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Sunoasis X 2005 V2 Issue 9
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David Eide
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Sep 29, 2005 21:28 PDT
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S U N O A S I S X 2 0 0 5
Volume 2 Issue 9
September 2005
"Find out the reason that commands you to write; see
whether it has spread its roots into the very depth
of your heart; confess to yourself you would have to
die if you were forbidden to write."
-- Rainer Maria Rilke
_____________________T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
1) [Professional Notes- POD and Self-Publishing]
2) [My Life As A Lulu: Experiences in Self-Publishing
by Erika Dreifus]
3) [Resource Notes]
4) [C/Oasis- new stories and poems]
5) [New Forms of Publishing]
6) [Community]
7) [Etc/Etc/Etc]
http://www.sunoasis.com/sunoasisblog.html
Switch to the online version right now!
http://www.sunoasis.com/honor.html
I'm not charging for subscriptions but if the spirit
moves you please use the Amazon Honor System. Thanks.
Enjoy this issue! Forward any comments to:
eide-@earthlink.net
===========================================================
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__________________P R O F E S S I O N A L N O T E S
Ah patience, my friend. I have about a million writers I
want you to meet.
Patience is the most effective way to negotiate the
maddening world of writing and publishing.
Self-publishing, for instance, is not something to throw
yourself into even if you have a great book or story to
tell. Be excited, certainly, but then begin that process of
due diligence and check out the necessary steps you must
pass through to execute the deed successfully.
The phenomenal growth of print-on-demand (POD) publishing
indicates a very strong market of writers who want to get
published. It may directly challenge the traditional print
system in the years to come but that is for the future to
find out.
http://www.sunoasis.com/digitalwriter.html
I have some ornery opinions about it at The Digital Writer.
Is it merely vanity publishing spelled differently?
It can turn out that way. A writer needs to assess
the material she has and make strategic decisions on whether
to try and publish it through traditional channels or do it
herself. If you are going to publish through regular
channels you still need to do a lot of preparation like
researching publishers and agents, preparing book proposals,
establishing some idea of how the book will be marketed, and
so forth. There are horror stories in traditional as well as
self-publishing.
"Personal publishing and short-run production of books aimed
at specialized target audiences are among the fastest-growing
parts of the book publishing market, according to Frank
Romano, a printing industry expert and professor emeritus at
Rochester Institute of Technology. "Approximately 30 percent
of book titles are now printed in quantities less than 100,
and that could reach 50 percent by 2010, Romano points out."
From Business Wire 9/13/05
* * * * *
Are you ready to do some of the following tasks?
* Editing
* Designing the cover of the book.
* Getting an ISBN
* Copyright registration
* Library of Congress card number
* Bar code
* Prepare a marketing plan with names and numbers of all
possible connections that will help you promote the book.
* Fulfill orders that may come in.
Remember that mistakes in self-publishing can leave a lot of
good intentions in the dust as precious money and time
trickle down into the good Earth.
So, be prepared.
Tools and technology are just that. The intention of the
mind and spirit using those tools is the key.
A skeptic will say that POD is useless because one person
can't possibly do all the things a publisher can do unless
the writer spends the same type of money and expertise on
promotion, production value, editing and the like. So why
not allow the traditional publishing system sift out the
good from the bad?
But that presupposes that a person would self-publish
for the same reason a person would try and publish a book in
mainstream publishing. There are many motives for writing
and publishing. For instance, any literary writer who is
innovative should do as much self-publishing as he can, as
James Joyce did seventy years ago or so.
Another reason would be if you had an idea before the
mainstream has caught up with it and need to fix the idea in
some form and build on the idea. Self-publishing, in this case,
would be the way to go.
It's becoming popular to write family histories, war tales,
and cookbooks using self-publishing. It gets the ball
rolling in the right direction. If the ball is picked up by
another publisher great; if not, you have produced something
of value.
And remember that, now, writers are operating in a system of
many platforms. The platforms don't necessarily compete,
though it feels like it at times. The platforms attract
different audiences. Remember that.
Still, the very worst thing you can do is rush the book into
print under the pulse of adrenaline that it will solve a
multitude of personal dilemmas.
POD, especially, is a tempting route but you will be
disappointed unless you have some marketing plan, do
rigorous editing, and think about the cover before the last
second.
The innovative writers of today are going to make it much
easier for this new literary system to mature and get
efficient. It will benefit writers and readers beyond
anything imaginable.
The more I research this area, the more I see creative,
intelligent people creating networks and seeding the new
literary system in very interesting ways. It means that any
new or creative idea struggling to survive in the market
will have a greater chance of success.
Beyond that, a knowledge of self-publishing prepares the
writer for a publishing career, traditional or not. Knowing
what needs to happen to take a manuscript from
a raw state to a finished one is an antidote to the ways and
means a writer can get ripped off in the publishing world.
Knowledge is power. It's ugly to see how many businesses
exist because of the ignorance of people.
* * * * *
This month we run an article by Erika Dreifus on using Lulu
as a POD. I would look at her site for evidence of how a
writer is using the beast to her advantage.
http://www.sunoasis.com/oasisfeedback.html
We like articles resourceful to the writing class so feel
free to submit articles if you have some inside information
about the writing game. We pay between $15-20.
I also recommend going to the resource links at the bottom
of these notes and get information about taking control of
your own creative life.
MY LIFE AS A LULU: EXPERIENCES IN E-PUBLISHING
by Erika Dreifus
Lately I’ve learned a lot about e-publishing. Late in
December 2003, I published a resource book for writers with
one of the better-known print-on-demand (POD) companies. It
appeared in paperback, a privilege for which I had to pay a
considerable set-up fee, but at the same time-- at no
charge-- it was made available as a downloadable e-book-- a
PDF document.
To be honest, back then I didn’t know very much about
e-books, but working on this first manuscript taught me some
important tips (about formatting, for example), and once the
book was launched I learned much more. Many buyers seemed to
prefer the e-book version to the paperback, probably because
the e-book was considerably cheaper, not only in retail
price, but also thanks to its lack of shipping costs. As an
author, I couldn’t help appreciating that e-books offered me
higher royalties, presumably because there was so little
effort and so few materials involved, technically, in
putting the book together for the consumer.
Over the following months I developed other ideas for
resource guides for writers, and I realized that e-
publishing was the route I wanted to pursue with them. In my
case, many of the resource guides include time-sensitive
information. Publishing e-books would allow me to revise
and update the content, uploading new editions of the book
when necessary.
While I researched and drafted those resource guides,
however, I was working on another project: the launch of my
website, The Practicing Writer. That was a pretty big deal.
To put it bluntly, I’m not very technologically savvy. And
while I wanted to provide these e-books for the visitors to
my site I wasn’t crazy about the idea of getting involved
with merchant accounts and other things that quite frankly
frightened me.
That's where Lulu.com (http://www.lulu.com ) came to my
rescue.
I learned about Lulu late last summer as I researched the
various companies that would allow me to list my e-books
with them-- and offer links to the book pages on my own
website. The more I learned about Lulu, the more I liked it.
Why?
1) Lulu, not the author/publisher, handles the
transactions and fulfillment.
2) Lulu tracks and pays the royalties. Authors may log
into their accounts at any time, day or night, to check
latest sales, and they set their own royalties. Lulu’s
commission is 25% of that royalty (or $.19, whichever is
greater). Example: You publish an e-book. You set the
royalty at $4.00. Lulu adds a $1.00 commission. The e-book
price is $5.00. You are earning 80% of the total profit.
3) Lulu charges no "set-up" or "hosting" fees.
But for me the real winning point involves the aspects of
the process where control continues to remain with me. Even
I could follow the instructions for getting started, and
with my first e-book manuscript ready to go, I was able to
publish it-- and begin selling it-- within minutes.
Admittedly, my previous experience helped. I had some
confidence in my ability to write and edit my material.
Beyond that, I knew how to convert documents into PDF
format, and I wasn’t scared to write my books' descriptions.
But for someone just starting out, Lulu offers step-by-step
guidance. (One helpful place to begin is the "Getting
Started" page at http://www.lulu.com/help/node/view/74 .)
Of course, as with any independent publishing venture,
getting your work in print-- or online-- is just part of the
process. Getting it to readers’ attention is a whole other
matter. That, too, has been part of my life as a Lulu.
What’s been essential here are the resources Lulu provides
its content creators (who include not only writers, but
musicians and others). Many of these resources are geared
toward assisting writers in the challenging job of marketing
and promotion. And among the resources new/potential authors
might want to peruse are:
1) Now for the Hard Part: Marketing Your Book: Annie
Broadwater, Rachel Toor, and the Lulu staff offer tips for
marketing a self-published book. Doesn’t cost a penny.
Download it at
http://www.lulu.com/content/55244
2) The Community Page
(http://people.lulu.com/lulu/index.php ).
Includes Help Tips from Lulu Experts (topics rotate and
include pointers on everything from writing a press release
to sharpening one’s grammar).
3) Support Forums. Seek and find advice on all aspects of
the publishing and marketing process (and more) at
http://www.lulu.com/forums/ (note: access to some resources
may require free registration).
Lulu also offers each content creator several features that
can be customized:
1) The storefront. Want to sell multiple e-books? This is
where they’d all show up. Visit my storefront at
http://www.lulu.com/erika-dreifus to see a sample. I set it
up myself, following the simple instructions. And I’m pretty
proud of it!
2) The blog. At my storefront you’ll see the latest posts
from my "Practicing Writing" blog. I never "blogged" before
I became a Lulu. I love my blog. Apparently others are fond
of it, too, because within year it had attracted more than
7000 visitors. Since my newsletter, "The Practicing Writer,"
is only distributed once each month, I use the blog to post
more news about writing jobs, contests, and other
information that just won’t fit into the newsletter,
space-wise or time-wise. The blog is also a good place to
remind people about new e-book publications and updates to
old ones as well as the dates and details of special sales.
3) Previews. Lulu allows-- and encourages-- its writers to
provide previews of their books for readers to download. If
you return to my storefront and click on any of the e-books
you’ll find that I’ve made previews available for each of my
e-books. In one case, for the Practicing Writer’s Primer on
Low-Residency MFA Programs, I hadn’t, in fact, initially
provided a preview. But I was motivated to add one after a
reviewer harshly criticized the book solely for failing to
provide what s/he had expected it to provide. Although
truthfully I couldn’t understand how the reader could have
expected anything beyond what the book description (and
other reviews) promised, I thought I’d be doing myself-- and
other readers-- a favor by adding the preview and providing
even more information ahead of time. You be the judge!
4) The ability to revise-- on one’s own. I’ve already
referred to my appreciation for the control I maintain over
my work at Lulu. The reason I can hold sales is because I
can adjust the prices to reflect a discount at will-- I
control those settings. I don’t have to wait for someone
else to upload an updated version of an e-book-- I control
that. For me, that aspect of "customizing" the publishing
process is the best feature of all. For me it’s the perfect
mix-- independence in the writing and publishing but relying
on far-more tech-savvy people I trust for the fulfillment
and transactions.
I’ve learned a lot, in this continuing life as a Lulu.
Beyond finding out more about my own areas of interest and
expertise for my e-books I've learned about storefronts and
blogs and previews. I’m continually keeping an eye on what
needs to be updated and what the reviewers are saying.
There’s always more to learn, and to do. For me, this life
is a good one.
P O D R e s o u r c e s
http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/index.asp
ISBN.org
http://www.forewordmagazine.com/index.aspx
ForeWord Magazine reviews independently published books
https://www.lightningsource.com/index.htm
Lightning Source
http://www.spawn.org/
Small publishers, artists, and writers network
http://www.bookmarket.com/ondemand.html
OnDemand Book printers and eBook companies from John Kremer,
self-publishing expert.
http://www.weberbooks.com/publish.htm
A self-publishing blog by Stephen Weber
http://tinyurl.com/cd849
Before going into POD I'd recommend listening to this podcast
of interviews with some of the CEO's of POD publishers. Is
it simply vanity publishing in new clothes? Well, all
publishing is a kind of vanity, the question is what
benefits do all the parties get.
______________________________R E S O U R C E N O T E S
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=========================
For Freelancers Only:
=========================
http://www.fonerbooks.com/cornered.htm
Check out the self-publishing blog from Foner Books. The
writer is a former trade book writer who, "gave it up
for self-publishing." His name is Morris Rosenthal
and he has the best take on self-publishing I've seen
yet. He makes the point that when you self-publish you
have become an "acquisitions editor."
http://www.mrmagazine.com/whatshot.html
What's Hot, What's New section from Mr. Magazine.
http://www.slate.com/id/2125089
A veteran of the freelance writing life speaks out.
He's leaving the fold and here are the reasons.
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countless articles and book-length mss (non-fiction, light
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of 320+ pages and in record time. For more information:
http://www.sunoasis.com/jerinew.html
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_________________B U S I N E S S O F W R I T I N G
http://poynteronline.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=52001
Time management tips from editors.
http://tinyurl.com/8jsov
Very good tips for writers who run their own business.
http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/27-3041.00
The Occupational Information Network has a great summary
report on what kind of tasks, skills, abilities, etc. are
required for a variety of editing positions.
http://www.spj.org/ethics_code.asp
Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics
http://www.charleswarner.us/ASMEGuidelines.htm
American Society of Magazine Editors Guidelines
______________W R I T I N G O R G A N I Z A T I O N S
http://www.ibiblio.org/slanews/
News Division of the Special Libraries Association
http://www.iabc.com/index.htm
International Association of Business Communicators
http://www.iwwg.com/
International Women's Writing Guild
http://www.aliciapatterson.org/
The Alicia Patterson Foundation
http://www.freedomforum.org/
Freedom Forum
http://www.dartcenter.org/
Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma
______________________________P U B L I S H I N G
http://www.uky.edu/CommInfoStudies/IRJCI/blog.htm
The Rural Blog
http://tinyurl.com/bfuly
Norman Mintz has some pointed words about the failings
of journalism.
http://www.wan-press.org/article8165.html
The global newspaper industry is laying out plans to get
the young readers all the experts have told them they are
losing.
http://tinyurl.com/8ysfq
Check out the very useful Book Standard Bestsellers. It has
over one hundred different categories of the highest selling
books of 2004-2005. A lot of it is celebrity driven.
__________________________M A R K E T S A N D L E A D S
Investment Marketing Writer
Valley Forge, PA
Vanguard, one of the world's leading investment management
companies, needs a creative, disciplined writer to develop
and produce a range of investment and marketing
communications, in a variety of different media including
print and electronic channels. You should be able to tailor
your writing to various audiences, such as sophisticated
investment professionals, financial advisors, and individual
investors.
For Full Ad:
http://www.sunoasis.com/vanguard5.html
____________________________________________________________
Guidebook Authors
Avalon Travel Publishing is seeking writers to author four
new guidebooks: Moon Handbooks Greece and Moon Handbooks
Spain. We are seeking one author for each book. THESE ARE
CONTRACT POSITIONS, NOT FULL-TIME OFFICE JOBS.
Professional writers are preferred. Authors must be able to
quickly and clearly identify the key attractions of the
destination and provide strategic planning advice. They
must have close ties to and strong knowledge of the country.
Authors must also enjoy research and be able to adhere to
strict deadlines. ATP Authors are compensated with an
advance and royalty. Moon Handbooks authors update their
books every two to three years.
For Full Ad:
http://www.sunoasis.com/avalon.html
___________________________________________________________
MARKETS:
GARDENING MAGAZINES: Make sure you locate the
editor of a magazine, contact her and request a sample copy
and writer guidelines. If you think you have a story for
her, send an excellent query. Search back issues and try
to understand the type of articles the editor looks for.
We provide the guidelines or mail addresses and phone
number of the publications when available.
http://tinyurl.com/bsmtk
The American Gardener
Pays $300-$500 for articles
http://www.canadiangardening.com/guidelines.shtml
Canadian Gardening Magazine
Pay $50-$1,500 (Canadian)
http://tinyurl.com/dvwoa
Pays $50-$200 for article
http://www.hortmag.com/contact.asp
Horticulture
Pays $600-$1,500 for articles
http://tinyurl.com/8ekoc
Organic Gardening
Pays up to $1/word for articles
http://tinyurl.com/aq4cq
Sunset Magazine
Pays $1/word for articles
Don't hesitate to tell us what you are looking for:
http://www.sunoasis.com/oasisfeedback.html
There is an index of writer guidelines here:
http://www.sunoasis.com/sunoasismarkets.html
___________________________________________C / O A S I S
http://www.sunoasis.com/sethstory.html
In The Beginning by S. Brady Tucker
In the drowsy and silent dark of guard duty, I thought the
white shadows clumsily trodding past my position were
Wyoming elk. In my darkened dreams, they seemed graceful
and full of purpose the cows following the bulls in file.
http://www.sunoasis.com/strangeland7.html
Strange Lands and People by Martha Nemes Fried
I received a letter in June 1963 from REALM: FOR WOMEN OF
ACCOMPLISHMENT, asking me for an article of interest to
professional women. It reached me when my son was nearly
three months old. I had no time to respond as I was packing
for a trip to Taipei, Taiwan where Mort planned to conduct
field research for a year with a special interest in the
organization of clan temples.
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http://newhavenadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:124827
This is the clearest and boldest statement yet in the local
"citizen journalist" endeavor by a former newspaperman
who describes print newsrooms as, "overcast and grim."
It certainly does something vital and wonderful: It finds
what the print press can't or won't do and does it very
well, on the cheap, through devotion. And I hope Sunoasis
subscribers remember what the slogan for this publication
was in the late 90's. "You can't compete with devotion."
http://tinyurl.com/93sjr
The Authors Guild is suing Google over the search engines
attempt to digitize massive numbers of library books.
http://www.editorsweblog.org/2005/09/newspapers_now_.html
As we suggested earlier this year in The Digital Writer,
when pure internet companies start hiring honest-to-goodness
journalists, then you'll see a change in that profession.
Yahoo now has a real journalist who will report from a
variety of places.
http://www.editorsweblog.org/2005/09/newspapers_stru.html
And an article from the same source about how newspapers are
and are not adapting to the internet.
http://tinyurl.com/86dul
Is the center of the media industry shifting from New York
to Silicon Valley? This writer appears to think so.
_______________________________________C O M M U N I T Y
See the Tips Page for more information:
http://www.sunoasis.com/tips.html
Thanks to Steven Evans for his generous contribution.
Thanks Steven! He is an editor and has a splendid
website here:
http://www.the-freelance-editor.com
OCTOBER 7-9, 2005
BRATTLEBORO LITERARY FESTIVAL in Brattleboro, Vermont.
Readings and panels featuring John Irving, Russell Edson,
and Maxine Kumin.
Details: http://www.brattleboroliteraryfestival.org
OCTOBER 19-22, 2005
GWENDOLYN BROOKS WRITERS CONFERENCE at Chicago State
University, Chicago, IL. This year's theme is Our
Black Revival.
Details: http://www.csu.edu/gwendolynbrooks/
OCTOBER 28-30, 2005
TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL in Austin, TX. Most events are free and
open to the public.
Details: http://www.texasbookfestival.org
OCTOBER 29- NOVEMBER 13, 2005
Chicago Humanities Festival in various Chicago area
locations. Panel discussions and readings by Ed Hirsch,
Margaret Atwood, Annie Proulx, Salman Rushdie, Scott
Turow, Joan Didion and others.
Details: http://www.chfestival.org
NOVEMBER 18,20, 2005
The international Cat Writers' Association (CWA) will hold
its 12th annual writers' conference in Foster City, CA near
San Francisco on November 18-20, 2005. The conference is
open to anyone interested in pet writing and will feature
two days of professional seminars with nationally known
speakers on topics including screenwriting, how to sell
children's online writing, humane shelter issues and a
magazine editor panel.
For more information:
http://www.sunoasis.com/tips.html
http://writing.shawguides.com/search?t=October
Shaw Guide for Writing Conferences
_______________________________________E T C/ E T C/ E T C
Editor/Publisher: David Eide
E-Mail: <mailto:eide-@earthlink.net>
Sunoasis X 2005 is fully protected by copyright.
Please ask permission if you are going to use any or
all of this publication.
Reprint rights belong to the authors.
Contact them if you wish to use their material.
Unauthorized use of any material is strictly
forbidden.
Our hope is that we can help and enhance the world
of writing, publishing, and editing.
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