1. Amazon Destinations Takes on the Travel Industry.
2. Reese Witherspoon set to record Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman
5. Goodreads adds Audiobook Sampling
April 28, 2015
by punjacked
1 Comment
April 24, 2015
by InstaScribe
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April 23, 2015
by abhaga
3 Comments
We take a break from our regular programming to talk about an important issue concerning all of us, the issue of Net Neutrality. Internet provides a radically new way for authors and publishers to engage with the readers. In this post, we try to explain why and how violating Net Neutrality principle via schemes like Zero Rating changes that and makes internet less useful for everyone.
You may have come across the recent brouhaha over something called Net Neutrality. You might also have heard about something called Zero Rated apps, apps for which you do not have to pay data charges. That’s amazing, right? No data charges for the popular apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Flipkart! What can be bad about this?
Before discussing Zero Rating, let’s take a moment to understand the idea of Net Neutrality. The idea of net neutrality says that the same type of traffic on internet should be treated the same. So while it is ok to prioritize time sensitive data, all the time sensitive data should be similarly prioritized irrespective of the sender and the receiver. This general principle manifests in many different forms. For example, it should not be possible for a telco to slowdown Flipkart website while keeping Amazon.com fast. Or charge differently for accessing Flipkart than for accessing Amazon. That seems reasonable, you say but what has zero rating got to do with it?
How the zero rated apps work is that Telecom companies offer zero rated app packs which let the user access all the zero rated apps but there is no general data connectivity included with the plan, thus rendering rest of the internet inaccessible. Users will be free to buy separate data packs but if all the major services are available for free, not many people will end up doing that. Especially those who have never experienced internet otherwise. Surveys in many countries have reveled the astonishing fact that millions of Facebook users have no idea that they are using internet! That cannot be a good thing!
As an author, you are marketing your book, engaging with readers on social media, building a website. You post a link to your latest blogpost. But oops! your blog service is not zero rated. So people cannot access it. You have link to your personal website in your bio. Again oops! unless the service where you built your website is zero rated, no luck. Somebody posted a review of your book on their non zero rated blog? Hard luck! You are limited to interacting with them only within the zero rated universe.
You might think that is not too bad as long as all the major services are covered. Your major presence/activity is anyway limited to like Twitter/Facebook. But what is likely to happen once you are locked into these services? If anyone of you had a Facebook page with a large fan base couple of years ago, you know the answer. Facebook tweaked their algorithm so that the updates you posted on your page stopped reaching majority of your audience. And then they introduced promoted posts where you could pay them to put the update on the timeline of your fans.
Make no mistake. The internet is a great leveler of playing field since it allows same level of access to everyone. You can choose to build your website wherever you want and be assured that anyone on the internet will be able to access it. Users don’t have to worry about if they are paying more for accessing one site or the other. Hence they go to the site that offers the best content. As an author, as a small entrepreneur (which all authors are), this is the magical power that internet gives you. And zero rating takes this away by dividing internet into chunks of free and non-free.
But let’s take a step back and address one of the stated motivations behind zero rating apps in India. We want more and more Indians to come online so that they can participate in the digital economy, find information, business and education. Being connected to the world is a huge blessing. But in order to connect to internet, you have to pay for the data pack over and above your mobile plan. A large percentage of people never do it. There is a economic barrier which is prevents them from taking advantage of this wonderful resource. If we zero rate an app, then all these people who have never experienced internet, will be able to do so without additional cost. Imagine the students everywhere having access to Wikipedia!
And while they won’t be able to access the whole of internet, isn’t some access better than no access? It is but not when someone else decides what is that “some access”. Consider Internet.org, a program launched by Facebook that offers a set of websites and Facebook for free. The set of sites are decided in consultation with the local government. Is that the central government? State government? District administration? What happens when the government changes? What happens if ruling party wants it’s website to be included in the plan? Why are none of the government websites available via it? Who decides if it is more important for a person to have access to Facebook and bunch of news sites (who all make money based on his access) and not to various government services? Wouldn’t it be better to provide him 100 MB free data and let him make that decision for himself?
The digital divide is real and it is important that we address it urgently but we need to do that without destroying the primary value of being online. There are several alternatives – all of which should be employed to tackle the issue. One option is telcos providing a free data plan with low data cap to new users. This will give the users a taste of internet without biasing it one way or the other. Other option is to continuously work to bring down the cost of data access so that the economic barrier is lowered. We as a country are also investing in building a comprehensive optical fiber network, thus taking high speed broadband to villages. That is how India will come online. People need cheaper access to full internet, not free access to a poorer internet.
This is a very critical time for this debate in India. TRAI is in the process of formulating policies and rules around Net Neutrality. They have invited comments on a paper they have put out. The last date for sending comments is 24th April. Please write to them. The link provides pre-written answers to the 20 questions that TRAI has asked. The answers has been prepared by lawyers and other experts, citing reports and data. You should read them, adjust them as you deem fit and send them to TRAI. Close to 1 million people have already written to them. Your voice matters.
You can use the excellent resources made available by a group of volunteers to better understand and research the issue. They also have a list of ideas on how you can help.
April 22, 2015
by InstaScribe
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April 21, 2015
by punjacked
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April 20, 2015
by Neelima
3 Comments
Reviewing books on writing has been a game changer for me. My ten takeaways (the last ten thing list I made was about a yakshi, my favorite mythical character) would be:
#1. There is a time for everything: I felt a weird synchronicity when Zen Scribe said, ”Let’s do some reviews on books on writing.”
I wanted to read Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird and Natalie Goldberg’s book Writing down the Bones years ago, but I delayed it, and now I am glad that I waited this long. When you read many books on writing in quick succession, you see patterns that can help you write.
#2. Reiteration helps: Every book on writing says a lot of the same thing in terms of plot, characterization, dialogue, and theme. These reiterations make it crystal clear that there is no such thing as too much hard work. A glorious idea may grow in your brain for several years but a book happens when you turn the idea into chapters.
#3. Books on writing are never a never: Somebody told me Never read books on writing as they are written by people who haven’t made it big as writers. Of course, this is not true. Only writers can write about the writing process—every book on this subject that I’ve reviewed so far is by a writer who is aware of the craft.
Each of these writers has written with authority and compassion. They are kind and demonstrate their craft with a great deal of generosity. Which chef shares the secret ingredient? All these writers lay down their toolboxes and let us pick out the tools they have sharpened over years of hard work.
Nothing horrific about Stephen King’s generous On Writing.
#4. Learn to read if you want to write: The book called How to Read a Book by Mortimer J.Adler and Charles Van Doren changed my haphazard style of reading for good. The change was instantaneous like the fever that abates with the right dose of antibiotic.
Now I always read with a pencil in my hand and use a highlighter when I read e-books. I read the TOC with a lot more attention than I used to—it’s an instant insight into the book. I try to complete every book I start, unless the book is impossible to digest.
#5. Be an owl or a lark: You have to be one or the other. If you want to write, you have to make the time to write, even if it means you have to pull yourself out of bed early or stay up when the rest of the house is fast asleep. Like I’m staying up now! Even when the excuses are genuine, you will benefit when you make the time to write.
If you can’t be an owl or a lark on some unfortunate anti-writer days, write a few sentences every day. A friend once came up with this idea—if inspiration strikes when you are on your daily commute or when you are at work, just tap the words out on to your phone notepad—who knows what gems your phone could be privy to?
#6. The only tool is to write: Gone are the days of typewriter ribbons and Remingtons. Gone are the editors who chew their pencils. The good old days of writers who displayed a flourishing handwriting are all gone. Yet the tool which can never be ousted is the ability and the will to write down the thought, idea, and the story. This takes immense self-discipline and is most often sacrificed for distractions. Books on writing can change the effect that distractions have on you.
#7.Keep a notebook: Now I have several notebooks—this can be an impediment. There is a notebook for my novel, for poems, for morning pages. Too many notebooks dilute the thought process. However, Lamott’s advice on carrying a notebook everywhere on all occasions is an insight into how much you need to observe to write. Without observation, writing becomes dull. The notebook tells you a lot about yourself, particularly about whether you observe your inner life or your outer life. This tells you what kind of write-ups you would be better off creating.
#8.Punctuation has a history: You can never get over the Eats, Shoots & Leaves virus. The squiggles that change free flowing text into contoured expressions have a life of their own and a history— it’s a wonder that you can call yourself a bookworm and not know about the origins of a comma or semi colon.
I’m no punctuation stickler, but you can never be too wary of how you punctuate sentences even now while your fingers are whatsapp frozen. If you write essays, novels or emails, you have a responsibility to create a plausible pause. Not because of unsuspecting punctuation vigilantes out there, but because they have a point; one must pause to create wonder. You may have recited this line, “What is this world if full of care, you have no time to stand and stare?”
Sounds like a punctuation function to me.
#9. Be a Planner and a Pantser: Both these are important when create a book. I’ve been an ardent fan of the free write process (pantsing) as it is one of the most liberating ways to write. Writing groups use this technique effectively. Writing with a purpose, however, keeps you focused. If you plan the beginning and the end of your story, it’s motivation enough to get writing. Planning can be very non-art, but it’s worth a try if being a pantser gets you nowhere.
#10. Grammar books are better off illustrated. Strunk and White’s Elements of Style illustrated by Maria Kalman shows you how any subject, even grammar, can be made pleasurable reading. No topic is off limits for good writing and good illustration.
The relationship that a writer or a book shares with an illustrator is a special one. I enjoy working with Sara for the books on writing blog post illustrations as much as I enjoy creating the reviews.
#11. Read your own review: As part of this post I went through the reviews I had written. It is always a good idea to look at what you have written after a while. I was touched by the sweet humility of Ruskin Bond in Landour Days and the calm methodical approach by Peter Elbow in Writing with Power. It’s also a self-exploratory exercise to read your blog posts once they are done.
What lessons have you learnt from reading any book on writing? Has it helped you on any way? Share in the comments section.
April 17, 2015
by InstaScribe
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April 16, 2015
by Neelima
2 Comments
In Part 1, we discussed Doubtfire’s views on plot creation and self-discipline. In this short post, we examine the importance of rewriting and how to handle a review without getting terribly depressed.
Rewriting
Rewriting is the most important part of writing the novel and something you shouldn’t shirk. Sometimes you write a story for the sake of writing it and later on you find that a whole lot of it must be deleted. There is nothing worse than a contrived story.
Pruning is all about the evolution of the novel where selection is important and can not be underestimated. Beautiful passages that are irrelevant to the story will have to be axed. The personal views will have to go too as opinions are for facebook and not your magnum opus.
Simplifying when it comes to style is far too simple—style can never be as simple as that and this is a fallacy that many writers are trying to get away with today. Style is a fingerprint and can not be created overnight.
Doubtfire explains that 25% of what has been written can be removed. Writing less is a restraint that the reader needs- there’s no point in underestimating a reader’s intelligence. The best writing very often entails some kind of suspense that the reader will have to participate in.
So an editor is a boon.
Reviews
Doubtfire says that reviews don’t need to be disputed unless of course there is a real reason to do so. One way of testing the efficacy of reviews is to take any book you thought was good and read the reviews. I chose a book called The Lovely Bones:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12232938-the-lovely-bones?from_search=true
I loved the book but there are many negative reviews there. Never forget that very good books get bad reviews as well and that doesn’t take anything away from the book.
An old book
There are glimpses of the ancient in this book but one advice I liked was about checking the contract. You never know when it will stare at you in the face like a trap rather than the opportunity it once was. Since this book was written in a different day and age, some advice can be ignored, but as far as the tips on writing go, this is a useful handbook as it helps you stick with your writing goals.
That is what a book on writing should be about, isn’t it?
April 15, 2015
by InstaScribe
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April 14, 2015
by punjacked
1 Comment