Author Archives: Shawn E. Bell

A Backpacker’s Guide to the Wildflowers of Yosemite

Nathan Roberson recently wrote about the incredible number and diversity of wildflowers in Yosemite.  From the article:

Wildflower lovers rejoice when they visit Yosemite Park in eastern California. The 761,268-acre World Heritage Site is home to 1,450 plant species. In fact, Yosemite’s website notes that 25% of California’s native plants grow in the park, offering backpackers ample opportunity to view and photograph their favorite blooms.

Because Yosemite is so large and its terrain so varied, many different types of wildflowers grow in the park throughout much of the year. Here’s a list of some Yosemite’s better-known wildflowers and when and where you can find them…

You can read the rest of the very detailed article (including a whole lot of pictures!) HERE.

Amazon Source – the best of both worlds

Now customers don’t have to choose between eBooks and their favorite bookstore!

Indie bookstores can now work hand-in-hand with Amazon to confront the changing world of publishing.  Bookstore owners often see ebooks and ebook readers as an adversary – and Amazon as the ultimate evil and destroyer of bookstores worldwide.  That’s never been the case; without books and bookstores, Amazon wouldn’t exist.  To work with bookstores, Amazon has started a new program that offers discounted Kindle hardware and a percentage of future ebook sales to booksellers who sell the hardware.

Continue reading

Discount Books Daily Launches Curated Email Newsletter for Book Lovers Seeking Discounts and Variety

Daily email offers subscribers discounted eBooks, paperback books and audiobooks in various genres.

Discount Books Daily is a daily email newsletter for book lovers looking for deep discounts on genre-specific audiobooks, eBooks and/or paperback books. Membership is free and subscribers gain access to books from traditional publishers as well as top-notch independent authors. The vision is simple: make interesting, discounted books (in the genres and formats readers prefer) that are easy to find and easy to purchase.

Discount Books Daily aims to provide readers access to deeply discounted books without forgetting one truth: readers need and want choices. “We’re a team of readers. And though we have that in common, what we read and how we read is quite different. I might download a new book onto my tablet, but my partner Miles, who is a new dad, gets his best reading done listening to audiobooks during his work commute. There are also people like my husband who enjoy touching the cover of a book, dog-earing the pages and placing a book on their bookshelves. We don’t want to forget them,” says co-founder Tina Patterson.

Continue reading

The Guardian and L.A. Times continue crusade against self-publishing

The L.A. Times is parroting an article first reported in The Guardian:

“98 British publishers folded last year due to e-books, discounts”

The original article published November 4th in the Guardian has a headline screaming “Ebooks and discounts drive 98 publishers out of business” with a subhead of “Number of closures is 42% up on last year, as digital books and huge pressure on margins push companies over the brink” … and it’s all nonsense.  Bollocks.

The quote by Anthony Cork of the accountancy firm Wilkins Kennedy included is “the rise of Amazon and other discount sellers with massive buying power means the pressure on publishers’ margins is now immense. While publishers might be able to sustain relatively small margins on a bestseller, it is much harder for niche publishers.”

Continue reading

Amazon Extreme Package from Outskirts Press Prepares Self-Publishing Authors for Success

From PRWEB:

Outskirts Press, the fastest growing self-publishing and book marketing company, announced today it is giving away its most popular marketing package (nearly $250 value) to authors who start their publishing process this month. The Amazon Extreme marketing package includes a Kindle Edition, Search Inside the Book Submission and Amazon Cover Enhancement, as well as a complimentary copy of Sell Your Book on Amazon by Outskirts Press CEO Brent Sampson — everything an author needs to jump start their book sales on Amazon.com.

Continue reading