WordFlix

Whose move? Amazon and Macmillan vie for position | Los Angeles Times

via latimesblogs.latimes.com

By HD Silversmith

The saga of e-books continues -- and will for a while, I suspect. Click the link above to read the latest.

The Apple-Amazon Ebook War Begins: Amazon Deletes Macmillan Books - Gizmodo

via gizmodo.com

By HD Silversmith

For those thinking about buying an e-reader, take note.

Just saying.

(For the record, I'm still loving my Kindle and not wanting an iPad ... though I work and play on both Mac and PC platforms, have an iPhone, and so on.)

More about e-readers

By HD Silversmith

A number of people have contacted me for more information and impressions about various e-readers out there. 

I continue to like my Kindle, but if you're seriously considering buying an e-reader, I'd suggest doing a systematic search of comparative analyses of the various products that are available. That way you can figure out which one may be right for you. They're all a little different. I've linked to one such analysis -- but it's only one.

You should read many to get a sense of the pros and cons of each device. In particular, you should check out the kinds of files and materials that are compatible with each e-reader.  These things vary quite a bit, and what one person wants in an e-reader another person might not like or need.

It's almost certain that e-readers will evolve -- they already have, really -- from being delivery devices for assorted printed matter to multi-purpose, multi-media devices.  The longer you wait, the more you're likely to get -- for less.

That said, I waited for the second iteration of the Kindle -- but no longer -- and I'm happy with it so far.  As I've already discussed, I had a very targeted kind of reading that I wanted to do on it, and it's been really great for that. I've read about 12 50,000-word novels so far on it -- books I wouldn't keep and would have trouble getting rid of if I'd bought hard copies of them -- and I've had no complaints.

Getting to know the Kindle

By HD Silversmith

So far, so good!

Since yesterday I've read two series romance novels on my Kindle (second generation), and I'm loving the experience.

• The display is extremely easy on the eyes, and you can adjust the size of print -- which is a real boon for  middle-aged people like me with rapidly changing vision.
• The navigation buttons are few in number, intuitively placed, and easy to use.
• The overall design is sleek and lightweight.
• The battery charge (as long as one has turned off the wireless system -- which you don't need when you're actually reading) appears to be phenomenal. Despite reading two novels (for approximately five hours), I see no decrease  in the charge indicator so far.

I was a little surprised to discover that the display isn't backlit in any way (so, in other words, in whatever situations you would require light to read a hard-copy book, you'll require light to read the Kindle).  On the other hand, that's one of the things that makes it much gentler on the eyes than, say, a computer screen or an iPhone display.

After the first half hour of reading and being very aware that I was reading on Technological Device, I moved past that awareness and into the book, and now it feels totally normal.  In other words, the technology does not interfere with my ability to enter the world of the book.

If anything, it may make it easier.  I'm a fast reader, and I think I may be reading even more quickly because the reading experience is more comfortable.  I'm not squinting at the pages as I do after hours of reading because the Kindle screen doesn't give me eyestrain.  That right there makes it totally worth buying for me.

I'm getting used to the various capabilities of the Kindle as I need them rather than trying to grasp them all at once, but agaain, its functionality seems relatively intuitive.  You don't have to slog through a manual to get up and running.

One quibble so far: it would have been nice if it had come with some kind of sleeve or cover -- no matter how cheap -- to protect it.  I already know I'm going to be slipping the Kindle into my purse on a daily basis, and I don't want it to get scratched.  As a result, I ponied up another $14.95 -- not to Amazon but to a third-party seller -- for a ruby red patent leather book-style cover that should arrive in the next few days.

Next? I'm going to do some online exploring of Kindle-compatible file sources -- above and beyond Amazon's, I mean.

Amazon's Kindle (v. 2)

By HD Silversmith

I finally did it.  

After a few months of dithering and a concentrated month of serious consideration and comparison shpping, I bought a second-generation Amazon Kindle. It arrived today via UPS, and it's happily charging away now on my desk.

Because I love the physicality of books themselves, even cheap paperbacks, I'm not at all sure that an e-reader is right for me. I've always liked being surrounded by bookshelves in whatever tiny room, study,  apartment, or house I lived in. Book-covered walls make me feel safe, cozy, grounded, and happy -- I'm surrounded by them as I write this, as a matter of fact.

So -- why an e-reader?

Well, it's certainly not to replace hard-copy books, that's for sure. I just don't see that happening in my life, particularly given my job as a college professor.

Rather, I have a very targeted purpose.  My primary motivation is to reduce the amount of what I call hard-copy disposable reading I do in order both to 1) be a little more environmentally friendly 2) reduce the costs of that kind of reading over time.

As anyone can see from the list of recreational reading in the sidebar of this blog, I read a lot of mass-produced fiction -- specifically series romances, which are cranked out in large numbers by various publishing houses each and every month. Most folks I know who read any sort of genre fiction do so in great quantities, and even when they opt to trade books or take advantage of second-hand bookstores (as I often do), they spend a fair amount of money over time on their habit.

In my case, I never keep series romances.  At best I trade them in. At worst I literally throw them away. Not all donation centers or libraries will accept them.  They're probably one of the least valued forms of popular culture, even today.

For this reading niche, it seems to me that an e-reader is the perfect solution. 

• An adequate number of series romances from various publishers is available in Kindle-friendly form each month to feed my habit. 
• They're significantly cheaper in their electronic form than in their new and even their second-hand print editions. 
• They're ephemeral -- which is exactly what I want this particular kind of reading to be.

On the relatively rare occasions when I feel like buying a top-10 list bestseller, that kind of book tends to be electronically available as well. 

I might even consider an electronic subscription to The New Yorker because it's so much cheaper than a hard-copy subscription -- though I've never yet had time to read a single issue cover-to-cover before the next week's issue comes out.

So we'll see.  I might have thrown away my money on a niche purchase I'll never use -- but based on my particular reading habits, I have a hunch it'll pay off.

That said, I suspect it may take some getting used to.  Stay tuned.

CreateSpace Community - National Novel Writing Month

"We are also offering writers an incentive to finish - each NaNoWriMo winner will receive a CreateSpace promotional code for a free proof copy of his or her manuscript!"

via www.createspace.com

By HD Silversmith

How cool is this? When I cross the NaNoWriMo finish line at the end of the month, I intend to take advantage of CreateSpace's offer.

And I have Meg over at Heartfelt to thank for the information. 

(She's an articulate young blogger whose writing, attitude, and work ethic inspire me daily.  Wish I could go back 20+ years and be her!)

NaNoWriMo - Day 8

By HD Silversmith

I know, I know.  I'm cycling through blog templates, and it's driving me nuts, too.  A sure sign of NaNoWriMo- and work-related stress and procrastination. I'm earning those merit badges.

The template I'd used for months turned out to be buggy past the point that I could tolerate, so now I'm in search of a new one.

All I want is something professional-looking with a font I like, and a white background.  How hard a combination is that to find?

Had I world enough and time, I'd design my own banner and personalize my template up the yingyang -- but I figure that's sort of why I'm paying Typepad -- I don't have the time or energy to spend on that right now.

So I'll continue to cycle.

The good news? My word count is where I want it to be going into Week 2, and I left off writing today at point where I'm eagerly looking forward to writing tomorrow.

Go me.

NaNiWriMo progress report

By HD Silversmith

I do believe I'm using the word "progress" in its NaNoWriMo sense.  Which is to say, loosely.

As I type this, the widgets are wonky. I'm at 13, 616 words, which currently puts me about one day ahead of the word count game on Day 7.  A good thing, as I'm really busy this week and traveling next weekend to and from a conference (by car ... driving ...  can't even write on a plane, though I can [and will] stop en route for a couple of hours for coffee and to write somewhere).

Better than that, my plot and characters have suddenly come to life.  It's about time.  The first 8,000 words are dreck, but I'm not turning back.  That's against all that's holy during NaNoWriMo November!

However, I don't know what I'm writing any longer.  It's not exactly a category romance, per se. Futhermore, I have no idea if it just went paranormal one me or not. Time will tell.

But right now? I'm just not going to worry about it. Can't afford to.

I'm loving yWriter5, by the way.  Free and way conducive to NaNoWriMo productivity!

NaNoWriMo survival kit

By HD Silversmith

This is a fun thread on the NaNoWriMo forum.  Here are the contents of my so-called kit thus far:

Thumb drive (because I'll be going among a PC desktop at home, a Mac laptop (huge, not very lightweight) at work, and a netbook for write-ins at cafes and the like)

yWriter5 free writing software on all three computers (I'm loving this -- perfectly designed for NaNoWriMo)

NaNoWriMo stickers on all three computers (gotta get into the spirit, dontcha know)

NaNoWriMo desktop wallpaper (varied) for all three computers

Unlimited coffee and lattes and month-long self-permission to drink as much of it and as many of them as I like (er, but I already give myself these things anyway)

Good-for-me-snacks (to fuel the body --> baby carrots, protein)

Bad-for-me snacks (to reward set word counts --> chocolate, trail mix, etc.)

Green water bottle

Composition book for notes and the perfect pen (have yet to locate the latter, though I like Pilot G-2 .07 gel writers)

Post-It notes (for just in case)

Chris Baty's No Plot? No Problem!

Writing totems: Where the Wild Things Are stuffed animal (Bernard) at home, and a piece of yellow jade for the road, burning candle

iPod NaNoWriMo playlist (must compile this) and earbuds

Writing-friendly clothing: NaNo t-shirts plus leggings, thick socks, warm scarves, and fingerless gloves

Baseball cap with "Just write it" pin

That's it so far ...

Any additional suggestions?

To NaNoWriMo or not to NaNoWriMo?

By HD Silversmith

I haven't committed to doing NaNoWriMo 2009, and I may not.  But I'm exploring my options.

Yesterday, as a break from my day job, so to speak, I trawled the internet for information about formulas for category romances (particularly those published by Harlequin Presents, as that's kind of romance I read most, when I'm reading them -- this piece was particularly fun).  And I also looked for useful writing tools and programs specifically designed for NaNoWriMo kinds of projects.

There was no shortage of either.

If I do participate in NaNoWriMo this year, I'm doing it by rote:  I'd enter into the spirit of cranking out 50,000 works in 30 days (that's 1,666 words, or just over six and a half double-spaced pages a day).  That's part of the reason I would pick genre fiction with a very predictable formula:  I don't want to write the great American novel, and I wouldn't even be out to write a good piece of formulaic genre fiction (was that redundant?). I'd just want to nail the formula and produce something using it. I found some handy lists of basic information I know anyway but that reminded me of very basic elements like average number of chapters, typical narrative arcs, and so forth.

I also found a free writing software program called yWriter5 by Spacejock Software that truly allows you to outline, generate, and assemble a long writing project in chunks, complete with deadlines, word counts, and the whole bit, if you want to use those features.  It's like a Lego or Erector set for cranking out writing.  I think I'd hate it for my usual kind of writing, but it looks like just the thing for NaNoWriMo.

Using the software would require a little practice beforehand, if I decide to do NaNoWriMo. However, after downloading it and entering the 12 projected chapters into the program yesterday, I got a feel for how it works. I think that outlining the project throughout October will be all the practice I really need.

Mind you, I really haven't decided yet if I'm going to participate in NaNoWriMo -- though I have set up my user account (it's free, by the way) and donated a token amount just on general principle.  It depends a little bit on what happens in the next couple of weeks in terms of any writing/revision deadlines I may face in my academic life -- those would have to take precedence.

If I do it, I'd be doing it to start and finish  a draft, no matter how crappy, of the kind of novel I'm read in the thousands since I was about 15 years old.  To be able to say yes, I did that. Because I've always wanted to do it, regardless of whether it ever sees the light of day.  And it seems to me that NaNoWriMo provides the perfect context for me:  namely, in in which I wouldn't be able to obsess beyond the parameters of just getting words down on the page (i.e., onto the screen) and accomplishing that relatively straightforward (if not easy) goal.