How clever publishers are using ebooks

 
Net Galley is an exciting company distributing digital titles to the media and to reviewers. They delivers secure, digital galleys to professional readers. I'm able to log-in, request any galley from a publisher, and receive it. I also track what I have read, alert the publisher when I'm finished, and avoid the long delay receiving print galleys or ARCs by mail.



Now, during Book Expo America, Net Galley has distributed an ebook with exciting excerpts from over 30 new works that will debut in Fall 2012. The book was put together by Publishers Lunch, and allows reviewers an opportunity to read excerpts and prep reviews now, well in advance of publication dates.Among the new works, I know you'll be glad to see a new Barbara Kingsolver title, Flight Behavior, and the fall-over laughing Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? by Rhoda Janzen. Those are definitely the first two I'll be reading, followed by, oh gosh... a dozen others!

The entire thing was conveniently made available via email, for a quick download to read on my computer or Nook. And how large is this Fall 2012 preview? It tops out at 624 pages; powerful yet weightless.

A fabulous use of digital books and technology.

Helen Gallagher

Guest post by Rita Jean Moran

A chance to enjoy the perspective of another blogger with this guest post:

Hi, my name is Rita Jean Moran, and I am the author of The Library Kids book series (www.thelibrarykids.com).  I also have my own blog, ritajeanmoran.blogspot.com, where I post many articles on:  mysterious places I have visited, ancient history, and places to visit with your family.  My books are for children and adults and I want my blog to be family-friendly as well as interesting.

I would like to thank Helen Gallagher for teaching a wonderful seminar on Power Blogging for Authors and Writers.  She did a great job and had many fresh ideas regarding blogging.  I liked her tips on morguefile.com for finding free graphics that you can use as well as her tips for increasing traffic to your blog by guest blogging.  

             

My blog audience is growing.  What I’ve found out is how powerful a blog can be.  You are one person in a world of about 7 billion people and you can have a voice to the entire world with a great blog.  My statistics tell me that people from all over the world are viewing my blog.  I’ve had hits from America, Russia, Germany, Canada, India, England, France, South Korea, Italy, Latvia, Australia, Georgia, Croatia, Greece, Spain, Norway, South Africa, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Costa Rica, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Denmark, Romania, Dominican Republic, Israel, France and Moldova.  With a blog you don’t even have to know the languages of other countries because the viewer may even be able to convert their view on their web browser to their own language. 

            

I’ve found that mixing up great graphics with interesting articles attracts a lot of attention.  Using a good short title and readable font for your articles also helps.  I tend to use many of my own pictures but I can also get some really good ones from Wikipedia that are public domain.  You need to be very careful not to violate copyrights and you should site sources when necessary. 

Once again, thanks Helen and I hope some of your viewers come and visit my blog at ritajeanmoran.blogspot.com.

Show us your bio...

I have a new post on Freelance-Zone.com today on the importance of using a strong bio for yourself as a writer. When you write an article, pitch an idea to an editor, or create an author bio, it follows you everywhere. Make sure yours has some zing. Click here to read the full post at Freelance-Zone. Learn how to go beyond the ordinary, and even post your bio in the Comments section for a little free PR.

What's all the interest in Pinterest?

We can't seem to go a day without an inquiry or news item about Pinterest. Like a virtual bulletin board, you use it to pin images that interest you, and share them with others. Or just browse those of interest to get ideas for design, decorating, recipes, style, etc. An attendee at yesterday's blogging workshop mentioned one blog post she put there resulted in 300 new visitors to her blog. Others use it as a design board, idea board, or promotional tool.

Sample Pinterest Board

If it interests, you, you can read more about it here at a post on Freelance-Zone. 


Then, visit Pinterest and see if you want to get started. You have to request an invitation to participate, but you don't have to sign up to browse all the images.Like most social media, it is free, so all you have to lose is time... time... time. 

Power blogging workshops today

Great fun at two blogging workshops today. The Fremont and Ela-Area Libraries have some of the kindest and smartest patrons in Illinois. I was grateful to work with them today. For those interested in earning money from a blog, we spoke of using Google ads on Blogger as a good first step. Here's how to get started. Full details and clickable links are here:
http://buzz.blogger.com/2012/04/monetize-your-blog-with-google.html