Archive for September 2012

This is special class in a special place - your local independent Open Secret Bookstore, music and world art gallery, and the Rainbow Body Cultural Center. So come on in, enter the temple room, grab a cushion (or bring your own low chair), your journal and pen or your laptop or tablet computer and get a three hour self-publishing transmission and copy of the Self-Publishing Boot Camp Guide for Authors is included in the price of the workshop, $49.

Create the book you dream of.
Assure your place at this special self-publishing workshop

With triple-digit growth in self-publishing services, technologies evolving weekly, and advertising hype, it's tough for authors to figure out which vendors to choose for which services. In the coming weeks, I'll be looking at three popular paths to get your print and e-book to online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores, without going through the subsidy presses. Check out my entire post on PBS Mediashift.

With the perceived risk among writers of copyright infringement so extremely high it's no wonder self-publishers are increasingly concerned about making sure their work is copyrighted.

Many self-publishing service companies now offer copyright services, but you don't need to use them. While they charge up to $150 for the service, it costs only $35 to easily do it yourself.

Find out how in my PBS MediaShift post.

This month I've been traveling between motorcycle events and writing conferences and the dog ate the iPhone update wiped my calendar and I forgot about my monthly spot on Sidestandup.com motorcycle radio until the host emailed to ask for the promo copy for my guest. I sent a panicked email to several travelers I know, including Ben Slavin. Not only did he say yes, but he put me at ease by including a great photo for my promo, his bio, and a list of potential questions. He agreed to let me share it here as an example of how to win the hearts of stressed-out journalists on deadlines.

At the Central Coast Writers Conference I presented Blogging for Authors to about 60 authors and would-be authors, only about 10 of whom already had a blog. The first part of the presentation was necessary tedium. What tool to use? WordPress, Typepad, Blogger, Tumbler? The practicality of buying a domain name so that your blog is portable, instead of taking the easy way out, and then being trapped on Typepad or Blogger or WordPress. Be patient, we'll get past this, and then talk about the fun stuff - what to blog about!

Now in its 28th year, the Central Coast Writers’ Conference features workshops, table talks and a writing competition, among other events. Presenters include science fiction writer Jeff Carlson, literary agent Jill Corcoran, fantasy writer Barbara Hodges and young adult novelist Robin Mellom.

This year’s highlights include two new workshops — Chevron Tech, Toys & Toys: Self Publishing Boot Camp & Guerilla Marketing Tips, featuring nonfiction author Carla King and senior literary agent Laurie McLean, and VAC Travel Writers’ Boot Camp, featuring travel journalists Judith Fein and Paul Ross.

Read more here.

Just back from a sunny lunch date in Berkeley with Elise Gochberg and David Gagnon of Allura Printing - a service attractive to self-publishers because of their POD offerings and who will soon be wooing more self-publishing customers with Allura Press, a POD and ebook services company that will offer an array of reasonably-priced services (design, layout) and products (printing) to compete with CreateSpace, Lightning Source, and the Author Solutions companies. They do all kinds of POD printing, including high-quality full color books and brochures of all sizes, and even can POD odd things like spiral-bound books. They're on my radar, so stay tuned for updates.

"Apple makes more money on devices than from selling content/services, while Amazon is the opposite. Now, Apple’s model is much more profitable right now, and that’s because they can charge a premium. But in order for them to maintain that premium, they have to innovate in ways that make it difficult for competitors to catch up. Read more on The Corona Labs Blog.

The licensing deals that allow movies, books and music to stream into the latest mobile devices, while long at the heart of their appeal, are becoming even more critical as several of the biggest technology companies fight for an edge in the lucrative market for smartphones and tablets. Washington Post

So how do you take advantage of this trend as as self-publisher? Use the new easy tools for creating multimedia content: Vook, Aerbook Maker, and Kwik - see my most recent PBS MediaShift piece Aerbook Maker, Kwik Help E-Books Come Alive with Multimedia.

Saturday, November 10, 2012 - 1:00 to 5:30 pm
Mills College
Oakland, California

Choose one or both boot camps:

Only Self-Publishing Boot Camp $149.00 USD Both Self-Pub and Build Your Blog Boot Camps $273.00 USD

Order just the Build Your Blog Boot Camp from Linda Lee's website: $149