Book Sales COVID-19 Increase

Since March 2020, PublishDrive has been generating digital book sales reports, compiling hard-to-find data from various outlets, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play Books, libraries, regional stores, and more. They have now published their stats for...

How Libraries Are Coping with the Pandemic

I recently published a post on how the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be affecting publishing. While that article focused on publishers, we now have some interesting data on how it has affected libraries, thanks to NPR (many thanks to my author friend, Elle Boca, for...

How to Stay Motivated When Working from Home

With the exception of 6 dreadful months, I’ve been working from home for over 25 years now. So I was blessed in that the COVID-19 lockdown didn’t hit me as hard as most. Talking to friends who aren’t used to working from home reminded me of how hard...

A New Normal for Publishing?

How do people and firms respond to the pandemic lockdowns? One particularly interesting example comes from Books-A-Million. As The New Publishing Standard reports (shared by Passive Guy), America’s second-largest bookstore chain, Books-A-Million, is readying for...

COVID-19 Enhances Amazon’s Reliability and Credibility

The Covid-19 pandemic has upended our lives, forcing us to live digital lives rather than physical ones. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Amazon.com Inc. reported soaring quarterly sales because of a surge in online orders from homebound customers contending with the...

Happy April Fools’ Day 2020

It’s April 1st today, also known as April Fools’ Day. While past years I wrote about highbrow pranks like the 7 best literary hoaxes, this year is a strange affair. Lockdowns and quarantines feel like an endless prank the universe is playing on us. So, I...

Atop the Super-Duper High Hill of the Mountain

Greece is in lockdown mode because of COVID-19. We’re urged to avoid getting out of the house for anything that’s not essential – basically, doctors and supermarkets. Even the churches have closed down, to avoid spreading the virus. This past week...