I'm a couple of days late on this, but here's Simon & Schuster's introduction of the "vook," a hybrid book/video story. You have to give them credit for trying something newish. I pray, though, that the hideous portmanteau "vook" doesn't catch on.For what it's worth (approximately two cents), I don't think this is the wave... Continue Reading →
10 Facebook status update suggestions
Greg Pincus, our featured October speaker, has some great suggestions for those of us getting started on Facebook. Successful status messages get people engaged--they start little discussions:- Share your good news- Share a friend's good news- Ask a questionFor the rest, visit his blog post: http://www.thehappyaccident.net/10-facebook-status-update-ideas/
A sort of scientific way to name your characters
You know how it can sometimes feel like you're pulling character names out of a dark, unmentionable space (I'm talking about the kitchen junk drawer, sicko).The Shelftalker blog at Publishers Weekly has a great find: a book and website called The Baby Name Wizard.Check out Shelftalker to get the links and see how it all... Continue Reading →
Don’t want to read something out loud?
Then convert your text to an audio file and listen to a robot read it at Hear Who. You can choose "Mike" the male voice or "Crystal" the female version, and you'll hear all sorts of errors your brain was hiding from you.Here's a link to the tool.
Yes, you can get a book deal from a blog
Cheryl Klein, the Scholastic editor who'll be with us at our November writing retreat, writes about how one prospective author's blog really helped sell the writer and her work. It's a good reminder about the power of new technology. If you do this stuff right, editors will get a sense of who you are, what... Continue Reading →
The business of publishing evolves
Business Week reports on the gradual affection the publishing industry has for the Internet. It's worrisome how slow they've taken to the biggest revolution in print since Gutenberg (the press, not the Three Men and a Baby actor). But at least revenue is up in the first half of 2009:Book publishers are learning to love... Continue Reading →
Great technology for word use
Greenwillow editor Martha Mihalick, who may well be a GENIUS, recommended the use of Wordle.net to check the language of your work in progress.Wordle builds collages out of the words in a document, so you can see which ones you use most of all.I tried it on a novel and found a flabby word I... Continue Reading →
Are libraries (and books) endangered species?
Here's an interesting speech about how one headmaster wants to evolve a school library. He talks a bit about books and their history, imagining here we're still in 1439, when manuscripts were copied by hand:I want to tell you about this wonderful scriptorium that we have at Cushing Academy in 1439. We have scribes working... Continue Reading →
Would you hand your iPhone to your kid?
You just might. And we need to start thinking about how we'll write for apps. Publishers Weekly has a bit on ScrollMotion, an iPhone book app-developer "which will launch a new kids' e-book reader app this fall that will bring enhanced picture books from major publishers to the iPhone."Read all about it.
First picture book on phone
It was only a matter of time:Apple joins with publisher to put first picture book on iPhoneApple, the technology company, has linked up with a British publisher to launch the first children's picture book on a mobile telephone.By Richard SavillPublished: 2:36PM BST 23 Aug 2009Winged Chariot Press has published The Surprise by Sylvia van Ommen,... Continue Reading →