Recent quotes:

Unsold book returns in coming weeks could be another blow for publishers | The Star

“If we just look at physical bookstores, so not online retailers, but mostly physical bookstores, they’re down almost 63 per cent year over year for the period,” Genner said from Toronto. “So 63 per cent in unit sales. That is hugely significant.”

'I thought you’d like to read this': the etiquette of gifting books | Books | The Guardian

Gekoski shared his friend’s story in support of his two rules on buying books for others. “The first is, always save a receipt” – the reason being, if a book has jumped into your mind as the perfect present for someone, it has doubtless occurred to someone else. When Lynne Truss’s Eats, Shoots & Leaves was published in 2003, Gekoski recalls, “everybody got five copies for Christmas” – then tried to regift them to others who already had several copies themselves. And the second rule? “Never write an inscription in a book, unless you’ve written it yourself.” (He is bemused by authors who do not like to give their own books, lest they be thought of as self-promoting.)

Booktrope brings collaboration to publishing

Anyway, if you’re accepted into the system, you then post your completed manuscript on Booktrope and try to attract a team of editors, designers and marketers, who can then collaborate through Booktrope’s online tools. Authors aren’t paying other team members directly, but offering them a share of the royalties. That means the author doesn’t have to pay out of their own pocket for these services, and the team members will have an incentive for the book to do well.

The Thomas Wolfe Memorial of Historic Asheville, NC

Considered by many to be one of the giants of 20th-century American literature, Thomas Wolfe immortalized his childhood home in his epic autobiographical novel, Look Homeward, Angel. Wolfe’s colorful portrayal of his family, his hometown of “Altamont” Asheville, North Carolina, and “Dixieland” the Old Kentucky Home boardinghouse, earned the Victorian period house a place as one of American literature’s most famous landmarks.

Facebook ads can be counter productive

Some clever sleuthing by Derek Muller, proprietor of the science-focused YouTube channel Veritasium, determined that many Facebook ad clicks are worthless and, worse, that buying lots of Facebook love can significantly decreases the popularity of any content you subsequently post to Facebook.

CityShelf Makes It Easier For People To Skip Amazon And Buy At Indie Book Stores

The project, launched in December, is a combined search tool for eight of New York’s indie bookstores. Users can see which stores currently have the book they want on their shelves and compare prices. Its aim is to draw in more customers who are already out to buy a particular book, supplementing the hordes who fill busy stores like The Strand for a fun afternoon of browsing.
Hachette saying most recently that "we will spare no effort to resume normal business relations with Amazon – which has been a great partner for years – but under terms that value appropriately for the years ahead the author's unique role in creating books, and the publisher's role in editing, marketing, and distributing them, at the same time that it recognizes Amazon's importance as a retailer and innovator". Amazon, meanwhile, has said that "this business interruption affects a small percentage of Amazon's demand-weighted units", and that while "suppliers get to decide the terms under which they are willing to sell to a retailer … it's reciprocally the right of a retailer to determine whether the terms on offer are acceptable and to stock items accordingly".