Here is a quick round-up of publishing stories making the news in this first week of 2014.
- Smashwords is reporting that author revenue was up 33% in 2013, to $20 million from $15 million the year before. There are now 275,000 titles (up 45%) and 83,000 authors (up 42%).
- Goodreads almost doubled in size for the second year in a row. There are now 25 million members compared with 13 million at the end of 2012. Check out this infographic.
- "We hear a lot on the trade side of publishing about how the internet is killing off the gatekeepers and allowing authors to (self) publish and find audiences of their own." In an interview this week author Hugh Howey suggested that indie authors are now the sixth-largest publishing group in the United States and the newest member of the 'big six'.
