Red Adept Review Site Closed

In Mid March, the popular online site Red Adept Reviews, ceased publication. A true loss to the Indie Author. If any of your titles had been reviewed at RAR, and you didn’t grab the actual text you can still do that for a few more weeks. Just type your name, or the title in the search box. Be certain to list all the information with the review (date, reviewer, etc.) so you can use it later. Any ideas who will fill this void?

Ebook Pricing Lawsuit?

How are ebooks priced? Not those titles produced from the many Indie Authors, but those from traditional publishing houses--especially the Big Five? It's been a mix of super-high prices (with ebooks costing more than their paperback counterpart) and occasional deep discounts. How is it all determined?

In 2010, a breakdown of costs comparison was done at Gizmodo. It seemed there were a lot of pro-publisher stats. First they took the hard copy edition as the model to work with, then stated the bookseller gets a 50% discount (At Amazon...40% is the standard for other outlets, with 3% to the distributor); and the publisher pays 15% royalty to author (they didn't mention this happens only after the author has sold 10K copies or more)...

Considering the majority of what they call "real" books sold are trade paperbacks, NOT hard copy editions, the information given didn't tell the whole story. Then the ebook distributor they modeled was Apple--which, in 2010, was the most demanding and the hardest for which to format an ebook. They also didn't consider that once the ebook is formatted the costs to produce it for different readers drops off.

Another 2010 article inThe New York Times stated:

"In fact, the industry is based on the understanding that as much as 70 percent of the books published will make little or no money at all for the publisher once costs are paid."

(This begs the question of why the publishers don't go to POD to reduce costs.)

Now, two years later, after all types of back-and-forth, blah-blah-blah in blogs and forums, there seems to be some official follow up. Read about it in this CNET report and the Wall Street Journal. The Justice Department is now involved, and behind-the-scenes Apple information is revealed.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Read an eBook

Here are two very different selections you could make for Read an eBook Week (March 4 -10). From GITP Author connections we present:

Linda Sandifer's western romance Desire's Treasure.

Disguised as a nun, Paris McKenna hides her father's treasure map in her saddlebags and sets out to find the legendary lost mission of Santa Isabel and its fabled riches. But lawless Arizona Territory is no place for a beautiful woman alone. She needs a guide as mean and tough as any outlaw, and she gets her wish in dangerously handsome bounty hunter Nate Brannigan.
Brannigan is willing to do just about any job if the price is right. He's prepared for what the desert has to throw at him, but he isn't prepared for a treasure protected by a curse, a gang of thieves hot on his heels, and a whole lot of unholy thoughts about "Sister Frances." But Nate Brannigan is no saint. And when he finds out Paris is no nun, their treasure hunt takes them on a wild ride across untamed borders of desire they've never crossed before.

Available for Nook and Kindle.

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Jeff Gibson's novella, Last Rites of Passage.

Two "gracefully aging gentlemen" embark on a trek into the wilderness to visit again the special places of their youth. Increasingly threatened by unpredictable weather, bodies that aren't what they used to be and serious injury, the gentlemen push on, until they find themselves battered and nearly immobilized in a mountain basin two miles high.
For one of the men, the trip stirs memories of a time half a century gone, when he and another boy vied for the affection of a girl named Till; a time of joy, adventure, youthful exuberance and life-changing events the man still struggles to understand.
A coming of old age story and more, briskly paced, adventurous and humorous.

Available for Nook and Kindle.

More Events for March

Beginning today: it's Read an eBook Week, March 4-10, 2012. Click on the GITP Authors in the side column to get some ideas. All have interesting ebooks to delight and educate. Mysteries, Westerns, nonfiction and more.

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The fifth annual Women of the World Poetry Slam will be held in Denver this year on March 7-10, 2012.

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EPIC's EPICon will be held 15 – 17 March in San Antonio. EPIC (Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition) was established in 1998 and holds it’s annual CON each year in a different city.

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30 - 31 March is the 6th Annual Northern Colorado Writers Conference, at the Fort Collins Hilton, Fort Collins, Colorado.

Small Press Month

Small Press Month is a nationwide celebration highlighting the work produced by independent publishers. Held annually in March, Small Press Month raises awareness about the need for broader venues of literary expression, showcasing some of the most diverse, exciting, and significant voices being published today.

The National Book Critics Circle (NYU) is one of many organizations with event for this month.

Tidbits 12-31-2011

Some fun and newsworthy notes to end 2011.

Akel Studio has an informative breakdown for photographers thinking to buy new equipment in 2012. Do you really need it? ==============
The fun and social interesting list of Banished Words is now up. Amazing! (ha ha). ==============
For Writers, this post at Terrible Minds has good information to heed. ==============
Photographers, history buffs, nature lovers, make note of this National Park's Service announcement. On the dates January 14–16, April 21–29, June 9, September 29 and November 10–12, 2012, there is no monetary excuse not to visit some of our nation’s greatest beauties. ==============
Here's interesting feedback on the new KDP Select program Amazon is running. David Wisehart has put up his personal info on the Make It Free feature that Select offers to authors.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Amazon Kicking Up Dust

Another brouhaha brewing. This time around the Kindle Owners' Lending Library. Borrow books for free, says Amazon (if you have Amazon Prime). However it seems some publishers are upset by this.

Here's a the skinny in a good overview from the LA Times.

Kodak Thinking Ahead

Or not.

It's so strange that a company that was the forefront and innovator in photography has seemed to miss the boat in the 21st century. I hope they get things righted.

Kodak Today

Kindle goes Tablet

Here it comes!

For Western Books and Readers

So often it's said that Westerns are "dying" and no one is interested in reading them. Reaction to a new Facebook group, Western Book Readers, certainly doesn't support that idea. In the two weeks since the group's inception, it already has more than 300 members. Some are authors (who are also readers), and the discussions are lively. Check it out!

New e-reader available

Just when it seems the e-reader market was saturated and about to become redundant (because of the capabilities of smartphones and tablets), a new one hits the market.

Google has joined the e-reader realm. Offering not only books for sale, but the vast library of stored books they have already squirreled away. You'd think they'd drop the price to snatch some of the competition, but they didn't. Not good, since Amazon is lowering prices this fall when they introduce their tablet. Nook is also considering price reductions.

The interest and success of this new product seems iffy.

KindleTag Misuse

A lot of conversation ensues about Amazon's decision to remove tags from Kindle pages. Tags--you know, those descriptive one to two word entries that are supposed to refer to what's in the book. Blogger calls them "labels"; the Internet search calls them "keywords." Whatever, Amazon has removed them from the Kindle pages, and they aren't available for indie authors to use on the publishing page.

An overview of this can be found at Taleist; and I agree, there have been a lot of bad practices regarding tags, including authors tagging each others' works that they haven't even read. I've also noticed bad tagging practice over at netgalley.com where publishing houses give their titles all sorts of tags that don't apply. Using "romance" is almost across the board by many houses, since they feel that's a hot item. "Thriller" is another. Unfortunately, the plan backfires with me, as I'm not interested in romances or thrillers; I see those tags and move on.

It's a shame the system has been misused so abundantly that Amazon has changed the format. It is also a shame that publishers and indie authors can't be satisfied that the descriptions of their work will draw in readers. With so many other social media and networking ways to promote a book, misusing tags seems silly.

Ancient Dictionary Completed

The University of Chicago's Oriental Institute has completed a project started 90 years ago. The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary is a compilation of the ancient languages of one of the first urban civilizations. Read the article here for more the information.

Another Kindle Innovation

It costs $25.00 less than a regular Wi-fi Kindle, but it now has ads! Would you buy it? Amazon is betting many will, since the ads include store coupons and special offers. This will be interesting marketing strategy.

the $114.00 Kindles are in pre-order now—available 1 May.

Tidbits 03-08-2011

In March 2011 Angry Robot Books will be accepting submissions from unagented authors for the first time. Angry Robot Books publishes cutting-edge SF and Fantasy. Check out their bookstore

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1 through 31 March, everyone is encouraged to bid on a book. Proceeds from this literary auction will help the Red Cross. Something new every week. Check the site to see lists of items/titles and more.

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Big Romance publisher Avon has jumped into the e-book marketplace with its digital branch, IMPULSE. e-books and POD only will come from this shop; existing Avon authors are already in the mix, but submissions are not discouraged.

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Don't forget, now through 12 March is Read an e-book Week. Many authors are offering discounts and freebies, this week only. Check the e-book sites for more info.

Read an E Book

Electronic books now have their own week. March 6 - 12 is Read and Ebook Week, and the site has some interesting information about this not-so-new gadget.

Right in time for this event, I've completed a 2-book set for the SF series, Gem of the Galaxy. It will be available for Nook and Kindle on the 8th at the bargain price of $4.25 (buying the books individually would be $5.98). It has its own web page, too, for more information.

eReaders More Than Entertainment

With all the pros and cons, discussions and recriminations regarding eReaders, it's important to realize their use beyond the middle-through-upper-class use for entertainment. The international organization World Reader (WR) sees them as a viable outreach to developing nations’ education programs.

In the recently-begun a cooperative with Ghana, Kindles are now in the hands of hundreds of students. Although the WR program was developed by a former Amazon.com exec, other eReaders are also being tested for this type of use and WR administrators are hoping for the development of a more-rugged implement that will withstand the rigors of in-school application.

Impractical? I think not. One eReader, at a cost of less than $150.00 U.S., can hold thousands of titles. Twenty printed books would cost more than the device; the initial investment to provide Internet service would be the biggest outlay and with the eReaders, each child would have their own copies of valuable information. World Reader is also working with the Ghanaian councils to have Ghanaian authors’ works produced in ebook form. Not only will students have educational tools, but cultural offerings as well—a good incentive for reading.

This should be inducement for eReader companies to toughen up their products and go for a new marketing scheme. Barnes and Noble, whose textbook branch already provides the company with important revenue, could flourish in this setting.

We need to start looking at the eReader innovation as more than an entertainment gadget for affluent techy urbanites. The potential is there for so much more.

Related Articles: Wall Street Journal Mashable Green Curb

More Literature Awards

Literature nominees are up for the NAACP image awards in literature. The awards show will broadcast live, March 4, on FOX tv

Will the Quality BeThere?

The online Author/reader site Author's Den is now offering POD production at its Book Factory and while they offer a cost calculating guide, they only compare themselves to Lulu. Odd, when there are so many PODs out there.

So far, there is no indication that editing or layout services will be offered. Only three book sizes are available: 6" x 9", an odd 7.5" x 7.5" and 8.5" x 11". They allow a minimum of 150 dpi for photos (300 dpi is minimum printer standard). And, of course, you have to join Author's Den to utilize this new feature.

It is another option for self-publishing, but with track records in place for many other companies, AD's Book Factory will have to prove up to compete as a top-quality producer.

Interesting ASI Development

This could have some innovative benefits.

Author Solutions, Inc has now partnered with Principal Entertainment with a goal to turn books into films and TV projects. They are creating a film and media department to handle this. Details at Deadline Hollywood