This is the end of the year, a perfect day to draw lessons from the main publishing events in 2014. First, one bit of good news for 2014: it will be remembered as the year audio-book sales took off. In 2013, downloaded audio books hit an all time high in both revenue and units, and…
Author: Claude Forthomme
Writer, essayist, poet, painter. Columbia U graduate in economics; United Nations expert (25 years in FAO; ended career as Director for Europe and Central Asia). Presently Senior Editor at Impakter Magazine and Deputy Observer Order of Malta at Rome-based United Nations Agencies (FAO, WFP, IFAD)
Writes in English and Italian under various pen names (Nougat for fiction in English; Forthomme for non-fiction). So far, publications include 2 books in Italian (including an award-winning children's book of tales) and 6 books in English (including one non-fiction essay on development aid).
All fiction in English is available on Amazon and major e-platforms, uncer pen name Claude Nougat.
For a Happy, Special Day in Florence…
This is how you do it. I just did it a week ago – took three days off and went to Florence, boarding the Freccia rossa, the fast train from Rome, one of the fastest in Europe, we traveled at 250 km/hour, thrilling!And I wanted to share with you the best day I had in…
Our Future on Earth: Fab or Scary?
This week, our future is the talk of the town, from Tokyo to Lima.The message from the Japanese designers show, “The Fab Mind”, is positive, it’s a fab future: “fixing stuff, repairing the world” as Alice Rawsthorn, a British design critic wrote in the New York Times (see her article here). Repairing? Not quite, Takram,…
Tom Chalmers, Founder of a Publishing Ecosystem – Interview
Another interview I did under my real name for Impakter magazine. Here it is: TOM CHALMERS – A COOL ENTREPRENEUR Claude Forthomme on 5 December, 2014 In less than ten years, starting when he was 25, he built a whole publishing eco-system ranging from fiction and non-fiction to licensing rights Tom Chalmers is young, perhaps…
Is the Amazon Customer Review System Broken?
In principle, book reviews spur sales. But on Amazon, they don’t seem to. Any author who’s following the sales of his/her books can testify to this: when good reviews come in, they rarely signal a spurt in sales. Yet book reviews are needed to be able to use the better advertisers like BookBub that will…
A Pope, a Queen, a King, a Princess and Melinda Gates Meet at ICN2
Another one of my articles on Impakter magazine (published under my real name – I attended this Conference last week): ICN2: Where a Pope, a Queen, a King, a Princess and Melinda Gates Come Together Claude Forthomme on 24 November, 2014 at 09:30 ICN2 is not a new disease, it’s the bizarre acronym for the…
Why a Best Selling Author Turns to Crowdfunding
I interviewed indie author Marsha Roberts for Impakter to find out why she is turning to crowdfunding for her book, “Confessions of an Instinctively Mutinous Baby Boomer“, a highly acclaimed inspirational memoir that has sold very well so far, many thousands of copies. Here’s the article: Marsha Roberts, a “Mutinous Baby Boomer”, Turns to…
Elizabeth Jennings, Romantic Suspense Author and Founder of the Women’s Fiction Festival – Interview
Another article of mine on Impakter magazine, an interview of best-selling author Elizabeth Jennings who also founded the Women’s Fiction Festival in Matera eleven years ago. I attended this year’s Festival and had a chance to interview her – she is married to an Italian and lives in Matera (see photo below, she is presiding…
Free Book Promotions Are Not What They Used to Be – Lessons Learned and Tips for Success
A lot of people won’t go free with their books, they think it’s degrading. They’ve worked hard, sometimes for years (I know I have) and it just breaks you inside to give away the result of your sweat and tears for nothing. Plus we all know that anything not paid for is not taken into…
Speculative Writing: the Next Big Trend in Publishing?
Over the week-end something big happened to our culture. The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber was reviewed by Marcel Theroux for the New York Times (see here). So what, you may ask? First, the reviewer, Marcel Theroux is someone worth listening to. He is a successful broadcaster and author in his own…
Women Make the Difference Everywhere
Here’s another article just published on Impakter under my real name, Claude Forthomme – memories of the days when I worked at the United Nations, traveling to developing countries, to inspect and evaluate aid projects, trying to sort out problems: Diary of a UN Official #3: When Women Make the Difference Claude Forthomme on 27…
Startup for the Brave New Age of Digital Publishing
Here’s another one of my articles published on Impakter – under my real name, Claude Forthomme. Find out about a neat new publishing services website where you can find all you need (if you’re a self-published writer). I interviewed one of the two founders, Richard Fayet: Reedsy – The Founder Claude Forthomme on 22 October,…
Claude Forthomme 