Mark Gilroy

Bringing Books to Life!

Books

Mark has been a book man since he learned to read. Why did he get in trouble in elementary school? Because he was reading a book when he should have been doing his math. Mark shares insights on questions you might have. How are books written? How do books get edited? How do books get published and distributed? And what are some great books that have something unique and compelling to say?

The Best Selling Books and Series of All Time

What are the best-selling books and series of all time?

Presentation Notes:

With so many different formats, editions, and languages, counting the number of units sold of a book is tough – even with contemporary titles. Then there are the classics that have been published across centuries by many publishers and in many languages and editions. I’ve listed such classics, notably The Holy Bible, in a separate section.

I’ve also highlighted several books series as a separate category. But after referring to numerous ” sort of definitive” and “not quite authoritative” lists, here is a consensus of best-selling books of all time.

Any surprises for you? How many have you read?

Confessions of a Book Reviewer

Confessions of a Book Reviewer is a guest blog, written by John Valeri, popular with thousands (and thousands) of writers and readers as a reviewer with the Hartford Books Examiner. Don’t miss John’s thoughts on spoilers and certain Amazon reviews – and his use of the word salacious! Thanks John!
John Valeri's reviews can be found online at Examiner.com.

John Valeri’s reviews can be found online at Examiner.com.

What Mark (probably) didn’t know when he ever so generously invited me to contribute a guest post on the topic of writing book reviews is that this month marks my sixth year of doing so as the Hartford Books Examiner for Examiner.com. Time flies when you’re having fun!

I have a confession to make: I am as daunted by the task of doing so now as I was when I first began. Maybe even more so. You see, I’ve built up a loyal readership through the years, and knowing that these folks might read a book (or not read it) based upon my opinion is … well, heady. While reading is typically a solitary endeavor—and a subjective one, too—I feel a certain responsibility to guide readers accordingly. [Read more…]

What Is the Agency Model in Ebook Pricing?

what is the agency pricing model?Q:  What Is the agency model in eBook pricing?

A:  The agency model is when a reseller allows the publisher to set the price charged to its (the reseller’s) customers. The common agency model terms for eBooks have been that the publisher keeps 70% of the proceeds and the reseller earns a 30% commission. This is different from the traditional pricing model in the book publishing industry, where prices have been controlled by the reseller. In the traditional model, publishers sell their books to resellers at a discount of approximately 50% (legal and illegal discount variance is a topic for another day!). Resellers offer the books to consumers at whatever price they choose.

The “agency model” for eBook pricing is back in the news with a deal reached between Simon & Schuster (S&S) and Amazon (confirmed October 21, 2014), which S&S CEO Carolyn Reidy acknowledges is a “version” of the agency pricing model. [Read more…]