Self-publishing with a twist. A very interesting experiment by Tom Eveslin. (via Fred Wilson) A good friend of mine has a new cookbook coming out this month and not only has the publisher failed to set up a press tour but she has to pay for her own party. Cookbook authors also have to pay for their own photos not too mention recipe testing. I really wonder what value she is getting from the publisher other than her advance. They seem to be depending on her self-interest to promote the book. She has hired a publicist.  I don't think the method in the link above would work in this case but that takes us right back to things like QOOP as possible alternative models.

Speaking of alternative models Glam.com launched today.  the NYT has a really interesting article about it.  The fact that they have done an end around media companies and their fashion magazines is stunning. Just speculating here,  but I wouldn't be at all surprised if they had made the rounds of the media companies investment arms and gotten turned down.  They have essentially created a new online fashion magazine that really links readers to products; they don't have to worry about ASME, they don't have  leadtimes like the print mags and don't have to worry about what is and what isn't in stock and, they have taken the time to deep link to the products and not just to storefronts. This idea has been tried before but I don't think the e-commerce was there yet, also the Tickle like quizzes are a twist  Glam has an advantage:

But Glam will not have a lot of competition, at least at first. Fashion magazines could set up shop in the Internet, too, said Charlene Li, an analyst with the technology consulting firm Forrester Research, but "they're terrified of losing subscription revenue, and it's a hugely different approach from their regular print efforts, so it'd be a lot of work."

I actually think that the fact that something like this could launch right under the noses of the online magazine sites is amazing. Completely understandandable given the lack of attention and flexibility of the magazines but in being so understandable  it underscores the reason most online versions of magazines seem stuck. Go Glam go.