Direct publishing of e-books offers hope for long-form journalists

O’Reilly Radar | GigaOM
Atlantic freelancer Marc Herman says his $1.99 Kindle Single, “The Shores of Tripoli,” is selling well enough to cover the costs of his reporting trip to Libya and may bring in enough to fund his next project in advance. “If things keep going how they are going,” he tells Jenn Webb, “I think in a few months I’ll be able to say I have the beginnings of a viable business model as well as a viable way to bring long-form reporting about international events to the public.” The Radar interview has insights on the pricing dilemma, the writing process and the traditional publishing industry. Mathew Ingram analyzes what Amazon can do for authors and journalists. || Earlier: In the year of the e-book, 5 lessons from — and for — news organizations (Poynter.org)