Waterstones defies the bookstore apocalypse with 80% rise in profits. Barnes & Noble looks the other way.

Back in early 2011, BEFORE ebooks took off, Britain’s biggest bookstore chain was not so much staring into the abyss as halfway down the cliff. Borders UK had already fallen, and Borders US was close behind.

Then the Kindle UK store went from novelty to mainstream.

“Put simply, Waterstones hadn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of surviving, and for most observers the only question was whether Borders in the US would beat Waterstones in the liquidation race.

“Yet here we are in 2018 declaring an 80% increase in pre-tax profits for 2017, despite having to close several profitable stores.”

Yes, you read right. Waterstone’s is in the black again despite having to close profitable stores.

And this in the second-most dominated-by-Amazon country on the planet.

Read more over at The New Publishing Standard.

It’s only January, but already Filipino readers are excited about binge-buying at the Manila International Book Fair in September

It’s only January, but already Filipino readers are excited about binge-buying at the Manila International Book Fair in September.

We’ve seen a tremendous rise in attendance in recent book fairs, and have now expanded the exhibit space to make room for more books and book-related events, to pack this year’s MIBF with even more experiences.

For career indies and publishers, taking the easy option is rarely the best option. But for those willing to step up their international game and not allowing themselves to be shackled by borders, formats and insular thinking, the Philippines is an exciting opportunity for authors and publishers alike.

Read more over at The New Publishing Standard. Tracking the Global New Renaissance as it happens, day by day.

Marvel comics court China and Asia with eastern superheroes.

Marvel wants in on the Asia comic scene, and is going for gold with two new Chinese characters, Sword Master and Aero,

 

The stories will be based in China, Marvel’s editor-in-chief Cebulski explained, drawn in the eastern manga style, and will be

 

“heavily based on Chinese culture and Chinese mythology but set in the modern world and they will interact with the other heroes (in the Marvel universe).”

 

Next month Marvel’s African superhero movie the Black Panther is expecting top open to $120 million plus box office receipts.

 

But as I note over at TNPS, Marvel’s biggest “black” superhero characters, the Black Panther and Luke Cage, date back to the 1960s-70s, when Marvel also had its first Chinese hero, Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu.

 

Cebulski’s claim Marvel wants to have “stories that are reflective of every culture” will take more than two new characters set in China and revived characters from the last century if it is to ring true.

 

Read more over at The New Publishing Standard.

NB: Mark Williams now writes daily on global publishing matters over at The New Publishing Standard.

 

12 mind-blowing book events you probably never knew happened in 2017

A lot of publishing records were broken in 2017.

No, not the number of Barnes & Noble stores that were closed this year.

In fact my review of 2017 mostly avoids the USA, because while it may be the single biggest and most convenient market for us indies, the rest of the world is where the real excitement lies.

Check out 12 mind-blowing publishing stories from the year, over at The New Publishing Standard.

Oh, and that futuristic building in the picture? That’s the world’s largest book store, that opened this year. No, not in the USA. It’s three times bigger than the largest US bookstore.

And be assured that, unless you caught this story at the time, you will be surprised at where it is.

The New Publishing Standard. Tracking the Global New Renaissance as it happens, day by day.

 

Mark Williams now writes daily on global publishing matters for The New Publishing Standard.

 

Cyber Monday Amazon’s biggest shopping day ever. But still way behind Alibaba. What future the international Kindle stores?

• Total US online sales Cyber Monday: $6.59 billion
• Black Friday $5.03 billion
• Thanksgiving Day $2.87 billion

A record-breaking holiday for US e-commerce – $14.49 billion spent online – and by some estimates half went to Amazon.

Yet just two weeks earlier almost twice that amount – $25 billion – was spent online in just 24 hours at just one company.

Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce titan, took the equivalent of Black Friday’s total US online sales – $5 billion – in the first fifteen minutes of trading on Singles Day earlier this month.

“It’s easy to look back at the past ten years of the Kindle store and the rise of Amazon as a global e-commerce power and see an unstoppable force.

And realistically there is little chance that Amazon’s dominance in the US, UK and a handful of European countries will be usurped any time soon.

But as those markets become more competitive and more aggressive, so Amazon needs to look abroad to maintain the revenue growth that drives its stock valuation.

The easy options are fast being taken – west Europe, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Australia… China was, if not a fail, certainly not a spectacular success for Amazon, and India is going to be a very long haul…

And while Amazon is clearly making an effort with publishing in India (not just the Kindle store – Amazon also acquired a major publishing house) there are few indications Amazon sees publishing or the Kindle store as a key part of its next stage in globalisation.”

Read more at The New Publishing Standard

Mark Williams writes daily on global publishing matters for The New Publishing Standard.

 

Ireland a “thriving” and “hugely important book market – HarperCollins. Here’s why.

Hands up any authors and small publishers here who have given a second thought to Ireland as a book market.

Not many, I’m guessing.

Yet Ireland is well served, with dedicated Apple and Google Play ebook stores, a Kobo partner store (Eason) and of course full access to the UK and US Kindle stores. So many of us will be there

But of course there’s much more to the book market than just ebooks, And Ireland is a major English-language market, not to be disregarded lightly.

“With a population of just 4.7 million the Republic of Ireland sold an impressive 10.9 million books last year to the value of €130.9 million. That of course is according to Nielsen BookScan, so by no means the entire book market.”

HarperCollins is taking Ireland seriously. Maybe indie authors should too.

Read more over at The New Publishing Standard.

Mark Williams now writes daily on global publishing matters for The New Publishing Standard.

Tencent joins the half-trillion club, and look how close it is to Amazon…

Tencent joins the half-trillion club, and look how close it is to Amazon. The centre of digital and publishing gravity shifts inexorably east.

If you’re thinking, “Who? And what’s it got to do with us indie authors anyway?” then you really need to read this post.

The New Publishing Standard – charting the Global New Renaissance as it unfolds.

Mark Williams now writes daily on global publishing matters for The New Publishing Standard.

Romania’s Gaudeamus Int. Book Fair opened yesterday. Expected to attract 125,000 visitors

Romania’s Gaudeamus Int. Book Fair opened yesterday. 125,000 visitors expected.

Romania is a much ignored but interesting opportunity for publishers. By one estimate some 50% of books sold in Romania are translations, 20% from English originals.

Read more at The New Publishing Standard.

Mark Williams now writes daily on global publishing matters for The New Publishing Standard.

UK micro-presses see sales soar 80%.

UK micro-presses see sales soar 80% as readers who don’t want “another novel about a dead girl on a train” find their next read.

“I worried that they would be able to get it into shops, but within two or three months I have sold more copies than my last book did with Simon & Schuster.”

Many indies think it’s either Big 5 or indie, but there’s lucrative opportunities in the hidden middle ground.

Read more over at The New Publishing Standard.

Mark Williams now writes daily on global publishing maters for The New Publishing Standard.

Charlie and the Crowdfunded Chocolate Factory

A British children’s audio start-up has not just almost doubled its crowdfunding target on Kickstarter, but has signed a deal with the estate of Roald Dahl to produce audiobooks for toddlers to go with its no-screen, no-internet child-safe learning cube.

 

“The audio renditions of Dahl’s work are not just replays of existing audio versions, but commissioned specifically for the target age-group … My guess is Yoto will spawn many imitators and the audio-for-toddlers sector will add even more revenue to publishers’ bottom lines as publishers start to produce more content.”

 

Find out more over at The New Publishing Standard.

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Mark Williams now writes daily on global publishing affairs for The New Publishing Standard.