Next Issue: Why I recommissioned my old iPad
Their $14.99/month all-you-can-eat option is a winner
I had to take my first-gen iPad out of mothballs for this one. I’m talking about the Next Issue service and app. Like most of you I’ve let my print magazine subscriptions lapse over the past several years. I spend less than $150/year on my remaining subscriptions and more than half of that is just for one, The Week, which is highly recommended, btw. So why would I sign up for an online magazine subscription program that will cost me $15/month, or $180/year? Because it’s terrific.
Ebook lending vs. ownership
Why not borrow since you're not really buying anyway?
In an earlier article called Free and the medium vs. the message I excerpted liberally from a terrific short ebook by Joshua Gans called Information Wants to Be Shared. (Buy the ebook direct from HBR’s website, use the code ADINFO1 you’ll only pay 99 cents, btw.) I’d like to revisit and excerpt from that title one more time and focus on the subscription model Gans sees for the book industry.
It’s the brand, stupid!
Why smaller, well-focused publishers have a direct channel advantage
None of the Big Six are all that interested in creating their own direct channel. They usually say “we already have retail partners…we don’t know how to sell direct and we don’t care to learn.” That’s all true but the real reason they won’t do it, and wouldn’t be successful if they did right now, is because none of them are household brand names.
Best publishing industry articles of 2012
Tell us which articles best describe the future of publishing
Earlier this year we gathered the most interesting publishing industry articles from the O’Reilly Radar site and put them in this free ebook. For 2013 we want to take it up a notch.
The self-publishing book
Combining technologies to create new, richer products
As we sat in Liza Daly‘s and Keith Fahlgren‘s Books in Browsers presentation many of us wondered why she was wearing an iPhone earbud and mic. Many also noticed her words were being transcribed in a tiny box in the corner of the screen.
Author and publisher relationships
Schilling's report sheds light on hotspots and opportunities
MEF Global Consumer Survey 2012
Mobile trends covered in this report and TOC NY session
MEF enables community networking and provides information on the mobile industry just like TOC does for the publishing industry. They also produce reports summarizing the state of the mobile commerce marketplace. Their latest report is called Global Consumer Survey 2012 and you’ll find the executive summary of it here.
Introducing the TOC Affiliate Program
Earn more than credit when you spread the word about TOC
We know you already say good things about TOC. Our community grows stronger every year, and we recognize we can’t take all the credit for that. So this year we’d like to share a little more than credit. Help us spread the word about the TOC NY conference on your site and we’ll pay you for each eligible registration you refer:
3-Day Pass – $100 per eligible registration
2-Day Pass – $100 per eligible registration
1-Day Pass – $50 per eligible registration
Authors as marketers
Rob Eagar explains how to build a better platform and sell more books
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Authors are always looking for an edge. In a world where thousands of new traditionally- and self-published books are released every month it’s hard to rise above all the noise. We’re launching Author (R)evolution Day at TOC NY in February is because we realize authors need better resources to understand marketing, publicity, discovery, and distribution.
Subcompact Publishing
You've got a problem if your ebook requires user instructions
I’m a kitchen sink guy. When I want to improve something my first thought is to add to it, ultimately creating a product that has everything but the kitchen sink.
I’m not alone. All the bloatware on our computers proves most software companies believe “improvement” means “added features.” But as Google shows every day on their search page, simple is sometimes the best approach.