Archive for category Writing / Publishing
What Lola Wants…Lola Gets…
Posted by Tom Carpenter in Writing / Publishing, augmented reality on March 7th, 2010
…and Lola gets a tons of augmented animations straight from the pages of the book directly to your webcam.
This unique picture book for children uses original torn-paper illustrations to tell the fun-filled story of the glamorous Lola the Leopard, who is incredibly vain, and her friend Monty the Meerkat, whose clumsy antics don’t add up to the purrrrrfection Lola is looking for. This book features an amazing bonus feature: Book, Webcam, Action! Just hold the last page of the book up to a web-cam and you’ll see Lola and Monty burst vibrantly to life in full 3D animation, accompanied by music! These are the first books to use augmented reality technology for very young children. “What Lola Wants, Lola Gets!” teaches children about different aspects of growing up in an amusing way that they can relate to.
While using the AR portion of the book sticks you to your computer when you might normally be reading the book to your kids in bed, it’s still a fun way to read a kids book. I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot more of these markerless book products in the near future as publishers, desperate for revenue, latch onto the “next big thing.”
The augmented reality kids book “What Lola Wants…Lola Gets” comes out on April 1st by Scribblers, a division of Book House.
Popularity: 5% [?]
The Benefits of Dogged Persistance
Posted by Tom Carpenter in Writing / Publishing on February 7th, 2010
I finished reading the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell today. One theme from the book was the idea that 10,000 hours of meaningful work within a skill set will make you an expert. A brief example from the book is a comparison of three groups of violinists at Berlin’s elite Academy of Music. The first group are judged as having world-class potential as a violinist. The second group was judged as merely “good.” While the third group aspired to be high school music teachers.
The difference in their ability was correlated to the amount of time they practiced. All of them started around the age of five, but the world-class players practiced for long hours and had achieved the magical 10,000 hours by the time they reached the academy. The second group had totaled eight-thousand hours and the last group only four-thousand.
This should come as no surprise to anyone that hard work pays off. The book goes on to give examples of how people like Mozart, Bill Gates and the Beatles all benefited from their 10,000 hours.
The surprise to me was that, well, I was surprised. This wasn’t the first time I’d heard this axiom. Growing up I played soccer and attended Pat McBride’s soccer camp in St. Louis. Pat played for the Olympic team and is in the National Soccer Hall of Fame. He’s a legend around these parts. One of the things he said was that to be a great soccer player, you must touch the ball a million times.
While I never aspired to be a professional soccer player, I always took that lesson to heart for soccer. It’s not until I’ve become a bit older and wiser (and having read Malcolm’s book) that I realize that is true for any skill.
Thinking back to two of my favorite writers, Steven King and George R.R. Martin, I realize that both of them recounted the many rejections they received at a young age in their books on writing. They were working on their 10,000 hours at ages long before I’d even thought about putting pen to paper on a regular basis.
This also holds true to Heinlein’s Rules, which is a guidepost for new writers (and old ones still trying to learn the craft.)
1. You must write.
2. You must finish what you write.
3. You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order.
4. You must put the work on the market.
5. You must keep the work on the market until it is sold.
And if you need another example, then read these posts from Dean Wesley Smith about Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing. Read not only the posts, but the comments. Reading all of them has been like jacking into the Matrix and downloading thirty-years of experience in a few hours.
While I haven’t yet reached the mythical 10,000 hours, I’m working diligently on that task. This year my goal is 200,000 words (not including my blog posts for here and Games Alfresco.) That seems like a lot, but I hit 140,000 words last year (one novel, 4 short stories.) and made around 220 blog posts. Professional full-time writers probably put in about 500,000 words a year.
In the end, I’ll only get better if I have the courage to keep writing, sending out stories and novels, and waving at the rejections as signposts on my way to success.
Popularity: 10% [?]
Apple’s iPad Camera Fail
Posted by Tom Carpenter in Writing / Publishing, augmented reality on January 27th, 2010
Unless you’ve been living in a box today, you know that Apple finally unveiled the tablet iPad today. The biggest surprise about the announcement was the lack of a camera on the lap sized PC. No camera, really? If you don’t believe it, check the official spec page.
Besides the implications for augmented reality, which I’ll get to in a moment, the iPad not having a camera is a giant fail. I actually expected the iPad to have two cameras. One forward-looking so the iPad could function as a giant Polaroid and the other user-facing so videos could be recorded. We could forgive eliminating one of them, probably the forward-looking one since its so big, but not having the user-facing camera is inexcusable.
The series of tube we call the Internet has moved beyond simple text. People want to record and upload videos straight to YouTube without having to yank out their dust-covered hand held or use Skype to call their friends while they’re watching the game.
The Apple iPad not having even one camera is like hooking up satellite without DVR. Sure you can do it, but why?
Of course, I’m being overly melodramatic here.
The real point to the iPad is competition for the Kindle, eReader and the Vook. Apple wants to revolutionize the way we read magazines, books and newspapers. Functionality for augmented reality isn’t even an afterthought. How many people are using their camera lying in bed reading an interactive book?
And is this a major setback for augmented reality? Not really. A giant-sized magic lens would add a fun new canvas to play with, but really wouldn’t be a game changer. Additionally, Apple isn’t expecting the tablet market to come even close to the smartphone market in sales.
So in the end, the iPad is a fail for augmented reality, but will probably give Jeff Bezos nightmares for months as he wonders how he’s going to compete against a Pentium 286 when he’s selling a Commodore 64.
And maybe, just maybe, Steve Jobs is still working on a see-through AR-enabled HMD. Then I’d say, all is forgiven Stevie, I’m coming home to Apple.
Popularity: 14% [?]
Interview with Krista Goering
Posted by Tom Carpenter in Writing / Publishing on May 10th, 2009
Last fall I attended the Saturday Writers conference and listened to a talk given by Krista Goering from the Krista Goering Literary Agency LLC. Krista enlightened us with the inner workings of the publishing industry. This knowledge has been instructive as I have researched the effects of the newer digital distribution models like e-Books, print-on-demand and the Espresso Book Machine.
I contacted Krista to see if I could interview her about these technologies and she graciously accepted. I’ll let you read the interview in its entirety:
Tom: Publishing houses are experimenting with different profit models, like 50/50 splits, in response to the changing market. How does that affect your role as an agent?
Krista: As publishers continue to streamline and downsize their staff, they will continue to need agents to bring quality projects to them. My role as an agent is to read through a lot of query letters, proposals, and manuscripts to find projects which I believe I can sell to publishers. In most cases, the manuscript or proposal is not ready to send to a potential publisher and my job is to help get it ready. I don’t see that changing. Profit models may change, but publishers will always need quality writing.
Tom: With the advent of digital books on the Kindle2, Sony Reader and the iPhone; DRM (digital rights management) has become an issue for authors. What is your opinion on authors that wish to pursue DRM-free content, even if it puts them at odds with distributors?
Krista: The DRM issue is in flux. I read recently that the major labels conducted their own tests with Amazon, Walmart.com and others and reached the conclusion that MP3 distribution (DRM-free) does not in itself lead to increased piracy, and they are now moving their entire catalogs to this approach.
Tom: If technologies like the Espresso Book Machine become widely used, creating a direct-to-consumer distribution model, what will publishers have to offer authors?
Krista: Any time a book is published, it takes a lot of time, energy and creativity to let potential readers know it’s available. Getting them to buy the book is another hurdle. Traditional publishers use bookstores to distribute their books, but some publishing companies are using a direct-to-consumer distribution model. They still need quality authors to publish – specifically authors who are ready, willing and able to promote themselves and their books. I’m always looking for publishers who are looking for great authors, regardless of their distribution model.
Tom: If technologies like the Espresso Book Machine become widely used, creating a direct-to-consumer distribution model, what will agents have to offer authors?
Krista: Agents will continue to offer authors the services they currently offer — specialized knowledge about the publishing industry and the ability to “get a foot in the door” with publishers. I don’t see that changing. For example, I represent an author who is being considered by one of the direct-to-consumer publishers I mentioned above – the fact that they have a direct-to-consumer distribution model doesn’t change the fact that they need quality authors. I know what publishers are looking for in an author – and when I find a “match” I hook them up.
Tom: Have the recent digital technologies changed the way you have approached your business? And if so, how?
Krista: I’m still selling books to publishers – whether they publish the books in print or in digital format, or produce an audio book. The change I’venoticed recently is that publishers are using digital technologies to their advantage to improve the process of communicating with the agent and author during the process of selecting, submitting and editing the work as well as to market and promote the book. For example, rather than print a large number of ARCs (advance reading copies) some publishers are sending the ARC by email in pdf format. Keeps costs down and saves paper.
Tom: Do the changes in the technologies pose any legal challenges to agents? And if so, how?
Krista: I’m not sure I’m thinking of “legal challenges” in the same way you are, but the legal challenges I usually think of are copyright protection, plagiarism, and piracy. These are problems facing publishers and authors, so they also affect agents. If it becomes easy to “rip off” publishers using technology, authors will suffer and so will their agents.
Tom: What do you think the publishing business will look like in ten years for publishers, authors and agents?
Krista: Regardless of how the product is delivered in ten years, books will still be written and sold. People will always need information, so they will continue to buy nonfiction books, and people love great storytelling, so people will also continue to buy novels –either in print, in audio form, in digital form, or in a form we haven’t imagined yet. Publishers will continue to be on the cutting edge of delivering content to the public. Agents will continue to bring quality authors to the attention of publishers looking for great authors.
Krista makes a lot of great points about the changing marketplace and I can tell she has her finger firmly on the pulse of these changes. When she left me with one last comment that summarized her answers, I could tell she saw through my ham-handed subterfuge, answering the question I was really asking: “Do we still need to bother with publishers if we can sell direct-to-readers?” I’ll let you see her answer yourself.
Krista: I also wanted to address what you call “disruptive technologies like e-Books, print-on-demand and the EBM.” People may think the Espresso book machine will replace traditional publishing by traditional publishing companies, but I don’t see that happening. Sure, these technologies may make it a lot easier for a person to self-publish and sell direct-to-consumer. But self-published authors can already create e-books and get their books printed fairly cheaply now at a POD printer. The hardest part about selling a book to the consumer is getting her attention and creating such a desire in the consumer that she is willing to part with $15-$20 to read the book.
The last part hits the topic squarely between the eyes–”the hardest part about selling a book to the customer is getting her attention”. Even with an author’s ability to use the Internet to laser onto potential readers, the publishing houses outgun them wielding mass weaponry to reach a wider audience.
These new technologies are sure to shake up the publishing industry, removing the tangled knots, until we have a more streamlined process of reaching our readers without filling warehouses with unloved books. The publishing industry won’t be going away, because it still sets a bar that authors must jump over to prove their worth before potential readers will plop down their hard earned cash.
Will some authors bypass the publishing industry? Absolutely. But the majority would rather spend their time working on their next novel than worrying about marketing plans.
It will take time for the real consequences of these new technologies to be understood and exploited, so I think the publishing industry is safe. And besides, there are only two Espresso Book Machines in the whole of the US.
For now.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Espresso Book Machine
Posted by Tom Carpenter in Writing / Publishing on April 28th, 2009
*click*
That’s the sound of the publishing industry changing forever, irrevocably.
I’ve explained in previous posts about waste in the publishing industry. Once the Espresso Book Machine gains widespread use, the crime of unloved books dying on bookshelves and in warehouses should disappear. The machine works like an ATM printing a book in less than five minutes. The EBM contains almost half a million books in its library.
Recently on the 4HWW, publishing houses were explained as only being good for two things: distribution and book covers. This invention eliminates the publishing industry’s distribution advantage leaving only book covers, which can be easily outsourced. This invention makes me wonder how, or if, the publishing will change? Using the music industry as an marker, I doubt they’ll bother looking up until they’re over the cliff.
I’m in the editing process of my science fiction novel called The Digital Sea and I’ve been having a long debate with myself about self-publishing or using a publishing house. Due to my unknown status, the onus of marketing would fall on my shoulders, so the advantage of using a publishing house for distribution would be nearly non-existent.
If my book can be ordered online at Amazon using a print-on-demand service, printed in a big book seller using the Espresso Book Machine, and downloaded directly to a Kindle2, Sony Reader or any other digital book reading device, then why do I want to use a publishing house?
I’m still editing so I have four to six months to decide, but it sure seems like the pendulum is swinging to self-publishing.
Popularity: 10% [?]
The Digital Singularity
Posted by Tom Carpenter in Writing / Publishing, digital singularity on April 21st, 2009
Newspapers…dead!
Compact disc…dead!
Bluray… dead!
Televisions…dead!
Okay, so they’re not dead yet, but they will be. One of the benefits of a digital world is the elimination of wasteful information transportation and containment systems. I speak of newspapers, CDs, Blurays, television, or any other specialized medium of information transfer.
But please don’t get defensive about your favorite medium. Newspapers come to mind. Just because the current information transfer device is rapidly losing favor with the general public doesn’t mean that reading, investigative reporting and the general American Way is going down the toilet. No. Hate the medium not the content.
We’re all used to these physical specialized items that contain our favorite information. We’re used to them like a child’s blanket. All warm and cuddly with the fuzzy end that we rub for hours. But eventually we give up the blankie.
The old mediums come with many problems and dangers. Newspapers can and are controlled by small groups and force a certain viewpoint onto the content. The mediums themselves contain dangerous chemicals that need to be disposed of carefully as with our television sets. Or the technology threatens to die before it even takes off (sorry, Bluray, I predict your early demise, you will not become my father’s Betamax!) leaving us with hundreds of dollars of worthless junk.
The digital world holds its own dangers. Cory Doctorow gives us Doctorow’s Law about the dangers of DRM in this eye-opening speech to the publishing industry.
Other dangers lurk inside size ten font EULAs that we’re too bored to read, lock-in devices and the capture of our digital information to be used against us. The battle of information control rolls ever onward.
But all is not so dark. Freeing the information from the medium allows for unintended consequences that surprise us. It also eliminates the energy used to create our perishable mediums that end up in the landfill not long after we buy them. Digital content leaps from Shanghai to St. Louis with as much energy as bating an eye. No warehouses are needed to house piles of books, just-in-case (the opposite of just-in-time) someone might want to buy them.
In the end, most medium will be eliminated in a Digital Singularity when augmented reality becomes commonplace. Newspapers, televisions, blurays and other specialized media will serve little purpose except as nostalgia. Instead informational and entertainment products will move to a personal space contained within the users vision.
Don’t despair about the loss of these physical items, because freeing the content from mass manufacturing and global controls will allow the enhancement of the content. The one billion apps on the iPhone have proved how powerful a travelling personal computer can be. The creativity unleashed by such a small device will be nothing compared to the possibilities when the information is freed from the screen and exists as information around us.
Are there pitfalls and hurdles to make this vision come to pass? Yes. But I am excited about how this Digital Singularity will simultaneously destroy the old wasteful media and enhance the content for everyone.
Popularity: 9% [?]
Viva La Kindle2 Revolution
Posted by Tom Carpenter in Uncategorized, Writing / Publishing on April 7th, 2009
The Kindle2 is not revolutionary for the reasons you think. It’s sleek, stylish and has more features than you can shake a stick at. It allows for fast book downloads so you can start reading it before you’ve had your margarita refilled with your toes in the warm sand. The library of books has grown, and due to the exponential sales of e-Books, more are added every second. But those aren’t the reasons either.
The reason, I’ll tell you, is a dirty little secret the publishing industry wouldn’t want you to know about in this age of environmentalism. I’m sure most of you have realized the benefits buying an e-Book has for the environment. No paper or ink chemicals are wasted to make your book that would probably hit the garage sale in a couple of years anyway.
The depth of the problem goes much deeper. When you visit a bookstore, and skim through the books, you aren’t looking at the bookstore’s inventory. Every one of those books is essentially owned by the publisher. If they don’t sell, and most books do not, they are sent back to the publisher to eventually be destroyed. Typically, books are printed in the thousands, but most books only sell a few hundred. Only 2% of the books on the bookshelves sell more than five thousand.
This leads to two problems. The first is the massive waste in the system for thousands of miles of shipping, piles of paper, buckets of ink, the energy to produce the books and to ship them around the country, and all the peripheral expenditures to maintain the system.
The second problem is this makes publishers risk averse. I’d like to say this system is the publishers fault, but it’s not, it’s a relic of the early twentieth century. They’re stuck with as much as we are, and if they’re smart, they’ll embrace the digital revolution with earnest. The impact of their risk adverse nature is the publishers don’t want to take chances on new books, and tend to fall into me-too habits. For example, right now, every publisher has a teen-vampire-love story, ala Twilight, in the works. The problem is by the time they all come out, the teenage girl audience will have moved on, and the landfills will grow a little taller.
So when you move to the Kindle2 (or any other digital reader), you’re not only making an investment in a neat reading device, you’re helping dismantle the old system full of waste. Conservation through digitization.
Viva La Revolution!
Popularity: 4% [?]
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