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Writers Thought for Today Blog Getting Makeover

Posted by John R. on Monday, January 10, 2011, In : Blogging 
"Writers Thought for Today" blog is moving to a WordPress blogging platform, will be located at http://alturl.com/6izif  and be renamed to "Publishing/Writing: Insights, News, Intrigue"

I cordially invite all my current and future readers to visit my new location for the very latest publishing and writing industry happenings...AND please click the free "subscribe" button in the top menu to follow my new blog...The blogging gods will bless you...   


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CES 2011 Introduces True iPad Killer: Motorola's XOOM

Posted by John R. on Saturday, January 8, 2011, In : publishing & writing digital gadgets 
One day I will have the resources and time to attend an annual Consumers Electronics Show (CES)...but for CES 2011, I 'll just have to read and watch videos of the wonderful event, being held in Las Vegas this year!

I am absolutely enthralled with the new tablet computer tech and discovered Motorola's XOOM (and what an Android it is!) while reading this revealing article by Jim Louderback, covering CES 2011 for the HuffPost:

iPad Killer: Truly, Really, I Mean It

CES 2011: I'm the first to admit ...

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The Voice is Gone from The Village Voice

Posted by John R. on Thursday, January 6, 2011, In : newspaper publishing 
Two foundation-forming and trench-treading reporters that distinctly defined the cutting edge, investigative reporting that put New York's The Village Voice on the map as the king of alternative weeklies...have left the building.

A sad state of affairs for the Voice...which has been downsizing for some time. The Voice has had laryngitis, it has now lost it's voice altogether!

Wayne Barrett, with the voice for 37 years, was let go for financial reasons brought on by the current economic times. ...

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E-readers Are Scorching-Hot Sellers; Rewriting Bestseller Lists!

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, January 4, 2011, In : digital publishing 
On Christmas day people, armed with their newly-presented e-readers, downloaded over a million plus e-books!

Talk about regenerating and transforming bestseller lists in an instant...

E-readers have rode in and, in one swell swoop, saved publishing, the book industry and inspired reading. What a shot in the arm!

The only question is: who the hell truly understands all the opportunities in this newly-transformed, sleeker, more efficient, offspring publishing industry??*##% Did I say newly-transfo...

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Some Publishing Predictions

Posted by John R. on Saturday, January 1, 2011, In : publishing 
Jason Boog, editor of Media Bistro's GalleyCat blog, has put together an excellent list, coupled with some great links, reviewing the publishing industry of last year and forecasting coming developments in 2011.

He reports:

Publishing predictions, bestseller advice, and our best books of 2010 mixtapes topped our charts in December.

Instead of doing our traditional year-in-review post, we’ve decided to collect the ten most popular stories on GalleyCat each month–sharing the stories that matte...

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How Books Need to be Packaged, Bundled and Sold

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, December 29, 2010, In : publishing 
You often hear of authors selling their book rights...but, today's post is about a best-selling author buying back his book rights!

 Best-selling author, Steve Farber, is paying a handsome figure to buy back the rights to two of his leadership books from Kaplan Publishers so he can publish with No Limit Publishing Group; publishers more savvy in all the new tech publishing platforms. 


No Limit is also offering Mr. Farber a 50/50 split on net royalties for both digital and print formats AND wor...
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Self-Published "Pleased But Not Satisfied" Topseller for Bookworm

Posted by John R. on Monday, December 27, 2010, In : self-publishing 
David Sokol, an Omaha native, has self-published a business management book (his first book) through online bookstore Bookworm. It has been it's bestseller over the last two years with 8000 copies sold to people from all over the world.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that Sokol is a top manager in a Berkshire Hathaway major subsidiary company AND that  Sokol is rumored to become Berkshire Hathaway’s next chairman and CEO, succeeding Warren Buffett, 80.

Anyway, the purpose of this post is essentia...

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Google Making Down Under It's Up Over!

Posted by John R. on Friday, December 24, 2010, In : digital publishing 
"authors will take distribution into their own hands and sidestep publishers altogether, using platforms such as the ones offered by Apple and Google to go directly to readers"

While reading an article in the Delimiter, an Australian technology news source, written by Renai LeMay (owner) I discovered the "book ecosystem concept"... which simply takes you from author, to publisher, to digital platform and retailer...hopefully in one seamless swell swoop! LeMay explains how Google is trying to c...

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How Jackie Kennedy Onassis Became an Editor

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, December 22, 2010, In : Editing 
When I began reading this inside look at Jackie Kennedy Onassis, I did not realize how captivated I would become. I really never thought of her as an editor...only as the First Lady or the wife of a very rich industrialist.

BUT, she had quite a life after the death of her second husband, Aristotle Onassis...as an editor...

Joseph Kanon, a published author of spy and action novels, wrote this special for the Washington Post:

"A woman of many titles"

JACKIE AS EDITOR

The Literary Life of Jacquelin...

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Books To Always Be...Publishers Not To Be

Posted by John R. on Monday, December 20, 2010, In : digital publishing 
Books, albeit 'live' or interactive, will remain a part of the human experience forever....And they will primarily consist of text, whatever the media format. Publishers, as an industry, will not. That industry has been fragmented into a democratic individualistic endeavor, if you will...A vastly more level and responsive playing field

Everyone who writes and presents are now 'publishers'...Talk about an all-inclusive vertical business model...In fact, talk about an all-inclusive horizontal b...

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How About Letting Readers' Input Write Your Book?

Posted by John R. on Saturday, December 18, 2010, In : self-publishing 
An idea for lazy writers (although not new, damn it!): get your readers' feedback on an interesting subject and then formulate that input into a finished book and sell it on the internet!

Cool idea...and that's just what Andrew Sullivan, writer of the 10-year-old Daily Dish blog on the Atlantic web site, has done successfully for the second time...Hell, I have to admit it, I admire pure genius.

He first published a book on the Blurb.com "Make Your Own Book" site back in June, made up of photos ...

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Are Lists and Databases Protected By Copyright?

Posted by John R. on Thursday, December 16, 2010, In : Publishing & Copyright Law 
The answer to this post's title is: maybe so. I never really thought about a compilation of data being copyrightable until I came across an article about an Australian court case Publishers see red over court's Yellow Pages copyright ruling.

My interest was tweaked! So, I delved into a little research into American law on subject copyright existence...It seems some lists and aggregations can, indeed, be copyrighted. Depends on how much originality went into the compilation, sorting and listing...

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Picture Books are Still Vibrant and Thriving

Posted by John R. on Monday, December 13, 2010, In : print publishing 
The New York Times recently published a front page story essentially writing the orbituary for children's picture books...A story much in conflict with the real world according to big house publishers, booksellers, libraries and agents.

Karen Springen, Publishers Weekly, gives the straight story on printed picture books (with considerable associated writing):

Don't Write the Obit For Picture Books Yet

Children's book publishers are still reeling from the New York Times front-page story back in ...

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Are Print Magazines Seeing Some Improvement in 2010?

Posted by John R. on Saturday, December 11, 2010, In : Magazine Publishing 
Is the print mag publishing market finding it's bottom...or optimum level of sustainability? Seems it might be as there were fewer closures this year than last. There were also fewer start-ups than last year, but there were start-ups!

Matthew Flamm has some insightful figures for us un-initiated that are quite revealing in this report for Cain's New York Business:

Magazines say fewer hellos, goodbyes in 2010

A year that saw innovations like iPad-only magazines both launched and shuttered fewer ...

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Google and Ad-Supported Book Publishing Model

Posted by John R. on Thursday, December 9, 2010, In : digital publishing 
The newly opened Google eBookstore has some nice surprises and offerings. The Google Store can sell books to targeted people right after they search a particular topic AND they can also create an ad-supported publishing model...delivering targeted ads from the book subject purchases...Seems this is more possible since the ebooks will be provided from the cloud configuration.

Wonder what the split is on an ad-supported publishing model?  Authors/publishers get what % and Google retains what %? ...

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Borders May Offer Takeover Bid for Barnes&Noble

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, December 7, 2010, In : booksellers 
Both these booksellers have struggled to adapt and keep pace with new digital tech, discounters and online competitors...But, if I had to guess which one would buy the other in a takeover bid, I would have guessed B&N would be the pursuer and not the other way around.

Borders must have more vision and strength than I realized...or they just want to stay in the game. Borders is smaller than B&N but some say they are better organized.

This from the Associated Press through Crain's New York Busine...

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Canada's 'Fair Dealing' Law Trumps Copyright Rights

Posted by John R. on Monday, December 6, 2010, In : Publishing & Copyright Law 
First this:
 
Fair Dealing is the right to use copyrighted materials without permission of or payment to the copyright holder. Under current law, it applies only to materials used for the purposes of research, private study, criticism, review and news reporting. The new bill seeks to add education, along with satire and parody, to this list...(TOTALLY BAD IDEA!)

Canada has a cluster-muck mess in it's publishing arena laws right now, and probably has had for some time, if this amateur researcher ...

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U.S News & World Report Abandons 'print' Ship!

Posted by John R. on Friday, December 3, 2010, In : digital magazines 
A venerable old weekly print news mag (it was reduced to monthly in November 2008) is riding off into it's last sunset (the last issue is this month)...

BUT, the U.S. News & World Report will re-appear in digital clothes with an expanded online edition that will appear 8 times per year and definitly include it's famous "list" issues...you remember them: the best colleges, hospitals, etc.

Here is a great eulogy delivered by big fan Greg Brown of FOLIO magazine:

Right about now, you should be gett...

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Digital is Growing Up

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, December 1, 2010, In : digital publishing 
A little visionary post tonight...As much as I can envision the future anyway (being retarded makes it difficult).

We talk about "traditional" print publishing today as old hat. Well, not too far into the future the new tablet computers, eReaders and other mobile devices will be "traditional" or old hat also. Just like the old bulky camcorders (remember them?) have given way to more diminutive devices.

After all, who will need ANYTHING you have to carry to compute on, or receive data on, when...

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Publishing Crossroads - The Main Intersection

Posted by John R. on Monday, November 29, 2010, In : digital publishing 
With the advent of mobile devices such as the iPad and iPhone, newspapers and magazines see a hitherto nonexistent opportunity for generating paid subscription digital versions as the new mobiles (and they WILL be proliferating like rabbits!) will be hungry for great, meaningful and pertinent content.

The publishing crossroads is a balancing act between the younger generation, used to digital media and expecting instant info, and the older generation, still loyal to print...and how to make bot...

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Market Intelligence for the Professional Publishing Industry

Posted by John R. on Friday, November 26, 2010, In : digital publishing 
In the digital publishing age a balance needs to be created between the customers' desire for immediate accessability at any time to enriched text (enhanced with audio, video, three-dimensional objects, full text searching, note taking, etc) and "...publishers’ needs for financial self-sustainability."

We are at the age where researchers can access works in the form of e-books that are accessable at any time and any place and never go out of print!

This is heavy neatness to the extreme. Publ...

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by John R. on Thursday, November 25, 2010,
Wishing ALL a very warm and exceptional Thanksgiving Day!

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B2B Publishers Gain More Investor Interest

Posted by John R. on Thursday, November 25, 2010, In : publishing 
Publishing, as a whole, has seen an uptick lately...Not B2B publishing models, however.

PaidContent.org, utilizing info from Data Explorers, a financial data aggregator which tracks stock loan information to provide insight on short selling and long-side ownership, has surmised that the B2B publishers are gaining interest and activity from investors that indicate this publishing model may be on the mend...due in some regard (I think) to improved handling of digitization.

Anyway, PaidContent has...

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Amazon's CreateSpace is on the Move!

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, November 23, 2010, In : self-publishing 
Amazon's self-publishing arm, CreateSpace, has listened to suggested improvements by many of its users and finally introduced a number of customer-friendly upgrades to improve the self-publishing experience.

More details provided by this press release from MarketWatch.com:

CreateSpace, part of the Amazon.com, Inc. group of companies, today announced an improved self-publishing experience that will help content creators set up, distribute and manage their titles more easily. These enhancements a...

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Report: 1/3 of iPad Users Don't Use Device for Reading Books!

Posted by John R. on Sunday, November 21, 2010, In : writing digital gadgets 
Well, that means 66% DO use the mobile device for reading books...And that is a great percentage!

Since the advent of the eReaders, tablets and other multitask mobile gadgets, I have felt they would encourage more reading...and especially spur book reading...if for no other reason than to be able to utilize the new fad gadgets.

I was right. And their presence has also resulted in the resuscitation of the publishing industry as a whole!

Another reason for this particular post tonight is to intro...

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Possible Resolution in the 'Rights' and 'Control' Fight Between Google and Publishers?

Posted by John R. on Friday, November 19, 2010, In : digital publishing 
Peaceful resolution may be at hand! I've posted on this issue previously several times on both this blog and Writers Welcome Blog, but I will give one reference here from Writers Welcome Blog for a little background on Google's effort to corner and monopolize digital rights to books (especially out-of-print books).

Anyway, the French publisher Hachette Livre has reached an agreement with Google that may serve as a model for other countries...It certainly is a pact that benefits all concerned (...

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How Would You Like Your Own Publishing Imprint?

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, November 17, 2010, In : publishing 
What position (or level of fame, talent) do you need to be in to be offered your own imprint by a big publisher? Well, being able to walk on water or leap skyscrapers would help.

OR, you could be the outrageously funny and popular late night E! Television show host, Chelsea Handler, who has already published three bestselling books by three different publishers!

Chelsea's imprint will be part of Grand Central Publishing (part of Hachette Book Group and formerly Warner Books) and called “Bord...

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A Good Book that not Everybody Can Get Their Hands On

Posted by John R. on Sunday, November 14, 2010, In : publishing 
A little insight into what happens when a small-selling book all of a sudden wins a prestigious award.

It throws the publisher and supply/distribution chain into a tizzy!

Zaineb al Hassani reports this current example in The National Conversation:

Last Updated: Nov 14, 2010

Having previously sold only 400 copies of her 2009 debut novel, The Sentimentalists, it's safe to say the Canadian author, Johanna Skibsrud, was as taken aback as the rest of the literary world when she scooped the coveted Sco...

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The Daily Beast Marries Newsweek--A Genius Merger

Posted by John R. on Saturday, November 13, 2010, In : Magazine Publishing 
A popular two year old start-up on the internet, full of new tech and digital savoir-faire, has taken the hand of a very traditional-published, weekly, print news mag...AND the new , young bride (The Daily Beast dot com) does NOT want the older groom (Newsweek) to change at all!

The plan for Newsweek (which does have a web page, by the way) is to mold the print weekly into the upper stratosphere of print mag popularity using some magic, digital dust from The Beast.


Can they do it? I think so! I...
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Kindle To Give 70% Royalty to Publishers

Posted by John R. on Thursday, November 11, 2010, In : digital publishing 
Starting 1 December 2010 Kindle will bump publishers' revenue share to 70% (minus delivery costs).

Delivery costs? this is something I'm still confused about. What the hell is the delivery costs for digital downloads? Maybe one of my smarter readers can enlighten me...I hope so. Even the example given in the article below doesn't add up in my petrified mind.

Anyhow, this royalty about to be introduced by Kindle proves they are eons ahead of the other eBook retailers and bookstores (and their a...

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NaNoWriMo - Another View

Posted by John R. on Monday, November 8, 2010, In : writing 
Laura Miller...a writer, editor and also co-founder of Salon.com...has a different outlook onNaNoWriMo. Her view is a little like don't bother with it. 

I can see her point that spurring writers just to write in order to complete a novel of 50,000 words in 30 days will produce a lot of crap (agreed to on the NaNoWriMo site in it's challenge pitch). And I can also see (as she does) what the bottom line purpose of the writing event is; mainly to get aspiring writers to overcome the inward super ...

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Publishers Becoming Wary of Apple

Posted by John R. on Saturday, November 6, 2010, In : digital publishing 
The fastest growing sector of publishing is in the mobiles. And Apple is in position to control...But they may be screwing up according to a new report by ABCi (Audit Bureau of Circulations 'interactive').
 
The bottom line is Apple has poor analytics and doesn't share appropriate customer data with publishers.

Steven Sande of TUAW
(The Unofficial Apple Weblog) reports this:

ABCi, the interactive media arm of the
Audit Bureau of Circulations, has issued a new report showing that American and Cana...
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Publishing's New Breed - Ten Under 30 Years Old

Posted by John R. on Thursday, November 4, 2010, In : digital publishing 
In today's media world, we have all become publishers as well as writers. This is a good thing in moving to the next, inevitable level...a level where we do more of our own thing and maintain more control of our artistic product.

However, many still aspire to and work within the corporate, publishing business. FOLIO magazine has done an excellent piece on ten of the new, young and upcoming publishing media stars (there are many others).

I'm posting this piece because it gives a neat insight in...

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The National Enquirer Hits the Dust

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, In : newspaper publishing 
The gossip and dishing rag, The National Enquirer, is filing for bankruptcy...And the paper is scrambling around to it's creditors begging them to accept it's restructuring plan so their case will fly through the courts faster.

Should they get a break? I'll let you decide. But, I would hate to see all their writers and staff lose their positions.

American Media Inc., the parent company, also publishes Star, Men's Fitness, Shape and Fit Pregnancy

More details reported in Crain's New York Busine...

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Omeka Publishing Unveils A Scholarly Site

Posted by John R. on Sunday, October 31, 2010, In : digital publishing 
Omekais geared towards the online exhibition of library, museum and archive collections. Their new scholarly site, http://www.omeka.net/ , will be a boon to researchers and advanced degree candidates...as well as other academic aficionados.

This new Omeka site will also encourage collaboration and communication; a good thing in research. 

Wonder if something like this would encourage more adult collaboration in D.C.for the good of the country?#@*! 

Just thought I'd ask.

Susan J. Campbell of TMCne...
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Want to Know What a 'Round Book' Is?

Posted by John R. on Friday, October 29, 2010, In : digital publishing 
A German author has introduced a concept for new e-books that will further differentiate them from traditional books...And, he hopes, will make them a better reading experience for readers.

The German author who is on a mission to make e-books more interactive, and with the possibility of no beginning and no end, is Juergen Neffe and his program is called Libroid.

More details by
Barry Neild for CNN :

Never-ending book heralds new chapter in e-publishing

It's an age-old problem for avid book read...

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Adobe Triumphs Over Apple's Resistance to 'Flash'

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, October 27, 2010, In : Magazine Publishing 

Conde Nast's magazine empire will be using the Adobe publishing tool to publish and sell mags on Apple's iOS...AND with the fantastic "flash" capability intact through the use of ingenious Adobe apps.

For those who aren't aware, Apple resisted the use of the fantastic "flash" technology on their new iOS/iPad outlet by not including an Apple in-house designed app to allow the great clarity and sharp graphics technology that is "flash" and sets Adobe apart from the rest in this area...including ...


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Adobe Unveils New Hosted Digital Publishing Suite

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, October 26, 2010, In : digital publishing 

Adobe, still the premier online graphic designer resource, is providing a publishing platform that will allow magazines and newspapers to publish to all the new mobile devices.

The new Adobe platform was introduced today at the start of it's Adobe Max Conference.

I learned of this cool news reading an article by
Ron Miller for Fierce Content Management:

Adobe(NASDAQ: ADBE) made several key announcements today at the launch of its Adobe Max conference including a new hosted digital publishing...


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We Now Choose Where, When and How We Read Books

Posted by John R. on Saturday, October 23, 2010, In : digital publishing 
We could always choose where and when, just not how. Technology has enabled us to receive digital, video and audio formats in almost any location and over large and small devices...Neat, no?

The introduction of eReaders, iPads, SmartPhones and iPods, etc. has actually increased the number of readers (and people interested in reading) through an intense modern obsession with gadgetry (but, our ancestors were probably taken with gadgetry, too)...If ever there was an instance where the end justif...

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How to Keep a Writer's Brain Active OR How to Avoid Senility!

Posted by John R. on Friday, October 22, 2010, In : writing 
Some days I think I'm losing my mind...or, at least, the damn thing works in slow motion (come to think of it, it did that in my younger days, too...especially after a night out gaining all that lusty-life experience). But, as I have entered the Autumn of my life, those days seem to be occurring more frequently!

So, how do we writers keep our minds in better condition, especially as we age gracefully (or not so gracefully) ?

Delia Lloyd, writing for Huffington Post, gives us 5 excellent tips:

...
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Is the Ipad Saving Newspapers?

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, October 20, 2010, In : newspaper publishing 
When the iPad was first launched, it was heralded as a strong savior for the fledgling newspaper publishing industry...Along with the magazine industry AND a rescuer of cheap 'e-retailer'- priced ebooks! 

How has the iPad been doing in the past six months since it's launch?

Amy-Mae Elliot, a staff writer for Mashable.com, gives us a good analysis:

Is the iPad Really the Savior of the Newspaper Industry? 

Even before the
iPadwas revealed, analysts, pundits and the publishing industry were already...
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Apple's Big Announcement!

Posted by John R. on Sunday, October 17, 2010, In : writing digital gadgets 
Apple is set to make a well-publicized, "surprise" announcement next Wednesday...Wonder what it will be? Usually, when Apple makes a grandiose production of a Steve Job's upcoming press show, expectations are that something truly innovative will be introduced. 

Well, I'm not the only one who is wondering.
Nick Bilton is also pondering this in his post for Technology Bits in the NY Times:

When Apple makes an announcement about a coming press event it can sometimes feel like the National Hurric...


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Digital Magazines: Paid Content vs Advertising Dollars

Posted by John R. on Friday, October 15, 2010, In : Magazine Publishing 
Something is happening in the digital magazine world that many so-called publishing gurus said would never happen!...Mainly, that online revenues could and would come from consumers willing to pay for online content...AND that this paid content would exceed advertising dollars! 

In fact, this is happening now with the
Financial Times as explained below in a cutting edge interview by FOLIO magazine's Managing Editor, Matt Kinsman, with Financial Times' CEO, John Ridding:  

Game Changers 

Back i...


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Format for Shorter E-Books Coming to Amazon/Kindle

Posted by John R. on Thursday, October 14, 2010, In : digital publishing 
Amazon is still proving it's ahead of the power curve in innovation of new publishing models and dynamics.

By introducing a shorter and cheaper model for works 10K to 30K words in length (about 30 to 90 pages of print) Amazon is climbing way out of the old established print molds for publishing; and, I might add, opening up the public to unique stories, theses and papers that were previously unavailable to the public on a large published scale...not to mention a new source of revenue for writ...

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A Particular View of Book Publishing

Posted by John R. on Monday, October 11, 2010, In : publishing 
People who have experience in the publishing world probably have varied and unique outlooks as to just what that world consists of and is (much like life itself).

Adam Langer wrote his book The Thieves of Manhattan from his own particular view and admits much of it is fiction...But, a fiction based on factual experience, if you will.

This reported in the
Northwest Indiana Times by Jane Ammeson:

If you in anyway believe that book publishing is an old-school style business, full of refined types...


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Crazy E-book Prices? Maybe Not...

Posted by John R. on Friday, October 8, 2010, In : publishing 
Another chapter RE the so-called "agency model" (where publishers and not booksellers set the book prices) and what physical book and eBook prices should be.

Please refer to the 10/5/10 post "
E-Books are Selling for More than Hardcovers!" on the Writers Welcome Blog for an interesting background.

Apparently, the sole argument put forth as to why eBooks should be cheaper than their physical counterparts is the fact that you don't have the more expensive production costs (printing, paper, binding...

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Five Publishing Companies' Financial Wellness

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, October 6, 2010, In : publishing 
Every now and then I post on some financial data in the publishing industry. Some still invest in this great but changing industry you know.

In fact, industries in a state of flux sometimes offer the best opportunities for making money investing.

Chip Brian, founder of SmarTrend, reports on high debt to income ratios for five publishing companies:

Below are the five companies in the Publishing industry with the highest Debt-to-Capital ratio. The debt-to-capital ratio is an important measure of h...

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Barnes & Noble Trumps Amazon with 'Pubit' Self-Publishing Platform

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, October 5, 2010, In : self-publishing 
You can now self-publish in the B&N eBookstore and BN.com!

The reason I say Pubit trumps Amazon is because it comes with a free conversion tool that automatically formats Microsoft Word, TXT, HTML or RTF files into the ePub file format for publication.

This is BIG. Any self-publishing author can attest to the difficulty and frustration with formatting these files for Smashwords, Amazon, iPad, etc. This is a great step forward and hopefully will be followed by the others to make digital publis...

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Insight: Making Books Less Expensive for Buyers and More Profitable for Authors

Posted by John R. on Saturday, October 2, 2010, In : publishing 
Another big house publisher has been dumped by a bestselling author...And, why not? Traditional publishing is like thick molasses pouring from a bottle when new tech has ushered in fast-pouring media.

Traditional publishing can take up to two years or more to get a book to market from contract signing! Hell, by that time the book info is probably obsolete!

Douglas Rushkoff, a bestselling author, gives a good insight into why writers are leaving the big publishing houses in this article by Pando...
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What is a 'Published, Sold Author'?

Posted by John R. on Friday, October 1, 2010, In : publishing 

Good question...And one I would have answered exactly the same as author J. S. Wayne, even before I knew of him, in an article he wrote for Wordpreneur:

One or One Hundred Million?

So you’ve finally published your first book. Whether it was self-published or you went the more traditional route, you’ve got that first, shiny-covered book in your hand. Now you can give a wave to the people who supported you. You can also do the same to the people who said, "So, when’s that book coming o...


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How About Your Own Book 'Print-On-Demand' Machine?

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, September 29, 2010, In : publishing 
How would you like a machine that prints, binds and trims bookstore-quality paperbacks with color covers in minutes?

Well, the technology is here and Xerox has it! It will be available in 2011. 

This press release is from 
Market Watch:

An innovative, on-demand book printing system that is changing the way books are published, bought and sold worldwide can now be purchased directly from Xerox Corporation. The Espresso Book Machine(R), a Xerox Solution, prints, binds and trims bookstore-quality p...

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Why Print Will Make a Comeback in 2011

Posted by John R. on Sunday, September 26, 2010, In : print 
Don't sell print short!...It seems more and more people (including execs and other professionals) may be getting fed up with being constantly plugged-in and are actually "unplugging" to get away from constant contact...AND they are turning back to the printed word.

What does this mean for content managers and marketers? Read this piece by
Joe Pulizzi from FOLIO magazine to find possibilities:

Print can still play an important role in your overall content marketing mix.

Okay...there, I said it....


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The Latest Book Sales Figures

Posted by John R. on Thursday, September 23, 2010, In : publishing 
The AAP (Association of American Publishers) has released the latest book sales figures.

The eBook sales have increased 150 to 190 percent! But, the print books did OK too...with some mostly small decreases in a few areas but increases in other areas. Not bad, in my opinion, considering the bad economy.

More details and figures are in this release from
AUTHORLINK:

New York, NY, September 22, 2010— Publishers’ book sales tracked by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for the month ...


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Ingram Book Distributors and Macmillan Publishers Form New Partnership and Business Model

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, September 22, 2010, In : book distribution 
With the new digital format demand for books plus the print on demand (POD) requirements of many, logistical requirements for delivering mixed content to ever-increasing readers became a nightmare for publishers.

One giant global publisher, Macmillan, solved this nightmare problem by joining with one of the worlds largest book distributors, Ingram Content Group, to forge a new business model.

This report from PRWeb:

Ingram Content Group Inc. and Macmillan today announced a new distribution ser...


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View From an Iraqi Bookstore

Posted by John R. on Monday, September 20, 2010, In : Bookstores 

Publishing and bookstores in the U.S. are in a turmoil due to changing business models and technology...But, how would they like to be in a turmoil due to unsafe streets, an unstable government and unreliable electricity supplies? Or even if they would be blown up when they opened their doors?

We in this country really don't have it that bad, do we?

Here is one view from an Iraqi bookstore, the Iqraa Bookstore on Mutanabi Street...which, strangely enough, has tripled in size in the last two yea...


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Apple's Digital Newsstand Far from Done Deal!

Posted by John R. on Saturday, September 18, 2010, In : digital publishing 
Apple wants to "help" newspapers and magazines sell digital versions of their products on iPad, mostly by subscription, by offering a rich digital publishing environment with text plus video. 

Sounds like it could be a good deal for newspapers and magazines, but the devil is in the details.

First, Apple wants to own the subscribers info and data and not give this info to the individual newspapers and magazines for use in their management of subscription bundling, etc, based on readership demogr...

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Create Mobile Applications Without Writing any Code

Posted by John R. on Thursday, September 16, 2010, In : publishing 
SachManya, a maker of mobile publishing tools, is launching a mobile app platform called Yapperthat will allow media publishers to create mobile apps in 30 minutes without writing any code.

Pretty neat stuff and a little bewildering to my simple mind! 

Julie Klein of VentureBeatreports more details:

SachManya is one of 70 companies chosen by VentureBeat to launch at the DEMO Fall 2010 event taking place this week in Silicon Valley. After our selection, the companies pay a fee to present. Our cov...

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Publishers: Adapt and Add Apps

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, September 14, 2010, In : publishing 
Sourcebooks Publishing is growing because it has learned one simple but very important principle: treat your employees like entrepreneurs and be open to their ideas and input.

In other words, treat them like respected partners and be transparent!

Ann Meyer reports this in the Chicago Tribune:

Book Publishing Firm Finds New Sources of Growth

As the book publishing industry undergoes a transformation, at Naperville-based Sourcebooks Inc., Dominique Raccah (pictured above) is embracing the change ...


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Taking Chances on Authors and Books that Won’t be Bestsellers

Posted by John R. on Saturday, September 11, 2010, In : publishing 
Where is all the action regarding independent publishers and new creative energy happening today?

It's taking place in Brooklyn NOT in Manhattan! And more specifically it's happening this Sunday at the fifth annual Brooklyn Book Festival...

This is a book festival that has quickly taken on an international flavor and will include a special stage devoted to international programming that will feature several famous international authors.

John Williams, writing for Publishing Perspectives, gives ...
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The Wall Street Journal to Review Books!

Posted by John R. on Friday, September 10, 2010, In : newspaper publishing 
Just when other newspapers are cutting back on such reviews, the WSJ is initiating a dedicated weekly book review section beginning this month. The former financial news staple is expanding it's content for broader appeal.

The WSJ was purchased by Rupert Murdoch back in 2007 and he appears to be trying to introduce more diversified content to attract a greater readership.

I don't usually agree with much that Rupert Murdoch thinks, subscribes to or acts upon...but, I applaud this move.

Get more ...

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The British Are Coming! The British Are Coming!...Publishing That Is

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, September 8, 2010, In : publishing 
Quercus Publishing PLC (Public Limited Company in UK), a fast-growing British company established in 2004, is opening in the U.S. and Canadian markets through a collaboration deal with Sterling Publishing, a subsidiary of Barnes & Noble.
 
Interesting side note here: Sterling, established around 1949, is noted for publishing nonfiction and Quercus is primarily known for international fiction...Looks like an expanding venue for Sterling. Their new-formed company will be known as Silver Oak

Here...

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Publishing Flourishing in India - Lessons To Be Learned?

Posted by John R. on Monday, September 6, 2010, In : publishing 
Publishing is flourishing in India because new publishers there have recognized the NewGen reader (impatient and with short attention spans). The NewGen reader wants short, racy, relatable and fast reads.

This interesting report comes from

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FastPencil Offers Big-Name Authors Speed, Simplicity and Higher Royalties

Posted by John R. on Sunday, September 5, 2010, In : self-publishing 
FastPencil is moving FAST (appropriate name) to nab established authors with their FastPencil Premiere package...A package solidified with agreements with Amazon, iPad and Barnes & Noble website outlets; plus they are working deals to sell the books in brick and mortar stores.

Anthony Ha reports these details from MediaBeat (of VentureBeat):

Campbell, Calif.-based
FastPencil tries to democratize the book worldwith Web-based book creation and publishing tools. Now it’s trying to go up-market w...
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Publisher Sues Writer Over Deadline

Posted by John R. on Thursday, September 2, 2010, In : writing 
Ah, the business of writing and publishing does go on...Intrigue, stress and pressure are a constant (though in varying degrees).

By the way, just how much does a Yahoo sports writer make now-a-days? For that matter, how much does a sports writer make working anywhere? Keep that in mind as you read the following short article. Is their salary enough to ignore a $140,000 advance? Sports writers must make a lot more than they used to! 

This rundown is by
Tim Gardner in USAToday:

Publishing house...


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A Gloden Tattoo for Random House

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, In : publishing 
Stieg Larsson's thriller series ("The Millenium-series"), which included The "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", has been a huge boon to Random House profits.

Matthew Flamm , writing today in Crain's New York Business, reports this:

The girl with the dragon tattoo has been very good to Random House.

The world’s largest consumer publisher has sold 6.5 million copies—including 1 million Kindle e-book editions—of the late Stieg Larsson’s trio of thrillers featuring the inked Swedish hacker. ...


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Books Should Reflect Cultural Messages

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, In : writing 
Books from countries around the world should...besides detailing their native country's histories and thought processes that defined those histories...address current world challenges and the particular country's feelings, thoughts and possible solutions to those challenges.

Beijing's 17th annual International Book Fair, which begins on Monday in Beijing, and which attracts more and more foreign publishers and authors, is becoming a great venue for exchange of cultural messages and increasing ...

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Self-Publishing or Traditional Publishing? Both Offer Writers ?????

Posted by John R. on Sunday, August 29, 2010, In : publishing 
Self-publishing is growing up and coming into it's own right before our eyes; but, traditional publishing (TP) still has tons to offer...and with the right flexibility and adaptability, TP will continue to offer great publishing options.

Boyd Morrison, published author of The Ark, wrote this for The Huffington Post:

To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish

When I was looking for a publisher in the olden days of 2008 (47 years ago in ebook time), it seemed clear that the way to make a living as a...


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Dreck is in the Eye of the Beholder

Posted by John R. on Thursday, August 26, 2010, In : publishing 
Dreck, defined as trash or rubbish, has become a buzz word in publishing to denote what some agent or publisher thinks is a bad manuscript/project.

Well, examining the history of traditional publishing proves their track record on what is dreck or not is pretty dismal...at best, a 50% success rate. REALLY hit and miss. Just read all the horror stories of past great writers (such as Faulkner and Hemingway) who were turned down multiple times before their masterpiece was finally published! The w...

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Digital Ads to Boost Digital Books Profits

Posted by John R. on Thursday, August 26, 2010, In : digital publishing 
With the dynamic growth of and increasing competition in the eBook world, prices are smaller for publishers.

What to do? What they have done in every other media venue...include ads! I have no problem with this if it will translate into more profits for the writers/authors also...

Read this informative article by
Joe Aimonetti for CNET Reviews :

The Wall Street Journal reportsthat iAds may appear in iBooks as publishers watch their profits dwindle amid technology advances like Apple's iPad. Th...


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Bookstores Plan Survival Parties Based on Release of "Mockingjay"

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, August 25, 2010, In : booksellers 
Talk about hard work just surviving. The much anticipated YA novel Mockingjay, the last forecasted big seller in the printed book world for the foreseeable future, has the brick and mortar bookstores jumping through hoops to put on all sorts of parties to announce it's debut...even dress-up, costume parties at midnight for goodness sake.

God bless them all! I do wish them much success because I do love bookstores and feel they will always have a place.

Things look bad for print right now, but, ...

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How Editors Should Help Writers

Posted by John R. on Monday, August 23, 2010, In : writing 

A good editor does NOT just start chopping away at a clients manuscript. They should give the entire work a complete read through first, only correcting minor and obvious punctuation errors...This is to give the editor a sense of the writers style, form and nuances.Rachel Mattison published a short, to-the-point article for Wordpreneur that gives us a good insight into how a professional editor should approach his/her job:

How to be a Professional Editor

Editing and proofing is more than...


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More on Freedom of Speech and Julian Assange (WikiLeaks)

Posted by John R. on Sunday, August 22, 2010, In : publishing 

Four days ago I posted "Is Freedom of Speech Being Chased Out of America?" which introduced the story of WikiLeaks and it's owner Julian Assange.

Julian fled to Sweden to avoid the possibility of having his site shut down here in America due to his publishing sensitive Pentagon documents...How did he get the docs and are they really worth all the fuss? I don't know. But, I do wonder about the efficiency of the Pentagon.

Anyway, here is an update on Julian Assange in Sweden from BBC news:

Swedi...


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Publishers Weekly's Annual Salary Survey

Posted by John R. on Saturday, August 21, 2010, In : publishing 
A cool look into the salaries of various professionals in the publishing industry, from executive management to editors and assistants...Interesting stuff...From the salaries, I guess publishing is surviving or at least hasn't hit rock bottom yet!

From PW:

Last year our annual salary survey asked "How Low Can You Go?" and the answer is 2.1%. That is the average industry raise reported in 2009, the lowest raise in at least six years and more than a full percentage point below the meager 3.3% rai...

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Digital Mag and Newspaper Subs Could Bring $3 Billion by 2014

Posted by John R. on Friday, August 20, 2010, In : digital publishing 

The title says it all! 

A consumer survey conducted by consultants with Oliver Wyman for Next Issue Media determined that consumers were willing to pay for good mag and newspaper digital content...Details follow from an article by
Eric Sass in MediaPostNews:

Digital issues of magazines could generate $3 billion in subscription revenues for magazine and newspaper publishers by 2014, according to a consumer survey conducted by consultants with Oliver Wyman on behalf of Next Issue Media, a consort...


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Vanity Publisher 'New Century' Sued by 16 Authors

Posted by John R. on Thursday, August 19, 2010, In : publishing 
They have snakes in every industry, but, in publishing they seem to be focused mostly in the so-called 'vanity' publishing arena.

Bruce C. Smith of the Indianapolis Star www.indystar.com  reports this story on one vanity publisher located in his state:

Vanity book publisher and former Downtown bookstore owner David William Caswell was accused in a lawsuit filed Tuesday of violating the state's deceptive consumer sales laws.

This is the third time in 20 years the Indiana attorney general has...


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Is Freedom of Speech Being Chased Out of America?

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, August 17, 2010, In : publishing 
More intrigue and suspense in the publishing world!...This time all the way to the Pentagon (I don't know which is worse at guarding it's own top secret stuff, the NSA, CIA or the Pentagon?). 

It seems the website WikiLeaks got it's hands on some loose-guarded documents RE the Afghan war and has been publishing them, much to the chagrin of Pentagon officials.

Julian Assange, WikiLeaks' owner, fearing the Pentagon will try and shut him down, has moved his servers to Sweden and will apply for a S...

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Test Code

Posted by John R. on Sunday, August 15, 2010,
<a href="http://www.hypersmash.com/hostgator/" id="TT97020175">HostGator coupon</a>
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App Developers Beware of Apple!

Posted by John R. on Sunday, August 15, 2010, In : writing digital gadgets 
"Taken together, particularly with the exclusive control over distribution, and these are the characteristics of a publisher. Apple has effectively become the only publisher for iOS, except it has done it in a way where the developers, who clearly do all of their work on speculation, are responsible if Apple’s customers return products of it there are legal issues. It’s all the upside of publishing someone else’s software with virtually none of the downside."...
Excerpt from Erik Sherma...
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Write Once Publish Everywhere

Posted by John R. on Saturday, August 14, 2010, In : publishing 
Technology has improved publishing means...AND that also includes printed word publishing as well as digital publishing.

This neat piece of information comes from FOLIO magazine and it's staff:

Publishing Technology 2010

Today, the publishing industry is being driven by technology more than ever before. As business models evolve, the right technology can make or break new products, from the back-end of a Web site to new customer-facing channels such as mobile and tablet apps.

But it’s not...


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New Mobile Magazine to Pursue Paid Subscriptions over Advertising Revenues AND Big Revenue Share with Writers

Posted by John R. on Friday, August 13, 2010, In : Magazine Publishing 
Nomad Editions, a new series of digital weeklies strictly for mobile devices, will debut in October. What sets this digital mag apart is it's business model being 180 degrees off norm...Mainly seeking it's revenue from paid subscriptions versus advertising.

NE will also be paying it's writers and editors with a generous revenue sharing program...This could be a substantial living...IF NE IS SUCCESSFUL!

Anyway, Matt Kinsman, Executive Editor of FOLIO magazine, wrote this about Nomad Editions:
...
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Can You REALLY Make Money Blogging?

Posted by John R. on Thursday, August 12, 2010, In : Blogging 
Being a blogger myself, I have often wondered and dreamed about ways to monetize blogs...

Well, I came across a Wordpreneur article by Colleen Slater that gives an excellent suggestion for monetizing your blogging experience PLUS it gives a link to many other ways to turn your blog and blogging into a money tree! 

I had to share...especially since Colleen claims to make $15,000 per month blogging:

You hear about it all the time, people who blog for money. Sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it?

I ...


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The Terminology of Publishers

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, August 10, 2010, In : publishing 

When talking about certain industries, you sometimes have to learn their inside language to truly understand their professional-speak.

Here is an article from Saint Louis Today (
www.stltoday.com) by Jane Henderson that provides clarification of some of the latest publishing and book handling terms:

Publishers sometimes use terminology differently, but
Christine Frank offers a primer on how the St. Louis Publishers Association defines common terms.

Traditional publishing (also called commercia...


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A Shortcut to Publishing for Young Writers

Posted by John R. on Sunday, August 8, 2010, In : writing 

Inkpop.com, owned by Harper Collins, is fast becoming a place where new, teen writers can share their work. Any kind of writing from poems and short stories to complete novels are accepted. Their work can get feedback from a large community and be recognized for possible publication by the big houses and/or representation by literary agents.

Cool stuff.

Inkpop.com was brought to my attention in this article from the Kansas City Star by Chuck Furlong (sorry I could not find a good link fo...


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Legal Disclaimers for Your Books

Posted by John R. on Friday, August 6, 2010, In : writing 
In a society that wants to sue everybody for anything, you need to know how to write a legal disclaimer for your book. Especially ANY book giving advice or books on health, nutrition, finances and memoirs where characters may defame another...intentionally or not.

Alicia Nicole Dunams gives some examples and some insight into how to write legal disclaimers for books in this timely article for Wordpreneur:

How to Write a Legal Disclaimer for Your Book

With a society that is often prone to rush...


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Amazon, Apple Probed for Price-Fixing!

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, August 4, 2010, In : digital publishing 
More intrigue in the digital publishing war between publishers and e-book retailers. Connecticut and Texas Attorneys General have already initiated inquiries into price-fixing by Amazon and Apple.

CNN Money dot com published this article by 
Annalyn Censky:

In the e-book price wars, Apple and Amazon might be enjoying an unfair advantage, Connecticut's Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Monday as he announced an investigation of their contracts with book publishers.

Blumenthal fired off l...


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Newsweek Sold...Will Remain a Vital News Source

Posted by John R. on Monday, August 2, 2010, In : Magazine Publishing 
When Newsweek went on the auction block back in May, some good bidders appeared...as well as some unsavory bidders. Thank the journalism god for disposing of the junk-journalistic bidders and keeping Newsweek a mainstream, professional news source!

Jason Fell of FOLIO magazine gives this account: 

The deal is done and the announcement has been made: The Washington Post Co. has wrapped up its auction of Newsweek, selling the ailing newsweekly to audio magnate Sidney Harman. The deal was announce...

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Can Content Farms Actually Improve Quality?

Posted by John R. on Sunday, August 1, 2010, In : writing 

Many people believe that content farms, that perhaps deal in quantity over quality, leads to poor quality. Well, these sites give aspiring authors a podium for sharpening their skills and should trigger more accomplished writers to improve upon sub-par articles by writing new articles on similiar subjects...Either way, these sites, I believe, have a positive function.

Have you ever read a story or article that was punctuated perfectly and otherwise textually and technically perfect also...but ...


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A Kindle for $139?

Posted by John R. on Friday, July 30, 2010, In : writing digital gadgets 
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.com
will introduce two new versions of the Kindlee-reader on Thursday, one for $139, the lowest price y...
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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...

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Constantly Changing Content Magazines on iPad

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, July 27, 2010, In : writing digital gadgets 
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...


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Digital Publishing Market is Booming in China!

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, July 27, 2010, In : digital publishing 
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...

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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...

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How Self-publishing Affects a Writer's Career

Posted by John R. on Sunday, July 25, 2010, In : self-publishing 
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...

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Could FTC Internet Proposals Hurt Journalism ?

Posted by John R. on Friday, July 23, 2010, In : digital publishing 

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 ...


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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...

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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...


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Book Marketing Tips to Bond with Readers

Posted by John R. on Monday, July 19, 2010, In : book & author promotion 
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...


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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...

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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...

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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...


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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 ...

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Over 100 Million Reading Newspapers On The Web

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, July 14, 2010, In : digital publishing 
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 ...

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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 ...

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"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...


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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...


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Self-publishing is Coming-of-Age!

Posted by John R. on Thursday, July 8, 2010, In : self-publishing 
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...

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Magnify.net to Offer Curated Video Content (CVC)

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, July 7, 2010, In : digital publishing 

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...


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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'...


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Monetizing Real-time Online Content

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, July 6, 2010, In : digital publishing 
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...

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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...


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Make Your Own Book Trailer Videos!

Posted by John R. on Saturday, July 3, 2010, In : book & author promotion 
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...

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Smashwords Forms E-book Partnership with Wattpad

Posted by John R. on Friday, July 2, 2010, In : self-publishing 
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 ...

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Does iPhone4 Suck or Not?

Posted by John R. on Thursday, July 1, 2010, In : writing digital gadgets 
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. ...

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Delving into Self-publishing

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, June 30, 2010, In : self-publishing 

Today's post is introducing a blog and website that gives insight from authors who have actually self-published...There are nuggets to be mined from this resource for those who are thinking about self-publishing or want to learn more about self-publishing and marketing books online.

This press release from prlog.org:


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 29, 2010 – Dearborn, MI – June 29, 2010 – Today, jexbo.com, the site that helps self-published authors sell books on...


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Book Marketing Lies

Posted by John R. on Sunday, June 27, 2010, In : book & author promotion 

Are all the book marketing gurus REALLY giving you straight talk? Or are they bull-shitting you to make a buck? 

In my opinion, most are bull-shitting simply because they don't understand the new dynamics of the fast-changing publishing world and the new publishing devices and technology that have created new business models and ways of doing publishing business...Including where and how to market.  


Christopher Kokoski
 wrote this for Wordpreneur:

If you’re like me, you have a book and the pas...


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Self-publish Books? Why Not Magazines?

Posted by John R. on Thursday, June 24, 2010, In : self-publishing 

Nice little tid-bit of interesting publishing-simplified news. This from Christopher Nulla technology writer for Yahoo! News:

Not everyone has it in them to write the
great American novel. Some of you may have more skimmable ambitions — to create your own magazine.

I love magazines, but I know firsthand how difficult they can be for amateurs to create. The printing and distribution process is the real killer: Commercial printers cost a small fortune to use, and getting magazines into the ...


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How To Handle Reviews (Toss Um!)

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, June 23, 2010, In : writing 
Reviews are a mixed bag! Do you need them? Maybe, maybe not. BUT, one bad review can throw your whole mental state into a tizzy and cancel out any good ones if you let it!...That's assuming you got some good reviews...Either way, in the long run they really don't mean much...Sales do...and good sales mean the buying public liked your book well enough! 

Carrie Vaughn, author of the Kitty werewolf series, offers this about reviews in a post on the GENREALTY blog:


I’ve got two books coming ou...


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Writing Better Dialogue

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, June 22, 2010, In : writing 
You absolutely MUST have dialogue in your stories, both fiction AND nonfiction...It blasts your story from one dimensional to three dimensional instantly! And talk about character development! Dialogue builds character faster and deeper than any other writing element...such as narrative, action or setting.

Here is an informative post by
Brad Vertrees on five things he's learned to write better dialogue:

5 Lessons I've Learned About Writing Dialog In Fiction


This post, from Brad Vertrees, ...


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What Do You Mean My Manuscript Was Rejected!?

Posted by John R. on Sunday, June 20, 2010, In : writing 

Since rejections are all vanilla, generic and boilerplate yakety yak, it is nice when professionals write about rejection details. I am proud to present the following post with it's informative links:

This post, from
Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen, originally appeared on her Quips and Tips For Successful Writersblog on 10/24/08. Even if you intend to self-publish, this list of traps to avoid will still have some applicable wisdom for your work-in-progress.

These 17 reasons book manuscripts are rejecte...


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You Want Tense? Try Writing It!

Posted by John R. on Friday, June 18, 2010, In : writing 
Should I write my story in present or past tense ? A question often asked. (We won't talk about future tense in this discussion.)

Why not write your story in both tenses, if that's what it takes! As long as it's done without confusing the reader. I like to think that authors can zip between tenses freely if they want to establish different times and eras to connect actions, make a point, show growth or connect resulting outcomes.

Example: A writer of his memoir narrating as an adult about actio...

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When Should You Write for Free?...And When Not!

Posted by John R. on Thursday, June 17, 2010, In : writing 
Give my writing away? Hell no!...I used to think. Then I learned, especially as a newbie wanting to establish a presence, that it was better to advertise some of your work for free to get known and accumulate a following...build a platform, so to speak, from which to launch your bigger works for sale...Look at it as writing your advertising.
Yuwanda Black (pictured) is an author and speaker who wrote a great article for Wordpreneur giving some excellent pointers on when your writing should b...

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How to Become a Better Writer

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, June 15, 2010, In : writing 

More advice for writers, especially aspiring writers.

Want to kick-start your initial writing career or jump-start an old one in a slump? There are certain things you can do to help you go to the next level and Rob Parnell, founder of the Easy Way to Write, has listed a few good ones in an article he wrote for Wordpreneur.

I just discovered Rob and his work and I'm impressed! I am proud to present his article here:

Becoming a Writer

The urge to write fiction seems God given for some, a lea...


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So You Wanna Publish a Book

Posted by John R. on Sunday, June 13, 2010, In : publishing 

I found this cute, but informative, refresher article on the steps to publishing your book with a traditional publisher. The author, name not given, was referring to nonfiction, however, when discussing writing a book proposal for approval and securing an agent before actually writing the book (step 1 in the article). Fiction works require you to submit an entire finished manuscript in most cases.

Those of you who have never seen the actual steps quantified will learn much from this post and t...


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How To Write a Press Release That Makes News

Posted by John R. on Saturday, June 12, 2010, In : writing 
Tips for writing press releases today. Whether you are traditional publishing or self-publishing, knowing how to write a good press release for your book is essential for getting more news outlets interested in covering you and your book.
Here are ten tips offered by Susan Valeri, a book and small business publicist, in an article she wrote for Wordpreneur:

Keep these few crucial details in mind when writing and submitting your press release to increase your chances of news coverage:

1. If...


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A Peek Inside Book Publishers Numbers

Posted by John R. on Friday, June 11, 2010, In : publishing 

This industry intelligence report by First Research on the book publishing industry is a 2009 report, but gives us a good peek into some of this industry's numbers, competitve landscape, products, operations and technology. This kind of data tracking is for serious researchers of this industry and full reports have to be purchased ($129/report) or subscribed to (First Research has reports on numerous industries other than publishing).

First Research, a D&B company, is the leading provid...


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iPhone 4 Takes Center Stage

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, June 9, 2010, In : writing digital gadgets 
The much anticipated iPhone 4 danced into reality as Steve Jobs introduced and demonstrated the device at the WWDC yesterday. The crown jewel of the digital delight appeared to be the face-to-face video phone app known as FaceTime.

Nicholas Kolakowski, reporting for eWeek dot com today:

Apple CEO Steve Jobs debuted the iPhone 4, the company's next-generation smartphone, during the opening day of the 2010 Worldwide Developers Conference. Analysts' reviews have generally been strong, praising fea...

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Can iPad Resuscitate Magazines?

Posted by John R. on Sunday, June 6, 2010, In : digital publishing 

Maybe...The iPad offers a more personal experience than computers and more graphics and peripherals than eReaders...but, will readers pay for the mag content...much less invest in the expense of the iPad to begin with?

I feel they will...IF the content is relevent, interactive, well written and not available elsewhere. Afterall, content that people want is king!   

Benny Evangelista, who writes technology for the SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle), has this view:

For the magazine industry, App...


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Making Time To Write

Posted by John R. on Saturday, June 5, 2010, In : writing 

You want to make time to write on a consistent basis? To finally finish that masterpiece...Then, my friend, you need a PLAN! And I found someone who has an excellent approach to finding and scheduling time...Patty Apostolides...And she writes about it in this article for Wordpreneur: 

Finding the time to write a novel is one of the major issues confronting writers, particularly those who haven’t been published yet. How does one justify to themselves, or to their loved ones, that they need ti...


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How Would Your Site or Blog Look on iPad?

Posted by John R. on Thursday, June 3, 2010, In : digital publishing 

Since I'm a poor slob, I don't own an iPad yet...And I'm sure many more don't either. But, never mind, look what I just found that allows you to view how your site would download (or upload?) to iPad:

From Wordpreneur:

Unless you’ve been really out of the loop recently, you’ve heard of the Apple iPad. Watch it and its kin closely — it’s a major tech movement.

Just like it’s wise to test our sites/blogs on various browsers, it behooves us to check and see what we look like on an iPad....


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How To Be a Successful Author

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, June 1, 2010, In : writing 

How can I be a successful writer? A question asked by ALL newbies...Well, one way is to follow lessons learned from more experienced writers who are willing to share...Such is Bob Baker (pictured) who is a full-time author and independent publisher who wrote this excellent advice for Wordpreneur:

Are you a curious person? I am. Especially when it comes to people who have taken action to achieve worthy and creative goals. Whenever I meet a successful author, musician, artist, actor or whatever,...


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Have a Great Memorial Day!

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...


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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...


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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 ...


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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...


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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 ...


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iPad Apps Rocks!

Posted by John R. on Thursday, May 27, 2010, In : digital publishing 

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 ...


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E-books No Party Crasher At BookExpo America

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, May 26, 2010, In : digital publishing 

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:

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The New Middle Ground Publishing

Posted by John R. on Monday, May 24, 2010, In : digital 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 ...


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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...

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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...

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How Do Publishers Handle Worldwide Digital Revenue?

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, May 19, 2010, In : digital publishing 
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...


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Very Short Story (#vss) Twitter Fiction

Posted by John R. on Tuesday, May 18, 2010, In : self-publishing 
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Ididn'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...
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Are Writers' Dreams of Riches Now Unrealistic?

Posted by John R. on Sunday, May 16, 2010, In : digital publishing 
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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...

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Write That eBook Inside You!

Posted by John R. on Friday, May 14, 2010, In : digital publishing 
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...


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Borders Launches e-Books and Kobo Readers

Posted by John R. on Friday, May 14, 2010, In : digital publishing 

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 ...


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Amazon To Start Charging for More Bestselling eBooks

Posted by John R. on Thursday, May 13, 2010, In : digital publishing 

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...


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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...


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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...

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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...
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Digital Publishing Digs In at Simon & Schuster

Posted by John R. on Saturday, May 8, 2010, In : digital publishing 
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...


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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:...


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Author Promotion-Using Creative PR to Become an Expert Celebrity

Posted by John R. on Friday, May 7, 2010, In : book & author promotion 
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...

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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...


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BookTour.com - A Good Writers Tool

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, May 5, 2010, In : book & author promotion 
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...


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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...


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Book Publishing is Simply Becoming Self-Publishing

Posted by John R. on Saturday, May 1, 2010, In : 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...


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DIY Authors Conference & Marketplace

Posted by John R. on Saturday, May 1, 2010, In : self-publishing 
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...

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Adobe vs Apple - More Intrigue!

Posted by John R. on Friday, April 30, 2010, In : writing digital gadgets 

Why can't people just get along? There is no good reason (unless it's hidden) why Adobe shouldn't be allowed on iPhone...It won't stop Apple from continued development in mobile techs such as HTML5, etc, etc and blah, blah.

This report by 
Stephen Shankland on cnet: 

In a rare
open letter published Thursday, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs has detailed the technological reasons behind his company's refusal to let Adobe Systems' Flash Player onto the iPhone: he thinks it's a relic, not the futu...


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Book Statistics-Which Are Winning

Posted by John R. on Thursday, April 29, 2010, In : publishing 
Some interesting book, publishing and production stats from R. R. Bowker Company...and a little about Bowker, the guardian and issuer of ISBN's; also the world's leading provider of bibliographic information management solutions designed to help publishers, booksellers, and libraries better serve their customers. 

Increases in tech and finance titles offset continuing decline in fiction; Explosive growth in “print on demand” drives total production past the million mark.


Bowker, the global...
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Self-Publishers Online Conference (SPOC) Will Highlight Two Key Trends: The Rise in Self-Publishing and Virtual Events

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, In : self-publishing 
Want to get the latest on self-publishing? The second annual Self-Publishers Online Conference coming 12 - 14 May, 2010 is an excellent place to get expert advice and attend virtual seminars, exhibit halls, conference rooms and briefings by industry insiders...AND from the comfort of your own home...AND for free!...What a deal...

Press release from Send2Press edited by Debra Tone

Recession or no, more books are being published now than at any time in history. Yet attendance at publishing ind...

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How Publishers Can Survive Change

Posted by John R. on Sunday, April 25, 2010, In : digital publishing 

This post highlights what two young publishers are doing successfully to save their alt-weekly newspaper in Tampa. Quite innovative use of so-called "community journalists" to produce fresh, ever-relevent, street content. The only thing: passion is a must.

This from WebProNews: 



The publishing industry has changed dramatically over the past few years and will continue to do so moving forward. As a result, traditional journalists are being forced to re-invent the industry. At SXSW, WebProNewsspo...


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Books: Keep 'Em or Toss 'Em?

Posted by John R. on Saturday, April 24, 2010, In : writing 

Why do we keep books after we read them? We liked the story and may want to read again someday? We liked the author's writing style? We liked the subject matter and want to keep as a reference? We liked the setting and mood? We liked the characters?

 
      Rosemary

Rosemary Clement-Moore, a fine author of many YA novels and contributor to GENREALITY  blog, keeps books because she likes and/or can identify somehow with the characters...A good reason...and she says:

Keep it or kick it to the curb?...


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Different is Good

Posted by John R. on Thursday, April 22, 2010, In : writing 

Different is the same as unique...and that's good in writing. You can learn just so much from established, experienced authors; then you must strike out alone and let your own imagination and iteration of it fly!...and realize that some of the experts that initially gave you advice will be different from you and not like all your approaches (as you probably don't like all of theirs, right?).

This is by Candace Havens who contributes to the GENREALTY Blog:


  Candace Havens 

I’m going on the rec...


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The Great Chain of Publishing Is Broken

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, April 21, 2010, In : publishing 

This is a wonderful post about a small, independent, non-profit publisher who came across a little manuscript that was rejected by many of the big boys; loved it, even though it went against the grain of the current formulaic successful-seller, and gave birth to a Pulitzer Prize winner! A true literary happening!

Marion Maneker, writing for Slate's blog The Big Money, reported on this inspiring event thusly:  

Today's
New York Times traces the back storyof Paul Harding's "Cinderella" Pulitzer P...


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Where to Find Advertisers for Your eBook

Posted by John R. on Monday, April 19, 2010, In : digital publishing 

Have you ever thought about making money on your eBook by running ads inside the eBook pages? A thought, anyway... AND a possible income stream...I'm not sure how I feel about this yet, but I will throw this concept out there with the following article from Wordpreneur by Eldon Sarte


We all know we can sell our ebooks. And give them away for free. And give them away for free plus get revenue for running paid advertisements within them, just like magazines — and many ezines — do. So why d...


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Who Makes Blackberry Phones, Anyway?

Posted by John R. on Sunday, April 18, 2010, In : writing digital gadgets 
I got to wondering about iPads, iPhones, tablets, laptops, slates, etc, etc and THEN I progressed to who made them and thought of them in the first place! ANYWAY, today I found this interesting history of the Blackberry on eHow.com written
By
Dennie Ho, eHow Contributing Writer:

Offering the capability of real time email in any location, the BlackBerry Smartphone has become a popular wireless handheld device. Designed and developed by the Canadian company Research in Motion (RIM), the abili...


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WePad Coming From Germany To Challenge iPad

Posted by John R. Austin on Friday, April 16, 2010, In : digital publishing 
I first discussed the WePad about two weeks ago in my other blog http://alturl.com/4z88 It's advanced press indicates the WePad has all the iPad contains PLUS many extras (like flash video, a Linux OS and USB ports). 

This is from TechTremor.com written by David(BTW, David, you should tell TechTremor to at least list your last name & give a little more bio on YOU):  



Neofonie GmbH
, a Berlin based company, is set to release a Tablet PC called “WePad” that rivals Apple’s iPad, in July of th...
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Publishing Execs to Discuss E-Reader Content Opportunities at London Book Fair

Posted by John R. on Thursday, April 15, 2010, In : publishing 

Big challenges to be debated by big players RE book rights across ever-increasing digital channels...as well as print, audio and film...all to take place at the London Book Fair 2010 next week...Should be an interesting fair that could produce industry-changing guidelines!  

The following press release is for LibreDigital by Heidi Johnson, heidi.johnson@virtualprdirector.com

LibreDigital CEO Russell P. Reeder to Host Discussion with Executives from Barnes & Noble, Entourage Systems, Hachette L...


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High U.S. Demand Delays Global Release of iPad!

Posted by John R. on Wednesday, April 14, 2010, In : digital publishing 

Is the Apple iPad a success? I guess so as evidenced by the sales numbers! Good gosh, they can't seem to keep up with the demand...I wish I had a piece of this action!

Oh well, this from the New York Times:


Responding to strong demand in the United States for its iPad, Applesaid Wednesday that it would delay the worldwide release of the tablet computer for a month.

“Faced with this surprisingly strong U.S. demand, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the international launch ...


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Adobe's InDesign CS5 Powers the Transition to Digital Publishing

Posted by John R. on Monday, April 12, 2010, In : publishing 
I have always LOVED Adobe and their products...and now they are outdoing past achievements with agressive leadership in digital publishing! The new interactivity and time-saving work-flows in their publishing software are stupendous! 

This press release from BusinessWire paints a pretty picture of Adobe's "InDesign CS5":

Adobe InDesign CS5 enables creative professionals to deliver digital documents that include interactivity, animation, video and audio -- connecting people to page content in in...
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Critiquing One's Work Is Important But a Delicate Thing

Posted by John R. on Sunday, April 11, 2010,
Getting and giving critiques in the writing world is a must; but some of us hesitate about critiquing other's work. Do not NOT critique when asked...Just be honest, gently when necessary, and always show what you think is an improvement over any perceived weaknesses...After all, the critiquee does NOT have to take your advice and may think your masterpiece critique just SUCKS!...Right? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But, the whole critiquing experience is a growing experience for all c...
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How To Approach a Literary Agent In-Person

Posted by John R. on Saturday, April 10, 2010, In : publishing 

Ever wonder how to talk to a real, live agent face-to-face about your project? How are you going to make your pitch? For those who have no experience in this area yet...it's a good idea to get some pointers and PRACTICE! Especially if you have a chance to go to a writers conference where agents will be in attendance.



Rosemary Clement-Moore, a published writer of YA fiction, has some excellent pointers she shared on the GENREALITY blog: 

I’m speaking this weekend at the DFW Writers Conference ...


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Authors and Self-Publishers Learn the Latest in the Business of Book Publishing!

Posted by John R. on Friday, April 9, 2010, In : publishing 
I'm always happy to pass along interesting info on the business of book publishing. Here for you is an announcement  by Debra Tone of Send2Press Newswire RE an online FREE three day conference taking place next month

The second annual Self-Publishers Online Conference (SPOC) gives entrepreneurial writers, authors, and publishers the opportunity to learn from experts in book publishing from the convenience of their own office. At SPOC, everyone is encouraged to "Live Long and Publish!" This thr...

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What Chef Ramsay Can Teach Writers

Posted by John R. on Thursday, April 8, 2010, In : writing 
Bob Mayer, a contributing writer on GENREALTY Blog, former green Beret and published author, has some excellent advice and guidance RE focus and discipline in reaching your writing goals. I do take exception to a few of his thoughts (very few) and I have noted those in the body of his post below. But, overall he is right on in this writer's opinion.  

Bob Mayer:
Are you striving to survive or striving to succeed?

Warrior Writer works because other successful people use the same basic strategi...


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About Me


John R. Austin 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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