Yeah, I was out in the boonies for a bit--I'm back in civilization now. Apparently while I was away Sue Grafton admitted that she doesn't know the first thing about the publishing industry nowadays. Yeah, we knew. I mean, apparently I'm supposed to be glad she's willing to admit that she was shooting off her mouth about something she knows absolutely nothing about, thereby possibly doing serious damage to the careers of countless would-be authors who respect and admire her, but I'm more amazed by the fact that she spins "Everything I said was completely wrong" as "I need to clarify something I said." If you are hoping to one day reach the level of wealth and fame where you are surrounded at all times by fawning sycophants who will praise everything you ever do or say, please look at that and reconsider. (Seriously, how hard would it have been for her to simply decline to give advice? That's what I do when people want to know how to get their kid into Harvard.)
In less-bitchy remarks, the Wall Street Journal has a couple of interesting bits from a few days ago. There's this little piece on how even though the economy is slowly recovering, paper shipments are falling, and "the divergence between paper shipments and GDP growth began around the time the iPad was introduced." That's especially interesting given how fast tablet computers are being adopted--it's expected that 47% of Americans will have one by next year. (!!!)
All the new tablets that are coming out are pressuring Barnes & Noble to cut prices on the Nook, which the WSJ notes is an issue because the company is losing money:
B&N has effectively used its bookstores, which are profitable, to finance the Nook. But that isn't sustainable. Financial realities suggest B&N will be unable to stay in the hardware business in the long term without help from better financed partners.... On that front, B&N will get $300 million from Microsoft if the software giant's deal for a 17.6% stake in a newly formed Nook and college businesses joint venture closes in October as expected. But it is unknown exactly how that will play out, particularly as Microsoft now is launching its own tablet.