3. Here’s an interesting infographic about how a reader’s mind works.
September 16, 2014
by punjacked
1 Comment
September 15, 2014
by InstaScribe
1 Comment
Public Libraries Rediscovered: E-book Subscription Services
We know that Amazon likes to be first. First in everything but, especially being first. Surprisingly enough there, Kindle Unlimited is not first. Or second for that matter. According to highly complex calculations which takes into account the position of the moon, the tide and the price of a double skinny Latte in Ouagadougou we have figured out that they are about 5000 years late!
Public libraries date back to at least 2600BC. And that is basically the service that Kindle Unlimited is offering. Kindle Unlimited is also not the first one to offer the e-book variation. Scribd and Oyster beat them to that.
You pay a monthly subscription fee and then these services allow you to browse their collections and borrow e-books. Various libraries in the US also allow you to borrow e-books. If you are a tax payer you get free access to the public libraries, and therefore free access to their collections of e-books.
This subscription service has been called the “Netflix for books.” We could also mention Spotify as an equivalent. As much as you want!
The subscription fees are fairly low. For all three services mentioned you can budget about $10 per month, but in actual fact it is less. Kindle Unlimited comes in last, or first, depending on your orientation. They ask $9.99 per month. Oyster lands in the middle with a minutely cheaper $9.95. Scribd is a comparative bargain, asking only $8.99! “That,” says Zen Scribe, “is a very poor attempt at humor.”
What is available?
If you grew up in a small town you know very well that the selection at the local library could be pretty limited and that it could take ages for a requested book to make its appearance. Do these services offer good books?
With all the e-books available these days, it is possible for a service to offer you thousands upon thousands of books for a tiny amount, while they are freely available on the Internet. It is therefore important to know what they offer and not just how many.
| Amazon Unlimited | Oyster | Scribd | |
| Number of Titles | 600000 | 500000 | 400000 |
| Publishers | Undisclosed | 1600 | 900 |
| Big 5 | None | HarperCollins, Simon and Schuster | HarperCollins, Simon and Schuster |
| Independent Authors | Demands exclusivity (Enrollment in KDP Select) | Via Smashwords | Via Smashwords |
| Devices | Kindle and Kindle enabled devices | Apple iOS 7+, Android 4+, Nook HD, Kindle Fire, desktop application | iOS, Android and Windows Phone smartphones and tablets, Kindle Fire, the Nook, desktop application |
| Availability | US only | US only | International |
Will I get paid?
This is the preferred question, because it can be answered with a simple, straightforward and honest, “Yes!”
What will I get paid, does however complicate the answer a bit. In the case of Oyster and Scribd, the answer is the same.
From the Smashwords website “Smashwords authors and publishers will set the price, there will be no discounting, and authors will earn 60% of the list price on all sales.” A book is considered “sold” once 30% or more has been read.
This is a simple straightforward system.
Cover via Amazon
Kindle Unlimited has a more uncertain answer, especially if you are trying to estimate the exact amount you will earn. Because in this case authors earn a share of KDP Select Global Fund, as in the case of Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. A book is considered borrowed if a reader only reaches the 10% mark of a book. But the amount earned per borrow has nothing to do with the price of the book. It depends on the total fund for the month, total number of borrows across all titles and how many times you title was borrowed.
Does Netflix for E-books work?
Research and back of the paper calculation shows that the average US consumer spends about $43 per year on e-books. Heavy readers read 11+ books a year (That means that the average InstaScriber is a morbidly obese reader!) and spend about $95 in the same period. Only about a quarter of US readers are heavy readers. The current pricing of e-book subscription services will barely work for heavy readers based on their current level of spending. It will definitely not work for over three quarters of the American readers.
One has to ask that just because Netflix worked, will a ‘Netflix for e-books’ also work?
Music and video consumption can be passive. You can play your music in the background and listen with less than half an ear. Watching a favorite series also does not require the same amount of “presence.” You could easily cook, write an e-mail, paint your nails, or chat with your partner while watching Friends. One can’t compare reading to watching movies or listening to music. Reading, even an easy-read, requires you to concentrate on the text. We can only read so much because it is an exclusive action, in that it excludes all other actions. You could also call it inclusive as it includes you totally!
And this makes us skeptical about the utility of e-book subscription services. Can a reader use it enough? Probably not.
Should I, or Shouldn’t I?
As an author, however, it doesn’t hurt for you to be a part of these services. So long as there are at least some people subscribed, recommendations and trial by the readers because they have already paid for subscription can help you get discovered and get new readers. It cannot hurt. But none of these services make it straightforward for indie authors to be included in their catalog.
Amazon demands exclusivity. That may not work forever. However, if you are enrolling in KDP select for other promotional benefit, you will be a part of Kindle Unlimited anyway. Each KDP select enrollment period is for 90 days. If you are just starting out and are not sure which platform will work best for you, you can keep yours exclusive to Kindle for first 90 days, see the sales and earnings from Kindle Owners’ Library Borrows (including Kindle Unlimited) and then decide whether to continue with Amazon exclusivity, or look for other channels. Even when you forgo the exclusivity, you can continue to sell on Amazon. Your title will just not be a part of Owners’ Library and Kindle Unlimited.
For Oyster and Scribd, you need to go through Smashwords. If you usually prefer working with all the platforms directly, and do not want to use Smashwords as your distributor, this is a hurdle. But if you anyway intend to publish through them, then there is no extra effort needed.
Because of exclusivity demanded by Amazon, you can’t be a part of Kindle Unlimited and Scribd/Oyster at the same time. Smashwords, who are “anti-Kindle-Unlimited” (and anti-Amazon, in general), have pointed out that sales via Oyster and Scribd have been their fastest growing channel recently. At the same time many authors swear that nothing works like Kindle for them and are willing to accept exclusivity as a price. But everyone has to find out for themselves which channels work for them.
Let us know how you see this development. We would love to hear from authors with experience at Amazon Unlimited, Oyster and/or Scribd
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September 12, 2014
by Jandré
1 Comment
Coffee Table Books – A Brief but Oversized History
Says Zen Scribe, “The answer often depends on who asks the question.” Americans insist that David Brower, an American, invented the coffee table book during the 1960s. History, or at least the British variation of it, proves that the Brits have been using the expression ‘coffee table book’ since the 1800s.They grudgingly admit that Brower introduced ‘their’ word to the United States of America.
In both countries, coffee table books are big on big pictures, whether photos or illustrations, and small on words. These books are the embodiment of the “A picture is worth a thousand words” philosophy.
In fact, Mr. Brower, either innovative genius or idea robber, specifically wanted the pictures to be very big so that the reader (is that the correct term?) spent time seeing the whole picture.
Iconic Coffee Table Books
One sure way to offend and/or disappoint people is to make a definitive list. You will always leave out someone else’s sure-fire winner or include someone a connoisseur considers to be lowly popular trash! But here at InstaScribe we aim to be helpful and brave!
Sex by Madonna
This book makes the list because it is so popular. In fact this aluminum clad book sold more than a 150,000 copies on its first day! Note that art books generally sell between 5,000 and 10,000 copies. This book has been out of print for quite a while now, but is still highly sought after.
This book contains a collection of pornographic images of Madonna in various poses, with various people, both male and female, straight and gay. Some of the images suggest bestiality. Back in 1992 when the book was originally published, attitudes towards sex and pornography were much more conservative than today.
The controversy that Madonna and her book created made it very popular. Madonna’s writing (she contributed all text for the book) can hardly be credited as engaging. A statement like “I will teach you how to fuck” is just not writing, no matter who wrote it!
Life: 70 Years of Extraordinary Photography
Here we have a more traditional piece of work. As the title indicates, the photos cover a range of events over a period of seventy years. This book includes many iconic pictures as well as pictures of the most memorable events during that period.
The works of famous photographers such as Dorothea Lange, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Margaret Bourke-White, Irving Penn and Larry Burrows have been collected here.
Many iconic images are found here.
Naked nine year old Phan Thi Kim Phuc running away after being injured by exploding napalm bombs.
Easy Company raising the Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima.
(Image credit: http://onlinebrowsing.blogspot.in/2011/07/life-platinum-anniversary-collection-70.html)
The book is filled with life and death. Pain and ecstasy. Animals and destruction. It is truly iconic and comprehensive.
Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs
Cover of Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs
The choice was between this particular work by Adams and This is the American Earth. The latter was the “original” American coffee table book that Mr. Brower published in the US when he “invented” the concept.
Adams, who died in 1984, is still recognized as one of the greatest American photographers. He was also part of the group who pioneered the coffee table concept, so his book makes this a valid addition to our list.
He is particularly famous for his black-and-white images of nature, especially of the American West.
This book contains the largest collection of his work. His career spanned six decades, and he is known for revisiting the same place. The chronological arrangement of his work makes it easy to see how both the man and the technology developed during his long career.
Iconic: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation
So far, our choices have been very conservative, but here we are on the edge of the abyss. How can a book that is still hot off the press, published in 2013, make this list? Is it because of the name?
This book by Jonathan Zufi, who worships at the Shrine of Apple, contains a selection of 650 images out of his collection of 150,000 Apple product related images. This book is self-published. Take note of this!
The topic is controversial, because not everyone loves Apple. But the book is a tribute to the company and its various products which include very old and outdated printers and even a fashion range.
The Future
Apple, whether you love or hate it, has been an innovative force during the past few decades with its iPods, iPads and iPhone. The fact that this hi-tech company is now being worshiped in the form of a very old school paper book brings us to the future of e-books.
The InstaScribe team has already weighed in on the topic of Enhanced E-books. Our helpful conclusion was that these kinds of e-books will be able to enhance corporate reports, but should not be used to turn fairy tales into movies.
What will happen to the coffee table book? No Kindle, Kindle Fire or even iPpad will be able to do justice to this format. The sheer size and induced grandeur of the pictures makes it very difficult to see how this format can be digitized.
Perhaps a 99” HD Kindle? That is just not feasible for so many reasons. Cost and fragility perhaps the most obvious.
Viewing these iconic pictures on a laptop will also not recreate the atmosphere and intimacy of a good coffee table book.
Some argue that these can be enhanced by turning them into apps. InstaScribers are divided in their opinion on this. This InstaScriber struggles to see this happening. A coffee table book is an exceedingly visual and tactile experience.
Will adding sound or movement be able to recreate this experience? I doubt it. Furthermore, with screen savers and all the other images on our laptops, an electronic version of the picture loses some of the magic it has on paper.
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September 10, 2014
by InstaScribe
0 comments
Quotes Wednesday
By InstaScribe
Want to embed this quote on your blog or website? Use the following code.
<div style="text-align: center; padding: 25px; background: #eeeeee; margin: auto;"> <a href="http://instascribe.com"> <img src="https://instascribe.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/quote08.jpg?w=611" alt="Mere absence of nonsense may not be sufficient to make something true"/> <p style="font-weight: bold;">By InstaScribe</p> </a></div>
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September 9, 2014
by punjacked
1 Comment
Readers Can’t Digest – Week 4 (1-Sep to 7-Sep)
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September 8, 2014
by Jandré
1 Comment
Plotting your success novel – Part 2
Here’s the link to: Plotting your success novel- Part 1
Now, let us share some of the tips, tricks, techniques and plot-hacks that we have picked up over the years.
Plotting Tip 1 – The Goal Pick and Mix
Think! What is it that you want to achieve in your story? Mary wants to find true love before she is too old. Frodo should drop off the ring at Mordor. (With apologies to Mr. Tolkien!)
Cover of The Lord of the Rings
As you can see from the two examples, they are a bit vague. This means that you should flesh it out a bit.
Let’s make a story for you.
Mary, who excelled at computer programming at school, has focused all her energy on building a career. She has now realized that a career is not the same thing as a life. She is aware of the fact that her biological clock is slowing down fast. Now, she wants a life and love.
That is a great starting point. (Humbly patting my own back!)
Unless you plan to join Mary and the Mad Hatter in Holy Matrimony, you will have to add some more people to her life. She did not become a computer nerd because of the absence of people in her life, but rather exactly because of the presence of people who she allowed to shape her.
Mary has a bed-ridden mother whose bitterness has turned her into a manipulator that is pathologically self-centered. (Writing tip: Don’t use words like ‘pathologically’ if you do not know what it means.)
You can throw in an obvious love interest, a character flaw, a successful and patronizing older sibling, etc.
At this point we have already progressed significantly. From a lonely girl who wants love to a lonely girl with specific problems and challenges who wants love!
Once you have a goal, you have the backbone of the skeleton. You can now add the ribs, legs and other parts in an ordered way.
Plotting Tip 2 – The Foreclosure
What will happen to Mary if she does not find love? She will become a world renowned computer programmer who creates the blue prints for designing viable artificial intelligence. For this she receives a Nobel Prize, an Oscar and a Grammy. In short, she will experience unimaginable success and become very rich in the process.
Immediately you can see that this is not something that will drive Mary in her quest.
You need to show what Mary will lose. She fears that she will become a bitter person like her mother but without a dutiful daughter to look after her. We all know about the fear of ending up with the same deficiency as a parent.
I will never be like that! I will never lose my temper at nothing! I will never be so close minded! These are some things that could go through Mary’s mind.
This kind of psychological fear is something that can drive your character in her quest.
If there is no danger, no disaster facing your hero or heroine, what will motivate them? How will they be compelled to set out on the perilous journey of self development?
Plotting Tip 3 – The Checklist
What is required for Mary to move from an unfulfilled careerist to a fulfilled person? We all know that her journey is more about self-discovery and development than finding a sex partner.
You have to introduce these challenges in a natural way. Perhaps another character points out how she can never look someone in the eyes. It is unlikely that a character will come up with an actual list from an internet-based personality test!
The potential disaster that hangs over your character provides the tension needed to keep the readers interested. If there is no tension and also no anticipation, what will motivate the reader to keep on reading?
Plotting Tip 4 – Checking the List
Find ways for Mary to overcome her own challenges and develop as a person. How will she deal with the challenge of her bed-ridden mother? Will she ship her off to an old age home, or…
What will she do about her inability to look someone in the eyes? How will she overcome her extreme shyness or inability to make small talk?
It is clear that Tip 3 and Tip 4 are interconnected. Be careful not to overplay these mini-quests. Sure, it is very important that Mary learns how to make small talk but does it really deserve a chapter?
Plotting Tip 5 – Investments and Returns
What will it cost Mary to achieve her goals? What sacrifices will she have to make? What is the price she will have to pay? These are more tools to involve your readers emotionally with your characters.
Does she give up her high paying job? Is she willing to face the scorn of her mother and siblings by sending the old lady to Shady Pines Home for Difficult Relatives?
Sending her mother away might free up a lot of time. She might take up the flute. The obvious return might be that she marries the teacher or another student. However, the return on investment might be indirect.
She learns to play the flute and acquires some interpersonal skills.
Plotting Tip 6 – The End
Your story must end sometime. Make sure that you tie up the loose ends. We are not talking about solving all her problems. Mary and her mother don’t need to become friends, but what is their new relationship like?
English: Hold Tight by Harlan Coben (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Mary can still not look someone in the eyes but she is coping.You can not create a Plot Problem and not solve it. This will leave your readers frustrated, and perhaps, unwilling to read about Mary: The Sequel
Conclusion
A plot is very important, but do not turn your plot into a recipe. Look at Harlan Coben‘s books for example. The guilty person is always the one character you would never have expected. Who can it most definitely not be? Grandma! Well then it is her!
If you are old enough to remember life before the Internet, you might remember Louis L’Amour. Loner who is good with a gun. A pretty girl in a difficult situation. A bad guy who is nearly as good. Loner gets shot. Lies under a bush. Traps rabbits and drinks dew. Gets better. Revenge. Gets the girl.
Sure, these two authors made millions, but they could have made much more if they were willing to be a bit more creative!
Oh yes, and by the way, about Mary. She learned a whole bunch of life skills from her flute teacher and pottery instructor. She realized that happiness does not come from being a couple. First she must be a whole person herself.
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September 5, 2014
by Jandré
1 Comment
Plotting your success novel – Part 1
Zen Scribe once told us a story. (He did confess that it was inspired from Alice in Wonderland.)
A disheveled and confused fellow once approached an old man and asked him,” Sir, could you please tell me where I am?”
The old man looked at him for a long time, and asked him where he wanted to go.
“It doesn’t matter,” he replied. “I’m just wandering.”
“Then it doesn’t matter where you are,” said the old man.
Wandering might be a good way to spend a lazy Saturday, or perhaps even a good way to find yourself, metaphorically speaking, but it won’t get you to a specific destination. You might end up with a bunch of great experiences or blisters on your feet.
A man without a plan is much like a plot without a story, Zen Scribe concluded.
Did he mean a man without a plan is much like a story without a plot?
“My version,” he said “sounds more mysterious.”
Cover of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
A Goal
In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey writes “Once you have that sense of mission, you have the essence of your own proactivity.” Although he wrote this in the completely different context of personal mission statements as motivational tools, it is easy to draw parallels between your mission and writing a book.
Once you have a goal or a plot, you can see whether a scene is taking you towards your goal or away from it. Is the scene you have just written mere padding? The truth is that if you do not plot a story beforehand, you will either do it afterwards by way of rewriting, or you will end up with a wandering story that does not know where it is going.
An actual InstaScriber conversation, intercepted by the NSA: What did you think of REDACTED‘s book?
He can write great sentences, but seems to struggle with using them in a coherent story.
That means, plot, plot, plot counts!
A Plot is not…
It is impossible to overstate the value of plot, yet at the same time discovering the plot is not the aim of the reading experience. The normal reader does not read because authors are great plotters. It is more about emotional experience.
Let your readers get angry at the characters. Or feel the pain of rejection. Let them smell the roses as they journey along with your characters.
A plot is not the story, just like a skeleton is not a person. When is the last time you said, I really enjoyed spending time with that skeleton?
(Archeologists, forensic pathologists and grave robbers excluded.)
Do you remember those “You determine the story” books? At the bottom of the page you are faced with a decision: Open the door? Go to Page 18. Keep on walking? Go to Page 24.
This is what a book reads like if the plot is the story.
More about plotting tips in Part 2!
Here’s the link to: Plotting Your Success Novel – Part 2
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September 3, 2014
by InstaScribe
0 comments
Quotes Wednesday
By InstaScribe
Want to embed this quote on your blog or website? Use the following code.
<div style="text-align: center; padding: 25px; background: #eeeeee; margin: auto;"> <a href="http://instascribe.com"> <img src="https://instascribe.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/quote07.jpg?w=611" alt="Great me speak to us only so far as we have ears and souls to hear them;" /> <p style="font-weight: bold;">By InstaScribe</p> </a></div>
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September 2, 2014
by punjacked
1 Comment
Readers Can’t Digest – Week 3 (25-Aug to 31-Aug)
1. Kobo‘s Aura H20, the new waterproof e-book reader will be available for sale from October 1, 2014. According to Kobo’s president, more 60% of the users wanted to be able to use e-book readers by water without worrying.
2. After ‘Da Vinci Code‘ and ‘Angels & Demons‘, Tom Hanks and Ron Howard will reunite for a movie based on Dan Brown‘s latest ‘Inferno’. This might mean that there won’t be a movie based on ‘The Lost Symbol‘.
(http://www.thebookseller.com/news/hanks-and-howard-reunite-inferno-film.html)
3. Samsung has announced its new Nook branded tablet – Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook. It’ll be priced at $179 and has a customized, Nook-centered software.
(http://ebookfriendly.com/galaxy-tab-4-nook-launch/)
(http://ebookfriendly.com/galaxy-tab-4-nook-launch/)
4. Action Comics No.1, which featured Superman for the first time in 1938, has been sold for around $3.2m on ebay. It was bought for 10 cents in 1938.
(http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/25/superman-action-comics-no-1-record-3m-dollars)
(http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/25/superman-action-comics-no-1-record-3m-dollars)
5. Tim Howard, the USA and Everton goalkeeper, has landed a book deal with Harper Collins. His memoir called the “The Goalkeeper” will be published on 9 December.
(http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/aug/25/tim-howard-usa-everton-book-goalkeeper)
(http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/aug/25/tim-howard-usa-everton-book-goalkeeper)
September 1, 2014
by Neelima
9 Comments
How to Read a Book (by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren) – Part 1
I wish I had read this book a long time ago. I’m a classic readoholic but it’s been a journey of guilt. There are many books that I have read that I don’t remember. There are many books on my shelf that I have started with great flourish but never completed. I could have avoided many reading gaffes if I had known the skill that reading is.
They don’t teach you how to read in school though it would be a good idea to tell your kids about some techniques in this very practical book- for instance your index finger is a great tool while speed reading. Hold your finger on the word and your monkey mind stays there.
Good old pencils make your reading experience worthwhile. When you do those squiggly markings and underlining, you imprint the message of the book in your mind.
There is a method to this madness and knowing how to use a book as sedative is not it.
Cover of How to Read a Book (A Touchstone book)
While reading this book and occasionally checking out #amwriting and #reading on twitter, it struck me that many people don’t dedicate time to reading like they would, say to me-time.
The 1970s was the Decade of Reading in America. Now it’s more of visual excess. So is a how to read manual relevant even today?
Don’t see why not. Since we read online all the time, knowing how to read well is a bonus.
Though I would like a new revised chapter on how to read emails without missing the most important bits, how to make the most of your e-reader and how to speed read one hundred and fifty webpages a day without getting cross-eyed.
No point in being one of those “bookful (rewrite: e-bookful) blockheads, ignorantly read”.
Shouldn’t a reader know that there are four kinds of reading?
- Elementary
- Inspectional
- Analytical
- Syntopical
My favourite classification was Inspectional reading- the kind of reading you do in a book store before you buy a book. You stand for a while perusing the book, deciding whether or not you want to buy it. What should you look out for?
Read this book to find out.
In Part 2 of this review, I’ll talk about how you can X-ray a book. You can!
