INDEX // mb Ideas on Publishing Books in Canada (and other attempts to write good)

Random House To Launch MySpace for Authors: Authorsplace.com

On Minding the Gate | 16 October 2008 with 3 comments

Booktrade.info is reporting that Random House is to launch “an online toolkit” for authors that sounds a lot like a net new blogging/networking platform. They are calling it Authorsplace. This idea sounds familar.

Hopefully this is just a network of wordpress blogs networked together. Hopefully authors will be able to SEO their respective sites. Hopefully authors will be able to customize their respective sites beyond the ugly.

I am still not convinced the hub approach is the way to go. Yes it is convenient, but I tend to think discovery and finability is easier if you didn’t try to reinvent the wheel.

On the other hand, having an easy way to bring inexperienced authors into digital is overdue and should be applauded.


3 Comments

It’s possible that they make use of a platforms like WordPress MU or Typepad. That said, it’s an interesting approach to providing tools for authors who are already willing to make that step online.

From my experience, the challenge is still bringing authors online not to mention helping them understand the additional time required for promoting themselves online. That said, if Random House is willing to provide the services and tools for authors with support — then they are set to go.

Last year while I was attending the BNC Tech Forum, one of the speakers from Ingram noted that publishers will likely want to move into the realm of offering services and support for authors to promote themselves online. I’d agree although I think smaller publishers will find difficulty in doing that. Nevertheless, looks like Random House took that to heart :)

Posted by Ehren Cheung on 16 October 2008 @ 5am

It is a smart move from a services point of view, especially if it is executed well. (I do hope Harper keeps nurturing its digital media cafe.) Is the technology going to be up to snuff? Who knows? We will have to wait and see.

And yes time, attention, and budget are still scarce. No matter how optimizeable the platform, that is going to be the biggest challenge for houses big and small.

Posted by mb on 16 October 2008 @ 6am

Well I have a feeling that they will likely not use an open source platform. HarperCollins is making use of ASP for their Bookarmy site :)

Posted by Ehren Cheung on 16 October 2008 @ 6am

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