Tag Archives: ebook

June 16, 2014 ・ General

eBook Legal Rulings and Disputes Make Headlines

Not long ago e-book publishers felt totally eclipsed from widespread public exposure, sidelined by the print publishing industry and ignored by the mainstream media. When electronic books were mentioned, they were treated as a novelty, not a serious contender. But all of that has changed, as was confirmed again this month when e-books were a topic that played prominently across the media world.

Two particular stories made headlines. One had to do with the ongoing battle between e-book publishers and Amazon, the world’s biggest book seller, over pricing. That’s a negotiation that we can expect to go on

December 19, 2013 ・ Technology

How safe are the eBooks on your eReader?

When the Kindle first hit the market, we were all still trying to figure out how Amazon was going to be engineering the move from hardback books to digital formatting. At first, the offerings were limited and in some cases the quality was sub-standard. OCR software mistakes were obvious and irritating. Gradually, however, the Kindle library grew in both quantity and quality as more and more books became available in digital form.

I think Amazon neglected to put enough checks in place, however, because in early to mid 2009, they were at the center of a furore over

July 24, 2013 ・ Writing

Writing is just as much visual as it is contextual

I stumbled onto a link that focuses on an aspect of writing that not many people consider when they are writing: typography. The link was shared by on one of my social media feeds and it is essentially a book-in-a-website. An intriguing way to publish in itself (and certainly a subject for a discussion at some later date), it was less about the fact that the book was indistinguishable from the website and more about the content of the book. This is a book about typography. My social media friend had introduced it by writing, “If you

June 20, 2013 ・ General

eReading has freed our choices!

On occasion, I have chosen to avoid reading a particular book because I was hesitant about what people might think of me for reading it. When I first read Stephen King’s “It”, the cover at the time was a fairly nondescript cover which didn’t give much away: it was simply an image of a storm drain with a distinctly reptilian hand reaching out towards a paper boat bobbing in the gutter. Ominous, yes; but not as scary as some of the newer covers I’ve seen – especially the one with Tim Curry’s sinister clown-face and shocking red hair.

May 10, 2012 ・ Writing

Social Media Buzz Marketing for authors

Today, I had the unexpected opportunity to speak to two indie authors about using social media to build buzz for their latest titles. I realized this morning that I had this conversation before and here I was having it again. It is no surprise that a lot of independent authors want to know how they can use social media to market their eBook[s].

Independent authors need to feel empowered and be knowledgeable when it comes to social media and how to use it. Self-publishing demands that you wear a lot of hats; one of those hats is marketing