We all love stories. For many of us, it's why we read, whether on paper or in electrons. But what are the most meaningful stories? For many of us, we love stories about our past, our families, and where we came from. StoryWorth is a start-up that aims to make telling, reading and keeping those stories easier. I really like the idea behind it. It's all done via email. You can send questions to your loved ones, or StoryWorth will create and send questions. The recipient answers the question, and StoryWorth stores it and turns it into an online book. It's private. Only...

Kindle Fire to Now Accommodate Video-Enhanced E-Books (Good e-Reader) Why Microsoft's new 7-inch design specs will help Windows 8 tablets succeed (Computerworld) Why ebooks are a different genre from print (The Guardian) The Role of Reading in Growing Asian Economies (Publishing Perspectives) Kindle Daily Deals: 6 Twilight novels by Stephanie Meyer (+ 3 others)...

Amazon has purchased the social networking site Goodreads, it was announced today. “We are joining the Amazon family,” Goodreads CEO and co-founder Otis Chandler wrote on his blog. “We truly could not think of a more perfect partner for Goodreads as we both share a love of books and an appreciation for the authors who write them. We also both love to invent products and services that touch millions of people.” Chandler states Goodreads isn’t going away, but that support from Amazon will help the site develop. Also, there will be integration for Kindle users and people who use Goodreads. The comments on...

I actually made a private pact with myself yesterday that we wouldn't run any more Google stories on TeleRead, at least for a few days. Over the past couple weeks, it almost feels as if the site has morphed into something of a Google wire service. But then Joanna Cabot filed her daily Morning Links roundup this morning, and one of the items nearly took my breath away: Google has decided to kill off the print editions of all its Frommer's travel guidebooks. The Frommer's brand, don't forget, was sold to Google just seven months ago by its previous owner, Wiley, for a...

I'm a bit behind on reading Rusch's blog on the business of being a writer, but one of her recent articles on binge reading (which also touched on Hydra) was excellent food for thought. Note that her article didn't cover Hydra's recent changes in its royalty and payment structure, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth reading, both as readers and as writers. Rusch discusses reader habits, and how there's no such things as "too many books" for a popular author. She also talks about why traditional publishers limit the number of books an author can release in a year. (Hint, it's...

It sounds suspiciously like a story from The Onion: 'Fifty Shades' author to publish writing guide. But nope—it's actually a real-life AP wire story that appeared on the Philadelphia Inquirer's website this morning. Scheduled to be published on May 1 by Random House's Vintage imprint, Fifty Shades of Grey: Inner Goddess (A Journal) will be a combination of author E.L. James' professional writing advice and—get this—blank journal pages for readers to fill with their own words. Wow. You definitely don't need an English lit degree to see this book for what it is: A fairly easy way to make a pile of money by cashing in...

More than a few self-published authors, of course, have found serious success through various channels over the years—selling a vast amount of books on their own, for instance, or having their previously self-published book picked up by a big publishing concern. And yet, contrary to popular belief, not every self-published author actually wants to be picked up by a mainstream publishing house. Some are more than happy working independently, and pocketing as much money from their DIY publishing project as possible. This topic was brought up last Sunday, March 10, during the Self-Publishing in the Age of E panel at the SXSW in Austin, Texas. The...

Independent comic book creators will get a new outlet for their creations. Earlier today, ComiXology announced the launch of ComiXology Submit, where comic book and graphic novel creators can upload their files for free. ComiXology will then transform the files to be read on its platform, which itself can be accessed across a variety of apps. “While we continue to push ourselves to innovate the digital comic experience, ComiXology Submit provides an incredible opportunity for creators to sell their work to a highly targeted and global audience of comic book and graphic novel fans,” said ComiXology co-founder and CEO David Steinberger, in a release. “The next generation...

Science-fiction, adult-themed novels and other types of genre fiction have made an impression on the digital world. Little, Brown UK’s Clare Smith thinks literary fiction is obviously the next step in the e-book world. The company has created Blackfriars, a digital imprint to be launched in June. “I think the thing for me, with doing a strategic review of fiction, one of the things that seems really clear is we’ve reached the tipping point of genre fiction,” says Smith, Blackfriars’ publishing director and associate publisher. “It’s just not obvious to me why you wouldn’t do digital-only literature.” Blackfriars will kick off with three...

Being able to trust a book review on popular sites such as Amazon and Goodreads is getting difficult. These sites have fake reviews—some good and some bad—designed to work the system by raising and droping books in the rankings. Amy Holman Edelman and those at IndieReader are looking to help readers with this problem. They recently created a Kickstarter campaing to raise funds for Rabble Reads, a website with aggregated book reviews for both traditionally published and self-published books. (Think Rotten Tomatoes for readers.) [caption id="attachment_80523" align="alignright" width="176"] Amy Holman Edelman[/caption] “This site will help people to zero in and what’s good and what’s not,” says Holman Edelman, of Montclair, N.J....

By Dr. Frank Lowney I recently traveled to Kansas City, Mo., to attend the annual convention put on by the National Association of College Stores (NACS), and to participate in a panel discussion on the impact of emerging technologies upon the textbook business. The CAMpus market EXpo, or CAMEX, is billed as the “largest annual tradeshow and educational event in the collegiate retailing industry.” NACS represents nearly all U.S. college stores, but CAMEX is attended primarily by people who run campus-owned stores. Half of all college stores are campus-owned; the other half are outsourced operations such as eFollett. The experience firmed-up many of...

Allen Schatz published his first book two years ago. After things didn’t work out with an agent, he went the self-publishing route and knew he had to market on his own, which meant contacting reviewers. Some said yes, many said no. But Schatz noticed a change in the business around this time and self-publishing didn’t seem like a death sentence for his writing career. “By the time my former agent released me, things had changed enough for me to go the self-publishing route,” said Schatz, whose first book was Game 7: Dead Ball. “It really wasn’t hard finding reviewers. There are a number of...