Tag Archives: publishing

A Movie in Your Head

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The slogan “A Thousand Songs in Your Pocket ” introduced the iPod. It was a breakthrough technology that really caught on. The slogan even made sense. It explained the problem that it solved – portability – or the lack of space. Of course, Apple put its marketing muscle behind the campaign.

Imagine if books had a slogan. What would it be? “Books don’t need a slogan,” you might say. “Everyone understands their benefit.” Well, yes, most people do, but slogans often make the case better (for proof, see “Yes We Can” or “Make America Great Again”).

While most would agree on the benefits of books, there is ongoing debate about which format – digital or print – people prefer to read them in.

Why would anyone want to read a digital book?

Some people argue that digital books are overtaking print books. For example, Neilson reported that 50% of all fiction sales are in e-book format. I wondered about this and other similar claims and contemplated whether they are hype or reality. To put it in the vernacular, “Is it fake news?”

My wife has an e-reader but we never use it. We recently moved and we don’t even know where the device is. It is most likely still in a box in the workroom. But we don’t miss it.

I read a report that said that E-book sales plunged nearly 20% earlier this year. And sales of e-readers declined by more than 40% between 2011 and 2016. Then I realized that many people are reading e-books on tablets and smartphones, rather than dedicated e-readers – so there are a significant number of people that pick digital over print. Some people just prefer multi-functional devices to e-readers such as Kindle and Nook.

In Defense of Print

“I like to hold the product” was the reason most people prefer printed books. Many admit that print books are a break from electronic devices or social media. Some people feel print books are the new vinyl.

I recently read a study that indicated that 65% of Americans reported reading a printed book in the last year or so – vs. 28% who read an e-book.

And, while I couldn’t help but wonder if e-readers were more hip, I now find out that younger readers are driving the appetite for print.

My Own Research

I recently sat down with a 72 year old avid reader, and asked him why he liked e-readers. Not surprisingly, his answers were mostly financial. He had downloaded the Kindle app onto his laptop.

I came away from the discussion realizing that, like many other things, preference often comes down to price. People don’t want to pay $19.95 for a book anymore. Especially when they can buy a used copy on Amazon for $1. Or an e-book version of it for $5.99-$9.99.

It is just a matter of preference. Some people like vanilla ice cream while others fancy chocolate.

In my mind, there is no doubt that the debate will continue. What isn’t debatable is that people still like to read. Pew Research ran a study and the results showed that 26% of readers indicated that they do so for three main reasons: learning, gaining knowledge and discovering information. Other reasons people read are:

  • 15% escaping reality
  • 12% relaxation
  • 6% the variety of topics
  • 4% spiritual enrichment
  • 3% mental challenge, and
  • 2% physical properties of books (feel and smell)

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If you’re big into digital, check out Digital Book World October 2-4, 2018. Next year’s conference will be held in Nashville, TN. Score Publishing, the producer of the iBA Conference, acquired Digital Book World’s event from F+W Media. The event will be held around the time the company normally holds its iBA conference. Score Publishing is best known for VoiceFirst.FM, a media network centered around voice technology such as Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Assistant and Apples’ Siri.

If you prefer print, a better conference for you might be BookExpo, to be held at the Javits Center in New York City, May 30-June 1, 2018. I hope to see you there.

By the way, the best slogan I have seen for books is “A movie in your head.” The slogan holds up – regardless of whether you have a print, or digital, copy of it in your hands.

About the Author

Frank Felsburg ghostwrites books, articles, blog posts and whitepapers. He can be reached at frank@spokenandwrittenwords.com, 828.595.2485 or @fjfelsburg.

Dying to Write Something

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I recently travelled to Europe on a ski trip. On the way over and back, I read Paul Kalanithi’s riveting book, When Breath Become Air, which was posthumously published by Random House in January of 2016. The book was voted Goodreads’ Best Memoir & Autobiography and was on the New York Times bestseller list for a while.

It is a poignant story written by a neurosurgeon who develops Stage IV metastatic lung cancer and passes away shortly thereafter. His wife, Lucy, finishes the book.

My slogan is “Most people die with their book still in them.” Kalanithi’s courageous and herculean effort is a rare exception. How many people, when faced with a life threatening illness or a death sentence would bother to write about it? Very few, I am sure. Lucy was blessed to have married such a gritty human being.

Talk is Cheap

Many people put off writing, saying “Someday I’ll write a book.” Well, frankly, some “day” turns into months, months into years and years into decades. And decades add up. With apologies to Everett Dirksen, “a decade here, a decade there, pretty soon you’re talking about your entire life.”

As someone I know once said about painting, “I’d rather be whipped than paint.” Is painting a room really that grueling? From where I sit, it is mostly the process of getting started that intimidates people.

In painting, it is the setup that takes time and borders on the mundane. You have to move furniture and use drop cloths. Then you have to remove wallplates, patch up holes and cracks. After that, you apply a primer coat. All this before you apply the actual paint. So, there’s a lot involved. However, physically it isn’t exactly cruel and unusual punishment.

The same goes for writing. Most of the effort involved in writing isn’t the work itself. The challenge is more that you have to convince yourself to create something out of nothing. There’s research that needs to be done. You have to read and make sense out of what source material is already out there. And you have to carve out the time for the actual work. It is imperative, however, that you understand the topic before actually putting pen to paper.

The Process

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That’s pretty much it.

It can be overwhelming if you let it be. But if you break it down into its component parts, it is doable.

And, if you would rather have a professional – whether that be a painter or a writer – do it, that is always an option.

Your turn. You could start a blog, write an article or get take on a book. There are plenty of genres to consider. What do you read? Whatever content you consume on a regular basis could be source material for what you will ultimately write.

Start now. Before it’s too late.

About the Author

Frank Felsburg is an APE (Author, Publisher and Entrepreneur) as well as an occasional amateur painter.

ME? A book?

ghostwriting cost, publishing, self publishing, Useful Tips, ,

Many people don’t think they are WORTHY of having a book about their life. They think their life is too mundane to warrant a story.

I disagree.

We all have life experiences. Granted, some lives are more exciting and interesting than others. However, even the ones that are seemingly dull have redeeming qualities to them.

We think the only people that lead interesting lives are the ones that are glamorized in the media. The swashbucklers. The bombastic. The rich and famous.

Consider Walter Mitty

Walter Mitty had a “secret life” that was much more colorful than his actual life. Perhaps you are like this and dream dreams that no one has ever dreamt or articulated before. Why not have that turned into a story? You might be surprised to learn how many people would be interested in seeing, hearing or reading it.

In 2013, 20th Century Fox produced – and Ben Stiller directed – the movie “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” with a $90 million production budget. Actors included Stiller, Kristin Wiig, Shirley MacLaine and Sean Penn. There was also an earlier rendition of the story in 1947, which starred Danny Kaye.

Are you an introvert with a wild imagination? You could be the next Walter Mitty.

Outgoing Types

On the other hand, perhaps you are a raging extrovert who is so busy socializing that you don’t have the time – or the patience – to sit down and crank out chapter after chapter about your interesting life.
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And interesting it no doubt is. The people you meet, the places you go and the things you do.

If you put it in print, many people – including those outside your circle of influence – could benefit from it. Therefore, you would be adding value to the lives of others.

Who Are You?

Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert – or somewhere in between – we all have stories to tell. We have all overcome obstacles to become the people we are today.

Don’t be like George Bailey from It’s a Wonderful Life who had to be shown what his life was like if he had never been born.

Consider a Ghostwriter

Many people are readers – but not writers. As Hugh Prather said, “If the desire to write is not accompanied by actual writing, then the desire is not to write.”

If that’s the case, consider a ghostwriter. Joe Pulizzi, in his book Content Inc., says “Believe it or not, many of the books from the authors you love have been written by someone else. I know, hard to believe, right? But it is true.” Did you know that Tom Clancy, Gwyneth Paltrow, JFK, Beyonce and Donald Trump all employed ghostwriters? So did Ronald Reagan. And yes, it is legal. A good ghostwriter can coax stories out of their subjects that make them come alive.

Books are often the source for the script of a screenplay. The movie doesn’t always resemble the book. Sometimes it is better and sometimes it isn’t. In my opinion, the movie is rarely better than the book. But the movie is usually monetized to a greater degree.

We all have a story to tell. Are you telling yours?

Fifty-fifty: $50 Tablet from Amazon & 50% More Pixels from Apple

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Teleread.com

There were a few recent educational technology announcements worth noting.

Amazon

Amazon, it is rumored, is introducing a 6” Fire tablet by the end of the year. It will cost $50, which is half the price of the Fire HD 6. Expect lots of advertisements. Facebook is now loaded with ads and so, likewise, will this tablet from Amazon.

Bezos thinks they’ll reach a new consumer segment with this launch. We’ll see.

The device would lose margins on the sale of it, but the game plan is to make up for it with Amazon Prime memberships.

Are they going head-to-head with Apple? That appears to be the case. Amazon, I think, is hoping to throw a wrench in Apple’s launch of their iPad Pro and their new iPhone, announced yesterday.

I’m sure Amazon would love it if people picked up e-book readers or phablets that will facilitate their content.

Some people think you’d be better off buying a used HD 6 on eBay for the $50 because of the limited number of features, which will include mono sound, rather than stereo.

Amazon didn’t do so well with their smartphone. I read one report that said they have $83 million of them in unsold inventory and another report that said they’re sold out and are discontinuing them completely.  Either way, Amazon has struggled since the proliferation of Android tablets. While Amazon recently held 33 percent market share in tablets, they now own 2.3% as of the end of last year.

Oh, and Amazon will also be getting into delivering hot food. It sounds like they’re trying to be a new version of Publisher’s Lunch.

Apple

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The bottom line is they’re jockeying for the enterprise space. The iPad will be much more of a creative device with the introduction of the iPad Pro. Apple already has the largest and most loyal customer base out there as they are masters of consumer products. Now, with deals with IBM & Cisco, they’re gunning for the business market – and the living room (with Apple TV).

First, the iPad Pro. It will have a 12.9” screen and will start at $799 and go up to slightly more than $1,000. It will have a woven fabric keyboard (optional) and a (pencil) stylus, will come in silver, gold and space gray and will be available in November. Pre-orders can be placed on September 12.

In addition to the new iPad Pro, they’ll have an iPad Mini 2, which will sell for $269 and a Mini 4, which will go for $399.

The most highly anticipated announcement to come out of San Francisco yesterday was the introduction of the new Apple TV. It will have voice activation (Siri) so you’ll be able to say things like “Show me animated movies, and just the new ones” and “I’m tired of the Kardashians, put on Merecat Manor.” The future of TV, we’ve learned from this announcement, is in apps and the apps are starting to look like channels.

You can use your phone and your tablet as a remote on Apple TV. You will also be able to shop from your TV set. This opens up gaming, shopping and music and could help brands like Airbnb, Zillow and Spotify become even more mainstream.

Finally, the big questions were whether the new iPhones would be called the 6s and the 6s Plus (they will) and will they have forced touch (yes, but they’ll call it 3D touch). The phones will be available in rose, gold and aluminum. They will have new, stronger glass and a new camera with 12 megapixels (upgraded from 8) and faster chips (supposedly 78%-90% faster).

Some people believe the Apple watch, which works with iPhones 5 & 6, will be the key gift this holiday season. I can envision millennials, who seemed to find them redundant as phones could tell them what time it was, changing their attitudes as they become fashionable. There’s no doubt that Apple sees them as a huge market.

With music, Apple broke up the album. Now they’re breaking up the cable TV model. And to “top” if off, they’re bringing back pencils and watches!

 

 

 

Things are Greening Up

US Airways, writing

Spring is here. I know it not because the calendar tells me. And the fact that Easter was last Sunday is a pretty good indication, too. I even fired up the lawn mower the other day for the first time this year. And the grass is nice and green.

But the real indication that warmer weather is here is it is Masters weekend. The Masters is the world’s greatest golf tournament, bar none.

Ahh, the Masters. It’s beautiful to watch on television. The melodic music. The blooming azaleas. The whispered voices. And the drama.

It’s even more spectacular to see it in person. I had the good fortune of being able to attend several years ago. I’ve heard it said it’s the hardest ticket to come by in sports. When you leave the airport, you can’t help but notice all the private jets parked there.

To me, the course is a lot friendlier to the patrons than Merion. I attended both the 1971 and the 2013 U.S. Opens at Merion. I found it very difficult to see much action. I didn’t feel that way at Augusta National.

The people that organize the Masters should be commended. They run it like a machine. It seems like the only place left on earth (or at least in the United States) that has so many people and so little clutter. It’s almost like the workers catch people’s litter as it leaves their hands but before it hits the ground. They don’t allow cell phones either. Imagine that.

The employees who work the concession stands and in the gift areas couldn’t be any nicer. They are amazing. There’s nothing like good old fashioned Southern hospitality. And the pimento cheese sandwiches (about $2.50 each) even beat a hot dog at a baseball stadium.

The year I attended (2011) was the year Rory McIlroy had the meltdown on the back nine the last day of the event. A few months later he won the U.S. Open and has gone on to become the number one ranked golfer in the world.

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Every year since 1997, when he blew the rest of the field away, the big story has always been Tiger Woods. How will he do? Where will he finish? The story line this year is that we’re now seeing a softer, more relaxed Tiger. We’ll see how that plays out.

You have to be a great bunker player and a good putter to win the Masters.

I love the story of Seve Ballesteros, a two time Masters Champion, who once told his caddie Ian Wright that the apple Wright had given him was too soft. Wright said to him “What do you want Seve, a caddie or a greengrocer?”

Who will don the green jacket? Phil? Ricky? Rory? DJ? Tiger? Jordan? Time will tell.

Everything is greening up.

It’s Masters Weekend.

Tiger’s New Image?