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April 29, 2010: A compendium of approaches to e-publishing
An initiative in the UK provides an overview of the widespread experimentation going on in search of new tools and business models for exploring the digital publishing universe.
A piece in today's Guardian provides the update and lots of links:
If you've been looking for a place to find the most exciting experiments with literature and technology, then the launch of The Literary Platform this week should hit the spot. But there's enough there that anyone with even the vaguest interest in how publishers are responding to what the site's founder is describing as "the biggest shift change in the industry since the 19th century" should take a look.
The Literary Platform is built on short descriptions of new digital text experiments, from iPhone apps (such as the game-changing version of Nick Cave's The Death of Bunny Munro) to collaborative digital writing projects (The 24hr book) and whizzy multimedia hybrids (Songs of Imagination and Digitisation, PhoneBook). A quick browse gives a good overview of current practice in this field.
More here:
Like the classic soul ballad says..."A change is gonna come..." or maybe it's already here.
April 26, 2010: The electronic rights are yours. Or are they?
New business models for the creation and distribution of e-books are emerging. In at least one example the impetus is coming from the author, not the publisher, or more accurately in this case, from the estate, that of well-known American writer William Stryon. His family has broken away from Random House in an initiative to market Stryon's works and reap the rewards. From today's New York Times:
Because e-books were not explicitly mentioned in most author contracts until about 15 years ago, disputes have arisen about who has the right to publish digital versions of older books. But along with other publishers, Random House, which releases Styron's works in print, has said that clauses like "in book form" give it exclusive rights to publish electronic editions. In a letter to literary agents in December, Markus Dohle, chief executive of Random House, the world's largest publisher of trade books, said authors were "precluded from granting publishing rights to third parties" for electronic editions.
But in a statement last week Stuart Applebaum, a spokesman for Random House, said the company was continuing talks with many authors or their estates about publishing e-books of their older works. "The decision of the Styron estate is an exception to these discussions," he said in an e-mail message. "Our understanding is that this is a unique family situation."
More here.
We're not all household names with blockbuster books, but the same tools are available to all. Food for thought.
April 23, 2010: These cartoons are about You!
April 23rd, 2010 is not only Shakespeare's birthday it is also UNESCO Copyright Day!
Enjoy creator-positive videos thanks to John Degen, former PWAC staffer, prince of print and doyen of digits...
Watch the videos here.
April 15, 2010: Pens into Social Media Ploughshares?
I attended a CNW breakfast panel this morning with Scott Anderson (Sr. VP, Content at Canwest) and Matthew Ingram (Sr. writer GigaOm). You can read more about them here.
The topic was innovation in the newsroom and the uses of social media. I caught a few quotes for those who work as reporters to stimulate your thinking about using these new tools to interact with your readers:
"Research is now a 24/7 activity due to the number of sources available online."
"There is no deadline, the web never sleeps."
"The onus online is on the reporter. There's usually no one to check facts, even spelling, before the item goes up."
"When I began my career I was a journalist. When I retire I'll be a multi-tasking platform agnostic content provider."
"You need to be Fast, Accurate, and Smart. Pick two."
"Everyone is trying to use everything."
"Content doesn't exist in any one place."
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