A Writer's Quest

Here’s what caught my attention in the web this week in writing and publishing. Here is some really great information in these articles about the continuing developments in electronic publishing, the price fixing issue for ebooks and much more.

PayPal, You’ve Met Your Match: Erotica Writers | Fast Company

http://www.fastcompany.com/1834786/paypal-dont-mess-with-erotica-writers?partner=homepage_newsletter

From Kerouac To Rand, ‘Harmful’ Reads For Writers : NPR

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/19/150973750/from-kerouac-to-rand-harmful-reads-for-writers?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=2a75fa97da-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

Festival of Books: Jerry Stahl and others on the book-to-screen trick

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2012/04/festival-of-books-jerry-stahl-and-others-on-the-book-to-screen-trick.html

Alex Shakar, Stephen King win Times Book Prizes

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2012/04/alex-shakar-stephen-king-win-times-book-prizes.html

How to Outline (the Easy Way) Like Janet Evanovich

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/how-to-outline-the-easy-way-like-janet-evanovich

Consumers Upset and Confused Over E-Book Pricing

http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2012/consumers-upset-and-confused-over-e-book-pricing/

London Book Fair From An Author’s Perspective

http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/04/19/london-book-fair/

The Art of the Book Cover Explained at TED

http://www.openculture.com/2012/04/the_art_of_the_book_cover_explained.html

New Business Book for iPad Produced Using iBooks Author Claims to Be First of Its Kind

http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2012/new-business-book-for-ipad-produced-using-ibooks-author-claims-to-be-first-of-its-kind/

Leaving Story Avenue: One Author’s Tale of Going Indie

http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2012/04/leaving-story-avenue-one-authors-tale-of-going-indie/

Interview with Stacy Abrams, Editor at Entangled Publishing

http://theliterarymom.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/interview-with-stacy-abrams-editor-at-entangled-publishing/

Writing & Publishing Terminology 101

http://janefriedman.com/2012/04/18/writing-publishing-terminology-101/

Serving a public that knows how to copy: orphan works and mass digitization « PWxyz

http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/PWxyz/2012/04/14/serving-a-public-that-knows-how-to-copy-orphan-works-and-mass-digitization/?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=7a3fbe210f-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

30 Best Resources for Beginning Freelance Writers

http://freelanceswitch.com/freelance-writing/beginning-freelance-writers/

Read It Later undergoes massive overhaul, Pocket is born

http://9to5mac.com/2012/04/17/read-it-later-undergoes-massive-overhaul-pocket-is-born/

Writing Mystery And The Indie Entrepreneurial Spirit With Adam Croft

http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/04/17/mystery-entrepreneur-adam-croft/

Ten Grammar Rules and Best Writing Practices That Every Writer Should Know

http://www.writingforward.com/grammar/grammar-rules/ten-grammar-rules-and-best-writing-practices-that-every-writer-should-know

Has Kindle Killed the Book Cover?

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/04/has-kindle-killed-the-book-cover/255935/

Free Book Trailer Resources for Writers

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/free-film-resources-for-book-trailers_b50186

How Small E-Booksellers Could Challenge Amazon, Apple

http://techland.time.com/2012/04/16/in-wake-of-apple-case-could-indie-booksellers-help-solve-publishers-e-book-problem/?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=d5552bff7e-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

Short Stories Are about Identifying an Essence

http://www.40kbooks.com/?p=13441

Your Social Media Success Toolkit: 10 Must-Have Resources

http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/04/16/your-social-media-success-toolkit-10-must-have-resources/

What I’ve Learned About Writing a Novel

http://writerunboxed.com/2012/04/15/what-ive-learned-about-writing-a-novel/

A dark day for the future of books

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/15/opinion/coker-book-publishing/

How to Stay Motivated When the World’s Against You

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2012/04/how-to-stay-motivated-when-worlds.html

This Week in Writing and Publishing 15th April 2012

Wayne — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 07:32:01 +0000

These are the articles that caught my eye this week on writing and publishing

Myth Busters for Hopeful Authors | Publish Your Book: Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author

http://www.writingclasses.com/Products/PubsDetail_Excerpt.php/ExcerptID/632

‘We Read Best on Paper’: Cultural Resistance Hobbles German E-Book Market – SPIEGEL ONLINE – News – International

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/a-826963.html

Why You Can’t Find Indies In Store

http://indiereader.com/2012/04/why-you-cant-find-indies-in-store/?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=61288bcdb7-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

If You Could Say ONE Thing to That Aspiring Picture-Book Writer… « ShelfTalker

http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/shelftalker/?p=7522&utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=61288bcdb7-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

Farewell, App Store? Netizine Turns Magazines Into Social Networks, Runs On HTML5

http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/11/farewell-app-store-netizine-turns-magazines-into-social-networks-runs-on-html5/

Publishing giants sue open textbook startup over layout • The Register

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/04/12/boundless_text_book_publisher_copyright_suit/?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=61288bcdb7-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

Minds of Modern Mathematics from IBM available for iPad

http://www.tuaw.com/2012/04/12/minds-of-modern-mathematics-from-ibm-available-for-ipad/

The pleasures of rereading | Books | The Observer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/apr/08/rereading-favourite-books-pleasure?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=673d6fe6df-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

The Broad Strokes of the Hachette, HarperCollins and S&S Price-Fixing Settlement

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/51469-the-broad-strokes-of-the-hachette-harpercollins-and-s-s-price-fixing-settlement.html

Settling Publishers Are Allowed Modified Agency for Two Years That Could Limit Predatory Pricing | Publishers Lunch

http://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2012/04/settling-publishers-are-allowed-modified-agency-for-two-years-that-could-limit-predatory-pricing/

Publishers Hustle to Make E-Books More Immersive | Underwire | Wired.com

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/04/future-of-ebooks/?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=803daa242b-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success: New Ebook from Smashwords’ Mark Coker

http://www.mywritingblog.com/2012/04/secrets-to-ebook-publishing-success-new.html

Jodi Picoult and the Myth of the Segregated Marketplace

http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/jodi-picoult-and-the-myth-of-the-segregated-marketplace/

When to Mail Short Fiction To Traditional Publishers

http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=6663

Hate Amazon? Well Read About What Random House Did to Me and My Family

http://www.thepassivevoice.com/04/2012/hate-amazon-well-read-about-what-random-house-did-to-me-and-my-family/

This Week in Writing and Publishing 8th April 2012

Wayne — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 23:40:23 +0000

Here’s what caught my eye about writing and publishing on the Internet in the past week:

The newsonomics of the Next Issue magazine future

http://www.niemanlab.org/2012/04/the-newsonomics-of-the-next-issue-magazine-future/

Joss Whedon Talks THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, THE AVENGERS, His Writing Process, Comic-Con, Collecting and More

http://collider.com/joss-whedon-cabin-in-the-woods-the-avengers-interview/157304/

Publishers Sue As Boundless Learning Grabs $8M For An Open Alternative To Textbooks

http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/05/publishers-sue-as-boundless-nabs-8m/

The Writer’s Life is Full of Second Chances (or: Abandon Despair, All Ye Who Enter Here)

http://writerunboxed.com/2012/04/06/the-writers-life-is-full-of-second-chances-or-abandon-despair-all-ye-who-enter-here-3/

The new Internet business model: $5 via PayPal

http://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2012/04/06/the-new-internet-business-model-5-via-paypal/?awesm=tnw.to_1Dx3x

“He Won’t Read Books About Girls” « ShelfTalker

http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/shelftalker/?p=5713&utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=138a83439c-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

Ray Bradbury Gives 12 Pieces of Writing Advice to Young Authors (2001)

http://www.openculture.com/2012/04/ray_bradbury_gives_12_pieces_of_writing_advice_to_young_authors_2001.html

The Ten Awful Truths — and the Ten Wonderful Truths — About Book Publishing

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bj-gallagher/book-publishing_b_1394159.html

Quick Tips On Publishing And Marketing. Joanna Penn Interviewed By PubSlush

http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/04/05/publishing-marketing-interview/

Publishing Perspectives : Discoverability and the New World of Book PR

http://publishingperspectives.com/2012/04/discoverability-and-the-new-world-of-book-pr/

Scholastic Media President Deborah Forte: Early Days for Children’s E-Books

http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2012/scholastic-media-president-deborah-forte-early-days-for-childrens-e-books/

Wondering About Hyperlinked Writing

http://langwitches.org/blog/2012/03/31/wondering-about-hyperlinked-writing/

The Productivity Strategy for Writing I Guarantee You WON’T Try

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/the-productivity-strategy-for-writing-i-guarantee-you-wont-try.html

Formatting Tips Every Author Should Know, Part One

http://www.epublishabook.com/2012/04/03/formatting-tips-every-author-should-know-part-one/

How to Be Creative: The Science of Genius

http://mashable.com/2012/04/02/creativity-jonah-lehrer-imagine/

Kobo to become a publisher

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/10/26/kobo-publishing.html

Edit Where Edit’s Due: A Guest Post by Stephanie of Saltwater Publishing

http://catherineryanhoward.com/2012/04/03/edit-where-edits-due-a-guest-post-from-stephanie-of-saltwater-publishing/

Moving Beyond Self-Publishing

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20120402/51327-moving-beyond-self-publishing.html

Editor Dave King on Showing–and Telling–Emotion in Fiction

http://writerunboxed.com/2012/04/01/editor-dave-king-on-showing-and-telling-emotion-in-fiction/

Are Book Covers Different for Female and Male Authors?

http://flavorwire.com/275360/are-book-covers-different-for-female-and-male-authors

How to Use Squidoo to Increase Your Website’s Traffic

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/increase-website-traffic-using-squidoo/

LG’s New Flexible E-ink Display Heads Into Mass Production

http://www.cultofmac.com/157817/lgs-new-flexible-e-ink-display-heads-into-mass-production/

The Week in Writing and Publishing 1st April 2012

Wayne — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 21:45:59 +0000

Here’s what I was reading this past week on the Internet:

How is the Kindle affecting science fiction books?

http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/how-is-the-kindle-affecting-science-fiction-books/

How To Start A Blog In 2012

http://www.twistimage.com/blog/archives/how-to-start-a-blog-in-2012/

Super-Efficient Writing: How I Consistently Write Over 1,000 High-Quality Words in Less Than 60 Minutes

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/super-efficient-writing-how-i-consistently-write-over-1000-high-quality-words-in-less-than-60-minutes.html

Vook Launches E-book Creation and Publishing Platform

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/51217-vook-launches-e-book-creation-and-publishing-platform-.html

How to Use Scrivener to Format an e-Book for Kindle and Nook

http://writingishardwork.wordpress.com/2012/03/23/how-to-use-scrivener-to-format-an-e-book-for-kindle-and-nook/

Doing It for Themselves: Libraries and E-books « PWxyz

http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/PWxyz/2012/03/26/doing-it-for-themselves-libraries-and-e-books/?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=3a03cd08dc-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

Apple’s iBooks And App Store Price Out Creativity | Fast Company

http://www.fastcompany.com/1826105/apple-ipad-ibooks-app-store-corona-amazon-horse-magic-bats?partner=homepage_newsletter

Five Things Editors Wish You Knew

http://www.writenowcoach.com/blog/?p=801

A Fool-Proof Formula for Easily Creating Compelling Content

http://www.copyblogger.com/content-creation-formula/

The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success

http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/the-secrets-to-ebook-publishing-success/

The Five Personalities of Innovators: Which One Are You? – Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brennasniderman/2012/03/21/the-five-personalities-of-innovators-which-one-are-you/print/

11 AP Style Guide Rules That Are Easy to Mess Up

http://freelanceswitch.com/freelance-news/commentary-analysis/ap-style-guide-rules/

Hands on: Retina-enabled reading apps for iPad

http://gigaom.com/apple/hands-on-retina-enabled-reading-apps-for-ipad/

What book publishers should learn from Harry Potter

http://gigaom.com/2012/03/27/what-book-publishers-should-learn-from-harry-potter/

Should science fiction and fantasy do more than entertain?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/mar/28/science-fiction-fantasy-entertainment?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=8d88d13035-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

Creative Publishing

http://www.pubmission.com/blog/2012/03/29/authors-have-more-control-under-ellechors-creative-publishing-model/

10 Books Every Fantasy Author Should Read

http://io9.com/5897484/10-books-every-fantasy-author-should-read

Brian Cox’s Wonders of the Universe redefines iPad books with gorgeous 3D and a brilliant interface

http://thenextweb.com/apps/2012/03/29/brian-coxs-wonders-of-the-universe-redefines-ipad-books-with-gorgeous-3d-and-a-brilliant-interface/?awesm=tnw.to_1Dq5X

James Patterson Explains His Why His Books Sell Like Crazy – Speakeasy – WSJ

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/03/30/james-patterson-explains-his-why-his-books-sell-like-crazy/?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=2ea425b613-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

The Power of Young Adult Fiction – Room for Debate - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/03/28/the-power-of-young-adult-fiction

The Second Shelf

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/books/review/on-the-rules-of-literary-fiction-for-men-and-women.xml?single=1

The Problem With Today’s Journalism Students

http://freelanceswitch.com/freelance-news/commentary-analysis/todays-journalism-students/

Book marketing & publicity: Advice from three experts

http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2012/03/29/book-marketing-publicity-advice-from-three-experts/

Amplify Your Social Media with HootSuite

http://www.asmp.org/strictlybusiness/2012/03/amplify-your-social-media-with-hootsuite/

Could Hachette Be The First Big-6 Publisher To Drop DRM On E-Books?

http://paidcontent.org/article/419-will-hachette-be-the-first-big-6-publisher-to-drop-drm/

Short Fiction: Short, Not Always Sweet, But Perfectly Formed

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/will-white/short-stories-fiction-short-not-a_b_1387333.html?ref=tw

5 Reasons Why You Should Stop Worrying about the “Echo Chamber” and Write Whatever the Heck You Want

http://www.thesaleslion.com/social-media-echo-chamber-who-cares/

Can Writing and Reading About Ghosts Invoke Paranormal Activity?

http://deborahjhughes.com/2012/03/29/can-writing-and-reading-about-ghosts-invoke-paranormal-activity/

Publishing News: There’s no such thing as degrees of DRM

http://radar.oreilly.com/2012/03/harry-potter-drm-news-revenues-agency-pricing.html

Digital Publishing Tricks That Drive Success

http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2164772/digital-publishing-tricks-drive-success

Publishing is dying because marketers are the new publishers

http://cmd.rutgers.edu/blog/publishing-dying-because-marketers-are-new-publishers

The Week in Writing and Publishing 25th March 2012

Wayne — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 03:38:29 +0000

Here’s what caught my eye this week on the web:

Centering in ebooks across ereaders

http://www.pigsgourdsandwikis.com/2012/03/centering-in-ebooks-across-ereaders.html

Direct sales uncover hidden trends for publishers

http://radar.oreilly.com/2012/03/publishers-data-direct-sales-customers.html

Are e-books changing the structure of plots?

http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/are-e-books-changing-the-structure-of-plots/

Understanding Author Platform Part 1–Making Platform our Art

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/understanding-author-platform-part-1-making-platform-our-art/

No more book app sifting: PlayTales designed its bookstore within an app

http://radar.oreilly.com/2012/03/childrens-books-ipad-apps-playtales-toc-podcast.html

The making of a blockbuster

http://www.salon.com/2012/03/18/the_making_of_a_blockbuster/

Why do authors get treated so badly?

http://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/why-do-authors-get-treated-so-badly/

Steamy yet discreet: an e-book revolution

http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/steamy-yet-discreet-an-ebook-revolution-20120316-1vahf.html

The Week in Writing and Publishing 18th March 2012

Wayne — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 21:04:17 +0000

These are the articles on the Internet that caught my eye this week:

FICTION WRITING: How to Develop Your Style

http://www.karleenemorrow.com/fiction-writing-develope/

How To Write a Novel Based on a True Story

http://aliceosborn.com/writing/how-to-write-a-novel-based-on-a-true-story/

The Business Rusch: Scarcity and Abundance

http://kriswrites.com/2012/03/14/the-business-rusch-scarcity-and-abundance/

Steve Berry’s 8 Rules of Writing

http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/write-first-chapter-get-started/steve-berrys-8-rules-of-writing

After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Presses

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/after-244-years-encyclopaedia-britannica-stops-the-presses/?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=a73f74349a-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

Do E-Books Make It Harder to Remember What You Just Read?

http://healthland.time.com/2012/03/14/do-e-books-impair-memory/

How Does a Publishing Auction Work?

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/03/how-does-a-publishing-auction-work/

Exclusive: How Much Do Kindle Singles Authors Make?

http://paidcontent.org/article/419-exclusive-how-kindle-singles-authors-are-faring/

Spurred By Success, Publishers Look For The Next ‘Hunger Games’

http://m.npr.org/programs/all/2/148042865?singlePage=true&utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=607c8a2925-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

The Week in Writing and Publishing 11th March 2012

Wayne — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 06:32:53 +0000

There was a lot happening in the world of writing and publishing on the net this week, aside from the new iPad:

The iPad’s Retina Display Spells The End For Bloated Magazine Apps

http://www.cultofmac.com/151803/the-ipads-retina-display-spells-the-end-for-bloated-magazine-apps/

Scott Turow: Wrong About Everything

http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/scott-turow-wrong-about-everything/

The Justice Department probing Apple and five major US publishers over alleged price fixing of electronic books

http://9to5mac.com/2012/03/08/the-justice-department-probing-apple-and-five-major-us-publishers-over-alleged-price-fixing/

What if (when) royalty rates go down for eBooks? A red flag for indie authors.

http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2012/what-if-when-royalty-rates-go-down-for-ebooks-a-red-flag-for-indie-authors/

The Modern Author–A New Breed of Writer for the Digital Age of Publishing

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/the-modern-author-a-new-breed-of-writer-for-the-digital-age-of-publishing/

The Average Book Has 64,000 Words

http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/PWxyz/2012/03/06/the-average-book-has-64500-words/utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=607c8a2925-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

Censorship Battle Catches Smashwords In The Middle

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/50946-censorship-battle-catches-smashwords-in-the-middle.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=607c8a2925-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

Kindle Singles

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/books/kindle-singles-genre-between-magazine-articles-and-books.html?utm_campaign=faf7f02da6-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email&_r=2&%2339;s%20PW%20Daily=&partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_source=Publishers%20Weekly&pagewanted=all

Standalone Books

http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2012/mar/05/book-doctor-rowling-pullman-cs-lewis-hunger-games?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=0704dd78f5-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

Pinterest: 13 Things Writers Should Know

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/03/pinterest-things-writers-should-know/

Ten Tips for Authors Using Pinterest

http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/ten-tips-for-authors-using-pinterest/

How to Think Like an Editor

http://writerunboxed.com/2012/03/04/how-to-think-like-an-editor/

Apple rejects Seth Godin e-book over Amazon links

http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/apple-rejects-seth-godin-e-book-over-amazon-links/