Famous cyclist Lance Armstrong, who admitted he used performance-enhancing drugs to win a record seven Tour de France titles, was sued by two California book buyers over claims he sold fiction as autobiography. This opens up an interesting debate about whether non-fiction writers have guaranteed the 'truth' of their stories.
Links of the week January 21 2013 (04)
Our new feature links to interesting blogs or articles posted online, which will help keep you up to date with what's going on in the book world:
28 January 2013
Lance Armstrong, who admitted he used performance-enhancing drugs to win a record seven Tour de France titles, was sued by two California book buyers over claims he sold fiction as autobiography. Rob Stutzman, a former communications adviser for Arnold Schwarzenegger, said in a complaint filed Jan. 22 in federal court in Sacramento that he wouldn't have bought Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life had he known the truth about Armstrong's misconduct and involvement with doping.
21 January 2013
Sales of printed books fell by nearly 5 per cent last year as readers turned to digital versions.
John Lewis reported that sales of e-readers surged 45 per cent in the run-up to Christmas, as data from Neilsen BookScan indicated that sales of printed books fell by £74m. Total physical book sales of £1.5billion were also hurt by heavy discounting.
E-books now account for approximately 14 per cent of the total market, a rise of five per cent. People are buying more books in total as companies such as Amazon aggressively push digital 'bundles' of books, but are paying less for them.
The new industry giant has made room for a wide variety of new initiatives that are good news for authors, publishers and readers.
Authors are talked about as brands in their own right, and this is correct. Publishers rarely achieve the status of becoming consumer brands of scale and significance. Is the next story for publishing going to be one dominated by global and local author and publisher brands, especially in niches? Authors and readers are at the centre of the world of books, and finding new ways to serve them will create further different structures. This merger may be seen as a starting pistol or perhaps an explosion in the heart of the old order dominated by the book trade. Richard Ford's novel ends, "We try. All of us. We try." Publishers better had. It will be worth it.
In Mediabistro US site for media professionals, particularly journalists, but also of general interest. Links to US media's coverage of itself. www.mediabistro.com
Why are writers encouraged to set themselves up for disappointment by beginning their journeys with a novel they will most likely not complete - or will most likely be of poor quality? Flash fiction, letters, writing prompts, short stories, why are these not the tools of a developing writer? Why is there a focus on quantity over quality in the world of writers?