publishing
The Atavist: publish to any format you like
It’s not released to the public yet, but longform epublisher The Atavist is putting the final touches on a free version of its conversion tool, which will enable authors to publish to a variety of platforms at once without being tied to any one company’s overly restrictive fine print. (Yes, that’s a jab at iBooks [...]
Apple gives book creators beautiful, golden handcuffs
Today Apple raised the bar on interactive textbook publishing, with the introduction of a revamped iBooks app for the iPad and a free textbook publishing app for the Mac. If you’ve got an iPad, a fairly new Mac, and a big pile o’ knowledge to share with the world, you can now create a really [...]
Learn write more better from book teachings without money
Oh man, I really should have read these free writing guides before I tried to craft my own headline. Now I just feel stupid. Actually, I feel like an SEO rebel, because from what I hear, writing a nonsensical headline is tantamount to Google search result suicide. Oh well! Someday I’ll learn write more better! [...]
Miss Spider’s publisher explains how he’s wanted to create ebook apps since 1972
With all the blog chatter about myopic and hamstrung publishers, it’s easy to forget about the innovators like Nicholas Callaway…
Ebook recap for February 2011
All things considered, February was a dismal month for ebook news. Apple dug a moat around its walled iOS garden, then filled that moat with lava; Rupert Murdoch launched a “daily paper” on the iPad but forgot to put decent content in it; Borders finally kicked the bucket; and HarperCollins punched libraries in the face [...]
Borders files for bankruptcy, will close 200 stores
As expected, Borders has filed for bankruptcy. John Mutter at Shelf Awareness says the bookseller plans to close about 200 of its 639 stores over the next couple of weeks. Update: Here’s a map of which stores are closing. Mutter writes that since last December Borders has been buying new books “following procedures familiar to [...]
My experience with the Espresso Book Machine
I was in midtown NYC earlier today when I stopped to have a coffee and catch up on my RSS feeds, and I saw a couple of blog references to a video of the Espresso Book Machine (EBM) posted over on NPR’s Science Friday blog. The video is a short, lighthearted overview of an EBM [...]
Ebook recap for January 2011
What was January like in the world of ebooks? Why, it was exactly like this list below! (More or less.) For our amusement, Electric Literature shoots bullets into books (and a Kindle) and films it. The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) happens. The Digital Reader blog goes to check out the five billion tablets that were [...]
Dehydrated books, or how to make money off of fan fiction and unauthorized sequels
Imagine that this evening I follow a friend’s link to a new Harry Potter book, one that essentially replaces “The Sorcerer’s Stone” in the canon with a Year 1 adventure that’s darker and closer in tone to the final few books, but that wasn’t written or authorized by J. K. Rowling. The link I follow [...]
Amazon's new lending feature is probably going to anger some publishers
When it comes to Kindle features, Amazon tends to follow the aphorism that it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission. This strategy doesn’t always work–see the text-to-speech controversy–but it helps give Amazon the element of surprise in the marketplace. With that in mind, I have a feeling that some indie publishers are going to be [...]
Publetariat asking for dollar donations to stay afloat
If you write with the intention of publishing, and if you’re online much at all, you’ve probably come across Publetariat, a popular online community serving authors and publishers. Today the editor posted a public request for donations to keep the site afloat as she struggles with private medical and financial issues. She writes: “This morning [...]