I've been restraining myself mightily from continuing to contribute to the employment-related wailing and gnashing of teeth, but this news yesterday really took my breath: Publishers Weekly editor Sara Nelson has been let go. The editor of Library Journal will be taking over both magazines. (See the low-key announcement here).
Edward Nowatka, blogging for the Frankfurt Book Fair at Beyond Hall 8, had this interesting tangent on the news, reflecting on how publishing is not a hospitable place for the middle aged. It has an appetite for the young, who can deal with working for pennies. When they start to want more from life (such as a home and family), they tend to move on. Of course, I have to assume that this is more relevant to those in New York. In the Midwest, a finanically judicious middle-ager can eventually buy his or her McMansion and a 1/2 acre of sod and do just fine.
So, folks, what's next? Reading all the comments and articles about how Sara didn't see the layoff train barrelling down upon her makes me even more circumspect.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Combating Pirated Content
Thar be pirates! Not the cute, Johnny Depp kind, but the kind that steal book content and put it online for people to download for free. Even worse, some of them charge people a subscription fee to download all the free content they want. The catch is that they don't own this content and aren't paying the publishers or authors any royalties.
It's usually not a matter of them somehow stealing our e-books, I don't think. They are actually taking printed copies of the books and scanning them in as PDFs. However they do it, it upsets my authors every time they get back their Google alerts on their names and find more of their content pirated online.
My husband works in foreign rights for Pearson, so he has seen his share of this happening. He has in the past advised me that all you can do is find out where the site owner lives and send them a "cease and desist" letter. But if the perpetrator is on foreign soil (and they usually are), U.S. copyright law is unenforceable. So the usual reaction is for them to ignore the letters.
Today when I got the latest piracy alert from an author, something occurred to me. Publishing 2020 blogger Joe Wikert is always saying that giving away content is not always a bad thing and that we need to loosen our grip a little. So I wondered what his thoughts and experiences have been with piracy.
"I do believe these piracy sites both hurt and help our industry. I have no stats to prove one way or the other though," he said. So although they are probably helping to build buzz, they're probably also hurting sales. Although he's entertained a few creative suggestions for halting this kind of infringement, Joe ultimately agrees that the cease-and-desist letter is probably our only practical weapon--and it's an ineffective one, at best.
One consolation was that when our corporate counsel was investigating a particular site, she downloaded a virus. So I guess it's comforting to think that some of the people out there trying to steal content might meet the same fate.
Do you have any experiences with combating the content pirates that you can share?
Update: Coincidentally, GalleyCat has an article today about an author who faced just such a situation and decided that if she couldn't beat them, she'd join them. I swear I had already written my post today before I read this article. How freaky!
It's usually not a matter of them somehow stealing our e-books, I don't think. They are actually taking printed copies of the books and scanning them in as PDFs. However they do it, it upsets my authors every time they get back their Google alerts on their names and find more of their content pirated online.
My husband works in foreign rights for Pearson, so he has seen his share of this happening. He has in the past advised me that all you can do is find out where the site owner lives and send them a "cease and desist" letter. But if the perpetrator is on foreign soil (and they usually are), U.S. copyright law is unenforceable. So the usual reaction is for them to ignore the letters.
Today when I got the latest piracy alert from an author, something occurred to me. Publishing 2020 blogger Joe Wikert is always saying that giving away content is not always a bad thing and that we need to loosen our grip a little. So I wondered what his thoughts and experiences have been with piracy.
"I do believe these piracy sites both hurt and help our industry. I have no stats to prove one way or the other though," he said. So although they are probably helping to build buzz, they're probably also hurting sales. Although he's entertained a few creative suggestions for halting this kind of infringement, Joe ultimately agrees that the cease-and-desist letter is probably our only practical weapon--and it's an ineffective one, at best.
One consolation was that when our corporate counsel was investigating a particular site, she downloaded a virus. So I guess it's comforting to think that some of the people out there trying to steal content might meet the same fate.
Do you have any experiences with combating the content pirates that you can share?
Update: Coincidentally, GalleyCat has an article today about an author who faced just such a situation and decided that if she couldn't beat them, she'd join them. I swear I had already written my post today before I read this article. How freaky!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Sneek Peek at CareerBuilder's Super Bowl Ad
Just ran across this at Cheezhead's (Joel Cheesman's) awesome recruitment blog. I'm still holding back tears of laughter over its Office Space-like premise and over-the-top situations that make my own seem just not quite so bad.
I think we can all agree that, especially in years in which the Colts are not involved (which is what, 42 of them?), the best part of the Super Bowl is the ads. Can't we?
I think we can all agree that, especially in years in which the Colts are not involved (which is what, 42 of them?), the best part of the Super Bowl is the ads. Can't we?
Time Magazine on the Future of Book Publishing
Awesome article by Lev Grossman right here. It pretty much sums up all the issues that are swirling around the publishing blogosphere reagrding the state and future of the industry. Plus, it's clearly worded for the laypeople who might be thinking about these issues for the first time.
The conclusion seems to be that old-school publishing will survive alongside the new "unofficial" methods of bringing information to the people, including self-publishing. I am all for this new freedom of information that seems to defy the censorship of the priviledged few, who don't always know best what the world wants to read.
However, the article mentions often the fact so much of this material is unedited. What does that mean? Is it that people don't appreciate the value of editing? Don't have time to wait for editing? Can't afford editing? What are the implications for the future careers of editors? Any thoughts?
The conclusion seems to be that old-school publishing will survive alongside the new "unofficial" methods of bringing information to the people, including self-publishing. I am all for this new freedom of information that seems to defy the censorship of the priviledged few, who don't always know best what the world wants to read.
However, the article mentions often the fact so much of this material is unedited. What does that mean? Is it that people don't appreciate the value of editing? Don't have time to wait for editing? Can't afford editing? What are the implications for the future careers of editors? Any thoughts?
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
New Writing, Editing, and Indexing Classes from the EFA
The Editorial Freelancers Association is announcing a new slate of publishing-related courses to be offered online in the next quarter. You can see the full list here on Katharine O'Moore-Klopf's EditorMom blog. The courses last from 4 to 6 weeks each, and some of them even have (gasp!)homework. If you're an EFA member, you can get a discount on the enrollment fee.
For more information, keep an eye on this page. The courses aren't yet posted there, but will be soon.
For more information, keep an eye on this page. The courses aren't yet posted there, but will be soon.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
I Smell Popcorn...
As a reminder of JIST's quirky past, we still have possession of a popcorn machine that the founder bought for the company several years ago. They would pop corn every Friday for the employees (but I was telecommuting on Fridays from 2004 to 2007, so I missed out on the popcorn machine's heyday).
But now, this moment, I am smelling popcorn again. For a moment, it reminded me of my elementary school days. Tuesday was always "popcorn day." For 15 cents, you could get a brown bag of buttery goodness, and the proceeds went to the PTA. We'd be sitting in class and that heavenly smell would come wafting in and distract us from our textbooks.
But this Tuesday is something bigger than a mere popcorn day. It's the day we inaugurate our 44th president. In less than an hour, the dream is a reality. And we'll be sitting here eating popcorn as we watch the swearing in from the conference room. Yeah, America!
Monday, January 19, 2009
"Sulley's" Resume
Someone has managed to dig up and post the resume of "miracle pilot" Chesley Sullenberger. Check it out here at The Smoking Gun. I have no reason to suspect that it's not his own authentic resume, but I don't know that for sure.
Overall, it's a pretty good resume. He highlights his accomplishments and states but doesn't belabor job duties. Despite a long and impressive career, he manages to keep it to two pages. My biggest complaint would be the use of all caps for the entire resume. It's difficult to read and nothing stands out. But hey, I'll cut him some slack.
Overall, it's a pretty good resume. He highlights his accomplishments and states but doesn't belabor job duties. Despite a long and impressive career, he manages to keep it to two pages. My biggest complaint would be the use of all caps for the entire resume. It's difficult to read and nothing stands out. But hey, I'll cut him some slack.
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