Fitness and Writing

For the past couple of years I have wanted to begin exercising on a regular basis but one thing that prevented me was the thought of all the time it would require, time away from writing. The less time I spend writing and revising the longer it will take me to publish, so this wasn't a trivial concern.

I took the plunge in the middle of January and have been using my local fitness center about 5 days a week, for approximately an hour each time. We are cuddling up to the middle of March as I write this so I thought I would share my thoughts on the results of my little experiment.

The most significant change is that I've lost weight. Yea! Also, and perhaps more important, my back problems—I was experiencing quite a bit of pain in my lower back—have disappeared. AND when I run for the bus I no longer appear to be at death's door. All of these things are wonderful and, collectively, they have made me feel much younger.

To come back to my original question: Is it worth it? Is the time spent exercising worth the lost writing time? As you've probably guessed, I don't think there is a clear cut answer to that question but I can say that it was worth it for me. I am healthier, and probably happier, because of having started an exercise program and I can only hope that is reflected, in some way, in the quality of my writing.

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie is one of the best selling authors of all time. Years ago—I'm not sure whether this is still true—it was said that she had outsold the Bible!

I know opinions vary widely, but I have been a fan of Agatha Christie's since grade eight when my english teacher—one of my favorite teachers—assigned us Christie's "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," to read—and we got to watch the movie! It was great fun—we each had to try and guess who had committed the murder—and I've loved her books ever since.

Every time I read one of Christie's books I ask myself, "How did she do it? What was her secret, why are her stories so popular?" I think I must have read each of her books many times and one thing I noticed is that in both her Miss Marple and Poirot books she tends to include a romance.

I find that interesting and possibly revealing.

Hallelujah! The iPad 2 on sale March 11

Forget the academy awards, March 2nd was my big day, the day the world found out what features the iPad 2 will have and when it will be available to buy. March 11 is the big day in the US and it goes on sale in Canada, I believe, before the end of the month.

I wanted to blog about this on March 2nd but, as fate would have it, my computer was down for the count, getting a new operating system (Windows 7—love it!).

Here's a link to the apple store listing the different kinds of iPad 2 for sale, the prices, etc.

Joe Konrath and ebook pricing

Joe Konrath, a well-known independent author, has long maintained that $2.99 is the best price for ebooks. The pricing of ebooks is, as you can imagine, a hotly debated topic.

Recently Joe has done an experiment where he has dropped the price of one of his books, The List, to 99 cents to see if he might make more money at the lower price point.

He writes:

At $2.99, I was earning $2.03 per download. And I was selling an average of 43 ebooks a day.

At 99 cents, I only earn 35 cents per download. I'm now selling 533 sales a day.

At $2.99, I made $87 a day.

At 99 cents, I'm now making $187 a day.

Click here to read the blog.

Kindle Software Update Brings Page Numbers!

Our customers have told us they want real page numbers that match the page numbers in print books so they can easily reference and cite passages, and read alongside others in a book club or class. We've already added real page numbers to tens of thousands of Kindle books, including the top 100 bestselling books in the Kindle Store that have matching print editions and thousands more of the most popular books.

Click here to read more.

An entertaining review and commentary on the software changes can be found here.

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!