Author victory over Google

There's money coming your way...

Similar to Amazon's 'search inside the book feature,' the ambitious people at Google have been busy making electronic copies of OUR books, and making them available for full online searching. It's part of their very aggressive program of digitizing all the print content, from the British Library Archives, to Harvard, to our books. Having Google creep toward becoming THE repository of all printed matter makes many of us uncomfortable, but now the courts agree they owe us something for the rights they "borrow" to our works.

This from ASJA.org
"Some of the books were in the public domain but many others were not. Google digitized the lot, without so much as a nod to authors' copyright protections. The Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers and several individuals filed suit to stop this blatant piracy.

Yesterday the parties announced a settlement that will serve both writers and Google. Terms of the settlement still have to be approved by the court, but assuming it happens, writers who own the rights to scanned books should get at least $60 per work, depending on how many authors make claims. (The total settlement amount is $45 million.)"

Details on how authors can file claims will be available in a few months. In the meantime, it's all good news for us.

National Novel Writing Month is upon us

The fun never stops over at nanowrimo.org - that's the home of National Novel Writing Month and that's where you should be if you really want to write. The month of November is dedicated to helping writers write, by logging your daily production and racing through the month. Can you write 50,000 words by the end of November?

While the goal is to write a nove, you can use it anyway you wish - an article a day? outline for a non-fiction book? character development? It's waiting for you ... Give it a try... Release your writing!

Does your book need a "do-over" for 2009?

One advantage of print-on-demand (POD) is that you can change your book if you wish. You might want to issue a new edition, correct a serious problem, or re-do the cover. POD offers you that flexibility. Depending on the firm you use, you may incur a new set-up charge, and of course, you'd pay a small fee for a new cover layout. But if you feel you're missing your target audience, it's better to spruce up the book than have regrets. By using POD you're not locked into a 2,500 copy print-run, or sitting on a lifetime supply of a book that doesn't address the market's needs.

Keep in mind, your book was issued with an ISBN, the number which makes it a unique registered object. So you can not alter these features under the same ISBN:

title
binding size
trim color
interior color

Also, if you change text, move or replace chapters, or change the cover, it is considered a new edition requiring a new ISBN. With most POD firms, the cost of the new ISBN is included in the set-up fee.

What will you be known for?

There are a lot of famous writers in the world, known for outstanding works, but one obituary in the Chicago Tribune today cited a writer for quite a distinction.

Mr. [James] Crumley published eleven books, the best-known of which is "The Last Good Kiss" (1978), whose opening line has been widely called the best in crime fiction:

"When I finally caught up with Abraham Trahearne, he was drinking beer with an alcoholic bulldog named Fireball Roberts in a ramshackle joint just outside of Sonora, California, drinking the heart right out of a fine spring afternoon."

Those 38 words, according to Crumley took him eight years to write.
So before we all leave this world, let's take the time to make our writing memorable.

Track your blogs & books

Do you know which words and phrases will drive traffic to your blog or website?

You can find out by using www.freekeywords.wordtracker.com to see what results come up when people search for sites like yours.

If you want to come up with a new domain name that will be readily found, or even better - if you are choosing a book title - use this free service to see how well it would rank.

I've been told again and again that I did the right thing by having a domain name and book title match: Release Your Writing and releaseyourwriting.com works double-time driving traffic to my web site, to this blog, and to steadily growing book sales.

To use www.freekeywords.wordtracker.com, type in the search phrase you expect people would use when looking for your site. It then calculates the average number of expected searches on that term per day.

More options for self-publishing and print-on-demand

This excerpt is from the 9/03/08 New York Times. I've placed a link to the full article below.

By JULIE BOSMAN
Published: September 3, 2008

Hundreds of small, independent publishers will have easier access to digital book technology under a new service offered by Perseus Books Group, the result of agreements between it and more than a half-dozen technology companies, Perseus is expected to announce on Thursday.

The new service, called Constellation, will allow independent publishers to make use of electronic readers, digital book search, print-on-demand and other digital formats at rates negotiated by Perseus on their behalf. Unlike large publishers, small ones typically lack the resources to use digital technology and as a result often bypass it altogether.

David Steinberger, the president and chief executive of Perseus, said that by using Constellation independent publishers could make their books quickly available in several digital formats, allowing them to compete on the same technological level and with the same speed and flexibility as larger companies. Many publishing analysts see digital technology as one of the few major growth areas in the book industry.

Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com have features that allow consumers to read or search inside a book, and such tools are known to improve sales; digital printing technology allows publishers to produce books when they become suddenly and unexpectedly in demand.

... read full article

October 2008 Events

Confirmed events:

Chicago-area Mensa conference
Saturday, October 25, 10:30 AM
Find out how smart you are at a weekend Mensa conference. I'll be speaking on book publishing for smarties.
Sheraton: Arlington Heights IL
More info | Email to a friend

Getting Your Book Published
Tuesday, October 28, 7:00 PM
A hands-on workshop on book publishing. Register at 847-367-1581.
Space is limited.
The Gathering Place
521 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville, IL
More info | Email to a friend

Release Your Writing full event schedule at BookTour.com

Seven ways to get your book reviewed

After the initial rush of praise for your newly published book, don't overlook the opportunities to continue getting reviews. Here are a few suggested options. Let me know what other ideas work for you.

1. Get reviews from midwestbookreview.com, bookpleasures.com and other firms that support independent publishing.

2. Ask a syndicated columnist for a review. Give them a relevant slant and you'll be doing them a favor by suggesting a fresh column idea.

3. Local newspapers

4. Associations: All the groups you belong to, including your college alum magazine

5. Bookstore newsletters

6. Your local library newsletter

7. Local media

Being a writer...

I don't usually spread unattributed quotes, but if you need a nice nudge, enjoy this:

... from an interview with a recently laid-off travel editor for a newspaper.

"The wonderful thing about being a writer—and there aren’t that many wonderful things, as you know—is that if you have a job and you lose that job, you can still write."

Don't let August be your slump month

Have you written and submitted your work yet this summer? June and July have blown away, leaving only the dusty days of August. When the sun glares through your windows, and steam rises from your tomato plants, don't glare back in exhaustion. Park yourself in a cool spot and write so darn fast you'll generate a breeze.

In the July/August 2008 issue of Poets & Writers, Joshua Bodwell writes on The Art of Reading Andre Dubus. The essay refers to senior, the father of Andre Dubus III, who is most known for House of Sand and Fog. The son is quoted as having said this about his father's story entitled "Waiting."

The story, "... about the hollow ache experienced by a woman widowed by the Korean war, took fourteen months to write and was more than one hundred pages in early manuscript form. But when the story was published in the Paris Review, it spanned a mere seven pages."

Supports my theory of overwriting: Just keep producing. So go sit in the shade and write til August ends.

Meet Maggie Ball, a friend from down under...

One of my many online friendships is with Magdelena (Maggie) Ball, an energetic writer and host of Compulsive Reader: www.compulsivereader.com.

I've sent soon-to-be-authors to Maggie's site to study the reviews and learn what makes a book stand out, and what gets mentioned in goods review. Now Maggie Ball has authored her first novel Sleep Before Evening, and has been named as a Finalist in the the Regional Fiction category of the 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards were established to recognize and honor the most exceptional independently published books for the year and is presented by the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group in cooperation with Marilyn Allen of Allen O'Shea Literary Agency. Additionally, Sleep Before Evening will be listed as a Finalist in the 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards catalog, distributed at Book Expo America in Los Angeles.

Talking about her book promotion, Maggie says: "I'm actually based in Australia myself, so all of the in-person promotions I've done have been here in Aus -- that includes the book launch, library talks, giving ancillary talks on subjects the book touches on like addiction, self-actualisation, art and bi-polarity.

"With Angus & Robertson, Australia's biggest independent retailer, I basically visited them in person and made a lot of phone calls -- can't beat that face to face stuff. But I have a pretty big online presence, and tend to work in a worldwide venue, and probably from a network point of view, I have many more colleagues and contacts in the US than in Australia. Also Australia is a much smaller market, and the book is set in the US, while the publisher is in the UK!"

When you think it's difficult to write fiction, try writing a novel based in New York, when you're living in Australia, while running the successful Compulsive Reader site at the same time.

The marvel of this online friendship and my reason for sharing this with you is: In all this time, knowing Maggie online and enjoying her Compulsive Reader site, I never knew she was based in Australia. It shows you both how global the "world-wide" web is, and how you must listen when I urge you to think globally in your own promotions. Living in Chicago doesn't limit your market. Use the web to target readers far and wide, and let me know when YOU are the one to win an international prize.

"Release Your Writing" is on sale at Amazon Kindle

Gee, maybe Amazon read my recent post about Readius. Nah, that couldn't be. If you do have Kindle, you'll be glad to know Amazon is offering my book, Release Your Writing on sale, for $7.99 to download for your Kindle.

In 2009, Readius takes on Kindle

How cool is this? A 7/06/08 New York Times article cites the upcoming competitor for Amazon's ebook reader. It's the "size of a standard cellphone. Flip it open, though, and a screen tucked within the housing opens to a 5-inch diagonal display. The screen looks just like a liquid crystal display, but can bend so flexibly that it can wrap around a finger."

For the full story, read the Times article or learn more from the Readius' maker Philips Polymer Vision.
If you haven't purchased a Kindle yet, even at the new lower price of $359, you might want to hold on to your money and see what other bright ideas come along.

Cross-posted on Computer Cclarity's blog too.

Ways to Write, Going Against the Grain

If you read Dan Poynter's newsletter, you already know this. If you don't read his powerful free advice and news, you can subscribe here:

His June newsletter included Five Cool Ideas for Speed Writing by trainer and coach Michael Angelo Caruso, of Edison House.

He offers five tips for writers to work faster without sacrificing quality:

1. Write to micro deadlines.
Try to generate x pages an hour or a chapter a week. Faster isn't always better, but faster is definitely . . . faster.

2. Don't worry about punctuation or spelling.
The idea is to correct the grammar later. Get the pages done, then proofread.

3. Write out of order.
Instead of writing pages in sequence, work on modules in any order. Then piece them together and provide continuity.

4. Write backwards.
It can be easier to begin when you know the end.

5. Work from an outline.
Get the main parts down first. Think of it as creating a skeleton and then "fleshing" out your work.

More 5 Cool Ideas topics at http://www.MichaelAngeloCaruso.com