News today in the publishing world

One of my publishers creates this fantastic video series about what's happening in the book world. This week, the graphic designer/tech guru of the company debuts as the presenter.  Nice job Mario Hernandez!

What's in the news:  Google mobile searches now outpace online searches, Amazon creates a new YA Book Club, and ebooks are now available on JetBlue flights!

Ready Resource for Relief Society 2014 is now available for pre-order

Great news! The 2014 "Ready Resource for #ReliefSociety" is out!

Well, it's not on store shelves just yet, but you can pre-order your copies on Amazon today!

The picture shows a cover similar to last year's edition, but it will actually be blue in 2014.  This handy resource book makes lesson preparation so much easier so that you can spend more time focusing on the Spirit and meeting the needs of your specific class.

There are 3 new features in this new edition:

* Scripture Mastery verses that help parents memorize the same scriptures as their teenagers in Seminary.  Each lesson focuses on the Scripture Mastery references that relate to the same topic.

* Preach My Gospel page references to help the class become more familiar with this terrific missionary tool. President Monson said in the Fall 2013 General Conference "Now is the time for members and missionaries to work together..." The page references will help readers learn how to incorporate missionary work and focused studies on the topic.

* A weekly challenge to deepen learning and increase application of the topic.

The 2014 edition still includes the favorite features you love to help you prepare your Sunday lessons during Relief Society and Priesthood:

* Object lesson ideas

* Hymns and music that go along with the theme

* Suggested artwork and visual aids

* References to articles in Church magazines and General Conference talks

* Ideas for showing videos to correlate with each week's topic

* A handout that can be copied and given to everyone in the class I think you're going to LOVE this new book!

If you're interested in any of the previous year's issues, they can also be purchased online at Amazon for a new low price! They're TERRIFIC for Family Home
Evening lessons and youth topical lessons for Sunday School!  


 

Ready Resource for #ReliefSociety

FREE copy of Trina's newest release!

In honor of Memorial Day and the memories we share of our families, get a FREE copy of my newly released book today and tomorrow at:  http://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Family-Trees-ebook/dp/B00CUTES2U/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369153319&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=climbing+family+trees+trina

How to Join the Ebook World in One Easy Step

                                                 by Trina Boice
                                           www.TrinaBoice.com 


Think ebooks are just for wannabe authors who couldn't get published by  a "real" publishing house in the big leagues?  Think again!

Acclaimed writer Lawrence Grobel has jumped into the e-book world with both feet, launching 11 books on Amazon.com. 2 Hollywood novels (Catch a Fallen Star; Begin Again Finnegan); a collection of his magazine profiles (ICONS); a yoga satire (The Book of Shmoga); 152 poems about the famous (Celebrity Salad); a memoir that reveals what happened behind the scenes with Streisand and Brando (You Show Me Yours); his definitive biography of The Hustons; and his 3 best-selling Conversation books with Truman Capote, Marlon Brando, and James A. Michener.

Amazon now sells more ebooks than hard-copy books in print!  Adding your ebook to the cyber library is easier than you think.   Set up an account at www.kdp.amazon.com    Simply follow the steps online and your ebook will be on Amazon's bookshelf in no time at all!

Getting Paid To Give Books Away For Free

                                                               www.TrinaBoice.com 

How would you like to get paid to give your books away for free?   Amazon has a new program that does just that!  Their KDP Select-Free system helps you get your name out in front of millions of customers.  Book sales will not take off until your words are read, enjoyed, and recommended. Word-of-mouth publicity is made possible by Amazon’s KDP Select Freebie Days. Amazon pays you to give your ebooks away!

 Have you discovered Dan Poynter yet? He's considered one of the top gurus in the book industry, helping thousands of authors navigate the publishing world and become successful.  He even has a free newsletter you can sign up for with terrific tips each week.   Now he has a new book out that teaches authors how to understand the KDP Select-Free program at Amazon.  In his book you will discover:

--The step-by-step details on how KDP Select-Free works.
--How to set up your ebook for the Freebie Days.
--Promotion. Where to send announcements. A valuable, long list.
--Tracking your downloads and sales.
--Responding to emails from your new readers/friends.
--Detailed steps and advice. No generalities. 

Dan Poynter is also a master at advertising his book, as evidenced by some of the big names he got to endorse his new book:

“Dan Poynter is the top coach for writing, publishing, and, most important, promoting.”
—John Tullius, Director, Maui Writers Conference.

“One essential ingredient to our Chicken Soup success was consulting with Dan Poynter in the early stages.”
—Jack Canfield, co-author,
Chicken Soup for the Soul series

“Dan Poynter has generously guided thousands to authorship. Their books make this a better world.”
—Dr. Robert Müller,
Author and Past Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations.

Dan Poynter is the author of more than 130 books.  He has been a book publisher since 1969, and is a Certified Speaking Professional. His seminars have been featured on CNN and his books have been pictured in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. 

If you're interested in checking out this book, you can find it on Amazon at:

http://tinyurl.com/7wel525

To sign up for his free author newsletter, go to:   www.danpoynter.com/sites/para/ 


Good luck out there in the book world!
Trina


www.trinaboice.com

Smashwords Helps Secure the Future of Indie Publishing

The founder of Smashwords, Mark Coker, and I are tight friends.  Well, not really, but he just sent me this important email that illustrates how the publishing world is rapidly changing:

"Great news.  Yesterday afternoon I met with PayPal at their office in San Jose, where they informed me of their decision to modify their policies to allow legal fiction.

Effective last night, we rolled back the Smashwords Terms of Service to its pre-February 24 state.

It's been a tumultuous, nerve-wracking few weeks as we worked to protect the right of writers to write and publish legal fiction.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Smashwords authors, publishers and customers.  You stood up and made your voice known.  Thank you to every Smashwords author and publisher who wrote me to express opinions, even if we disagreed, and even if you were angry with me. You inspired me to carry your cause forward.

Smashwords authors, publishers and customers mobilized. You made telephone calls, wrote emails and letters, started and signed petitions, blogged, tweeted, Facebooked and drove the conversation. You made the difference.  Without you, no one would have paid attention. I would also like to thank the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC). These three advocacy groups were the first to stand up for our authors, publishers and customers. Their contribution cannot be overstated.  We collaborated with them to build a coalition of like-minded organizations to support our mutual cause. Special kudos to Rainey Reitman of EFF for her energy, enthusiasm and leadership.

I would also like to thank all the bloggers and journalists out there who helped carry our story forward by lending their platforms to get the story out.  Special thanks to TechCrunch, Slashdot, TechDirt, The Independent (UK), Reuters, Publishers Weekly, Dow Jones, The Digital Reader, CNET, Forbes, GalleyCat & EbookNewser and dozens of others too numerous to mention.

I would like to thank our friends at PayPal.  They worked with us in good faith as they promised, engaged us in dialogue, made the effort to understand Smashwords and our mission, went to bat for our authors with the credit card companies and banks, and showed the courage to revise their policies.

This is a big, bold move by PayPal.  It represents a watershed decision that protects the rights of writers to write, publish and distribute legal fiction.  It also protects the rights of readers to purchase and enjoy all fiction in the privacy of their own imagination. It clarifies and rationalizes the role of financial services providers and pulls them out of the business of censoring legal fiction.

Following implementation of their new policies, PayPal will have the most liberal, pro-First-Amendment policies of the major payment processors.  Will Google Checkout and Checkout by Amazon be next now that the credit card companies have clarified their positions, and have essentially given payment providers the permission to adopt more enlightened policies?   Finally, thanks to Selena Kitt of Excessica and Remittance Girl for helping me to understand and respect all fiction more than I ever have before.

This is a bright day for indie publishing.  In the old world, traditional publishers were the arbiters of literary merit.  Today, thanks to the rise of indie ebooks, the world is moving toward a broader, more inclusive definition of literary merit. Smashwords gives writers the power and freedom to publish.  Merit is decided by your readers.  Just as it should be."


Thanks Mark!

Are paper books a thing of the past?

The Amazon Kindle was the company's biggest seller out of all their merchandise this last Christmas.  Publishers, authors, and readers are all wondering what the future holds for books actually made out of paper.  I seem to think that a true book lover just can't resist the feeling of a real book in hand...that being said, I'm one of the recipients of a Kindle reader from Santa last year...

Jonathan Franzen, the author of Freedom and The Corrections, launched a passionate defense of the printed book—and an attack on e-books—at the recent Hay Festival in Cartagena, Colombia. “The technology I like is the American paperback edition of Freedom I can spill water on it, and it would still work! So it’s pretty good technology,” said Franzen. “And what’s more, it will work great 10 years from now. So no wonder the capitalists hate it. It’s a bad business model.” 

Wondering whether nonelectronic print will be around in 50 years, he said he fears that “it’s going to be very hard to make the world work if there’s no permanence like that. That kind of radical contingency is not compatible with a system of justice or responsible self-government.”

So what do YOU think?  Will you be reading "real" books in ten years?  Do you own an e-book reader?  Love them both?  Need them both?  What would you say to Jonathan Franzen?

Amazon Enters the Publishing Business

In publishing news today:
Amazon will soon be competing with the publishing houses that supply it.  The gigantic company is set to publish 122 books this fall in both physical and e-book form. Amazon has signed deals already with self-help author Tim Ferriss and film director Penny Marshall, and is said to be aggressively targeting top authors.

“Publishers are terrified and don’t know what to do,” says Dennis Loy Johnson of Melville House. Amazon has hired publishing veteran Laurence Kirshbaum to run the operation, which will publish both fiction and nonfiction.

Bringing Authors and Readers Together

Imagine being able to talk to the author of a book at the very moment you are reading it. Unless the author is your uncle sitting next to you at Thanksgiving dinner, the scenario seems unlikely. With today's cool technology, however, now it's a reality!

Amazon's new feature @author, allows readers to ask questions directly from their Kindles which are sent to the author's Twitter account, as well as to the writer's home page at Amazon! Amazon's cool new technology is aimed at creating a reader community online, focusing on Kindle titles.

While publishers worry that they will be cut out of the connection, authors are cheering for a chance to improve their brand and build a stronger fan following. If you've ever tried to write to an author through the publisher's contact information, you know that messages and questions to authors rarely get passed on. Now the relationship can be more intimate and even instant. Some publishers are still furious that anyone can sell their independent books online and make a fortune without their help. Amazon is truly changing the publishing industry.

John Locke (not the bald guy from "Lost", but a businessman who started writing Kindle novels and is the first author to sell more than a million ebooks online), recently signed an unusual contract with Simon & Schuster, which allows him to continue selling his ebooks while the publisher handles marketing and sales of the print versions. This unique deal is a perfect example of how the balance of power in the traditional publishing world has shifted, creating a need for both authors and publishers to adapt to new changes.

The @author feature is an expansion of Amazon's social-networking-style program for Kindle which invites readers to "follow" other readers and see which books they like and have commented on. Amazon is hoping that readers will answer questions for the authors as well and create a virtual hang-out on their site. Technology continues to bring together readers and authors in new ways. Any time more people are reading and talking about books is always a good thing!