writers-thought-for-today

Writers Thought for Today Blog Getting Makeover

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 05:44:36 +0100

"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...

CES 2011 Introduces True iPad Killer: Motorola's XOOM

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 03:52:44 +0100

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 that I fall victim to shiny objects at trade shows, and I regularly call every new tablet an iPad Killer. But now, really, I've found it.

OK, it may sound like I'm the boy who cried wolf - but Motorola's new XOOM tablet is poised to become THE best non iPad tablet on the market when it ships later this year.

Why? Well first, it's the first tablet to run on the Honeycomb variant of Android, which offers a variety of cool new capabilities. But the Motorola software load is what makes the real difference. It intelligently anticipates its position, rearranges the interface, and has a quality of finish that you just don't see in most other Android tablets.

Read and learn more as well as view a terrific demo video...

The Voice is Gone from The Village Voice

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 04:28:39 +0100

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.

Tom Robbins, another long time expose star, is also leaving to show support for Mr. Barrett...indicating it simply would not be the same there without his friend and colleague.

I hate to see a worthwhile paper like the Voice failing (and possibly compounding that failure with bad management and visionary decisions).

More details in this New York Times article by Jeremy W. Peters:

2 Veterans Leave Village Voice

What becomes of New York’s most formidable muckraking paper when two of its greatest muckrakers are gone?

The Village Voice, the granddaddy of alternative weeklies, which enlivened political and investigative journalism in New York through its scrappy, hold-nothing-sacred approach, has lost Wayne Barrett and Tom Robbins, two journalists who helped define the paper’s modern era.

Mr. Barrett’s departure was a sign of the financial strain facing The Voice and print media: he said he was let go because he was too expensive to keep on staff. Mr. Robbins’s exit showed how unpalatable the professional choices facing journalists today can be: he said he would quit the paper at the end of January in a show of solidarity with Mr. Barrett, despite having no other job lined up.

The Voice without either man, some prominent New Yorkers said, is difficult to imagine. And their leaving raises questions about what kind of future the paper has in the city whose politics it fermented and culture it shaped.

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

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 05:22:31 +0100

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-transformed (like past tense)? I meant to say something that would convey a new state of "continuous transformation...evolving"...Sort of like a giant blob. Remember that old, class B, horror flick with Steve McQueen, The Blob?

I think we are just beginning to scratch the surface of what is definitely destined to be a wide-open, lucrative (though still hidden in many ways) and mach-speed-changing industry.

If only I had the intelligence to interpret all the possibilities right now!

This blurb from Website Magazine:

E-readers are Rewriting Retailers’ Bestseller Lists

While many in the traditional publishing industry couldn’t wait to close the books on 2010, the makers of the leading e-book readers were trumpeting their record-setting year-end sales of the devices.

Earlier this week, Amazon announced that its third-generation Kindle is now the best-selling item in the company’s history after recently overtaking the "Deathly Hallows" seventh book in the Harry Potter series. Not to be outdone, Barnes and Noble announced on Thursday that its e-reader, the Nook, now qualifies as B&N’s all-time bestseller.

The Nook Color, introduced in October, was Barnes and Noble’s leading holiday seller, the company said. The statement released also included the news that Barnes and Noble now sells more e-books than traditional books through its online bookstore. On Christmas Day, the company reported, customers bought or downloaded close to one million e-books during the 24-hour span.

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Some Publishing Predictions

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 22:51:59 +0100

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 mattered most to our readers. Looking back at these headlines, we can see the hopes, fears, and distractions that obsessed the publishing industry in 2010. Follow this link to see the rest of the year unfold.

1. Predictions for 2011 from Smashwords Founder
2. How Timothy Ferriss Hit the Amazon Bestseller List
3. Kindle Books Can Now Be Loaned
4. Best Books of 2010: A Free Literary Sampler
5. Writers Rally To Support Novelist Charles Bock & His Family
6. Amazon Gives Authors Free Access to Nielsen BookScan’s Sales Data
7. Water for Elephants Official Trailer Released
8. Barack Obama & Sarah Palin Star in Archie Comics
9. Broadcastr Debuts at the eBook Summit
10. Writers Included on List of ’10 Careers With High Rates of Depression’

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How Books Need to be Packaged, Bundled and Sold

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 23:54:00 +0100

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 worldwide distribution rights for No Limit Publishing for a minimum of three years with renewals.

More details provided in this press release from PRWeb:

Monumental Shift for Book Publishing Industry as Best-Selling Author Steve Farber Signs Deal Repurchasing Rights to his Top 100 Business Book

The No Limit Publishing Group and best-selling author Steve Farber announced today a signed unprecedented deal following Farber's high five-figure repurchase of all rights to his best-selling leadership books Radical Leap and Radical Edge from Kaplan Publishing.

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) December 29, 2010

No Limit Publishing Group and best-selling author Steve Farber announced today a signed unprecedented deal following Farber's high five-figure repurchase of all rights to his best-selling leadership books Radical Leap and Radical Edge from Kaplan Publishing.

"We are extremely excited to sign such a prolific author to our thought Leader imprint and show the publishing industry that authors and publishers can truly partner in this world and that there is a third option that solves the economical injustice of traditional deals, while simultaneously solving the myriad of quality, marketing and distribution issues with authors who choose to self-publish," said Chris J. Snook, Editor-In-Chief of No Limit Publishing, following the deal signing on December 23 in San Diego, Calif.

"The Farber Deal" will consist of a co-investment by each party, a lucrative author-buyback provision, 50/50 split on net royalties for both digital and print formats and worldwide distribution rights for No Limit Publishing for a minimum of three years with renewals.

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Self-Published "Pleased But Not Satisfied" Topseller for Bookworm

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 03:06:34 +0100

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 essentially twofold...to introduce you to both a great book on business written in down-to-earth language, as well as Bookworm, another top online book publisher with their own bookstore.

Claire Kirch of Publishers Weekly reported these details:

Self-Published Title Bookworm's Top Seller

A self-published business management book written by an Omaha native and longtime Bookworm customer that’s offered exclusively through that bookstore since 2008 has been its topselling book for more than two years. Approximately 8,000 copies of Pleased But Not Satisfied by David Sokol have been sold to date – many of them to customers from all over the world through the store’s Web site.

In comparison, the Bookworm’s second bestselling title is The Help by Kathryn Stockett, which has sold approximately 800 copies since its February 2009 publication. “It’s because of who the author is that the book is a bestseller,” insisted Beth Black, co-owner of the Bookworm. Sokol is the chairman of MidAmerican Energy Holdings, one of mega-corporation Berkshire Hathaway’s most important subsidiaries. If – even though Pleased But Not Satisfied is his only published work – Sokol’s name sounds familiar to some book people, it might be because speculation has been building that Sokol may become Berkshire Hathaway’s next chairman and CEO, succeeding Warren Buffett, 80, the world’s third wealthiest man as of 2010.

In Pleased But Not Satisfied, Sokol explains his philosophy of adhering to the core basics of business management in order to create long-term value in any enterprise. The book’s preface is written by Walter Scott, Jr., former CEO of Peter Kiewit Sons’ Inc, and the foreword by Buffett.

The 129-page book retails for $19.95, with the profits going to Sokol’s MidAmerican Energy Foundation, established in 1999 after Sokol’s teenage son died of cancer. The charitable foundation supports educational, arts, and cultural organizations in the communities where MidAmerican Energy maintains operations. The Bookworm buys copies at a short 30% discount, store manager Diana Abbott explained, so that the foundation can make “significantly more” of a profit than they would if the store asked for the standard 40%-45% discount. “It’s karma,” Abbott explained, “It’s a not-for-profit book, and we’re being offered it exclusively. We’d rather the foundation get more money."

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Google Making Down Under It's Up Over!

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 01:26:56 +0100

"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 connect the points in this ecosystem with their eBookstore. The Google eBookstore is currently only available in the U.S. but will be opening in Australia next and going global soon.

Google's eBook executive and point man in Australia is Mark Tanner (pictured).

Here then is 'The eBook Executive with the Google Tattoo' by Renai LeMay:

When you ask Google’s Mark Tanner what books he’s been reading recently, you had better have a few minutes to discuss the subject, because the enthusiasm bursts out of him wholesale. “I just finished Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut,” he says, referring to the science fiction classic. “Fantastic read.”

Lots of people in Australia’s IT industry are into sci-fi — and we’re betting many Google staffers love fantasy too. But sports books are also on Tanner’s radar. He’s also been recently reading Andre Agassi’s autobiography, Open, for example, which chronicles the life and times of the international tennis megastar. And then there’s Greg Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea — an inspirational read which tells of the author’s gargantuan yet human effort constructing schools across Asia.

Hard science is also on Tanner’s shelf; “I started reading A Brief History of Time,” he says, referring to the popular book by British physicist Stephen Hawking, “and like everyone else failed by the sixth chapter”. Now he’s reading Hawking’s follow-up book A Briefer History of Time.

In a way, you might say, Tanner’s a typical book buff — multiple books on the go, in multiple genres, some unfinished, a giant set of bookcases at home with volumes gathering dust and piled everywhere. However, Tanner’s not just any book industry executive — he’s Google’s strategic partner development manager in Australia for the publishing industry. And so it’s the way he has increasingly started reading books that gives us a clue into the future of book publishing.

For example, when the executive was reading Agassi’s autobiography, he says, he wasn’t just flipping through the pages of a paper tome. Instead — because he was reading the book through a web browser — he kept on taking advantages of the inherent strengths of the emerging digital medium.

“You’re reading online, and then you come across this match he talks about,” he says. Then, Tanner says, you open a new tab in your browser and Google the match Agassi’s describing, to find a YouTube clip of the highlights. Or, he adds, “you come across an old tennis player you haven’t heard of” — and Google them.

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How Jackie Kennedy Onassis Became an Editor

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 04:46:42 +0100

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 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

By Greg Lawrence.

Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press. 322 pp. $25.99

READING JACKIE

Her Autobiography in Books

By William Kuhn.

Nan A. Talese/Doubleday. 350 pp. $27.95

Competing books always bring out the best in everybody. These two accounts of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis's 19 years as a book editor are hitting bookstores within days of each other, and the fur has already started flying. (The launch of "Jackie as Editor" was accelerated to early January to go head-to-head with "Reading Jackie.") In a recent newspaper article, William Kuhn, author of "Reading Jackie," characterized Greg Lawrence, author of "Jackie as Editor," as "difficult." And that's just a preview of what he prints about Lawrence in his book: "high maintenance," "he's the problem," etc., according to people who worked with Lawrence at Doubleday (which is, perhaps not coincidentally, publishing Kuhn's book). Some of these same people appear - surprise - in a less flattering light in Lawrence's version.

This was probably inevitable. Lawrence was one of Jackie's authors - he wrote three books for her with his former wife, ballerina Gelsey Kirkland, so he is fair game for his rival biographer. And like Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold in "Gigi," they remember things, well, differently. How did reviewers take to Kirkland's first book? In Lawrence's view, they were "pretty much evenly divided." From Kuhn's perspective, they were "almost universally hostile." Kuhn has a Doubleday veteran saying Jackie had little personal contact with Lawrence and Kirkland. Lawrence remembers her as "our special friend and ally - our own fairy godmother and prodding mother hen." And so on. This kind of literary food fight over an American icon can be a lot of fun to watch (though, perhaps, not for the authors), but what about the books themselves?

Kuhn, a historian, tries to take the high ground and present himself as more authoritative, but Lawrence is just as knowledgeable (for one thing, he interviewed more people than Kuhn), and, in fact, they rarely disagree about anything (except Lawrence). The Jackie who appears in both books is (as she was) a well-liked, respected colleague, often slyly funny and not given to showboating, unless just walking down the hall as the most famous woman on Earth can be called showboating. I worked in publishing during the same time Jackie did, and given the musical-chairs nature of jobs in that industry, I knew, or came to know, many of the people who worked with her and most of the people quoted here, so I can attest that both books have gone to the right sources for an inside look. Between them, the authors seem to have talked to everybody who's still around, followed every one of her titles (nearly 100) to press, and collected the usual sprinkling of personal anecdotes (often the same ones). And the story they tell is essentially the same.

Jackie went to work, they agree, because after the death of her husband Aristotle Onassis in 1975, with her children no longer small, she found herself at loose ends. As Jimmy Breslin (a friend) said, "What do you think you're going to do, attend openings for the rest of your life?" A lunch was arranged with another friend, Tom Guinzburg, publisher (and then owner) of Viking Press, and Jackie was hired as a consulting editor, four days a week at $200 per. Since she brought no experience to the job (besides an impressive Rolodex), a few eyebrows were raised, but not many - it was an easy landing. Jackie was not expected to do much heavy lifting, but she proved eager to learn the ropes, the staff was friendly and protective, and Viking was then still a classy independent publisher staffed with powerful (now legendary) editors, exactly the sort of bookish and collegial house that would suit her best.

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Books To Always Be...Publishers Not To Be

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 05:05:32 +0100

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 business model, as well. Must be an all-inclusive "all-inclusive" business model that is unfolding before our eyes.

And what is making all this possible? Of course, it's new technology. Starting with the internet itself , encompassing mobiles, tablets and flashing ahead with lightning speed to the "next-whatever".

Publishing is now more fun for more people...Question is, how profitable? I suspect the old staples of good writing and great marketing will do the exact same job for remuneration as they did before the pub-tech renaissance.

This visionary article by John Naughton from the Guardian:

Publishers take note: the iPad is altering the very concept of a 'book'
If the success of Amazon's Kindle has made print publishers relax, they're in for a nasty surprise

One of the glories of our print culture is the Economist, a magazine that combines eccentric, neoliberal editorial views with excellent, well-informed reporting. I have been a subscriber to it for more years than I care to remember and every weekend have tried to carve out the 90 minutes of undivided attention that it demands. It turns out that I am a perfectly normal customer in this respect.

In November 2009, I went to a talk given by Andrew Rashbass, CEO of the Economist, about the company's digital strategy. He related how he had commissioned research in a large number of countries into how subscribers in those territories used the publication. The message that came back was consistent: people who buy the Economist make a weekly "appointment" with the magazine – time that they set aside to read it. The conclusion: publications such as the Economist provide "immersive reading experiences", something that the web could not provide.

Under questioning, Rashbass was coy about what his digital strategy involved, but it was clear to all in the room that he was pinning his hopes on what was at the time a purely mythical product, the device that eventually materialised as the Apple iPad.

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