Who Can Rival Amazon?
Amazon is now the most important participant in the business of scholarly books, but it faces few threats. This post hypothesizes about where challenges to Amazon could come from.
Publishing Viewed from Santa's Crystal Ball
Some predictions about the future of scholarly publishing, which acknowledges the continuing central role of the major STM publishers.
Vaccines and Autism — Despite a Widely Publicized Scientific Hoax, Celebrity Continues to Dominate the Evidence
The vaccine-autism papers were a hoax. But a lingering controversy around the diagnosis of a celebrity’s child and her insistence on preserving her version of the facts only shows how stubborn misinformation can be.
History as Caution — When Paid Scientific Articles Were Legally Considered "Advertisements"
A strange trip down memory lane, when scientific articles funded by page charges were considered advertisements. Are we entering another era of “articles as advertising,” only this time without any limitations?
Announcing a University Press Research Project
This is an announcement of a university press research project, which includes a link to a survey we hope every book publisher will fill out. The project is sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The focus is on how university presses can sell books, both print and digital, directly from their Web sites. The project report will cover current practices and recommend courses of action.
What is Kudos? An Interview with David Sommer, Co-Founder
If there was a word of the year competition for Scholarly Publishing, #Altmetrics would be a favorite to win. David Sommer, co-founder and Director of Kudos discusses how this new service could offer usable measurements of the array of article promotion and influencing activities undertaken by scholars.
Stage Five Book Publishing: A Guide for University Presses
The five stages of book publishing outlined here describe the arc as publishers move from the traditional model (where print books were sold mostly in bookstores and to libraries) through a range of developments using online media, culminating in new forms of subscription marketing.
An Anonymous Challenge to the Copyright Clearance Center
A somewhat strange anonymous letter raises questions, both intentional and unintentional, about the Copyright Clearance Center.
The Web-scale University Press
This is an essay on what it would mean to create a university press that operates at Web scale. It speculates about what such an endeavor would look like and probes some aspects of the financial model.
A Snapshot of the Scientific and Technical Publishing Market
A new report from Simba surveys the current scientific and technical publishing markets. These segments are essentially flat. Incumbents are seeking growth elsewhere. Interestingly, open access has not had much of an impact on the revenue of traditional publications.
Seeking a Path toward Open Access for Books
It is challenging to come up with an open access program for books that is financially sustainable. One strategy has been proposed by Unglue.it, which uses crowdfunding to purchases copyrights from authors.
Driving Altmetrics Performance Through Marketing — A New Differentiator for Scholarly Journals?
Does the rise of altmetrics mean a shift in the journal publishing landscape where marketing and publicity efforts surrounding articles take precedence?
Webinars, Webinars, Webinars — How Do We Evaluate This New and Increasingly Pervasive Option?
Webinars can serve many roles — B2B, B2C, promotion, education. As they proliferate, the special mix of work and benefit webinars represent will come under scrutiny, and your ability to plan well to grow in this area may be tested.
Questions (and Answers) from the Society for Scholarly Publishing
Some new videos about scholarly publishing from the SSP. You may recognize a few familiar faces.
Join The Scholarly Kitchen for a Session at the Upcoming Publishing Business Conference & Expo
Join a group of Scholarly Kitchen “Chefs” for a session at the upcoming Publishing Business Conference & Expo.