By Divina Infusino
Summer is one of the most inactive times in the publishing industry. A few major houses still practice the decades-old custom of taking off on Friday afternoons so they can beat the traffic to the Hamptons for the weekend. (Now that is a symptom of an old industry.)
The newer outlets for publishing are busier than ever, however. As I buzzed around this summer to publishing panels, I picked up a few bits and trinkets of information along the way.
Byliner.com and the Single
Byliner.com caused a stir when it published Jon Krakauer's Three Cups of Deceit. I took note of the book for three reasons:
It refuted the premise of the much talked about book on Middle Eastern culture, Three Cups of Tea;
Three Cups of Deceit sold more than 75,000 copies, which is a very good showing for such a book;
It came out as a "single."
A single, as Byliner.com's founder told us in a panel on e-publishing, is a work ranging between 5,000 and 30,000 words, that is meant to be read in one sitting. The form is perfect for e-publishing because something of that length can be read easily on an e-reader or a mobile device. Amazon, Apple and Nook all accommodate the single.
As a writer, all I could do was think "finally." I never really understood why publishing and most media did not accommodate this length of work. I presumed the reasons had something to do with printing and distributions costs. If so, e-publishing bypasses those concerns and can claim the single niche for itself.
Byliner.com acts like a traditional house in the sense it chooses which authors and titles the company will publish under its moniker. With Krakauer's success, Byliner. com has gone out and cherry-picked for its roster some of the best-selling names in books, including Elizabeth Gilbert (East, Pray, Love).
But what makes the single truly disruptive is that any business or entity can more readily act as a singles publisher.
Some of the major news organizations have jumped on the form. Why? Because e-publishing is fast. Byliner.com claimed that once it agrees on a book to publish, it can put it on sale in eight hours.
For a news operation, this is a bonanza. Greece threatens to default on its debt? A single on Greece's history on defaults and financial troubles--say 10,000 words or so-- could accompany a news article or broadcast on the current news event, providing some background. Michael Phelps leaves London with enough gold to set off a chorus of airport security alerts? A nice little 20,000 word single bio could satiate the public's immediate hunger to know more about the swimming hero.
But news organizations are accustomed to publishing. The single--not so long that it requires months of research and not so short that is appears inconsequential--has made it possible for a corporation, a non-profit, a cause or a political campaign to develop a publishing arm.
E-publishing has only begun to change not only the publishing landscape but the cultural one as well.
See below.
Vook and the Multi-media Book
Vook is an inexpensive technology that enables you to publish an e-book with photos, audio and video. This is truly multi-media publishing and for about $100, the technology for such a hybrid is available to most anyone. And it is relatively easy, with drag and drop functions and simple uploads.
Vook could be a boon for children's books, business books, and any subject that cries for visuals as well as text. But I shuddered at the thought of what Vook would mean for fiction. (That is a subject for another blog).
If Vook is really that easy to use, looks good and works well, it could create a new form of publishing and new opportunities for writers. And if it is not all that it's cracked up to be, something else will take its place in the future. Once technology identifies a hole, it will fill it eventually.
50 Shades of Gray and the Library
The librarian got up in front of the audience to bash the short term life of digital rights. Apparently, major publishers grant digital rights to a library for a certain number of reads and when it is finished, the library must buy it again. Now, this was not your Marion the Librarian speaking. Her hair was dyed black and clipped irregularly, she wore layers of back lace and leather in some semblance of steam punk fashion and she had more make-up on than anyone else in the room. She was a hipster librarian--very smart and savvy.
Much of digital rights discussion rushed passed me. But my ears pricked up when she made an off-handed comment about the mommy-porn sensation--and perhaps the first real e-publishing phenomenon--50 Shades of Gray. She said the book's popularity started in the libraries.
It did?
After the panel, I cornered her. What did she mean?
Her bright red lips slipped into a smile. She leaned in and whispered: "The library has an incredible collection of erotica. We just don't label it that way."
I walked away thinking that while publishing and distribution may change and even modify the content, some works are perennial no matter the form.
I also checked to make sure my library card was up-to-date.
Summer is one of the most inactive times in the publishing industry. A few major houses still practice the decades-old custom of taking off on Friday afternoons so they can beat the traffic to the Hamptons for the weekend. (Now that is a symptom of an old industry.)
The newer outlets for publishing are busier than ever, however. As I buzzed around this summer to publishing panels, I picked up a few bits and trinkets of information along the way.
Byliner.com and the Single
Byliner.com caused a stir when it published Jon Krakauer's Three Cups of Deceit. I took note of the book for three reasons:
It refuted the premise of the much talked about book on Middle Eastern culture, Three Cups of Tea;
Three Cups of Deceit sold more than 75,000 copies, which is a very good showing for such a book;
It came out as a "single."
A single, as Byliner.com's founder told us in a panel on e-publishing, is a work ranging between 5,000 and 30,000 words, that is meant to be read in one sitting. The form is perfect for e-publishing because something of that length can be read easily on an e-reader or a mobile device. Amazon, Apple and Nook all accommodate the single.
As a writer, all I could do was think "finally." I never really understood why publishing and most media did not accommodate this length of work. I presumed the reasons had something to do with printing and distributions costs. If so, e-publishing bypasses those concerns and can claim the single niche for itself.
Byliner.com acts like a traditional house in the sense it chooses which authors and titles the company will publish under its moniker. With Krakauer's success, Byliner. com has gone out and cherry-picked for its roster some of the best-selling names in books, including Elizabeth Gilbert (East, Pray, Love).
But what makes the single truly disruptive is that any business or entity can more readily act as a singles publisher.
Some of the major news organizations have jumped on the form. Why? Because e-publishing is fast. Byliner.com claimed that once it agrees on a book to publish, it can put it on sale in eight hours.
For a news operation, this is a bonanza. Greece threatens to default on its debt? A single on Greece's history on defaults and financial troubles--say 10,000 words or so-- could accompany a news article or broadcast on the current news event, providing some background. Michael Phelps leaves London with enough gold to set off a chorus of airport security alerts? A nice little 20,000 word single bio could satiate the public's immediate hunger to know more about the swimming hero.
But news organizations are accustomed to publishing. The single--not so long that it requires months of research and not so short that is appears inconsequential--has made it possible for a corporation, a non-profit, a cause or a political campaign to develop a publishing arm.
E-publishing has only begun to change not only the publishing landscape but the cultural one as well.
See below.
Vook and the Multi-media Book
Vook is an inexpensive technology that enables you to publish an e-book with photos, audio and video. This is truly multi-media publishing and for about $100, the technology for such a hybrid is available to most anyone. And it is relatively easy, with drag and drop functions and simple uploads.
Vook could be a boon for children's books, business books, and any subject that cries for visuals as well as text. But I shuddered at the thought of what Vook would mean for fiction. (That is a subject for another blog).
If Vook is really that easy to use, looks good and works well, it could create a new form of publishing and new opportunities for writers. And if it is not all that it's cracked up to be, something else will take its place in the future. Once technology identifies a hole, it will fill it eventually.
50 Shades of Gray and the Library
The librarian got up in front of the audience to bash the short term life of digital rights. Apparently, major publishers grant digital rights to a library for a certain number of reads and when it is finished, the library must buy it again. Now, this was not your Marion the Librarian speaking. Her hair was dyed black and clipped irregularly, she wore layers of back lace and leather in some semblance of steam punk fashion and she had more make-up on than anyone else in the room. She was a hipster librarian--very smart and savvy.
Much of digital rights discussion rushed passed me. But my ears pricked up when she made an off-handed comment about the mommy-porn sensation--and perhaps the first real e-publishing phenomenon--50 Shades of Gray. She said the book's popularity started in the libraries.
It did?
After the panel, I cornered her. What did she mean?
Her bright red lips slipped into a smile. She leaned in and whispered: "The library has an incredible collection of erotica. We just don't label it that way."
I walked away thinking that while publishing and distribution may change and even modify the content, some works are perennial no matter the form.
I also checked to make sure my library card was up-to-date.
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