Moneyball for book publishers: A detailed look at how we read
boston.com – Wednesday March 16, 2016
Andrew Rhomberg wants to be the Billy Beane of the book world.
Beane used analytics to transform baseball, famously recounted in “Moneyball,” a book by Michael Lewis. Now Rhomberg wants to use data about people’s reading habits to radically reshape how publishers acquire, edit and market books.

A boom in the business of literary agents in India
dnaindia.com – Sunday March 13, 2016

For publishers looking to bet on the next, potential big selling author, Aditya Mukherjee would seem to tick all the right boxes — he is an MBA from an IIM, a start-up entrepreneur and his 2013 book Boomtown is a pacey, good read. Yet, when he'd finished writing Boomtown, Mukherjee had little idea what to do. He didn't know any commissioning editors, how to get his manuscript across to them, or make sure they read it. Being the enterprising kind, he read up on the subject and decided that he needed an agent to represent him. He got himself one — Mumbai-based Purple Folio, started by Urmila Dasgupta, and in three months, he had a deal with Rupa.

Tax Court Holds That Family Vacations Are Not Deductible As Book-Writing Research
forbes.com – Thursday March 10, 2016

For the past few years, I’ve harbored the hope that I would author a children’s book. Unfortunately, I’ve encountered two small problems that have thus far kept me from fulfilling my goal:
- I have no ideas, and
- I have no talent.
Should those two things change, however, I’ll be off and running. And once that happens, I had hoped to turn my two kids into what I always dreamed they’d become: big ol’ tax deductions.

What Big Publishing Consolidation Means for Authors
huffingtonpost.com – Wednesday March 9, 2016

So, the Hachette Book Group is acquiring the Perseus Books Group again, 18 months after its first failed attempt to do so. This time it looks like the deal will stick, though.
If you read industry news deals or press releases, you'll see all kinds of positive spin on deals like these. This is the third major publishing merger in the past three-plus years, preceded by the 2013 merger between Penguin and Random House and the acquisition earlier that same year of Harlequin by HarperCollins. The companies like to talk about expanding their global reach and investing in broadening their lists. And while these corporate agendas sound good on paper, the consolidation of publishing is not good for authors.

The simple truth behind suspenseful writing
bostonglobe.com – Tuesday March 8, 2016

With simple words, suspenseful stories thrill and chill us.
In Stephen King's The Shining, there's a heart-pounding moment when young Danny once again finds himself standing outside Room 217 of the Overlook Hotel.
Despite being warned not to enter, he puts a key into the lock. He turns the knob.
It's enough to make my palms sweat.
Good suspenseful stories elicit strong emotions, even when we know what happens next. Now, a team of academics at Stanford University has identified what prompts those feelings. Surprisingly, it often comes down to the use of simple words and sentence patterns. So simple, in fact, that the team trained a computer program to accurately predict when a written passage will be suspenseful.

One-handed typing improves prose, research suggests
alphr.com – Tuesday March 8, 2016

Nothing highlights someone unused to hammering away at a computer keyboard more than the use of a single digit, hunting down each character slowly and deliberately. But while you may finish your emails first, they’ll have the last laugh. It turns out this is very much like the tortoise and the hare: slow and steady wins the race – at least in terms of quality.

Write For Us: Your Story Matters
goodmenproject.com – Sunday March 6, 2016

Your story matters. Whether you think your life has been a total drag or you think no one will care. You have something to share with the world. We’d like it in writing, please.

Editor, Lifestyle Publishing
publishersweekly.com – Saturday March 5, 2016

Chronicle Books seeks an experienced acquisitions Editor to join our Lifestyle group – an editor brimming with creative ideas, strong publishing relationships, and a clear vision for what makes our publishing irresistible.

Fast-Growing Independent Publishers, 2016
publishersweekly.com – Saturday March 5, 2016

Though this year’s list of fast-growing independent houses counts only seven publishers, entrepreneurs looking to crack into publishing should not be too discouraged. The two fastest-growing publishers on the list are relatively new, proving that even in an era when publishing models are in flux, people with good ideas and the ability to execute them can make a mark on the industry.

Prue Leith: Women writers are underrated by publishers, says author
independent.co.uk – Friday March 4, 2016

The restaurateur-turned-novelist Prue Leith has hit out at the publishing industry for “underrating women’s writing” Love stories by female authors were not taken as seriously as those written by men, she said.
Leith told the audience at The Independent Bath Literature Festival: “I don’t want to sound carping and over-feminist but I do think there is something in publishing which underrates women’s writing.”
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