Digital Pubbing

Exploring the ins and outs of the publishing industry

Musings

Garden District Book Shop

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Over winter break I went to New Orleans with my family for the first time. While leisurely strolling around the Garden District we stumbled upon the Garden District Book Shop, a small but beautiful indie bookstore with loads of signed books. Browsing bookstores always reminds me why I wanted to go into the publishing business. So many books! So many great stories begging … [Read more...] about Garden District Book Shop

Do eBooks Weigh Anything?

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Interesting question posed by a New York Times reader: When an e-reader is loaded with thousands of books, does it gain any weight? The answer? “In principle, the answer is yes,” said John D. Kubiatowicz, a professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. To read the whole explanation, click here. … [Read more...] about Do eBooks Weigh Anything?

Borders Liquidation = Cheap Assets

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Borders has been going out of business for a while, but until last weekend I hadn't stepped foot in one of the going-out-of-business-stores. The one in Minneapolis is two floors and almost empty. While it's sad and a little scary for people in the publishing biz to see such a huge brick-and-mortar store go down, it was also a little fun to browse the massive sales. I … [Read more...] about Borders Liquidation = Cheap Assets

Google Loves Lucy

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Today would have been Lucille Ball's 100th birthday, and Google paid tribute to her. Until midnight tonight, anyone who goes on the Google search home page can play six clips from the famous "I Love Lucy" TV show. Read more at searchenginewatch and Google's blog. … [Read more...] about Google Loves Lucy

Making Money with Mobile

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Between the iPhone, the iPad, and the Android platform, mobile and tablets are on their way to becoming hugely profitable. But it's not just the apps that are making them popular. Mobile web is still an important component of mobile as a whole, and McDonald's certainly knows that. Advertising and monetizing mobile is still being experimented with, and McDonald's has come up … [Read more...] about Making Money with Mobile

853 Books

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Take a good look. This is what 853 books looks like. My own personal library, full of YA and picture books, with a few adult books as well. Ah, the benefits of interning at Random House. Actually, I was just working in the right place at the right time. Random House was in the process of moving to smaller offices, which meant everyone had to shrink their inventories, which … [Read more...] about 853 Books

Coca-Cola, Advertising, and Santa Claus

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Over the weekend, I went to visit my uncle in Battery Park. We were at the dinner table, dropping fish balls and slices of beef into a hot pot, when my uncle told me something shocking: "Santa Claus wasn't a jolly fat man dressed in a red suit until Coca-Cola made him that way." I'm not surprised he knew this. Back in the '90s, he collected coke cans from around the world … [Read more...] about Coca-Cola, Advertising, and Santa Claus

Charlie Sheen Does Poetry

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Actor, writer, poet--what can't Charlie Sheen do? GQ got a hold of his self-published book of poetry that he gave to friends in the 90s, and has been posting poems on their tumblr blog. Entitled "A Peace of My Mind," the poetry is hilariously bad. Here's an excerpt from one of the poems Publisher's Weekly posted: "All eyes held in stare, all mouths locked open in shock, as … [Read more...] about Charlie Sheen Does Poetry

So You Want to Write a Novel

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After taking a ton of creative writing classes and working in the publishing industry a little bit, I can say that this video is hilarious and touches upon all the issues/ideas new writers may have. I remember once I saw Jeffrey Eugenides, author of The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex, speak, and he addressed the condension most writers face. "Writing is the only profession … [Read more...] about So You Want to Write a Novel

Summer Internships

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Photo by Rdsmith4, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Yesterday it was brought to my attention that I need to be on the lookout for summer internships. I know, it's only February, but some of my friends have already had interviews for jobs that won't start until May/June. But I'm torn. As someone with six internships under my belt, I feel like I'm ready for a real-world job. But … [Read more...] about Summer Internships

Snow Cat

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Walking through Hoboken yesterday, I saw this woman towing her cat. They were walking really slowly, and the cat kept looking around at its surroundings. Eventually, the woman noticed her cat was out of the bag, and she stuffed him back in and zipped it up halfway. I can't blame her too much; her cat could easily blend in the snow and be lost. Or maybe she was cat-napping? … [Read more...] about Snow Cat

No Jaywalkers Today

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Sleet, rain, hail, and snow--that was what every New Englander had to deal with last night. I woke up to 20 inches of snow on the ground, and it took me an hour and a half to get to work--half an hour just to get from my apartment to the PATH station. There was slush everywhere, and on my way home from work I accidentally stepped in many large puddles. But, I noticed hardly … [Read more...] about No Jaywalkers Today

I Write Like…

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I found this pretty awesome tool a couple days ago: I Write Like. Warning: it can be very addicting. Basically, you copy and paste a few paragraphs of your writing sample, and it will analyze your writing style and tell you which famous writer you are most like. I stopped myself after six samples, but supposedly I write like Cory Doctorow, Anne Rice, Kurt Vonnegut, J.D. … [Read more...] about I Write Like…

Save Lives, Don’t Pick Up Trash

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Last week, NYC was hit by a blizzard and got 30 inches of snow. Because of all the snow, many garbage trucks were unable to pick up trash. And of course, after one week, it really built up. There are two ways of looking at this. Things can get a little smelly and messy, sure, but according to the New York Times, the provess of picking up trash was very democratic. NYC … [Read more...] about Save Lives, Don’t Pick Up Trash