Mark Coker, founder and CEO of Smashwords, is courting libraries. In a March 23 post on the Smashwords blog, Coker describes his campaign to convince libraries to offer self-publishing programs to their patrons, with, of course, the help of Smashwords. According to the blog post: Libraries are uniquely qualified to orchestrate community resources and talent [...]

With the huge controversy brewing in the Book Publishing Industry over book reviews and how they’re obtained and used, I thought I would jump in on this. We have exposed a problem in the trust of one of the decision points buyers have. Is the ebook as good as the review says it is? How [...]

In this round-up: the Smashwords July sale for either hemisphere, GalleyCat’s weekly lists of eBook sales ranks, new legal ruling in Europe on eBook resale, a lengthy opinion piece deconstructing why The Authors Guild among other things attempts to invoke sympathy for PublishAmerica, and a save-the-libraries campaign from The Bookseller. Enroll Your Books in the [...]

For self-published authors, public meet and greet options may be slim, depending on how many bookstores are left in your neighborhood. Now, there are new opportunities on the horizon. From Library Journal: The San Mateo-based Califa Group, which is the largest library network in California, has made major strides in its project to create an [...]

So when will we start to see REAL ebooks appear on the market? You know the ebooks that take advantage of their digital environment. Ebooks that have been rendered to improve the reader’s ebook experience. As the number of ebook devices explodes into the book reader’s world, the readers are going to expect more. This [...]

My usual blogging direction is toward the ebook author and the self-publishing world. With this blog I take a left turn and explore the Amazon Library Lending Process and how it affects the ebook ecosystem.
The Jungle [...]

There is something happening in the publishing industry right now. Something seismic. Regular men and women – children even! – are beginning to self-publish. The internet has given them the keys to a once gated empire – and the gatekeepers are not happy. There is a system in place for writers, a proven process that [...]

Baby Steps First Starting to self-publish your ebook or even thinking about it can be a daunting task. A little help before you start will save you time and help you in publishing your ebook in all the right places. When I published my first book, I had no idea where to go or what [...]

Do you really want to be an old time author and publish your book traditionally or do you want to be an eBook author and self-publish your content on-line? That’s the question. An old time author! Are you one of them? You know the traditional author that has beat his head against publisher’s front doors [...]

The giant fell face down in the snow and slid down the slope a dozen feet. He lay still, not moving for a few seconds. Then he let out a roar. He lurched to his feet and wiped snow and blood from his eyes. He looked up at the form of Anabar streaking away from him. The giant growled and headed back up the slope, his eyes locked on Anabar. His rage gave him the energy to charge up the steep incline, stomping his feet deep into the snow with each step. His speed increased as he pounded up, a grizzly bear chasing its prey. So focused was the giant on getting to Anabar, he failed to notice the cracks appearing in the snow around him.
Anabar felt the snow beneath him starting to slide, and then something dropped down the slope from above, uncoiling like a dark snake as it neared him. He saw it was a rope, and he dove for it, as the entire mountain seemed to vibrate under his feet. He caught the rope and pulled it close to his body. The snow accelerated down and away from him and he gripped the rope, his fingers turning white from the effort.