Here’s the blurb and a link to Camosun – Publish Your Own E-book to register.

Thinking about publishing your writing but struck out with traditional publishers? Don’t fancy the headache of self-publishing in print? Then it’s time to join the latest publishing sensation.

You can publish your magnum opus (or cookbook, or romance, or…) in an electronic book format, sell it through major online booksellers and receive above average royalties as easy as a,b,c…well, almost.

This course will introduce you to all things e-book including set-up and formatting, online bookselling sites, e-reader choices, cover image basics and marketing possibilities.

And it’s only $75.00 (plus the dreaded HST). Always a full house; love to see you there!

Last year at this time, I created my own little awards, The Nikis, to honour the best of 2009.

So, continuing this tradition, I’ve nominated a new top ten for 2010.

My categories are mostly related to creative endeavours, are arbitrarily chosen and listed in no particular order.

So, drum roll, please; a Niki nod to each of the following:

1. Top Technology of the Year: E-readers

2. Top Multimedia Company of the Year: enkHouse Transmedia Storytellers

3. Top Cool Thing of the Year: iPad

4. Top Food of the Year: my sister’s Microwavable Chocolate Fudge

5. Top Song of the Year: Missing by Glynne Turner

6. Top Plant of the Year: My Phyllostachus Vivax Bamboo

My Vivax Bamboo

7. Top Radio Play of the Year: BBC Radio 4 Short Story Contest

8. Top Photo of the Year: Our new Yorkshire pup, Geordie

Our new pup, Geordie

9. Top E-Book Publisher/Distributor of the Year: Smashwords

10. Top Fun New Effort of the Year: The Novel Experience Podcast

So…what’re your top ten?

Seems gals are buying romance e-books with abandon.

Warrior Women

Anyone surprised? Not moi.

Just think of some of the benefits to romance readers:

• quick (and often less expensive) access to new titles
• pleasure of reading romance in public without hearing snickers or receiving disapproving stares
• first time opportunity to buy back lists of their favourite authors
• chance to read ‘racier’ romances with no one being the wiser.

Throw Darts at a Cheesecake

• terrific new market growing in leaps and bounds
• re-sales of out of print books
• new electronic publishers seeking authors
• higher royalties.

Wolf in Tiger Stripes

Originally pitched to Harlequin for their Bombshell line but the new line bombed before my kick-ass heroine, Erin, had a chance.

Hmm…

(Oh and thanks to Amazon.com for the three covers, each depicting a terrific romance e-book written by a good friend.)

Trying to keep up with electronic publishing is like herding a pride of feral cats who are chasing a flock of chickens who are fleeing a randy Rhode Island Red rooster.

In other words, nie impossible.

I’m trying though…and today have just learned that Google’s E-book store launches today.

As my Publisher’s Lunch Daily email advises: Google declares they have “the largest ebooks collection in the world with more than 3 million titles,” including “hundreds of thousands of books for sale from publishers” as well as “millions” of public domain titles, with the latter provided for free.

Amazing numbers PLUS the e-books are supposed to be readable on multiple platforms, like the iPad, Barnes and Noble’s Nook and Sony’s Reader.

Take a deep breath and dive in. E-booking is really rockin’ now!

Three interesting guests:

• Jessica Goodman, Wiley and Sons, explained their “How to Cook Everything” app
• Theodore Gray, Touch Press, on creating his wildly popular app, “The Elements, and
• Rhys Cazenove, Enhanced Editions, about producing the very popular, “Death of Bunny Munro”.

The trio offered excellent information and advice.

UnnaturalStates: John & Harry Battling

It was so cool to learn that others are embracing the multimedia enhanced book platform. Though different from our UnnaturalStates Quillr® concept, they were all hip to offering stories and information in a whole new way.

Text alone storytelling and reading is just so five minutes ago!

Read more and see some video of the webinar here.

I jumped on the digital wagon last year by re-publishing my mysteries as e-books. Soon, I began instructing others—many had failed with traditional publishers or were wary of costly Print on Demand—at a Victoria, B.C., college.

Self-Publish Your E-Book in Minutes

Thus, Self-Publish Your E-Book in Minutes! was born.

It’s brief, practical and succinctly covers all the essentials of electronic publication, like formatting, uploading and marketing, and is available online at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com for $0.99.

Prices for popular e-readers Nook and Kindle are coming down below $200.

Getting better all the time. Full NYT article here.

Gotta buy one soon…

Look out Kindle, step aside Nook, run for the hills iPad and put ‘em up Sony reader ’cause there’s a new kid in town: the Kobo eReader.

logo for kobobooks

And who said ebooks were a fad? Welcome little Kobo eReader.

Especially LOVE that you’re a Canuck.

Shortcovers, the online bookselling arm of Indigo Books & Music Inc., has spun off into a new chapter. They’ve taken on Borders Group Inc., Instant Fame and REDgroup Retail as partners, and have rebranded themselves as Kobo.

Their press release, in part, says:

Shortcovers is pleased to announce a new chapter in our company’s history: Shortcovers is rebranding with a new name, a new look, and a new round of investment from leaders in the industry.

Today, December 15th, 2009, Shortcovers will begin operating under the name Kobo. Our rebranded website is available today at http://www.kobobooks.com , and updated versions of our mobile applications for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, and Palm Pre are on their way to their respective app stores and our website.

Read the complete press release from Shortcovers here.

This could be very cool and profitable for ebook authors: more markets; more buyers; more dough.

Of course, now I’ve got to change all my links to booksellers!

UnnaturalStates: John & Harry Battling

As a keen believer in electronic publishing, especially in telling stories in a multimedia platform like our UnnaturalStates, I’m all for evolution in the publishing business.

Church Choir Mysteries: The Unsuitable Suitor

I’m also up for good old-fashioned printed books, with their lovely heft and smell.

And, most shockingly, I don’t see these two positions as being diametrically opposed.

Now, Michael Hyatt offers some excellent predictions on the end of publishing as we know it, as well as offering a video introducing an amazing new multimedia reading device by Time Inc. and Wonderfactory called the SI Tablet.

Check it out. Reading is evolving, whether you like it or not.

Oh, and of course, publishing isn’t ending anytime soon.