Tip of the Month:
Twitter in Plain English
Just when you thought that your MySpace or Facebook page might prove useful as a tool to promote your book(s), another flavor of the month has become the rage in social media: welcome to the world of Twitter.
"What are you doing right now?" might sound like a mantra for
those with too much free time on their hands, short attention
spans and little desire for privacy... but Twitter can help
writers cultivate a following from a grassroots audience by
sending "tweets" (limited to 140 characters each) about their
lives that could catch the attention of potential readers.
Or you can create a free Twitter page from the POV of the
protagonist of your story, and let her/him keep readers updated.
If you're a writer who is committed to riding the ever-changing
wave of new media to publicize your work, you need to explore
Twitter.
For a brief overview about Twitter in plain English, watch this
short video from Lee Lefever:
http://www.commoncraft.com/Twitter
Lead Story:
Talking Kindle Fuels Debate
Amazon's new Kindle2 'read-to-me' feature turns text to voice.
It is under review by The Author's Guild due to potential
copyright issues.
Publishers typically negotiate separate rights for audio books
with authors, and pay them accordingly. "These are not audio
books," said Amazon spokesperson Andrew Herdener.
The Authors Guild also questioned whether the technology could
constitute creation of a new literature format that fell
under copyright rules now protecting e-book and audio books.
As a result, Amazon has pledged to modify the Kindle 2 so that
authors, publishers or any holders to a book's rights can
choose whether to turn on the feature, which takes written
text and converts it to human speech.
JT Duxbury, author of "Earth's Knell," licensed rights to
convert the 2004 edition of "U-Publish.com" from text to
speech with permission from the publisher. We found it a
nice option for readers with impaired vision, and readers
on the go who may not have time to "read" a paperback:
http://stores.lulu.com/cdbooks
Remember this tip from Poynter & Snow: WRITING the book
is the hard part; once written, it makes sense to deliver
your work to the public in as many formats as possible.
With today's technology, it's fast and economical to
turn a paperback into a hardback, large print edition,
e-Book or talking book. Why not attract readers with
special needs?
Last Call: Snow to Speak in NYC
"Print Publishing in 2009's Digital Landscape" is the topic of
an upcoming panel by Danny O. Snow at the 2009 Publishing
Business Conference, March 23-25 at the New York Marriott in
Times Square.
Adam Davidson and Alex Blumberg of NPR, plus a host of book
industry leaders will deliver a diversity of workshops and
panels on the hottest trends in today's fast-changing
publishing world.
Subscribers to this newsletter can get a free pass to Snow's
panel. Visit http://www.PublishingBusiness.com then select
"Expo Pass Plus 1 Session – $195." Use the discount code
Snow09 to get a freebie courtesy of U-Publish.com.
It's "Read an e-Book Week," March 8-14:
http://www.ebookweek.com
In previous years, Poynter and Snow's books have been featured
by this foresighted outfit. Check out their site for the latest
news about the role of e-Books in the future of the written word.
There was a 119.9% increase in December 2008 e-book sales over
the same period one year ago:
http://www.booktrade.info/i.php/19856
New Site for Writers to Share Ideas:
Speak Without Interruption was created as a place where writers
can initiate and complete ideas. It has grown to include both
published and unpublished authors as contributors in a wide
variety of topics. Any writer may participate:
http://www.SpeakWithoutInterruption.com
News to Use:
F R @ E book download available for authors titled "The Career
Novelist, by notable literary agent Donald Maass:
http://www.maassagency.com/books.html
Tip courtesy of Jim Duxbury
Quotation of the Month:
"Beautiful credit! The foundation of modern society... [From]
the mouth of a distinguished speculator in lands and mines this
remark: 'I wasn't worth a cent two years ago, and now I owe two
millions of dollars.'"
-- Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910), and
Charles Dudley Warner (1829-1900) in "The Gilded Age."
This 'Blog presents only EXCERPTS from our newsletter.
Click the link below to get the FULL edition by e-mail:
http://www.u-publish.com/enroll.htm
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
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