ePublish Unum - Links Of Interest

Do authors have to be social? No, but it helps

evoterra — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:42:50 -0700

Do authors have to be social? No, but it helps :

Though the balance is quickly tipping to the side of “yes, obviously.”

Is an Open iBookstore Too Little, Too Late & Too Lame?

evoterra — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 07:00:45 -0700

Is an Open iBookstore Too Little, Too Late & Too Lame?:

The author in the post argues that Amazon is “good enough”. But if the effort is minimal… why not?

Five Big Publishing Stories of 2011 That Will Bleed Into 2012

evoterra — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 07:11:23 -0700

Five Big Publishing Stories of 2011 That Will Bleed Into 2012

Experimenting With Serials for Fun and Profit

evoterra — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:48:08 -0700

Experimenting With Serials for Fun and Profit:

Key takeaways:

Serial fiction requires your A-game
Serials can help sell completed works, but only if made available at the same time.
Don’t use serialization as a marketing gimmick

How E-books Have Become a New Literary Form

evoterra — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:08:22 -0700

How E-books Have Become a New Literary Form:

Shorter works are all the rage in digital publishing. How can authors do more with less words?

"There are three distinct phases of the writing process when a developmental editor can make a big..."

evoterra — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 09:41:54 -0700

“There are three distinct phases of the writing process when a developmental editor can make a big difference in the outcome of your book: In the planning stage, while you’re writing, and once you’re done.”

- When do you need an editor?

"Publishers rely on talented jacket designers to create great covers. These specialized graphic..."

evoterra — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:53:54 -0700

“Publishers rely on talented jacket designers to create great covers. These specialized graphic artists are either on staff or hired as freelancers. Staff designers frequently cross over, creating a jacket for their own publisher one week, freelancing for another house the next week and taking on an indie author client the week after that.”

- Great book jackets: Tips from 4 design pros

How to standardize your author name for search engines

evoterra — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 07:57:58 -0700

How to standardize your author name for search engines :

Not getting the traction you need when you search for your name? Before you think about changing it, read what Caleb J Ross has to say. (I left the period out after the J on purpose).

My Purple-Haired Made-Up Best Friend, and Why She Had to Die

evoterra — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 07:41:03 -0700

My Purple-Haired Made-Up Best Friend, and Why She Had to Die:

Transmedia works when it spills over to real life. Not just for the audience, but for the creators, too. Easy? No, not in the least. Here’s how to do it right.

Idiot author plagarizes his book from Bond... James Bond

jeffmoriarty — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 15:22:00 -0700

Assiduous sleuthing by James Bond fans has forced QR Markham’s newly published spy thriller Assassin of Secrets to be pulled from shelves after it was discovered that it was lifted almost wholesale from an amalgamation of other novels, including 007 titles.

Novelist QR Markham picked up huge sections of his novel from other books, in a debacle that resulted in his book getting pulled from shelves around the globe. Especially in a digital world, how could he have remotely thought he might get away with this.

"Once you have a significant online readership, then you might successfully argue that you have a..."

evoterra — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:58:43 -0700

“Once you have a significant online readership, then you might successfully argue that you have a captive audience for any books you author. But your captive audience probably needs to be at least 50,000 visitors per month, if not double that, to merit the interest of a commercial publisher. And by that point, you may be far more interested in self-publishing!”

- Book Proposals in the Digital Age

Understanding Copyright And Licenses

jeffmoriarty — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 20:05:13 -0700

Understanding Copyright And Licenses:

For professionals, understanding the limitations of a license is critical; with this knowledge, you’d be surprised by what’s available. Understanding copyright and licenses allows us to do what we do best: be creative.

This article talks more about using other licensed material, but it is a good resource for understanding how to choose an appropriate license for your own work.

If you value using other material, consider a license on your work that returns the favor.

Three authors, three examples of the disruption in publishing

jeffmoriarty — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 21:53:59 -0700

Three authors, three examples of the disruption in publishing:

One key difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing is the time it takes to get new books into the readers’ hands. Rice can write a book, edit it and have it to her readers as soon as the process is complete and she adds her cover art. Pon and Mafi have months of contracts, edits, cover art design, marketing plans, galleys, sales to bookstores, promotional tours, etc. to plan.

Interesting notes from three authors on how digital publishing has impacted them and their genres, including price points and how they interact with fans.

"Booking produces relationships. Booking is a process that connects readers, authors, characters,..."

evoterra — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 22:25:05 -0700

“Booking produces relationships. Booking is a process that connects readers, authors, characters, ideas, and stories into complex webs. There will be a million ways to weave these relationships — including the ancient path of a linear story that runs interrupted on deadtree paper. But that is but one way to weave the web. There are other bookings that favor the reader’s powers, and yet others that leverage sharing, and yet more relationships that take years to complete. We have not yet begun exploring the possible ways to book.”

- The Technium: Post-Artifact Booking

Web fiction worth checking out: Impeccable Petunia

evoterra — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 22:19:20 -0700

Web fiction worth checking out: Impeccable Petunia:

An excellent use of story and imagery that perfectly fits a web-based reading environment.

Amazon.com launches web based e-book reader

jeffmoriarty — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:13:54 -0700

Amazon.com launches web based e-book reader:

Until now if you used the Kindle app on your iPad, you can read all the books in your Kindle account, and buy new ones. Apple imposed new restrictions on iPad/iPhone apps selling things (since Apple wouldn’t get a cut) so Amazon.com did a workaround by creating a web based “Kindle Cloud”. Now can browse to this site using Safari on the iPad and you’re not actually buying anything inside an app.

It apparently lets you read downloaded books offline, so a constant connection isn’t necessary, but I’m still curious to see how they made it responsive enough for people used to having a stand alone app.

23 Creative Book Cover Designs and Their Story

jeffmoriarty — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 21:51:26 -0700

23 Creative Book Cover Designs and Their Story:

If you’re publishing digitally, design and packaging still matter. Not having a physical cover doesn’t get you away from needing a creative, engaging first impression when people see your listing online.

This list of interesting covers demonstrates that very well. Which of these catch your eye, and how would they compare to a cheesy cover image and a bland, blocky font?

Create Your Own Instagram Photo Book

evoterra — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 22:01:25 -0700

Create Your Own Instagram Photo Book:

It’s the most obvious match ups that always surprise me.

"The ideas are there; the talent is there; the readers are there. But when the three come together,..."

jeffmoriarty — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 08:16:16 -0700

“The ideas are there; the talent is there; the readers are there. But when the three come together, inevitably someone else can figure out a way to use the technology for a different end. The better and more experimental it is, the more likely this is true.”

- Why we’ll never have innovative e-books - CNN.com

Technology is there to drive incredible advancements in eBooks beyond just reading them on a Kindle. Why hasn’t it moved forward? Wired thinks it’s because the technology keeps getting applied to other areas. Maybe, but sooner or later the tools will get easy enough for everyone to use - like happened with blogging - and the floodgates will break.

Ten Simple Things for Becoming Rich-Rich-Rich in Self Publishing | Red Room

evoterra — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 07:40:56 -0700

Ten Simple Things for Becoming Rich-Rich-Rich in Self Publishing | Red Room:

Just. Awesome. I hope you get the sarcasm.