[Wōdnes-dæg] Ebooks: Easing Working as a Writer

Introduction
The Article Summed Up
Not New, But Great
Publishing's Next Stage and Mainstream Acknowledgement
Closing

{A simple and intriguing image, from a simply intriguing blog: These Are My Days....}

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Introduction

On the front page of the Globe and Mail Arts section of Wednesday 27 June 2012, is an article about a 14,000 word ebook and what it means for journalism, as well as for writers more generally.

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The Article Summed Up

The article delves into the story behind Paula Todd's ebook about Karla Homolka, Finding Karla. Todd discovered that Homolka has been living in Guadeloupe with three young children, and wanted to get the story out more quickly than the standard months-long magazine publishing schedule permits.

So, she published her story as an ebook with Amazon. It's been in the top 10 list of Kindle Singles since its release on Thursday. Combine that ranking with the price tag of $3, and Todd must be seeing some tidy returns on her three-week, NaNoWriMo-like efforts

Simon Houpt, the article's writer, then goes on to explain and illustrate that this means that writers can take back some of the power - and the profits - that they formerly had to relinquish to publishers. Specifically, he notes that ebooks have helped writers to fight for the electronic rights to their works.

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Not New, But Great

This is great news.

Not because it's anything especially new, but because this information's being printed in a high profile newspaper suggests that indie authors can expect to get a little bit more cred in the publishing industry. This is definitely a good thing, since those who take the ebook route are generally painted with a very broad brush previously dipped in a wide, deep pot of scorn by more than a few in the mainstream publishing industry.

Though there are some who might validly argue that along with the market for ebooks, a market for ebook editors needs to be established.

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Publishing's Next Stage and Mainstream Acknowledgement

One article is not going to change that entirely, but the acknowledgement of indie authors' successes does suggest that traditional media and those representing it are starting to take ebooks seriously.

Does this mean that indie authors might not be able to add that adjective to their title soon? Likely not.

The printing press made it possible to create multiple copies of a book relatively quickly and cheaply. This meant that more people could put their ideas and stories to paper - hence the propagation of pamphlets and broadsheets and books from the 16th century onwards. But using a press is a process that requires time, special training, and specialized equipment.

E-publishing requires nothing so hard to get and efficiently operate as a printing press. It just requires a computer capable of word processing and connecting to the internet. More and more people are able to say that they have this equipment, and so there are more and more e-books being published on a daily basis.

So many are these e-authors, in fact, that the ebook industry might just be impossible to regulate in the same way as the traditional sort of publishing is with its queries and editors and budget considerations.

So, the "indie" label isn't going anywhere. But just as the case has been with indie musicians going mainstream, the growing recognition of ebooks as a serious alternative source for longer pieces of writing means that it may just get easier for indie authors to go mainstream.

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Closing

Check back here on Friday for a hunt for the good in Wrath of the Titans, and tomorrow for another edition of Annotated Links.

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[Moon-dæg] Parody Reporting, Gold, and Laughter

Preamble
Billionaires Breathe Comedy Gold
Closing

{Forget gold mining, today's bit of writing reveals a more sought for metal. Image from portableantiquities on Flickr via Fotopedia.}

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Preamble

Tonight's piece of creative writing is another that came from the local writing group. It was written in response to an exercise where we each had to name a despicable person and either defend or incriminate that person. The person we were writing about at the time was one Kevin O'Leary, a periodically controversial entrepreneur, investor, and TV personality.

I must have been thinking about a particular root vegetable when this was written on the night of 20 November 2011, because my writing took the form of parody reporting. So some things may have been exaggerated for effect.

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Billionaires Breathe Comedy Gold

It appears that in a world where jobs are scarce, resources are being eaten up, and reasons for laughter seem few and far between, there is a ray of hope.

Billionaires like Mr. Kevin O'Leary.

Good, kind, old, "I like money" O'Leary is one of the few things that comedians can still use to connect to the common man, woman, and child. These brave people of the punchline - never out of work themselves it seems - are able to use figures like Mr. O'Leary for a nearly inexhaustible supply of funnies.

"In this tough economic time, I'm just glad that there are still some fat cats for us to still poke fun at," said Lana von Opsidoodle. "It's really taken the pressure off in our search for material. And, finally the plight of African children working in ridensium mines across that continent have been heard. Mr. O'Leary and those like him are real heroes to us. And to those kids."

Ridensium is a rare metal found only in places that were once rife with hyenas. Scientists say that the animals' hilarious barks echoed off the walls for centuries, infusing them with what they like to call "pure funny."

"We were very near a ridensium shortage" Dr. Arno Leggit said at a recent press conference. He explained further that "Hyenas are nearly extinct because of people like Jamie Oliver and Chet McCooks who lauded the animal for its nutritional value and steak-like taste. So the mines were just about tapped out and no new ones have been discovered."

In a later interview Professor Legit was quoted as saying "I think Mr. O'Leary should get more money. Now we can free the slave workers of African ridensium mines, clean up those governments, and maybe bring back the majestic howl of the hyena."

Yet ridensium mines aren't just filled with laughter. They're also popular lion hangouts since along with the animal's sound, the rocks are also rife with the hyenas' scent. Therefore, lions frequent the caves in the hopes of finding there what has long since been absent from the savannah.

As of press time, Mr. O'Leary is slated to receive a large novelty check from the president. The nation's comedians are reportedly standing at the ready.

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Closing

Check back here Wednesday for an article on the newest news and on Friday for a hunt for the good in Wrath of the Titans. Also check this blog out on Tuesday and Thursday for more "Annotated Links."

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