THE (ALMOST) UNDELETED

Normally I get free books from publishers pretty frequently to read and review. Lately I have noticed that the tap has been turned down quite a bit, and in some cases I am being refused review copies as I am not a big enough forum to justify the expense. That is fine with me and I certainly understand their position: They need to make a buck to justify their existence, and I certainly support that. As a matter of fact, once I heard of the problem from a Tor Publicist, and was thereafter offered a copy of one of my favorite author's books, I refused and decided to buy it instead. Besides, its not like I don't have 700 books in the pile anyway. But the trend is concerning.

Earlier tonight I heard that one of my favorite reprint labels, Bison Books, had sent all of its SF reprint titles to OOP status. If you have ever seen a cover like this:



then you have seen a Bison book. Certainly not a giant in the publishing industry, but its an academic press, headquartered at the University of Nebraska. I personally find this a little disconcerting. We have never seen the effect of this kind of change on a publisher in this kind of environment, in a nation that has so many entertainment outlets. I can only hope that the other publishers, large and small, can keep it together.

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction is going bi-monthly now. Many magazines in the past have done this at different times, and its usually for economic reasons. Here is the story from Locus.

Nancy Kress recently posted some thoughts on current trends in publishing. Here's the post, I thought it might be of interest.

That was interesting. Thanks L-K.

Reminds me a lot of the music industry, there are more ways (and cheaper ways) to get your product to the customer than ever before - giving small publishers and artists a real leg up, but the traditional methods are failing and this is hurting the big guys who aren't being able to adjust.

Realms of Fantasy has finally followed Science Fiction Age to the pulphouse in the sky.

Rob

Print is dead.
~Egon, Ghostbusters

Liege-Killer wrote:Nancy Kress recently posted some thoughts on current trends in publishing. Here's the post, I thought it might be of interest.

Good read. I rarely read actual books or novels online, but I do read an awful lot on the computer. I also get some foreign, hard/impossible-to-obtain books online simply because there is no other method to obtain them. With so many cheap ways to obtain movies and music online, I'm not surprised publishing is dropping while readers are increasing. The publishing industry will have to change with the times and if they are smart, it can be a smooth transition.

Barnes & Noble has bought Fictionwise, a well known audiobook producer. Here is a link.

http://www.locusmag.com/News/2009/03/ba ... nwise.html

This sounds like good news.

Here is a news story about a new publisher, part of the HarperCollins house. Good news, I suppose.