Browsing Archive: May, 2010
Posted by John R. on Monday, May 31, 2010,
In :
publishing
This is a simultaneous post on all my blogs:
God bless all our troops fighting for our cherished freedoms...and those who have sacrificed their very lives for this country!
Here is a story of unselfish love toward some of our troops (sent to me from my good friend Lynn in Florida) and how it was repaid in spades!
Sack Lunches
I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get...
Continue reading ...
How To Tell a Story
Posted by John R. on Monday, May 31, 2010,
In :
writing
Storytelling is an art...but MORE than that, it is a gift...I mean, a gift GIVEN.
Stories are also one of the greatest teaching tools...This is overlooked by far too many.
Kevin Cordi, award-winning storyteller, teacher and author, can speak on this subject much better than I and pack more useful information in short paregraphs...So pay attention:
Telling a story is a lot like giving a gift. Stories can be used to identify unfamiliar terms and broach new ideas. They can be used to present cultu... Continue reading ...
Will Your Book Sell ?
Posted by John R. on Sunday, May 30, 2010,
In :
writing
More advice for writers!...How can you tell if your book idea will sell...AND how can you find out before you invest time and money?
Judy Cullins, a twenty year veteran book and marketing coach, presents some ways to answer these questions in an article for Wordpreneur:
Make your book stand out from the crowd! Test your book’s significance, find your market before you write, and treat your book as part of your business.
1. Test your book’s significance.
•fun, humor •easy to read •teach ... Continue reading ...
When Writing Alone Just Isn't Enough
Posted by John R. on Saturday, May 29, 2010,
In :
writing
Some more advice today for writers...Today it's about a writers strategic planning for choosing a book subject that will have the best chance for selling and marketing success.
Caterina Christakos (pictured below), author of How to Write a Children's Book in 30 Days or Less and others, gives us some sage advice on pre-planning for our subject matter in an article for Wordpreneur:
Many writers write for the experience. Others dream of having a number one best seller. Both are wonderful reasons... Continue reading ...
Reasons We May NOT Write That Book Inside Us
Posted by John R. on Friday, May 28, 2010,
In :
writing
A little writers' psychology today!...You know, we all can use some of that from time to time.
Suzanne Falter-Barnes (pictured above), a creativity expert and author, wrote this piece for Wordpreneur that I think will be a good writers thought for today:
In the 10 years that I’ve taught people how to get on with their books, I’ve noticed a phenomenon that I’ll call “Author’s Block.” Would-be writers can, indeed, sit down and work when pressed to it. The problem is that they’re ... Continue reading ...
iPad Apps Rocks!
The various magazine and newspaper apps for the iPad are so rich with clear, colorful content and REALLY easy navigation through the pages and articles, that many think they point the way to the future of publishing...
One such afficionado is Chris Fralic, partner of First Round Capital, who wrote this for Business Insider:
I've now downloaded and spent some time with the new WIRED app on the iPad, and I think it points the way to the future of publishing.
Will people pay $4.99 a month for ... Continue reading ...
E-books No Party Crasher At BookExpo America
The international digital publishing industry was an invited guest at BookExpo America (BEA) taking place now in New York AND given a kings welcome!
This is a good move and shows that booksellers realize they must gear up to sell both digital and print versions of books to grow and survive in the new publishing paradigm.
Here is an interesting take on this years BEA by Bob Hoover of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
The technological elephant is finally welcome in the living room of the America... Continue reading ...
The New Middle Ground Publishing
A new middle ground, half way between traditional publishing (that now outsources everything and puts the marketing burden on the writers) and pure self-publishing, is opening up. Publishing companies are now offering so-called "midlist authors" (and others too) more publishing support in their semi-self-publishing efforts. A case in point is Amazon's new publishing arm, AmazonEncore, agreeing to digitally publish J. A. Konrath's new Jack Daniels female cop series book, Shaken, and bring the ... Continue reading ...
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression Celebrates 20 Years
Posted by John R. on Saturday, May 22, 2010,
In :
publishing
The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) will celabrate 20 years of solid work in protecting American freedoms next week in New York at Book Expo America (BEA) 2010...
I want to point this out because of the important work ABFFE does in fighting those who would limit our freedom of expression through promulgating censorship...due to mostly those who can't interpret mature literature and art without acting out there own stupid fantasies!
This from Publishers Weekly Indust... Continue reading ...
Books-A-Million Takes a Dip!
Posted by John R. on Friday, May 21, 2010,
In :
booksellers
Books-A-Million's revenue and income dropped a bit at the close of the first quarter ending 1 May 2010. I wonder if BAM is mulling over new biz models...you know, like Barnes and Noble who entered the self-pub sector with Pubit?
I look to see BAM jumping more heavily into the digital whirlpool and soon!
Publishers Weekly's senior editor, Jim Milliot, reported this:
Books-A-Million reported slight declines in sales and earnings for the first quarter ended May 1. Revenue fell 1%, to $117 millio... Continue reading ...
How Do Publishers Handle Worldwide Digital Revenue?
The growing revenue WORLDWIDE from all the downloadable stuff (eBooks, music, etc) is growing almost exponentially and you can just envision the paper money literally raining down in buckets!
Well, how do the publishing, distribution and retail companies get a grip on all these currencies and their accounting and reporting? One way is through companies like RoyalShare...
This press release from PR Newswire:
Leading Book Publisher Adopts RoyaltyShare Service to Handle Growing Demands of Digit... Continue reading ...
Very Short Story (#vss) Twitter Fiction
BF44UXRZ73QXIdidn't realize until very recently that twitterers were tweeting very short stories of 140 characters or less by the hashtag #vss...
Now there is an anthology of some of these tweet short stories in book form titled #VSS Anthology Volume 1 !
I find this absolutely interesting!...If you practice this very short story endeavor it should help you learn to concisely synopsize which should in turn help you to write better query letters...Right?
Anyway, Polish blogger, Piotr Kowalczyk... Continue reading ...
Are Writers' Dreams of Riches Now Unrealistic?
BF44UXRZ73QX Will the digital content explosion destroy writers' livlihoods OR make their businesses better? There are two schools of thought on this topic...Some in the business, mostly from the publishing standpoint, think that the increased availability of content will drive down content costs and thereby royalities for writers of that content.
I respectfully disagree with this forecast.
I feel that the growing digital publishing industry is creating a renewed interest in reading and that cou... Continue reading ...
Write That eBook Inside You!
There are different things to consider when writing an eBook versus a traditional book. That makes perfect sense...but it takes a good writing and internet marketing coach to REALLY nail it down; and Judy Cullins (pictured below) is exactly that and does just that in an article for Wordpreneur:
Did you know that you already have an ebook inside you?
And you can earn thousands of dollars each month?
Even if you are a non-techie like me, you can write your ebook at the same time you write y... Continue reading ...
Borders Launches e-Books and Kobo Readers
Amazon, Google and Apple are in the eBook biz, why NOT Boarders? And other current bookstore chains are probably scrambling to integrate digital as I'm writing this post! Follow the money, right?
Calvin Reid reporting in Publisher's Weekly says:
Borders has provided a few more details for its move into offering digital content, beginning with plans to take pre-orders for the new Kobo digital reading device. Kobo’s new $149 e-ink reading devices will begin shipping in June to be followed by ... Continue reading ...
Amazon To Start Charging for More Bestselling eBooks
If a free Amazon eBook gets popular, Amazon is going to remove it from the free list and put it on a pay list! Better read them while they're free...
This from Jason Boog of Mediabistro/galleycat:
Last December, we reported that 64 of the 100 eBooksthat topped the Kindle bestseller list were free. Today Publishers Weekly broke the news that the online bookseller will soon divide the bestseller lists into free and paid categories.
Here's the scoop: "A representative at the e-tailer has confi... Continue reading ...
A Writer's Block Buster!
Posted by John R. on Wednesday, May 12, 2010,
In :
writing
Writer's block comes on us sometimes just like the old common cold...out of the blue! We can't get the old thought-generator to crank over for ANYTHING! Out of gas...Kaput! Elaine Berry, owner of Bizwrite Writing Services, has a unique cure for writer's impotence and wrote about it on Wordpreneur:
Have you ever been on a Training Day?
When I used to work for a local government department, we often used to get sent on Training Days.
They weren't quite the same as courses. The idea was usua... Continue reading ...
Writerly Psychology...And Validation
Posted by John R. on Tuesday, May 11, 2010,
In :
writing
Even those of us who have attained a degree of success in writing still probably harbor doubts that we TRULY deserve whatever we have attained...That luck more than talent was responsible. You ever feel that way about anything?
Carrie Vaughn (pictured below), bestselling author, felt that way until a certain thing happened AFTER she had already arrived in the city called success...and her story will be helpful to many.
Carrie, writing on GENREALITY blog:
I had an interesting bit of writerly ps... Continue reading ...
Writers With Rejectionitis--Submitting to the Inevitable
Posted by John R. on Monday, May 10, 2010,
In :
writing
Writers have always been put through the wringer to get published; even more so in the last three or four decades for the fast buck over true art. Fair? Hell no! But that has been the extremely flawed business model that the traditional publishing industry somehow got away with...Perhaps, the tables are turning on them now with the new empowering and equalizing technology that has exploded upon us.
I was reading Deborah Hansen's writers' group blog (The Florida Times-Union) the other day in w... Continue reading ...
Digital Publishing Digs In at Simon & Schuster
Some nice, interesting tidbits about ebook sales and digital publishing within Simon & Schuster... Be sure to follow the links in this post.
Mark Byrne of MediaBistro/Galleycat reports:
CBS Publishing released its first quarter report yesterday, showing an uptick in e-book sales and a sharp increase in digital publishing revenue for Simon & Schuster.
Digital publishing revenue jumped from $3.6 million to $12 million in the first quarter of this year, growing 233 percent. According to a paid... Continue reading ...
How To Be A Reasonably Happy Writer...
Posted by John R. on Saturday, May 8, 2010,
In :
writing
A happy writer? Of course! I'm happy...BROKE...but happy nonetheless. Thank God for a retirement from another source (subject for another post) to sustain me half-way comfortably.
First, from my point of view, to be a reasonably happy writer you had better been born rich or have money from another source coming in to allow you the "luxury" to pursue writing.
This piece by Rosemary Clement-Moore (pictured below) posting on GENREALITY blog is light and breezy and has some good writer parallels:... Continue reading ...
Author Promotion-Using Creative PR to Become an Expert Celebrity
I have read, more than once, that being considered somewhat of an expert in your field is the strongest point in selling your book to a publisher...pure gold! Especially in nonfiction. However, if you write a fictional novel where you draw heavily upon your experience and expertise (say an insider business novel about the processes and procedures used by high-powered individuals), your expertise can be the selling point that puts you across the publishing finish line!
Marsha Friedman of EMSI P... Continue reading ...
How Do You Decide What To Write? It's a Journey~~~
Posted by John R. on Thursday, May 6, 2010,
In :
writing
What am I going to write? Or what am I going to write NEXT? Ever been in that mental state? A common state indeed...
Bob Mayer, a NY Times best-selling author of numerous books, posting on GENREALITY Blog, details his personal journey to arriving at military historical fiction as his genre...His thought process will definitely give writers some insight and tips on analyzing their way to topics that will get their juices boiling...something they can be passionate about!
Bob Mayer says:
For a l... Continue reading ...
BookTour.com - A Good Writers Tool
How about a site directory of author events (yours included!)...that you can join for free and contains such useful marketing info as authors bio, bibliography, public appearences, etc, etc?
Well, Joe Nassise, successfull urban fantasy writer of such novels as The Heretic and A Tear In The Sky, stumbled across one and tells us about it on the GENREALITY Blog to which he contrubutes :
Joe Nassise
I’m always on the lookout for new tools that can help bring my work to the right audience and... Continue reading ...
Secrets of Writing Best Selling Children’s Books
Posted by John R. on Monday, May 3, 2010,
In :
writing
Writing children's books can be personally rewarding and lucrative. Caterina Christakos, writing for Wordpreneur, gives away some secrets to understanding and structuring novels for the "little buggers."
Caterina Christakos (Wordpreneur Classic):
Ever wonder how the most successful children’s book writers get their ideas? The answer may surprise you.
Most children’s books are based on the same exact story – good versus evil.
Ex. Harry Potter vs. Voldemort. Cinderella vs. her wicked st... Continue reading ...
Book Publishing is Simply Becoming Self-Publishing
"Self-publish? Are you nuts!" says I. "Yeah, nuts like a fox! Or is it a squirrel? Squirrels like nuts,right? Not foxes. Oh hell, I want a re-write!" says my author-aspiring friend.
Let's try this again. "Self-publish? Are you crazy!" says I. "Yeah, CRAZY LIKE A FOX!" says my author-aspiring friend.
Much, much better...and TRUE...as the following NY Times article by Virginia Herrernan (pictured at left) proves:
I love out-there theories and the people who are seized by them. I’m a sitting d... Continue reading ...
DIY Authors Conference & Marketplace
I'm glad someone has finally come up with a conference for self-publishing! It was inevitable with its rising popularity in the rapidly changing publishing industry....
I received the following announcement and invitation today and want to pass it along to my readers who may not be aware. Please pass this on to those that may be interested...I'm sure a lot of HOT information will be presented. I definitely would attend if I weren't SO out of bread right now:
Dear Writer friends,
We'd like to inv... 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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