EPUB Boot Camp

At the ACP/BNC ePub Boot Camp in Toronto – check Twitter #BookCamp (I got the name wrong last night at the airport, but now we’re all using it) for more! Will post on this tonight.

B&N teaming up with RIM

B&N inches closer to ebook distribution by forming a partnership with RIM, maker of the Blackberry. Ebooks on your crackberry, people!!!!

New Business for Authors

In a fit of shameless self-promotion, I’m posting about AuthorWeb – a service for authors to help them navigate through the digital minefield. (Yes, we have a page!)

You’ve published a book. What’s next?

The hard part about writing a book should be writing the book. You’re not a digital marketing guru – you’re an author.
So let AuthorWeb take care of the digital stuff. Here are some of the things we can do for you:

• Upload your manuscript to Google for Google Book Search
• Upload your manuscript to Amazon for sale on the Kindle
• Make sure you are listed with Bowker’s Books in Print program so your book is listed on all e-commerce sites
• Work with Barnes & Noble.com’s Small Press division for web (and possible store) distribution
• Work with your POD service (Lightning Source, Lulu, Xlibris, etc.) to make sure you are getting the value you’ve paid for
• List you on author sites such as Filedby
• Send your book to bloggers who cover the topic you’re writing about, for reviews

Other services may include:

• Enrolling you in AuthorsGlobe, so you can get virtual speaking engagements
• Setting up Facebook/MySpace/Twitter accounts so you can jump on that social networking thing
• Setting up a blog so you can tell the world what you’re doing

How do we do this? We’ve been in this business for 22 years. We’ve watched it evolve from a print-and-paper world to a digital world – so fast that many authors are left hanging with no support. How do you navigate all the rules and forms? Why is an ISBN essential for selling your book? Once you’ve got your book listed on Amazon, how do you get the word out so people can buy it?

We have helped authors for 22 years. We can help you. for information on the service packages available.
 

B&N.com buys Fictionwise

Teleread reports that B&N.com has bought Fictionwise for $15.7 million:

The actual transaction is notable for who did not buy Fictionwise: a company like Amazon or Ingram that might have ended Fictionwise’s nonDRMed multiformat releases…[T]this could also be good news for the ePub standard, which will be the core format for a reinvented eReader.

What’s more, if the Pendergrasts’ vision remains, eReader will be available for Linux, complete with DRM capabilities for publishers that insist on “protected” books.

The fact that Amazon or Ingram didn’t buy Fictionwise also could be good news for Stanza and other e-reader vendors interested in licensing Fictionwise’s DRM.

Of all the major DRM systems, tthe one in Fictionwise’s eReader softare could well be among the gentlest, allowing you to copy a book to an unlimited number of your own devices–unlike systems from, say, Mobipocket.

Fictionwise DRM uses encrypted credit card numbers as a way to discourage copying.

All good things. And an encouraging sign from B&N that they are not ignoring this market.

Kindle on your iPhone

The Times reports that Amazon has released an iPhone app that will allow you to add your Kindle books to your iPhone for those times when your Kindle is not available and you still want to read your stuff. Early reports from a listserv I belong to are saying that it’s not QUITE up and running yet, but when it is, I’ll give this feature a bit of a review.

Stanley Greenfield

Today I was privileged to go to the funeral service of one of the book industry’s most wonderful people. Stanley Greenfield, founder of Dial-A-Book, had been ill for several months and passed away over the weekend. Today his family and close friends payed a great tribute to him, eulogizing his forward-thinking, his enthusiastic nature, his great love for his wife Betty and his children and grandchildren, and his incredible curiosity and peripatetic intellect.

For those who want to reach out to Betty, condolences can be sent to her at 4439 Waldo Avenue, Riverdale, NY, 10471 – or email her at .

Michael Cairns and Fran Toolan have more.