nook

Publishing: The New Skill

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Published using Nook for the first time for my latest book.  It was about as easy as Kindle, with a few less international options.  That’s pretty promising, as I’d usually have Lulu.com do the job.

It’s still a pain to self-publish merely for the amount of options, platforms, and issues one has to face.  There’s what to put the document in when you write, any conversions you have to make, then what tool to publish it in (I go from Libre Office to Jutoh myself).  It’s nice to be able to self-publish, but I wouldn’t call it simple.

The strange thing is self-publishing is basically it’s own skillset.  It’s not a gateway to easy publishing if you’re a writer since you’ve got to be more than a writer – or hire someone that can do the conversions for you.  Yes, the barrier to entry is far lower, but what was once insurmountable financially or business-wise is still a challenge because you need the skills to self-publish.

Writing well is still never enough.  The barriers and challenges to publishing have changed and even lowered, but they’re still there.  Success is still a lot of work.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

 

Target Douses The Kindle

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Yes, Target is phasing out the Kindle in it’s stores.  Amusingly, the Nook isn’t getting the same treatment.  They site “conflict of interest.”

There is plenty of conflict of interest – Amazon is competing with big stores like Target, Wal-Mart, etc.  This is also a gutsy move as this stuff is popular, so I figure Target has very good reasons.

My takes?

  • I think Target is going to side more with Nook for now.  B&N isn’t a competitor and can be an ally.
  • Remember B&N is also allied with Microsoft.  Keep in mind what this can mean.
  • Note nothing from Wal-Mart.  I still think they might make a low-price play/deal for some media or tablet device – but something like this could mean they seek an ally (and a way to take on Amazon)?
  • This is key as it’s someone striking right back at Amazon.  Others may feel emboldened to follow.
  • I would strongly consider the chance there’s other initiatives we don’t know about.

– Steven Savage

 

Microsoft And Barnes And Noble Team Up On eBooks And Education?

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If you haven’t heard for a legitimate reason, like a coma or temporary death, Barnes and Noble has teamed up with Apple in a ‘strategic partnership” involving e-Books.

Yeah. Process that one for a bit.

Basically there’s a new B&N subsidiary that rolls the Nook and college/educational businesses together. Microsoft invested in it. The results are this could be a separate business, an adsorbed one . . . or one, say, sold to Microsoft. Think about that for a moment.

We just saw two of Apple’s competitors team up with a “daughter” company in powerful markets.

Heree’s your takeaways:

  • I’ve suspected something is up with B&N’s plans in education, and I think this was coming for awhile. Protip: don’t write B&N off, they’re obviously working quietly behind the scenes.
  • This is to Apple’s disadvantage of course, but also note this settled B&N vs Microsoft patent litigation. Apple’s still facing plenty over ebooks, while this clears the air.
  • Lots in all of this is Amazon’s reasonably-priced 300 pound gorilla. A Microsoft-B&N partnership or spinoff is also a challenge to Amazon.
  • B&N supports the more universal ePub format. Just saying’ this could give it a shot in the arm.
  • Job opportunities will clearly come of this. Take a look at the opportunities (if you’re lucky it’s near B&N’s offices in Palo Alto, which is an awesome city).
  • Microsoft can probably leverage this partnership for their e-devices, which are needless to say behind the market.
  • If this is done as a spinoff company it could be huge. Imagine a company created just as a rival to Apple/Amazon, backed by these two. Imagine a company using a universal format. Imagine a company, say . . . I dunno, buying Lulu . . . .

Things just got a lot more interesting in the eBook world.

– Steven Savage