A conference in Edinburgh has discussed what the future is likely to hold for publishing in Scotland. Publishing has been hard-hit by the recession and the effects have been felt all over the UK, including Scotland.

The conference was aimed at addressing fears that funding for the publishing trade organisation Publishing Scotland would be cut amid recommendations from the Literature Working Group of Scotland. A report from the LWG also suggested Publishing Scotland should be restructured to become part of the Independent Publishers Guild.

The LWG stressed that their report was intended to spark discussion on the topic of Scottish publishing and that they are open to other suggestions regarding its future.

Authors published by Penguin have all voted on the Penguin book they admire the most and George Orwell has come out on top. Fifty authors took part in the poll, which was part of Penguin’s 75th birthday celebrations, each selecting one title from Penguin’s back catalogue.

A total of four novels chosen were written by George Orwell. Including in the selections were his famous dystopian novels 1984 and Animal Farm.

The final list can be seen at Penguin’s website, providing a small insight into the tastes of some of today’s best writers. Other novels selected included works by such literary giants as Vladimir Nabokov, Leo Tolstoy, James Joyce and John Steinbeck.

The publishing industry has been hard hit by the effects of the economic downturn and last year saw staff within the industry endure pay freezes as part of publishers’ strategies to cope with the struggle.

It looks as though 2010 will be a little easier however as some of the larger UK publishing houses have announced they will be increasing employees pay in line with inflation. HarperCollins and Penguin are among those whose strategies have eased up and Macmillan is set to announce its plans in April.

Recruitment agencies for publishers have also confirmed that the job market within the industry appears to be improving.

Publishers in the United Kingdom have another difficulty to face in the coming months and years as it appears that the lucrative business of co-editions is on the wane.

Co-editions constitute separate publications of the same edition of a piece of work. A good example of a co-edition would be a foreign language translation – a publisher in France, for instance, could publish a French book and a separate English publication could be released with an English translation of the same book.

These used to contribute to publishers’ income, but 2008 figures show that co-edition income fell a massive 29% from 2006 figures.

Recent reports have suggested that Google is moving to push ahead its Google Books venture by submitting a court brief to try and convince the US District Court to approve its revised settlement terms with American publishers and authors.

Google Books would be an online platform for digitising and selling books, but opponents have raised concerns about copyright law and monopoly issues that would surround the deal.

With the publishing world already struggling because of the selling power of supermarkets, who are able to sell books at reduced prices thereby circumventing the efforts of dedicated bookshops, could it be that Google will add to publishers’ woes with their digital venture? Or will Google Books signal something of a new age in publishing?

The new Apple tablet is all set to redefine the future of publishing by offering new methods of charging for digital content.

Print media companies have suffered from the amount of free and accessible content available these days. This may be all set to change with this new device as Apple gears up to market its product.

Past releases have proved that when it comes to these types of devices, consumers are more ready and willing to shell out their hard earned cash. People are happy to pay small amounts of money towards apps for their iPhone and download ringtones.

Many magazine publishers will soon offer their content on this platform and three have now signed up with Apple to do just that.

Ever since Amazon released the popular Kindle electronic reading device, other software developers have been frantically working on their own version to grab a slice of the market.

As Apple gears up to release its own version, with e-books accessible through its iTunes store – and Google is also expected to follow suit later in the year – publishers, authors and readers will be spoilt for choice.

The true value of an electronic book is still yet to be fully determined with Amazon setting its prices competitively and publishers working hard in negotiations to secure the best deal. Their positions could be strengthened somewhat with the introduction of Apple, and so a royalty terms battle is all set to commence.

With the recent demise of Borders Books just before Christmas as well as the poor sales over the festive period, Waterstone’s has not only decided to get rid of its boss Gerry Johnson but that enough is enough with regards to its strategy.

The book retail market has been dominated in recent years by online Amazon sales as well as cheap celebrity book sales at the likes of ASDA and Tesco. Waterstone’s has now decided it cannot compete and has decided to focus once more on being more of a ‘local’ bookshop.

This is hopefully good news for all those writers and small time publishers looking for their voices to be heard.

AOL, the American Internet services and media company, has announced this week that it is planning to lay off over 1,000 of its staff. This announcement was made as the business streamlines its efforts towards Web content publishing.

The company will be focusing on new online content and news blogs such as Politics Daily and Engadget.
Scott Steinberg, analyst with Digital Trends the media research site, has explained:

“This is a large behemoth trying to reposition itself as a smaller, more agile player in the online publishing space.

“The big question is whether AOL is going to be able to adapt fast enough.”

If you had been asked this question a few years back you would expect to be met with a sharp response. Any novelist or writer would have thought it futile to try and publish their own work. In this day and age of the Internet and online books, the reality is, there is more opportunity than ever before.

Some people have decided to invest in self-publishing packages to get their work published and keep the a greater share of the proceeds themselves without handing most over to publishers and advertisers. But this is not just about making money. In fact, many people who publish their own books do it out of the satisfaction that their book is out there in the public domain.

So, if you are starting to despair that no publisher will consider you for a book deal, think again. Maybe self-publishing is the way forward for you.