For awhile, now, I’ve chatted with the guys in my writing group about releasing some things for the Kindle and other devices. I’ve messed with the .epub format here and here, but I’ve never tried publishing anything for the Kindle and Kindle apps. (I use the Kindle iPhone app for most of my e-book reading.) […]
In the Future, There Will Be Books
I’ve written about it before — there’s no denying that e-books are on the rise. I’ve also written about why I believe there will always be books. Here’s why… Meet John Picacio I have a friend who illustrates book covers. While he’s concerned about the trend of some publishers not going all out for many […]
The Exceptions
People say stories like this one about a single father rising from poverty to e-book publishing success are exceptions. And they are. But bestselling novelists are also exceptions. If you aspire to becoming an exception, there’s more than one way there, now.
The Future of Books and Publishing
I recently watched Richard Nash’s talk about the future of books and publishing. (I found it here, on Booklife.) There are some great points made in the presentation, but there were two that really stuck out: The reminder that the long form narrative is a feature, not a bug. Most writers — whether they know […]
Cover Story
Yesterday, The New York Times ran a story about book covers and e-books. I know we’ve all heard that you can’t judge a book by its cover, but covers do matter. I’ve judged more than a few books by their covers in my time (found my favorite book that way), and in almost every case […]
E-Book Pricing
Recently, on a friend’s Facebook page, the subject of e-book pricing came up. Right now, it seems many people think e-books are priced too high. When people hear about publishers going from the $9.99 Amazon standard for an e-book up to $14.95, they say, “That’s ridiculous!” One can definitely make that argument; after all, the […]
Can Technology Save Storytelling?
I have a very busy friend — he’s the Assistant Vice President of Application Architecture for a large company. Almost every morning, he’s up early for a run in his neighborhood or on his stationary bike. He has two young daughters who keep him very busy. He’s not the kind of father who puts work […]
Will Write for Food
In the comments of a recent post, a member of the writing group I’m in said this about e-books becoming more common: “I suspect it will be easier to get an audience via the e-book revolution, and harder to make a career” – Mark Felps I’ve seen things get harder when the self publishing boom […]
What’s Worse than Piracy?
“Obscurity is a far greater threat to authors and creative artists than piracy.” – Tim O’Reilly Tim O’Reilly’s quote (often attributed to Cory Doctorow), has always rung true with me. Not that I like the thought of people taking and trading an artist’s work for free, but if people are sharing your work illegally, it’s […]
The Problem with E-books (Pt. 1: Because I Know There Will Be More)
While I’ve spent some time touting e-books, I am not one of those people shouting, “Death to print! E-books now!” E-books have some serious drawbacks, and the biggie to me as a writer and a reader: an inability to share. Oh, sure–the Barnes and Noble Nook allows limited sharing with other Nook owners. And if […]
A Delicate, Floating State
Things change. I grew up with three major networks on television and PBS. UHF channels were like cable…that is, until cable came around. I grew up reading books — I love books! Lately, though, most fiction and non-fiction I’ve purchased has been electronic, read on my iPhone with the Kindle app and Stanza. Later today, […]
Ebooks vs. Books
In August, 3 million people read ebooks on their iPhones. A school library in Massachusetts went digital. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and other companies are investing more in ebook readers. It looks like ebooks are finally becoming accepted. I’ve been buying more ebooks than regular books, lately. At first, it was non-fiction. I vowed […]
Social Networking and the Power of Free
Earlier this week, Jason Pinter announced that he was giving his book, THE MARK, away for free as an e-book. I’ve been reading more books on my iTouch, using the Kindle app. I’d planned to read THE MARK, so I downloaded the e-book and have it for when I’m ready to read it. I stumbled […]