Origami Unicorn

Zuda Comics

I've held off on posting about this one, but it is past time to mention Zuda Comics, which is an open call for a rolling competition sponsored by DC Comics. The pre-selected entries range from That's Good to Wow! I particularly recommend Bayou for its great art, solid plot, and blend of reality and fantasy. If you draw and write, you have eight pages to set the story and get the plot rolling so you can make your pitch to DC, which may select you for the competition. If you're interested in how comics are created, the entire site is rife with examples. Everyone can register and vote in the ongoing competition, as the site builds a collection of not-quite-the-usual web comics.

The Authors Guild Speculates

The Authors Guild is dubious that Amazon's upfront reasons for proposing that all POD works it sells go through its own BookSurge. They scent money and the profits of the long tail. They invite calls and e-mails to aid them in a possible anti-trust action.

Pushing Back Amazon? Not Too Likely...

Amazon's move to require POD publishers to use Booksurge in order to have their product sold as in-stock merchandise has various organizations raising a—probably futile—clamor. The Authors Guild said Friday "we're reviewing the antitrust and other legal implications of Amazon's bold move." The ASJA said it "will urge the Washington state attorney general's office to investigate whether Amazon's move constitutes restraint of trade or otherwise violates anti-trust laws."

But Amazon is likely to have covered most of the points that will be cited before it made the announcement. Indeed, controlling the POD books it sells may well have been the reason it bought BookSurge. Its current control of book in digital format was preceded by its purchase of Mobi. Then it released Kindle and began displaying the Kindle option alongside many conventional books. At the moment, although the product has been reviewed as less than perfect, Amazon can't meet the demand for its e-reader.

Can we say "vertical integration?" We can.

The Switch

Spot on.

A Trick of the Wind; Hold the Mustard

This one is sweet. The backgrounds are sumptuous, the animation not as sophisticated and in a different style, and therefore not a good match. The soundtrack could be improved. Good script, though. Hang on for the final few seconds.

This one is coordinated in background and animation style. Once again the soundtrack could be improved. It has the right beat—indeed, it looks like the animation was done to the song, as is usual for professional productions—but it isn't the perfect fit. And, oh, that final moment.

Well, he is a bear.

The New Wave in Publishing?

Bob Miller's start-up with HarperCollins was the result of his "feeling restless and didn't know what next mountain to climb." The idea, to be called a "studio," involves a 50/50 profit share with authors along with minimal advances but not selling everything on a non-returnable basis, although that would be a longer term goal.
Seeing publishing as "a race for margin" and stating "the current model is pretty broken," Miller added, "it's too tempting not to try" to improve on that paradigm. He sees the idea as focused on "mostly nonfiction" titles by authors who do not yet have established reputations and possibly providing a niche for books longer than articles but shorter than the average.

While publishing certainly needs new ideas—a great deal of what's printed is wasted, with some sources saying only one book is sold for every two books printed if you exclude POD—it would appear that Miller model would place a heavier burden on authors to promote their own books. Somewhere in there, they're going to have to find the time to write the next one. I will be interesting to see how this one plays out.

PMA Speaks Up

The executive director of PMA, the Independent Book Publishers Association, Terry Nathan said the Amazon's new policy regarding BookSurge, “imposes a significant financial burden on tens of thousands of small and independent publishers who can least afford it. Without the opportunity to benefit from competitive pricing, small publishers risk at best an expensive and needless overhaul of their manufacturing process, and at worst, the loss of their livelihood.” He stated the POD action makes the marketplace a “members only club to the detriment of those very publishers that have contributed to Amazon’s success.”

Lightning Source and the Espresso Book Machine

“It’s always been the holy grail of the book business to walk into a store and get any book,” said Kirby Best, president and CEO of Lightning Source. Today his company signed an agreement with On Demand Books, proprietor of the Espresso Book Machine, which can produce a book in about 15 minutes. The upside for On Demand is access to the titles produced by Lightning Source by means of an opt-in agreement; the downside is that the machines in use number in the single digits and more development is needed to produce something that can be manufactured quickly. Currently it takes a month to build an Expresso Book Machine.

Quebecor World Finds Financing

Quebecor World has announced they have received court approval for $1 billion in debtor-in-possession financing: a term loan of $600 million and a revolving loan facility of $400 million. The announcement stated, "this level of liquidity and favourable cash flow performance reflects the company's clear direction towards emerging from creditor protection as a strong and stable enterprise." That's a lot of debt; a lot of publishers wish them well.

The 2008 Hans Christian Andersen Awards

The awards went to Swiss author Jurg Schubiger and Italian illustrator Robert Innocenti. Given every two years to a living author and illustrator, they are the highest international distinction given to creators of children's books. They were announced at the bookfair in Bologna on March 31th.