New Publishing Hit “Wool” is Reshaping the Industry – Maybe

And Here’s How Fox News Played a Role in the Genesis of the Book

The publishing world is agog, really agog over the deal that the author of the  self published e-book Hugh Howey has received from Simon and Shuster.  Mr. Howey published his book on Amazon and went to make more than a million bucks.  He sold the rights to Simon and Shuster, but only the rights for the print edition.

When "Wool" hits bookstores next Tuesday, publishing industry insiders will be watching the experiment closely. Simon & Schuster will release a $15 paperback and a $26 hardcover simultaneously, competing directly against Mr. Howey's digital edition, which costs $5.99.

Now this Forum will leave the analysis of the business aspects of this to others, it may be a one-off, or it may be a real change in publishing.  However here is what caught our eye, the really important thing which is how Mr. Howey got the idea for the book.

Mr. Howey says he was watching cable news one day when he came up with the idea of a future where people get all of their information from a single, unreliable screen.

C'mon People - If they Can Get It So Can You

Wow, there are a lot of cable news networks.  Anybody want to try and guess which cable news network that was?  Anybody?  C’mon, it’s not that hard a question, The Dismal Political Economist has four cats and three of them figured it out.