Industry News

Megan DiMaria is Novel Rocket’s industry news columnist. An author and speaker, she enjoys cheering on writers and loves to encourage others as they journey through life’s demands and delights. Megan is the author of two women’s fiction novels, Searching for Spice and Out of Her Hands. 

Welcome to the November issue of of Novel Rocket's industry news. Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this month? If so, good luck!

Let's get to the news!

• Here's a capital idea: “How One Author Turned the Internet into a Giant Book Club.” For more info . . .  
• HarperCollins buys The Midlist, a daily e-newsletter featuring book deals. For more info . . . 
• The American Writers Museum—the only museum of its kind—is set to open in 2017. For more info . . . 
• Interesting—how German publishers deal with Amazon. For more info . . .  
• Crowdfunding publisher Inkshares (“Publishing books selected by readers”) making changes to its business model. For more info . . . 
• Lots of new literary agents open to new clients:
• Seven literary agents seeking fantasy novels NOW. 
• And, here’s another, Arielle Datz from Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary.
• And another, Nick Harrison from WordServe Literary. 
• And another, Mitch Hoffman from Aaron M. Priest Literary. 
• Wonder who’s winning the paper book vs. e-reader competition? For more info . . .
• The “State of Books and Reading in a Digital World.” 
• (Because you know I love this stuff,) Eye candy for book lovers. 
• "The only exclusively romance bookstore in the United States" set to open early 2016. For more info . . .  
• Penguin Random House’s weak e-book sales offset by bestsellers. For more info . . .   
• Not exactly publishing news, but interesting: 30 tattoos inspired by great books. 
• Interesting info: Hollywood movies that were made from self-published novels. For more info . . . 
• Pew Study: Adult reading falls, youth reading rises. For more info . . .   
• Booksellers are upbeat headed into the holiday season. For more info . . . 
• Old-fashioned paper books, as opposed to e-readers, “can improve memory, concentration, and good looks.” For more info . . .  
• Amazon is suing reviewers who post “fake” glowing online reviews. For more info . . . 
• Apple has requested the Supreme Court to overturn the guilty decision in the ebook price-fixing case. For more info . . . 
• As if you didn’t know I love lists: 
• “15 Books You'll Get So Lost In, You'll Go Hours Without Eating, Sleeping, Or Interacting With Another Human.”  
• “The 21 most popular novels of 2015 so far.” 
• Publishers Weekly’s best books of 2015. 
• 10 Most Popular Works of Christian Fiction. 

• The U.S Court of Appeals says Google’s library book scanning project is not copyright infringement. For more info . . .  
• Some encouragement for those suffering through rejection: the winner of the Man Booker prize for fiction had his debut novel rejected nearly 80 times. For more info . . . 
• Bookstore sales dropped in August. For more info . . .  
• The 3rd annual Lyra contest (for the Best Independent Novels of 2015) is open for entries. For more info . . . 
• Want to get a foot in the door for a publishing career? Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas (LPC), a Christian publishing house, is currently building an (unpaid) internship program. For info, contact.

Have a great month, friends. Write on!