Browsing Archive: July, 2010
E-readers are coming down in price...or "rolling back" per Wal-Mart speak...In the increasingly crowded world of digital readers the competition is heating up while the profit margin may be shrinking.
Ahhh, don't you just love open competition?
Claire Cain Miller, writing from the San Francisco bureau of the New York Times, reports this on the latest Kindle shot in the e-reader warfare:
Amazon.comwill introduce two new versions of the Kindlee-reader on Thursday, one for $139, the lowest price y... Continue reading ...
Why People Write
Posted by John R. on Thursday, July 29, 2010,
In :
writing
Do writers write because they have, as many say, a deep-seated passion to write and they absolutely MUST or they will cease to exist (damn, that sounds like an addiction or sickness, doesn't it)?
Or do they write only when they have a cause so impelling that they just have to put pen to paper to spread the word anyway they can?
Or do they write for the fun of it and enjoy it?
Or do they write out of desparation and for money...Sort of like a last resort (I think J.K. Rowlings started this way)?
W... Continue reading ...
Constantly Changing Content Magazines on iPad
Flipboard, a free iPad application, provides iPad users with a custom digital magazine that changes content constantly based on the links provided in their interest areas on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Pretty cool, huh? Talk about a living, breathing magazine...
This report comes from the Associated Press as printed in The Salt Lake Tribune, no author given:
Apple Inc.’s iPad has hatched a new breed of magazines, one filled with a constantly changing mix of articles, photos and vid... Continue reading ...
Digital Publishing Market is Booming in China!
Global Leaders Institute will be hosting the Digital Publishing Asia Pacific 2010 event in November in China. Everybody who's anybody will be there to hash out the inevitable problems in a huge emerging market...
This press release and report is from PRNewswire :
Hosted by Global Leaders Institute, world digital publishing industry leaders will convene at Digital Publishing Asia Pacific 2010 (DPAP2010) on November 16th and 17th in Beijing China. The two-day executive summit will examine the hot... Continue reading ...
Amazon IS an Amazon!
Posted by John R. on Sunday, July 25, 2010,
In :
publishing
Not only has Amazon's e-book and general merchandise profits risen BUT their print book sales have jumped up by double digits!
Seems I have print books' staying power on my mind in all my blogs today (see my post today on Writers Welcome Blog http://alturl.com/4z88)
This report from Industry News in Publishers Weekly:
Revenue in Amazon’s North America media segment, which includes books and e-books, rose 15% in the second quarter to $1.32 billion. Sales in the electronic and general merchand... Continue reading ...
How Self-publishing Affects a Writer's Career
There are pros and cons to self-publishing...However, in todays evolving publishing atmosphere, self-publishing is becoming more acceptable and now has more pros than cons!
Here is an insight given by Ruth Belena in an article she wrote for Helium:
Self-publishing is now more than ever an option for a new writer to get into print or to create an e-book. It is worth considering the effects of self-publishing on a writer's career and the many benefits to be gained from self-publishing, when it is... Continue reading ...
Could FTC Internet Proposals Hurt Journalism ?
Journalism and online news needs no "protection" by the FTC (by changing and expanding laws) in order to survive on the internet in the digital publishing age...They just need to publish news better with unique interactivity that people will be willing to pay for.
Josh Halliday reports for the guardian.co.uk that: The future of US online news could be stifled by proposals put forward by the Federal Trade Commission to protect journalism, Google has warned.
In its 20-page response to the FTC's ... Continue reading ...
Rules to Help One Become a Writer
Posted by John R. on Thursday, July 22, 2010,
In :
writing
Want a guideline from a successful writer that points the way to becoming a successful writer? I bet you do.
Harvey Rachlin, award-winning author of Scandals, Vandals and da Vincis, and dozens of others, lays out a nifty 50 rules for writers to achieve success in The Writer Magazine...Pay particular attention to the last one!
From the experience of Harvey Rachlin:
To succeed as a writer in the world of publishing is no easy task. A plethora of writers—many of them seasoned pros or people famo... Continue reading ...
Putting Character in your Characters
Posted by John R. on Wednesday, July 21, 2010,
In :
writing
Writing advice about character development in this post.
"Damn, that guy has character!" or "What a character!"
Ever heard that before? Well, that's what you want your readers to say about your book's characters. Whether the character is good or villainous, you want him/her to be well-rounded and three-dimensional and therefore very memorable in your readers' minds.
Developing characters can be fun, all you have to do is lay out a few guidelines. Sigrid Macdonald, a book coach, editor and freel... Continue reading ...
Book Marketing Tips to Bond with Readers
Some excellent book marketing advice today...Marketing that entices prospective buyers by forming an author-reader bond is highly effective marketing and the kind you want to employ...Now, how do you do that?
Phyllis Zimbler Miller has written on this subject for Wordpreneur and included some good links:
In order for readers to spend their money on a novel, they must have the desire to spend time (plus their money) in the world that you the author have created.
To encourage readers to want t... Continue reading ...
B&N & Blackboard Partner to Offer NookStudy, e-Textbooks
Posted by John R. on Sunday, July 18, 2010,
In :
booksellers
College students will soon be able to download textbooks or aggregate and organize other study materials in any neat form they desire to accomplish course work. Technology is making a big impact in the student world again...as it always has!
But, will it make a big difference in the cost of these materials compared to their printed counterparts? It should! Barnes & Noble indicates a 40% discount...Wonder if this will last? Good news for students if it does.
Here is an announcement of the up-a... Continue reading ...
Virgin Group Ltd. Jumping into Publishing
Posted by John R. on Friday, July 16, 2010,
In :
publishing
Sir Richard Branson, the British industrialist and founder of Virgin Group Ltd. (a brand of over 360 companies), is going to launch a digital only magazine titled Maverick this October...ushering in Virgin's foray into the publishing world.
Scott Merrill (no decent links about him personally) of CrunchGearwrites this about Virgin and their e-magazine Maverick:
Virgin is looking to expand into the publishing market with a new magazine called “Maverick” that targets the upscale international... Continue reading ...
Did J. K. Rowlings Commit Plagiarism with Harry Potter?
Posted by John R. on Friday, July 16, 2010,
In :
writing
Representatives of the late British writer, Adrian Jacobs, think so! And they are also charging the US publishers.
From TopNews by by Kiran Pahwa (no decent link found):
Late British writer Adrian Jacobs' representatives had alleged that the author approached Rowling''s U. K. publishers Bloomsbury in 1987, ten years before his death, and unsuccessfully attempted to sell them his Willy The Wizard stories.
The lawsuit claims Rowling''s 2000 book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, bears a r... Continue reading ...
How 'Tumblr' Fits into News Organizations' Publishing Options
Posted by John R. on Thursday, July 15, 2010,
In :
Social Media
A good community blogging platform site that is full of media and publishing companies! A great place for "us" types...
The lowdown comes from this article on Poynter Online by Mallary Jean Tenore :
Mark Coatney, also known as "Newsweek Tumblr guy," announced Monday that he had accepted a job as Tumblr's "media evangelist." The position, he said, will allow him to teach other journalists the lessons he's learned in creating and running Newsweek's Tumblr.
"Basically my job is to introduce Tumblr ... Continue reading ...
Over 100 Million Reading Newspapers On The Web
A little money business today. Todays post gives an insight into online newspapers and the lucrative advertising market they represent.
This Research Brief from MediaPost dot com by Jack Loechner gives a good comparison of online newspapers, how many read them, readers demographics and advertising (cpm) costs of all the Top Display Advertising Site Categories (such as social media sites, newspapers, e-mail, community, etc.):
According to a new ComScore release, more than 123 million Americans ... Continue reading ...
Rejection? Rejection! How Dare They!
Posted by John R. on Monday, July 12, 2010,
In :
writing
Nobody likes rejection...in ANY form. But, as writers, rejection is just part of the business. You just have to develop a thick skin and an attitude of "I write for my own enjoyment and from my own exclusive imagination and I realize everybody won't like the same thing...So, I'm just not going to worry about it."
Spectacularly, rejection the first time (or 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.) has been overcome by persistence and resulted in later acceptance and fame and fortune! History is riddled with many ... Continue reading ...
"I Have an Idea for a Story!...Now What?"
Posted by John R. on Monday, July 12, 2010,
In :
writing
Hi all!...Some advice today about nurturing your creative ideas and getting them on paper.
First of all, have you ever had an idea (and it was a lulu) but you did not write it down and then later forgot what the hell it was? I have (probably because my mind is slipping into LaLa Land) and I have wrestled with trying to remember that exact idea later but always came up with something inferior. Then, after giving myself a headache, I finally give up and move on...Believe me, when the Muse hit... Continue reading ...
Punctuating Dialogue
Posted by John R. on Saturday, July 10, 2010,
In :
writing
A little writing lesson today on writing dialogue...Extremely important in breathing life and personality into your characters and giving them a three-dimensional presence.
How do you bring your dialogue to life? And give it rhythm and flow so readers can easily understand and follow the inflections and emotions of the characters?
By punctuating the dialogue correctly!
Here is expert advice by editor, Marg Gilks, who publishes Scripta Word Services:
Think about it: there's a pretty boggling arr... Continue reading ...
Self-publishing is Coming-of-Age!
Gone are the days when self-publishing (SP) was on the "B" list...It has arrived and is getting invites from "A" list groups.
And what was the popularizer or legitimizer? Who gussied up SP?
Technology!
With a large helping hand from bad management and greed in the old traditional publishing model!
This from the New Hampshire Public Radio (Word of Mouth) by Virginia Prescott:
Self Publishing Débutante
There’s a new way to make it in the cut-throat world of book publishing. We recently spoke t... Continue reading ...
Magnify.net to Offer Curated Video Content (CVC)
How would you like a resource to pull videos from that are related to your site content AND that will draw bigger advertisers with more money for you?...
At least that is what I think the following press release is saying...I am NOT an expert. But, the following press release seems to be saying something important for helping smaller publishers monetize while increasing sales for advertisers!
Initiative will allow publishers to provide contextually relevant video to site specific advertise... Continue reading ...
Creative Writing in Newspapers?
Posted by John R. on Tuesday, July 6, 2010,
In :
writing
Who says you can't make news features more colorful? I always enjoy a newspaper story that presents the facts...but with the three-dimensional ambiance of all the characters and locations involved. I hope I'm saying that right to make my point.
At any rate, Susan Beam, a journalist for the Columbia Ledger weekly newspaper, says it better than I in this article she contributed to Suite101.com:
When a person thinks of newspaper article, without fail, it is understood that they contain the five W'... Continue reading ...
Monetizing Real-time Online Content
The best model, I think, for monetizing online content (especially newspapers in view of the decline in ad revenues) is one the cell phone companies have been using for years: give subscribers a Kindle or iPad free with a two year subscription! Right?
Janet Guyon , Managing Editor at Bloomberg Businessweek, addresses this very topic in an excellent article for Businessweek:
Hal Varian, the chief economist at Google Inc., spends a lot of time talking about the economic state of the news busines... Continue reading ...
Empowering writers
Posted by John R. on Sunday, July 4, 2010,
In :
writing
Since the Grub Street Writing Center started in 1997 in Boston, Massachusetts...It has established an extraordinary pedigree! Famous authors on it's staff and 22 students with published books and more coming...
A must read for aspiring and established writers alike:
Jan Gardner reporting for the Boston Globe:
In the world of publishing, the Grub Street writing center is the little engine that could. Since its inception in 1997, 53 instructors, including New York Times bestselling author Jen... Continue reading ...
Make Your Own Book Trailer Videos!
I have been meaning to search (and putting it off) for a "how to" instruction on creating my own videos for YouTube and other video networking sites...mainly for marketing written products and books...And then, out of the blue, I get an excellent "how to" from Joanna Penn from The Creative Penn!
You see, I thought there might be software available for making videos or slide shows without having to have your own camera,etc, but I wasn't sure! Joanna explains where to go on the internet to acce... Continue reading ...
Smashwords Forms E-book Partnership with Wattpad
Smashwords has partnered with Wattpad to grow and supplement both their services and sites...BUT, will this be a good partnership? Many say Wattpad has very low standards and the quality of the participants' writing is actually pretty terrible...
Here's hoping Smashwords will increase Wattpad's quality and not vice-versa!
This report by Calvin Reid of Publishers Weekly:
Wattpad, an online writing community, social network and mobile phone e-book developer, is partnering with e-book publisher ... Continue reading ...
Does iPhone4 Suck or Not?
Why in the hell would you design an antenna in a metal strip around the edge of a mobile device where you know it has to be held to use...AND by covering the antenna with your hand it would cut down or eliminate your reception?
Well that's what Apple did...You would think in pre-testing that this flaw would be readily apparent. But what's worse for Apple is the high probability that they are refusing to make the design flaw right by their customers!
Are lawsuits coming? A strong possibility. ... Continue reading ...
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About Me
John R. Austin |
Pueblo, Colorado |
Writer, Old-Warrior-Adventurer, Blogger... I was born in Key West, Florida. A rather famous hangout for some past famous writers: Hemingway and Tennessee Williams to name two. I just hope that I possess a glimmer of their talent. I have a bachelors degree in architecture/construction and a master's degree in industrial engineering. I have been writing for fifty plus years. Most of my writing has been in the technical, instructional and business areas. I am working on my first book: "Havana Harvest---When Cuba Was Naughty" which details my coming of age experiences in 1958 Havana, Cuba, at the age of 15. Please visit my other blog "Writers Welcome Blog" at http://alturl.com/4z88.
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