Apple to Amazon: 30% please

Philip Jones writes:

I have had it confirmed the Apple's new in-app purchasing rules will apply to e-books sold via apps, including the Kindle app, and that in addition these apps will no longer be able to link to purchasing apparatus external to the app, i.e. via a website. This is bad news for the Kindle app, and others who up to now have got around Apple's rules.

Read the article here.

Borders files for bankruptcy protection

Steve Emecz asks whether there is a sustainable model for bookstore chains and replies: No. Interesting blog post.

iPad media event to be held March 2: Yes!!

It looks like we will finally find out when the iPad 2 will be in stores! I hope that is the case, it seems as though it has been a long wait.

Kara Swisher, over at All Things Digital, writes:

... Apple will hold its much-anticipated event on March 2, where the tech giant seems poised to unveil a new version of its hugely successful iPad, according to multiple sources.

Click here to read the article.

Another Great Post from Dean Wesley Smith

This is another post on the business of writing. Read it here.

The Business of Writing

There are some wonderful blogs about the business of writing. I've already mentioned Dean Wesley Smith's blog and Joe Konrath's blog. Thanks to Dean, I've discovered another rich source of information on the state of writing and publishing: The Author's Guild, specifically their series on e-books and the difference between the economics of e-book publishing and traditional publishing.

Here are the Author Guild blogs, in order:

How Apple Saved Barnes & Noble. Probably.
E-Book Royalty Math: The House Always Wins
The E-Book Royalty Mess: An Interim Fix

Enjoy!

The Value of an Awesome Critique

I was wondering what I would blog about today -- I'm trying to blog once a day, but sometimes it is hard to find topics. Today I was going through the blogs I subscribe to hoping that there would be an exciting announcement (I'd love to read: iPad 2 on sale tomorrow! But, alas ...) however nothing caught my eye. Then, on the verge of giving up, I thought: Aha! Something very nice did happen to me today AND it has to do with writing. Perfect!

Someone, I won't name names, sent me the most marvelously helpful critique of my current manuscript. It was encouraging but also didn't pull any punches and mentioned areas in the manuscript which could be improved upon. It has made me much more optimistic that my story will be, in the end—and I think this is the highest praise—a good read.

I think that's the sign of a good critique, that it helps the writer make their story better without making them feel that their story is a huge steaming pile of doodoo.

Creating a good critique isn't easy. I've written my share of critiques and it's darn hard. I think it's one of those things that is both a learnt skill and a dark art.

iPad 2 Rumor: new iPad to weigh 16.5 oz

I'm chomping at the bit for news about the iPad 2.  David Carnoy from cnet reports that, according to a previously accurate tipster, the new iPad shell will be made of a "new material similar to carbon fiber rather than aluminum" reducing the weight of the new iPad from 24 oz to 16.5 oz.

Read the entire article, here.

Who do you write like?

I just read Amanda Hocking's latest blog post where she embedded a link to a nifty (yes, I said 'nifty'!) internet poll that tells you which famous author you write like. (And of course this is completely true!  Or not.)

Here are my results:

I write like
J. K. Rowling

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!

I was thrilled! J. K. Rowling is one of my favorite authors.

Most Downloaded Books from UK Libraries

I love the new digital library and have been using it exclusively for the past few months. Here are the most downloaded ebooks and audiobooks in the UK.

Cheers.

Dean Wesley Smith and the New World of Publishing

If you are a writer, or at all interested in the business of writing, Dean Wesley Smith's blog -- as well as Joe Konrath's blog -- is a must read.

Today Dean wrote about writing speed and how that influences which route a writer might be interested in going in -- indie publishing or traditional.  It is one of the best articles I've read on the business of writing.  His wife, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, has a great blog too and she is currently doing a series about the new world of publishing.  Good stuff.

Happy reading. :)

How Apple Saved Barnes & Noble. Probably.

I wish I had thought of that title, but I didn't. It is the title of an article on The Authors Guild website and it is the best article on The Agency Model that I've read.

powered by Fotopedia

The Jersey Shore

I was riding the bus today and couldn't help overhearing a conversation between two teenagers on the next seat.

"So!" one of them said, "I watched the Jersey Shore last night."

"Yeah?" The other one replied. "I've never seen it. Any good?"

"Well, there's this couple," the first one replied, "Sam and Ronnie, and they had a huge fight. Sam was going to leave the house -- and the show! -- but her roommates talked her out of it. Anyway, Sam and Ronnie were lying under the covers together having a personal conversation -- Sam was saying how sorry she was for getting upset -- it was an intimate moment -- and then there's this other guy in the room! He'd been there the whole time. He said, 'Look, if you guys want to get busy, I can go and sleep downstairs.' Oh my gosh, it was _so_ funny!"

Both girls laughed then the first girl said. "I like watching The Jersey Shore because it's so funny, they're a bunch of old people trying to party like they're teenagers."

It was the last line there that made me want to laugh.  The guys and gals on The Jersey Shore all seem young to me, but I guess not if you're a teenager.

I guess that perhaps age, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

Picture of the day:

powered by Fotopedia