eBook

Penguin teams up with Readmill on booksharing app

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The Guardian UK is reporting that Penguin UK has teamed up with the Berlin-based ebook app developer Readmill to bolster direct ebook sales.  From the article:

The app allows readers to share ebook highlights and to talk to each other while they’re reading, “liking” one anothers’ updates and discussing the books.

The deal includes more than 5,000 digital titles – Penguin UK owns digital rights to works by authors such as Zadie Smith, Hari Kunzru, and John Updike, as well as Morrissey’s Autobiography. People who buy ebooks from Penguin.co.uk will have the option to “send to Readmill”. The arrangement sidesteps Amazon’s Kindle and means that Penguin can retain more data on customers.

The free app, designed for iPhone, iPad or Android phones, lets readers share highlights, and supports digital conversations about books by linking reading to social media. Readers can use the app to update Facebook and Twitter when they begin reading a book, if they want to highlight passages or when they finish a book.

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Dead Tree Books, eBook, Writer Reference

Writing: Should The Self-published Author Use A Pen-Name (Pseudonym)?

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Alli the Self-Publishing Advice Blog has posted an editorial on their site:

Trade publishers are notoriously wary of using the same author name across different genres, or of using a name that they feel is inappropriate for a particular book  – hence the morphing of Joanne Rowling into the more masculine J K Rowling, even though she doesn’t have a middle name. While self-published writers have the freedom to choose their own pen-name, the decision isn’t always easy or obvious. A group of self-published authors discussed the options on ALLi’s lively private Facebook forum earlier this week. Here are some of their conclusions:

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Big Bear Lake

Bear Mountain Opens Tomorrow!

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Bear Mountain is officially opening for the 2013-14 winter season Wednesday November 27th at 8:30 am!

A limited number of runs will be available to riders, with Chair 9 open top to bottom with terrain features. Available trails are Upper Park Run, Expressway, The Gulch, and Lower Park Run.

Chair 9 is for intermediate to advanced runs, and there will be NO beginner trails available on opening day. Plan on arriving early as ticket sales may be limited due to limited terrain (as in “it’s not quite winter … yet).

Bear Mounting will be offering drink specials at the Beach Bar, giveaways from Neff, a message in a bottle contest and more!

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National Forests

How to Cut Your Own Christmas Tree

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

At last count, there were eight states that participate in the National Christmas Tree Program and sell permits that allow residents to cut their own tree.  In California, specifically, there are several national forests that issue Christmas Tree permits.

From the Men’s Journal:

Retailers will tell you that the holiday season begins on Thanksgiving, but for many Americans it begins on the day they get their Christmas tree. The tree is a houseguest destined to stay through December (and a bit of January if folks are feeling lazy) and be introduced to family and friends. As such, it’s best if you know where your tree comes from and feel comfortable talking about how you met. The best place to find a tree with a bit of personality? One of the country’s many National Forests, which open to tree-seekers every December. According to Jane Leche, Colorado’s Front Range Christmas Program Coordinator, the best part of finding your coniferous Christmas buddy on public land is that you’ll actually be doing a public service. Still, the process can be a bit complicated.

“People have been cutting down trees on public land since day one, but you can’t just wander out there and start cutting anymore,” says Leche, who estimates that 30,000 people participate in the program. “You have to have a permit and know the cutting area – get all the information – and be familiar with the process.”

You can read the entire article HERE.

You can find out more about California’s Christmas Tree Permit program HERE.

Dead Tree Books, eBook, Success Stories

Today in Self-Publishing History: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

On November 26, 1865 Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, under the pen name Lewis Carroll published the novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

From Wikipedia:

[Alice in Wonderland] … tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre. Its narrative course and structure, characters and imagery have been enormously influential in both popular culture and literature, especially in the fantasy genre.

Since the invention of the printing press – and becoming increasingly popular since the 19th century – many successful authors would create and publish their own works.  These self-published authors would gain more control of their work, earn greater profits, and eschew the practical bondage required by publishers.  Publishers have repeatedly attempted to frame these and other self-published authors as using “vanity publishing” in an attempt to shame them.  To be clear: most people can’t name a single publisher … but they can name MANY self-published authors.  And English classes don’t have assignments to read Random House or Penguin, but they do have assignments on Twain, Tennyson, Kipling, and Thoreau.

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