fees they are charging, and the massive royalty cut that they … Continue reading →

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