This from the Business of News SmartBrief:
E-books and video are on tap from NBC News, which launched a publishing unit. The company said the expanding notion of a book amid increasing possibilities offered by digital media will allow it to provide a more "immersive" reading experience. NBC has some experience in the field, having worked with Penguin and The Perseus Books Group on enhanced e-books. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/Media Decoder blog
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
If the rumor is true: Apple is about to start a self-publishing business
This Jan. 9, 2012 news could be great for authors or doom for ebooks. What do you think?
"We broke the news last week that Apple is in development of a self-publishing program and many leading websites such as Media Bistro, Paidcontent, and tons of others. The essence of our writeup was that Apple will be holding an event at the end of the month where they are expected to take the wraps off of their self-publishing program for iBooks. This may benefit indie authors that want to submit directly to the service and not be forcibly relegated to doing business with various Aggregators. What does it mean for these companies if Apple starts their own program?
iBooks only launched in the last few years and has been playing catchup with Amazon, Kobo and Barnes and Noble. All of its competitors have expansive ecosystems that have been developed for many years and have solidified partnerships with the leading publishing companies and also smaller ones. The iBooks store is woefully sparse in terms of selection compared to the other stores. Most of their books are overpriced and many bestsellers are not available for an international audience.
One of the advantages Amazon and Barnes and Noble have over Apple is their own self-publishing program. Apple does have a little known process to publish your own books but it involves a validated ePub file, ISBN identifiers from the Library of Congress and a willingness to run the gauntlet of contracts, paperwork, and use iTunes Connect. This entire process is very daunting and many users are unaware of its existence.
Instead of dealing directly with Apple self-published authors have been using official Aggregator’s such as; Ingram, INscribe Digital, LibreDigital, Lulu, and Smashwords. If you live and publishing in Europe, you can do business with Bookwire and Immatériel. Of these, only Smashwords will convert MS Word documents to ePub.
Publishing Aggregator’s are proving to be a popular option for people to self-publish with because they help you along the entire process and normally submit to many other bookstores. Smashwords is one of the leading companies that do this and even provide you an ISBN number for free. They submit to Kobo, Sony, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple and a few others. One of the drawbacks of using any major Aggregator service is that they brand your book and serves as self-promotion."
Continue reading at the source: http://goodereader.com/blog/category/e-book-news/
"We broke the news last week that Apple is in development of a self-publishing program and many leading websites such as Media Bistro, Paidcontent, and tons of others. The essence of our writeup was that Apple will be holding an event at the end of the month where they are expected to take the wraps off of their self-publishing program for iBooks. This may benefit indie authors that want to submit directly to the service and not be forcibly relegated to doing business with various Aggregators. What does it mean for these companies if Apple starts their own program?
iBooks only launched in the last few years and has been playing catchup with Amazon, Kobo and Barnes and Noble. All of its competitors have expansive ecosystems that have been developed for many years and have solidified partnerships with the leading publishing companies and also smaller ones. The iBooks store is woefully sparse in terms of selection compared to the other stores. Most of their books are overpriced and many bestsellers are not available for an international audience.
One of the advantages Amazon and Barnes and Noble have over Apple is their own self-publishing program. Apple does have a little known process to publish your own books but it involves a validated ePub file, ISBN identifiers from the Library of Congress and a willingness to run the gauntlet of contracts, paperwork, and use iTunes Connect. This entire process is very daunting and many users are unaware of its existence.
Instead of dealing directly with Apple self-published authors have been using official Aggregator’s such as; Ingram, INscribe Digital, LibreDigital, Lulu, and Smashwords. If you live and publishing in Europe, you can do business with Bookwire and Immatériel. Of these, only Smashwords will convert MS Word documents to ePub.
Publishing Aggregator’s are proving to be a popular option for people to self-publish with because they help you along the entire process and normally submit to many other bookstores. Smashwords is one of the leading companies that do this and even provide you an ISBN number for free. They submit to Kobo, Sony, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple and a few others. One of the drawbacks of using any major Aggregator service is that they brand your book and serves as self-promotion."
Continue reading at the source: http://goodereader.com/blog/category/e-book-news/
Monday, January 9, 2012
Feb. 11, 2012 Lawyers for the Creative Arts hosts DIY Publishing and more...
I have attended this even in the past and it is a wonderful learning opportunity. Hope to see you there:
| Pen to Digital Press: DIY Publishing in the Digital Age |
Date: Saturday, February 11th Time: 9 A.M. - 6 P.M. Place: John Marshall Law School, 315 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago, IL 60604 On Saturday, February 11th, Lawyers for the Creative Arts and John Marshall Law School will host an all day symposium titled Pen to Digital Press: DIY Publishing in the Digital Age. This day long program will feature a diverse group of speakers from the writing and publishing professions, professors of law and literature, and members of LCA's Staff and Board of Directors. A detailed program will follow. Topics to be covered include: 1. Overview of Publishing in the Digital Age: Perspectives and Alternatives; 2. Choosing a Publisher: Contracts and Other Pitfalls; 3. Taking It to the Bank: Monitoring Your Sales and Reading Your Royalty Statement; 4. Problematic Content: Solving Privacy and Defamation Issues; Collaborating; and Legally Using Third-Party Content; and 5. How to Become an Outrageously Successful Author: Using Social and Other Media. This not-to-be-missed program will include lively round table lunch discussions on hot topics of the day, ranging from how to write a query to idea protection to writing for television to Q & A with literary agents and entertainment lawyers. We will also host a book signing and networking reception at the close and authors are encouraged to bring their books. Local writers, law and college students, professors, and attorneys are all encouraged to attend. Full details are available here. Registration fee is a real value: $85/person, including lunch and our written materials* $55 for each student currently enrolled in a full-time higher education program** * 3.0 MCLE Hours are anticipated. * *Complimentary for JMLS students and faculty. Sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Marci Rolnik at LCA: mrolnik@law-arts.org or (312) 649-4111. |
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
From the folks at Goodreads.com
The year has just begun, but we're already looking forward to World Book Night 2012. On April 23, 2012 join thousands of volunteers for a million-book giveaway. Inaugurated last year in the United Kingdom and now expanding to the United States, this nonprofit event is looking for enthusiastic readers who want to encourage their communities to read more. World Book Night needs 50,000 volunteers to help distribute 1 million books nationwide, especially in underserved communities that may not have easy access to books.
To become a book "giver," sign up by February 1, 2012. Select one of the 30 available titles—a range of fiction, nonfiction, and books for teens—and you'll receive 20 special-edition paperbacks to hand out to readers near you. The books are available free of charge thanks to support from the publishing industry. This year's lineup includes The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, and many more!
Full details here at World Book Night
The year has just begun, but we're already looking forward to World Book Night 2012. On April 23, 2012 join thousands of volunteers for a million-book giveaway. Inaugurated last year in the United Kingdom and now expanding to the United States, this nonprofit event is looking for enthusiastic readers who want to encourage their communities to read more. World Book Night needs 50,000 volunteers to help distribute 1 million books nationwide, especially in underserved communities that may not have easy access to books.
To become a book "giver," sign up by February 1, 2012. Select one of the 30 available titles—a range of fiction, nonfiction, and books for teens—and you'll receive 20 special-edition paperbacks to hand out to readers near you. The books are available free of charge thanks to support from the publishing industry. This year's lineup includes The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, and many more!
Full details here at World Book Night
Monday, January 2, 2012
Could it be that we're writing too fast?
Could the computer be making us write too fast? And, with its inherent distractions, maybe that means we'd write better if we slow down. A 2012 conundrum for sure.
Here's a look at some writers who don't use the computer, at least for certain parts of their writing work.
Novelist Orhan Pamuk, a favorite of mine, is Turkey's best-selling writer, and with his Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Turkish citizen to be awarded a Nobel. His prize-winning works are not composed on a computer, but in a graph paper notebook. He likes to write one full page, and then leave the next one open for revisions. Using his notebooks, Pamuk relishes in the absence of a backspace button, and the opportunity to capture inspiration when it strikes.
For bestselling author Tess Gerritsen, her blogging is best done on the computer, but for novels, only pen and paper will do. She doesn't use a computer or even a typewriter, instead using a Bic pen and sheets of unlined paper. Gerritsen is quite comfortable composing articles and other pieces at the keyboard, but for her, fiction is a completely different matter. She struggles to make things work while writing novels on the computer, finding that she hardly finishes a thing at the end of the day because she's spent too much time "perfecting them." But beyond that, Gerritsen values pen and paper for its physical properties: "I like knowing that once the ink’s on the page, it can’t magically disappear when the power goes out.
Michael Ondaatje, the award-winning novelist behind The English Patient, prefers Muji brand notebooks over computers when it comes to writing his works. But interestingly enough, Muji notebooks actually come with a lot of the same functionalities as MS Word, allowing Ondaatje to cut and paste his novels as he goes along. Unlike other pen and paper authors who ultimately transfer their works into type, Ondaatje has been known to compose up to three drafts by hand on his notebooks.
Thanks to our online friends for this research.
Here's a look at some writers who don't use the computer, at least for certain parts of their writing work.
Novelist Orhan Pamuk, a favorite of mine, is Turkey's best-selling writer, and with his Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Turkish citizen to be awarded a Nobel. His prize-winning works are not composed on a computer, but in a graph paper notebook. He likes to write one full page, and then leave the next one open for revisions. Using his notebooks, Pamuk relishes in the absence of a backspace button, and the opportunity to capture inspiration when it strikes.
For bestselling author Tess Gerritsen, her blogging is best done on the computer, but for novels, only pen and paper will do. She doesn't use a computer or even a typewriter, instead using a Bic pen and sheets of unlined paper. Gerritsen is quite comfortable composing articles and other pieces at the keyboard, but for her, fiction is a completely different matter. She struggles to make things work while writing novels on the computer, finding that she hardly finishes a thing at the end of the day because she's spent too much time "perfecting them." But beyond that, Gerritsen values pen and paper for its physical properties: "I like knowing that once the ink’s on the page, it can’t magically disappear when the power goes out.Michael Ondaatje, the award-winning novelist behind The English Patient, prefers Muji brand notebooks over computers when it comes to writing his works. But interestingly enough, Muji notebooks actually come with a lot of the same functionalities as MS Word, allowing Ondaatje to cut and paste his novels as he goes along. Unlike other pen and paper authors who ultimately transfer their works into type, Ondaatje has been known to compose up to three drafts by hand on his notebooks.Thanks to our online friends for this research.
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