The Future Of Publishing Blog by Thad McIlroy

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September 24th, 2009

Four Funerals and a Birthday

I was asked tonight by a friend the simple, “How’s it going?” I’m generally in a positive mood and responded: “Times are still tough, but I remain optimistic about the future of publishing.” It’s later now and I got to thinking: There are still more deaths than births in the publishing business. And that can…

September 19th, 2009

What Makes a Great Author Website?

A colleague of mine who is a noted Canadian historian, and a prolific writer, asked today what makes a great web site for an author. So I began an exploration: Most publisher websites for authors are pathetic, placeholders with short bios and links to books. A case in point is Canada’s “most venerable” old publisher,…

September 17th, 2009

E-books Won’t Stay Ugly Forever

A subject which receives far too little coverage in the great eBook orgy is just how much is lost in the conversersion from books-on-paper to eBooks in one of the many eBook formats. What is lost: nearly every visual element, from typeface choices to page design. As this May 2009 article on Wired.com states: “Ultimately…