Publishing Evolution #84: Writer Communities & Author Websites
Have you contacted your favorite authors or gone to their websites? Do you like knowing more or less about them? Search for your favorite author; do they have a website or blog? Can you interact with them via web?
I have not contacted any of them nor have I visited their websites before this exercise. My wife contacted one of them and got an autographed copy for a birthday present for me, though. I do not personally need to know anything about an author to enjoy a book.
Most of my favorite authors did have their own websites. I found it humorous that the Rick Riordan site was blocked from the library as "it may be harmful to your computer".
2.Does the idea of a book being published based on popular vote give you more or less faith in the material?
I think I would have more faith in the material this way as it was popular enough to be rated so highly. Yes the result would be skewed by friends and family, but if the voting numbers are high enough, the popularity vote would diminish. While I still would more than likely not read it, I would purchase a titles like this for the library.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Publishing Evolution
Publishing Evolution #83: Paper to Pixels
Do you prefer paper or pixels? Is getting the material faster on the computer or is reading in a paper form more important to you? Why?
This depends on what I am doing. Normally I do not care if I read pixels or paper. If I am playing a game of D&D with some friends, I have found that paper is better than digital copies of the books. It takes a lot less time to look through a physical book for a rule than a thick digital title. I have patience so it does not matter if I can get it faster as a digital title.
Does price influence how you get your books or is it availability? Would you pay the same price for a digital book as you would for a paper copy?
Price would be a big deciding factor. I prefer to get my books free through the library. The library does not have a good selection of roleplaying books, but I will not get a title if it is to expensive. Some roleplaying titles I will get the PDF of because it is much cheaper than their physical counterparts. And no, I would not pay the same price for the digital copy as I would for the physical copy. This is not logical to me. If I wanted to pay that much, I would get the physical copy.
Do you like the idea of preview and then pay?
Yes. This is a great model and more of the bigger publishers should do this. Most of the self published comic books will allow you to read the first issue or two for free before they start charging for the rest of the series.
Do you prefer paper or pixels? Is getting the material faster on the computer or is reading in a paper form more important to you? Why?
This depends on what I am doing. Normally I do not care if I read pixels or paper. If I am playing a game of D&D with some friends, I have found that paper is better than digital copies of the books. It takes a lot less time to look through a physical book for a rule than a thick digital title. I have patience so it does not matter if I can get it faster as a digital title.
Does price influence how you get your books or is it availability? Would you pay the same price for a digital book as you would for a paper copy?
Price would be a big deciding factor. I prefer to get my books free through the library. The library does not have a good selection of roleplaying books, but I will not get a title if it is to expensive. Some roleplaying titles I will get the PDF of because it is much cheaper than their physical counterparts. And no, I would not pay the same price for the digital copy as I would for the physical copy. This is not logical to me. If I wanted to pay that much, I would get the physical copy.
Do you like the idea of preview and then pay?
Yes. This is a great model and more of the bigger publishers should do this. Most of the self published comic books will allow you to read the first issue or two for free before they start charging for the rest of the series.
Publishing Evolution
Publishing Evolution #82: Print on Demand.
Is it higher or the same as traditionally published books?
I think that the majority of prices were higher than standard published titles for one main reason. One a normally published book, enough copies are printed that distributors are able to offer a decent discount. For the POD titles, there is generally no discount.
On Lulu, The Zombie Survival Guide was $13.95 (eBook). I can get the kindle edition for $9.99. I can also get them free from the library (via the branches or Overdrive).
Have you read any of them? Would you?
I can say with absolute certainty that I have not read a self published book. I do not have the time to take a chance on a title (because I would rather game than read) so I have to make sure that the title is well received. I prefer to look on Amazon to see how well a title is reviewed. I prefer to read titles for YA as well. Lately, the only way I have time to catch up on my reading is to listen to the title on audio. There are currently not many self published titles being turned into an audiobook.
What do you think of self publishing?
Self publishing is fine by me. I personally prefer to spend my reading time else ware, though. I would probably be quicker to read a self published graphic novel over a book.
As a reader, do you prefer books that have gone through the traditional route and have the confidence of a company’s financial backing, or do you not care how the book got printed, you’re just glad it did?
I would prefer to have a book go through the traditional route mainly because I feel that it will have a better change to be edited better. Plus, they are available for free through my local library.
Is it higher or the same as traditionally published books?
I think that the majority of prices were higher than standard published titles for one main reason. One a normally published book, enough copies are printed that distributors are able to offer a decent discount. For the POD titles, there is generally no discount.
On Lulu, The Zombie Survival Guide was $13.95 (eBook). I can get the kindle edition for $9.99. I can also get them free from the library (via the branches or Overdrive).
Have you read any of them? Would you?
I can say with absolute certainty that I have not read a self published book. I do not have the time to take a chance on a title (because I would rather game than read) so I have to make sure that the title is well received. I prefer to look on Amazon to see how well a title is reviewed. I prefer to read titles for YA as well. Lately, the only way I have time to catch up on my reading is to listen to the title on audio. There are currently not many self published titles being turned into an audiobook.
What do you think of self publishing?
Self publishing is fine by me. I personally prefer to spend my reading time else ware, though. I would probably be quicker to read a self published graphic novel over a book.
As a reader, do you prefer books that have gone through the traditional route and have the confidence of a company’s financial backing, or do you not care how the book got printed, you’re just glad it did?
I would prefer to have a book go through the traditional route mainly because I feel that it will have a better change to be edited better. Plus, they are available for free through my local library.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Week 23: the Finale!
I felt like a naysayer on a few of the exercises, but never really meant to be one. I think that this is a great training tool and really should be required for all entering staff so that they can have a basic knowledge of what advances are happening in the tech world. the majority of topics that we went over will end up being a fad or will not last long as something new will come along that is bigger and better. (example: goodbye Evercrack, hello World of Warcrack).
Even with this knowledge that most of the topics will be short lived, they are still very important to know about. It is even better to be able to use them, which is what this exercise is about. Kudos to HCPL for doing this. When do we start to build the learning tools for Library 3.0:)?
Let’s answer a few of the questions provided.
What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
Probably the RSS feeds. I am tech savvy, but never used this function before. I read my rss feeds every day now. I choose to do it straight from the browser rather than an online site as there are less steps this way.
What ideas do you have for using these technologies at Harris County Public Library?
I kind of talked about this one with the topic. I would like there to be an encouragement for our staff to use the topics included as my guess is that most who took the IHCPL original training have not kept up with it and are now unsure about the technology again.
Biggest concern:
In watching the library video that was included in the Youtube exercise (the training video from the 1940's) one comment stated that, a lot of what was included in the video is still relevant today. I personally don't think that this is such a good thing. How many other professions would feel good about not changing that much in 60 years. I would love to see a graphical interface to the catalog. The online catalog, while easier to use, is still just a newer version of the card catalog. Is there a way to make ot more visually appealing (not by HCPL but by the companies that develop the catalogs). Do these companies make the online catalogs so that it is easy for the librarian to find something or for the patron? Why not showcase a library’s newest popular titles in the front of the catalog (visually)? We (the library field, not HCPL) should make it as easy as possible to find the most popular titles. Give the people what they want in an as easy to get way as possible. My 2cents for the future, anyways.
I felt like a naysayer on a few of the exercises, but never really meant to be one. I think that this is a great training tool and really should be required for all entering staff so that they can have a basic knowledge of what advances are happening in the tech world. the majority of topics that we went over will end up being a fad or will not last long as something new will come along that is bigger and better. (example: goodbye Evercrack, hello World of Warcrack).
Even with this knowledge that most of the topics will be short lived, they are still very important to know about. It is even better to be able to use them, which is what this exercise is about. Kudos to HCPL for doing this. When do we start to build the learning tools for Library 3.0:)?
Let’s answer a few of the questions provided.
What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
Probably the RSS feeds. I am tech savvy, but never used this function before. I read my rss feeds every day now. I choose to do it straight from the browser rather than an online site as there are less steps this way.
What ideas do you have for using these technologies at Harris County Public Library?
I kind of talked about this one with the topic. I would like there to be an encouragement for our staff to use the topics included as my guess is that most who took the IHCPL original training have not kept up with it and are now unsure about the technology again.
Biggest concern:
In watching the library video that was included in the Youtube exercise (the training video from the 1940's) one comment stated that, a lot of what was included in the video is still relevant today. I personally don't think that this is such a good thing. How many other professions would feel good about not changing that much in 60 years. I would love to see a graphical interface to the catalog. The online catalog, while easier to use, is still just a newer version of the card catalog. Is there a way to make ot more visually appealing (not by HCPL but by the companies that develop the catalogs). Do these companies make the online catalogs so that it is easy for the librarian to find something or for the patron? Why not showcase a library’s newest popular titles in the front of the catalog (visually)? We (the library field, not HCPL) should make it as easy as possible to find the most popular titles. Give the people what they want in an as easy to get way as possible. My 2cents for the future, anyways.
Week #22: Overdrive
I feel kind of guilty doing this one. I would hope that I have a bit of Overdrive knowledge by now as I am the one who orders for it:) But let’s run with this anyway.
First lets compare Overdrive with librivox.
No comparison here. Overdrive has the titles people want to read, while Librivox has public domain titles. Overdrive is also more browsable, has images, and is updated to be more user friendly on a constant basis (but I am not bias).
Next let’s compare Overdrive with Wowio.
Wowio is great looking and has titles not available on Overdrive. they have a great library of comics that you can read for free online, though most you have to purchase if you want to download to your computer. This is ok as, again, you can still read them online for free. I think Wowio and Overdrive can complement each other. However if Overdrive would have those comics, there would again be no comparison (but I am not biased).
Titles to recommend on Overdrive.
I recommend the Percy Jackson downloads. I highly recommend the Bloody jack books also. The reader, katherine Kellgren, does a superb job.
I feel kind of guilty doing this one. I would hope that I have a bit of Overdrive knowledge by now as I am the one who orders for it:) But let’s run with this anyway.
First lets compare Overdrive with librivox.
No comparison here. Overdrive has the titles people want to read, while Librivox has public domain titles. Overdrive is also more browsable, has images, and is updated to be more user friendly on a constant basis (but I am not bias).
Next let’s compare Overdrive with Wowio.
Wowio is great looking and has titles not available on Overdrive. they have a great library of comics that you can read for free online, though most you have to purchase if you want to download to your computer. This is ok as, again, you can still read them online for free. I think Wowio and Overdrive can complement each other. However if Overdrive would have those comics, there would again be no comparison (but I am not biased).
Titles to recommend on Overdrive.
I recommend the Percy Jackson downloads. I highly recommend the Bloody jack books also. The reader, katherine Kellgren, does a superb job.
Week 21: Podcasts
I have been listening to podcasts for a few years now. I started through Itunes, but now just listen to the same groups when new ones are released. the only ones I listen to are gaming related and I think I would fall asleep if I ever listed to a library related podcast... no offense. For time sake, I have not listened to a podcast in a while, but I do feel that they are very benificial.
I think that if the library wanted to do one, it could be very popular. Topics would include new releases, programs, teens rating books, movies, video games, announcements by the library. Some could be on a branch level and others on a library system wide level. Would take some work and dedication to keep it going, though.
I hope it is ok to keep this short, but I am already really familiar with Podcasts. I have never created one yet, but have no reason unless I have something to say and people that need to hear what I have to say. I am not one to talk just to talk. I would end up boring myself:)
I have been listening to podcasts for a few years now. I started through Itunes, but now just listen to the same groups when new ones are released. the only ones I listen to are gaming related and I think I would fall asleep if I ever listed to a library related podcast... no offense. For time sake, I have not listened to a podcast in a while, but I do feel that they are very benificial.
I think that if the library wanted to do one, it could be very popular. Topics would include new releases, programs, teens rating books, movies, video games, announcements by the library. Some could be on a branch level and others on a library system wide level. Would take some work and dedication to keep it going, though.
I hope it is ok to keep this short, but I am already really familiar with Podcasts. I have never created one yet, but have no reason unless I have something to say and people that need to hear what I have to say. I am not one to talk just to talk. I would end up boring myself:)
Week 20# Youtube.
We are officially into the stuff I know plenty about. Did you know that with certain devices (xbox 360 and PS3) you can watch Youtube on your tv?
Youtube is easy enough to navigate and find what you are looking for. It also has a nice see also feature on each video that you click to watch. I have noticed that advertisments are starting to appear over the bottom of the videos at times.
I chose to embed a video by Wierd Al called White and Nerdy. I felt it was relavant with the theme of this blog plus it is a great parady!
We are officially into the stuff I know plenty about. Did you know that with certain devices (xbox 360 and PS3) you can watch Youtube on your tv?
Youtube is easy enough to navigate and find what you are looking for. It also has a nice see also feature on each video that you click to watch. I have noticed that advertisments are starting to appear over the bottom of the videos at times.
I chose to embed a video by Wierd Al called White and Nerdy. I felt it was relavant with the theme of this blog plus it is a great parady!
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