Over the last few months I’ve been preparing the launch of my ebook publishing experiment and taking notes on the process.

Studio Tendra, the first publishing experiment itself was launched a couple of weeks ago and, Heartpunk, the first book series, is off on a good start.

The first issue became obvious very early on and my experience over the first few weeks confirms it: existing ebook publishing platforms are a joke. Read more »

Last night at the IPG Digital Quarterly Meeting the guest speaker was James Daunt, he was there to discuss Waterstone's 'deal with the devil' and their plans for digital book selling, this is my view of what happened. Read more »

This video is thirty five seconds long. Only six of those actually show the device full on.

That's because Amazon are not selling the Kindle Fire. In fact, they don't even begin the ad by saying that there's a new Kindle Fire. They don't use the word 'new' until the closing frames. This is what they're selling:

- traditional middle class living (battered red mailbox, iconic American dream, middle class image being emptied by Mum or a female child, probably the former.)

- people, smiling. Read more »

[Crossposted with my blog at nickharkaway.com - it's a bit long and sprawling for here and I was only going to wallop you with a snippet, but hey - you're all grown ups, right? You can handle the verbiage.] Read more »

Yes, I know, I know, but let’s not worry about all the “is/isn’t the record industry a good comparison for books” stuff. None of it matters if a comparison is interesting, and whichever side of that interminable, pointless debate you fall it certainly is interesting. Read more »

There's been some discussion about bundling ebooks and print editions recently - because lots of us have been talking about it in connection with the Amazon/Waterstones deal. 

Inevitably, this has led to a counter-discussion which wants hard evidence for bundling being a surefire winner. Philip Jones raises the issue in today's FutureBook email, and points to Evan Schnittman's 2010 blog post taking issue with the idea. Read more »

Today we read the opinions of many in the trade and business press on the surprise move by James Daunt to let Amazon in to Waterstones through the front door. It is interesting to not that many state the obvious and then pull back to cover the bases just in case it’s a move that may win. Many talk about the so called capitulation over digital and hand over of that business to Amazon. Read more »

Today is a new dawn for UK Booksellling, as its premier retail chain Watersones, effectively handed over its digital if not its future to Amazon. We will read in the press how this is a logical move by Waterstones and is the dawn of a new ebook beginning under its new management, but some will now start to ask whether this is the end of the beginning, or in fact the beginning of the end?  Read more »

[Image: Egg Drop Failure, from xkcd, under CC.]

I really thought I knew what today would be like, and then this happened. Read more »

People, it's time, and past time. Read more »