Download or read book Mass Authorship and the Rise of Self Publishing written by Timothy Laquintano and published by University of Iowa Press. This book was released on 2016-10-15 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last two decades, digital technologies have made it possible for anyone with a computer and an Internet connection to rapidly and inexpensively self-publish a book. Once a stigmatized niche activity, self-publishing has grown explosively. Hobbyists and professionals alike have produced millions of books, circulating them through e-readers and the web. What does this new flood of books mean for publishing, authors, and readers? Some lament the rise of self-publishing because it tramples the gates and gatekeepers who once reserved publication for those who met professional standards. Others tout authors’ new freedom from the narrow-minded exclusivity of traditional publishing. Critics mourn the death of the author; fans celebrate the democratization of authorship. Drawing on eight years of research and interviews with more than eighty self-published writers, Mass Authorship avoids the polemics, instead showing how writers are actually thinking about and dealing with this brave new world. Timothy Laquintano compares the experiences of self-publishing authors in three distinct genres—poker strategy guides, memoirs, and romance novels—as well as those of writers whose self-published works hit major bestseller lists. He finds that the significance of self-publishing and the challenge it presents to traditional publishing depend on the aims of authors, the desires of their readers, the affordances of their platforms, and the business plans of the companies that provide those platforms. In drawing a nuanced portrait of self-publishing authors today, Laquintano answers some of the most pressing questions about what it means to publish in the twenty-first century: How do writers establish credibility in an environment with no editors to judge quality? How do authors police their copyrights online without recourse to the law? How do they experience Amazon as a publishing platform? And how do they find an audience when, it sometimes seems, there are more writers than readers?
Download or read book Mass Authorship and the Rise of Self Publishing written by Timothy Laquintano and published by University of Iowa Press. This book was released on 2016-10-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last two decades, digital technologies have made it possible for anyone with a computer and an Internet connection to rapidly and inexpensively self-publish a book. Once a stigmatized niche activity, self-publishing has grown explosively. Hobbyists and professionals alike have produced millions of books, circulating them through e-readers and the web. What does this new flood of books mean for publishing, authors, and readers? Some lament the rise of self-publishing because it tramples the gates and gatekeepers who once reserved publication for those who met professional standards. Others tout authors’ new freedom from the narrow-minded exclusivity of traditional publishing. Critics mourn the death of the author; fans celebrate the democratization of authorship. Drawing on eight years of research and interviews with more than eighty self-published writers, Mass Authorship avoids the polemics, instead showing how writers are actually thinking about and dealing with this brave new world. Timothy Laquintano compares the experiences of self-publishing authors in three distinct genres—poker strategy guides, memoirs, and romance novels—as well as those of writers whose self-published works hit major bestseller lists. He finds that the significance of self-publishing and the challenge it presents to traditional publishing depend on the aims of authors, the desires of their readers, the affordances of their platforms, and the business plans of the companies that provide those platforms. In drawing a nuanced portrait of self-publishing authors today, Laquintano answers some of the most pressing questions about what it means to publish in the twenty-first century: How do writers establish credibility in an environment with no editors to judge quality? How do authors police their copyrights online without recourse to the law? How do they experience Amazon as a publishing platform? And how do they find an audience when, it sometimes seems, there are more writers than readers?
Download or read book The Program Era written by Mark McGurl and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-08-30 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Program Era, Mark McGurl offers a fundamental reinterpretation of postwar American fiction, asserting that it can be properly understood only in relation to the rise of mass higher education and the creative writing program. McGurl asks both how the patronage of the university has reorganized American literature and—even more important—how the increasing intimacy of writing and schooling can be brought to bear on a reading of this literature. McGurl argues that far from occasioning a decline in the quality or interest of American writing, the rise of the creative writing program has instead generated a complex and evolving constellation of aesthetic problems that have been explored with energy and at times brilliance by authors ranging from Flannery O’Connor to Vladimir Nabokov, Philip Roth, Raymond Carver, Joyce Carol Oates, and Toni Morrison. Through transformative readings of these and many other writers, The Program Era becomes a meditation on systematic creativity—an idea that until recently would have seemed a contradiction in terms, but which in our time has become central to cultural production both within and beyond the university. An engaging and stylishly written examination of an era we thought we knew, The Program Era will be at the center of debates about postwar literature and culture for years to come.
Download or read book OBSERVE to UNMASK written by Pushpendra Mehta and published by . This book was released on 2020-07-28 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Readers' Favorite (5-Star Review): "Observe to Unmask: 100 Small Things to Know People Better by Pushpendra Mehta is a tidy little book with big, helpful insights into the human heart and psyche." "Pushpendra Mehta has written a must-read book for anyone on a quest to understand people better, including themselves, and benefit from these insights for a happier and more fulfilling life...Read this book - and learn from one of the best." - Stacey Chillemi, Founder of The Complete Herbal Guide, Writer, Huff Post and Thrive Global Pushpendra Mehta, writer, marketer, and mentor, has been an observer of human behavior all his life. Inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's memorable fictional detective character, Sherlock Holmes, Pushpendra realized people drop subtle clues to their true nature, which is often hidden behind masks. The more he watched and studied, the better able he was to discern who people truly were. In 2019, he answered a question-"What small thing can tell you a lot about a person?"-that was posted on Quora, a popular question-and-answer website. His answer received over 1 million views. This unexpected response led him to write Observe to Unmask, in which he explains what we can learn about people based on their conversations (including social media posts), interests, behavior, emotions, thoughts, and more. Packed with intriguing insights, Observe to Unmask is useful in understanding not only the people in our personal and professional lives, but can act as a guide for self-reflection and improvement. Short and easy to read, it is a book you will turn to again and again, always finding something new and worthwhile. Observe to Unmask will sharpen your ability to draw conclusions quickly and accurately from the smallest observations. It will help you develop positive relationships or harmonious associations that work for you and make you happier; assist you in comprehending an individual's backstory; prevent you from being exploited, abused, manipulated, or lied to; aid you in distancing yourself from negative or toxic people, or avoiding them as much as possible.
Download or read book Book Wars written by John B. Thompson and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2021-03-04 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book tells the story of the turbulent decades when the book publishing industry collided with the great technological revolution of our time. From the surge of ebooks to the self-publishing explosion and the growing popularity of audiobooks, Book Wars provides a comprehensive and fine-grained account of technological disruption in one of our most important and successful creative industries. Like other sectors, publishing has been thrown into disarray by the digital revolution. The foundation on which this industry had been based for 500 years – the packaging and sale of words and images in the form of printed books – was called into question by a technological revolution that enabled symbolic content to be stored, manipulated and transmitted quickly and cheaply. Publishers and retailers found themselves facing a proliferation of new players who were offering new products and services and challenging some of their most deeply held principles and beliefs. The old industry was suddenly thrust into the limelight as bitter conflicts erupted between publishers and new entrants, including powerful new tech giants who saw the world in very different ways. The book wars had begun. While ebooks were at the heart of many of these conflicts, Thompson argues that the most fundamental consequences lie elsewhere. The print-on-paper book has proven to be a remarkably resilient cultural form, but the digital revolution has transformed the industry in other ways, spawning new players which now wield unprecedented power and giving rise to an array of new publishing forms. Most important of all, it has transformed the broader information and communication environment, creating new challenges and new opportunities for publishers as they seek to redefine their role in the digital age. This unrivalled account of the book publishing industry as it faces its greatest challenge since Gutenberg will be essential reading for anyone interested in books and their future.
Download or read book The Rise of Liberal Religion written by Matthew Hedstrom and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Best First Book Prize of the American Society of Church History Named a Society for U. S. Intellectual History Notable Title in American Intellectual History The story of liberal religion in the twentieth century, Matthew S. Hedstrom contends, is a story of cultural ascendency. This may come as a surprise-most scholarship in American religious history, after all, equates the numerical decline of the Protestant mainline with the failure of religious liberalism. Yet a look beyond the pews, into the wider culture, reveals a more complex and fascinating story, one Hedstrom tells in The Rise of Liberal Religion. Hedstrom attends especially to the critically important yet little-studied arena of religious book culture-particularly the religious middlebrow of mid-century-as the site where religious liberalism was most effectively popularized. By looking at book weeks, book clubs, public libraries, new publishing enterprises, key authors and bestsellers, wartime reading programs, and fan mail, among other sources, Hedstrom is able to provide a rich, on-the-ground account of the men, women, and organizations that drove religious liberalism's cultural rise in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Critically, by the post-WWII period the religious middlebrow had expanded beyond its Protestant roots, using mystical and psychological spirituality as a platform for interreligious exchange. This compelling history of religion and book culture not only shows how reading and book buying were critical twentieth-century religious practices, but also provides a model for thinking about the relationship of religion to consumer culture more broadly. In this way, The Rise of Liberal Religion offers both innovative cultural history and new ways of seeing the imprint of liberal religion in our own times.
Download or read book Inside Book Publishing written by Giles Clark and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-06-27 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in its fifth edition, Inside Book Publishing remains the classic introduction to the book publishing industry, being both a manual for the profession for over two decades and the bestselling textbook for students of publishing.The book remains essential reading for publishing students, those seeking a career in publishing, recent entrants to the industry, and authors seeking an insider's view. The accompanying website supports the book by providing up-to-date and relevant content.This new edition has been fully updated to respond to the rapid changes in the market and technology. Now more global in its references and scope, the book explores the tensions and trends affecting the industry, including the growth of ebooks, self-publishing, and online retailing, and new business models and workflows. The book provides excellent overviews of the main aspects of the publishing process, including commissioning, product development, design and production, marketing, sales and distribution.
Download or read book Four Shades of Gray written by Simon Peter Rowberry and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2022-04-05 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This first book-length analysis of Amazon’s Kindle explores the platform’s technological, bibliographical, and social impact on publishing. Four Shades of Gray offers the first book-length analysis of Amazon’s Kindle and its impact on publishing. Simon Peter Rowberry recounts how Amazon built the infrastructure for a new generation of digital publications, then considers the consequences of having a single company control the direction of the publishing industry. Exploring the platform from the perspectives of technology, texts, and uses, he shows how the Kindle challenges traditional notions of platforms as discrete entities. He argues that Amazon’s influence extends beyond “disruptive technology” to embed itself in all aspects of the publishing trade; yet despite industry pushback, he says, the Kindle has had a positive influence on publishing. Rowberry documents the first decade of the Kindle with case studies of Kindle Popular Highlights, an account of the digitization of books published after 1922, and a discussion of how Amazon’s patent filings reflect a shift in priorities. Rowberry argues that while it was initially convenient for the book trade to outsource ebook development to Amazon, doing so has had adverse consequences for publishers in the mid- and long term, limiting opportunities for developing an inclusive and forward-thinking digital platform. While it has forced publishers to embrace digital forms, the Kindle has also empowered some previously marginalized readerships. Although it is still too early to judge the long-term impact of ebooks compared with that of the older technologies of clay tablets, the printing press, and offset printing, the shockwaves of the Kindle continue to shape publishing.
Download or read book The Book Business written by Mike Shatzkin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-02-01 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many of us read books every day, either electronically or in print. We remember the books that shaped our ideas about the world as children, go back to favorite books year after year, give or lend books to loved ones and friends to share the stories we've loved especially, and discuss important books with fellow readers in book clubs and online communities. But for all the ways books influence us, teach us, challenge us, and connect us, many of us remain in the dark as to where they come from and how the mysterious world of publishing truly works. How are books created and how do they get to readers? The Book Business: What Everyone Needs to Know® introduces those outside the industry to the world of book publishing. Covering everything from the beginnings of modern book publishing early in the 20th century to the current concerns over the alleged death of print, digital reading, and the rise of Amazon, Mike Shatzkin and Robert Paris Riger provide a succinct and insightful survey of the industry in an easy-to-read question-and-answer format. The authors, veterans of "trade publishing," or the branch of the business that puts books in our hands through libraries or bookstores, answer questions from the basic to the cutting-edge, providing a guide for curious beginners and outsiders. How does book publishing actually work? What challenges is it facing today? How have social media changed the game of book marketing? What does the life cycle of a book look like in 2019? They focus on how practices are changing at a time of great flux in the industry, as digital creation and delivery are altering the commercial realities of the book business. This book will interest not only those with no experience in publishing looking to gain a foothold on the business, but also those working on the inside who crave a bird's eye view of publishing's evolving landscape. This is a moment of dizzyingly rapid change wrought by the emergence of digital publishing, data collection, e-books, audio books, and the rise of self-publishing; these forces make the inherently interesting business of publishing books all the more fascinating.
Download or read book Straight Man written by Richard Russo and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2011-11-09 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hilarious and true-to-life, witty, compassionate, and impossible to put down, Straight Man follows Hank Devereaux through one very bad week in this novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls. • Now the AMC Original Series Lucky Hank. William Henry Devereaux, Jr., is the reluctant chairman of the English department of a badly underfunded college in the Pennsylvania rust belt. Devereaux's reluctance is partly rooted in his character—he is a born anarchist—and partly in the fact that his department is more savagely divided than the Balkans. In the course of a single week, Devereaux will have his nose mangled by an angry colleague, imagine his wife is having an affair with his dean, wonder if a curvaceous adjunct is trying to seduce him with peach pits, and threaten to execute a goose on local television. All this while coming to terms with his philandering father, the dereliction of his youthful promise, and the ominous failure of certain vital body functions. In short, Straight Man is classic Russo—side-splitting, poignant, compassionate, and unforgettable. Look for Richard Russo's new book, Somebody's Fool, coming soon.
Download or read book The Publishing Business written by Kelvin Smith and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-02-22 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Publishing Business, is an invaluable guide to understanding what book publishing is and what it might become. Using popular and current examples, this second edition demonstrates that, to succeed, publishers must prove their commitment to producing accurate, attractive and well edited content, their ability to innovate pioneering digital technologies and their dedication to promoting their titles to new audiences. This book explains the responsibilities at each stage of the publishing process, describes current roles and practices, and provides much food for thought on how publishers can ensure their skills remain relevant in the digital age. Fully updated to take into account recent developments in the publishing world, this new edition also includes additional real-world examples from a variety of publishing sectors, insightful interviews with industry experts and new and updated activities throughout. Beautifully designed, thoroughly illustrated and packed with examples of publishing practice, The Publishing Business is an essential introduction to a dynamic industry.
Download or read book Beyond the Static Page written by Alex T. Wolf and published by A.T. Wolf & Company. This book was released on 2023-08-12 with total page 105 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Beyond the Static Page: An Interactive Learning Approach for Students" is a comprehensive and inspiring guide that explores the intricate world of eBook design. Seamlessly merging the realms of artistry and technology, this book unlocks the secrets to creating visually captivating, user-friendly eBooks that leave readers spellbound. From cover to layout, typography to interactive elements, “Beyond the Static Page” delves into essential design principles, offering practical tips and step-by-step tutorials for beginners and seasoned designers. Embracing the reader-centric approach demystifies the digital landscape, ensuring eBooks shine on any device. Whether you're an author, designer, or self-publisher, "Beyond the Static Page" empowers you to transform words into enchanting digital experiences, forging a connection with readers that transcends the boundaries of the page.
Download or read book Update Culture and the Afterlife of Digital Writing written by John R Gallagher and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2020-02-03 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Update Culture and the Afterlife of Digital Writing explores “neglected circulatory writing processes” to better understand why and how digital writers compose, revise, and deliver arguments that undergo sometimes constant revision. John R. Gallagher also looks at how digital writers respond to comments, develop a brand, and evolve their arguments—all post-publication. With the advent of easy-to-use websites, ordinary people have become internet writers, disseminating their texts to large audiences. Social media sites enable writers’ audiences to communicate back to the them, instantly and often. Even professional writers work within interfaces that place comments adjacent to their text, privileging the audience’s voice. Thus, writers face the prospect of attending to their writing after they deliver their initial arguments. Update Culture and the Afterlife of Digital Writing describes the conditions that encourage “published” texts to be revisited. It demonstrates—through forty case studies of Amazon reviewers, redditors, and established journalists—how writers consider the timing, attention, and management of their writing under these ever-evolving conditions. Online culture, from social media to blog posts, requires a responsiveness to readers that is rarely duplicated in print and requires writers to consistently reread, edit, and update texts, a process often invisible to readers. This book takes questions of circulation online and shows, via interviews with both writers and participatory audience members, that writing studies must contend with writing’s afterlife. It will be of interest to researchers, scholars, and students of writing studies and the fields of rhetoric, communication, education, technical communication, digital writing, and social media, as well as all content creators interested in learning how to create more effective posts, comments, replies, and reviews.
Download or read book Intellectual Property Law written by Lionel Bently and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-10-31 with total page 1561 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intellectual Property Law is the definitive textbook on the subject. The authors' all-embracing approach not only clearly sets out the law in relation to copyright, patents, trade marks, passing off, and confidentiality, but also takes account of a wide range of academic opinion enabling readers to explore and make informed judgements about key principles. The particularly clear and lively writing style ensures that even the most complex areas are lucid and comprehensible. Digital formats and resources The sixth edition is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats, and is supported by online resources. The e-book offers a mobile experience and convenient access along with functionality tools, navigation features and links that offer extra learning support: www.oxfordtextbook.co.uk/ebooks
Download or read book Literature and Social Media written by Bronwen Thomas and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-01-31 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Instapoetry to BookTube, contemporary literary cultures and practices are increasingly intertwined with social media. In this lively and wide-ranging study, Bronwen Thomas explores how social media provides new ways of connecting with and rediscovering established literary works and authors while also facilitating the emergence of unique and distinctive forms of creative expression. The book takes a 360 ̊ approach to the subject, combining analysis of current forms and practices with an examination of how social media fosters ongoing collaborative discourse amongst both informal and formal literary networks, and demonstrating how the participatory practices of social media have the potential to radically transform how literature is produced, shared and circulated. The first study of its kind to focus specifically on social media, Literature and Social Media provides a timely and engaging account of the state of the art, while interrogating the rhetoric that so often accompanies discussion of the ‘new’ in this context.
Download or read book Digital Authorship written by R. Lyle Skains and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-02-07 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Element looks at contemporary authorship via three key authorial roles: indie publisher, hybrid author, and fanfiction writer. The twenty-first century's digital and networked media allows writers to disintermediate the established structures of royalty publishing, and to distribute their work directly to - and often in collaboration with - their readers. This demotic author, one who is 'of the people', often works in genres considered 'popular' or 'derivative'. The demotic author eschews the top-down communication flow of author > text > reader, in favor of publishing platforms that generate attention capital, such as blogs, fanfiction communities, and social media.
Download or read book Author Fictions written by Ingo Berensmeyer and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2023-10-04 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fictional novelists and other author characters have been a staple of novels and stories from the early nineteenth century onwards. What is it that attracts authors to representing their own kind in fiction? Author Fictions addresses this question from a theoretical and historical perspective. Narrative representations of literary authorship not only reflect the aesthetic convictions and social conditions of their actual authors or their time; they also take an active part in negotiating and shaping these conditions. The book unfolds the history of such ‘author fictions’ in European and North American texts since the early nineteenth century as a literary history of literary authorship, ranging from the Victorian bildungsroman to contemporary autofiction. It combines rhetorical and sociological approaches to answer the question how literature makes authors. Identifying ‘author fictions’ as narratives that address the fragile material conditions of literary creation in the actual and symbolic economies of production, Ingo Berensmeyer explores how these texts elaborate and manipulate concepts and models of authorship. This book will be relevant to English, American and comparative literary studies and to anyone interested in the topic of literary authorship.
