By guest writer/editor Rosie McKinlay

We’ve all been waiting for November 4. This year’s campaign has been a stressful one, regardless of who your choice presidential hopeful is. And as the tension rises, there seems to be an unspoken sense of exhausting tedium. Now that the end result is mostly out of our hands (but if you haven’t mailed your ballot yet, get it to the closest drop box this instant!) and the politician-endorsed TV ads are really starting to grate, why not take a deep breath and get a literary perspective on the matter? There are several biographies in the works and already on the market, among them a few of the independent persuasion.

To start, let’s talk Palin. Despite how you may feel about her policies and views, I think everyone can admit she’s intriguing. To keep up with her sudden appearance on the campaign trail, Zondervan, a division of Harper Collins, published a book written in just three weeks, Sarah Palin: A New Kind of Leader. Portland’s own KenArnold Books recently released a satirical e-book called The Palin Prophecies: Apolcalypstic Now!, written by fictional author Brent Mooseburger. Also on the local front, the Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company managed to get an additional 40,000 copies of Kaylene Johnson’s Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned the Political Establishment Upside Down on the market. The book was originally published last spring, before Palin was announced as McCain’s vice presidential candidate.

Of the candidates and their running mates, Joe Biden has spent the least time in the spotlight. This appears to be the case for published works by and about him as well, despite his long career in politics. His book, Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics (Random House) is worth having a look at. There is also a biography available through Amazon Digital Services called, Joseph Biden: From Scranton to Wilmington.

John McCain’s autobiography, Faith From My Fathers: A Family Memoir (Harper) is said to be chock full of well-written tales of the republican’s life—you may know some of them already if you watched the debates. If you’re into graphic novels, Badger Comics has released one about McCain called Presidential Material: John McCain by Andy Helfer.

As you may know, Barack Obama is no stranger to the written word. Some of his published works include Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (Crown), The Audacity of Hope (Vintage), and Change We Can Believe In: Barack Obama’s Plan to Renew America’s Promise (Three Rivers Press). Author Bob Kuttner recently wrote a book, Obama’s Challenge: America’s Economic Crisis and the Power of Transformative Policy, which was picked up by Chelsea Green Publishing, an independent company. It is available on Amazon as a print-on-demand book. In a recent online article for The American Prospect: Liberal Intelligence, Kuttner explains his reasoning for going indie: “As an independent, [Chelsea Green] is lighter on its feet, and could turn this book around very fast.”

So turn off the news, get away from the negative slanderous muck, and get to know the candidates and their running mates by way of one of these titles. After all, they’re just people too. And perhaps, on Tuesday evening, as the ballots are counted, you can accept the results with a sense of knowing calm.

By guest writer Tom McCluskey

Welcome back to the world of e-book design! Last time, we talked about the necessity of mutable design for e-books, specifically about the need for things like reflowable text and proportional rather than static margins. Today, we’ll be looking at how to achieve that mutability of design.

Fortunately for us, web pages are already built with this root of flexibility in mind. In fact, most e-book formats are based in XML, a language that allows you to build your own markup languages. The most widely-known of these markup languages is HTML, the language that web pages are built in.

So what is a “markup language?” Essentially, it is a language that allows you to assign semantic meaning to text. For example, when using HTML, you can use the <h1> </h1> tags around a term to mark that term as a primary header. While this will usually result in that term being set in large print and perhaps bolded, that is not the primary intent of the tags. Those tags are there to let the computer know that that term is a primary header, and what follows that header is related to that term, at least until another <h1> </h1> tag set is encountered. This is particularly important to know if you think that search engines might be interested in checking out your e-book, as proper tagging will allow search engines to provide more meaningful results and better matches to people using those search engines.

HTML and other markup languages, then, are not used to change the layout of a manuscript, though they will do that to a minimal degree. Instead, they are used to define the parts of a manuscript, saying things like “This is a paragraph but this is a chapter header, and this section here is a block quote.” In order to change the layout, we borrow another tool of the Web: style sheets. Cascading style sheets, or CSS, are where the lion’s share of the layout information of any modern website is. Essentially, you use a style sheet to tell your browser or other e-book reading device “I want the text to be in 12-point Arial, except that the chapter headers should be 18-point Papyrus and the block quotes should be indented and set in italic.” You can also define text and background images, colors (though colors, of course, will not work on black-and-white screens), and many other aspects of design. However, most e-book formats use only a portion of CSS, so it is not as powerful as it is on the web.

And this brings us to the different formats of e-books that are available today. A quick glance at Wikipedia will show that there are many different options available; at the time of writing this, there are over two dozen. Many of these formats are a bit too limited for one reason or another, however. Plain text files, for example, are very flexible but contain no formatting information other than line breaks, which make for an unsatisfactory reading experience. By contrast, PDF files offer too much format and not enough flexibility—there is no reflowability of text. Other formats are outdated, not widely used, or too proprietary.

Two of the biggest formats at the moment are epub and Mobipocket. Epub is a nonproprietary format developed by the International Digital Publishing Forum. It is based on XML, so it offers excellent flexibility. And because it is nonproprietary, it doesn’t lock readers into using a single device. It is a relatively new format but is gaining a lot of support. Of particular interest to publishers, in late July Sony opened up their Reader to epub files, so people with Sony Readers will be able to read e-books in epub format.

Mobipocket is another XML-based format. In contrast to the months-old epub, it has been around since 2000. While it is nonproprietary, the company was purchased in April of 2005 by Amazon, and Amazon uses a DRMed version of the Mobipocket format on the Kindle. The Kindle can also read a standard Mobipocket file, though it cannot read one that has been encrypted with Mobipocket DRM.

Both epub and Mobipocket can be read on personal computers; the Mobipocket Reader is available for free download from Mobipocket.com, and Adobe has recently released Digital Editions, which reads both Adobe’s own reflowable PDF files and epub documents. In addition, both epub and Mobipocket can be secured with Digital Rights Management should you wish to (and I’ll leave it to Cory Doctorow to explain why that’s a bad idea). Again, though, the Kindle cannot read files that have been secured with Mobipocket’s DRM system—Kindle files have their own version of the Mobipocket DRM that is just different enough to make them unreadable.

Creation of Mobipocket files is, for the moment, somewhat easier than creation of epub files. Mobipocket has a free Creator tool that allows you to easily create e-books from a number of different sources, including HTML and epub files. Epub is a new enough format that there are far fewer tools available for it, but Bookglutton.com has developed a web page that will convert HTML to epub. Your other option is to consult Harrison Ainsworth’s epub Format Construction Guide to make your epub files by hand, but be warned that it’s not for the faint of heart.

Creating your own epub or Mobipocket file is great if you are distributing e-books yourself, but if you are interested in selling on Amazon.com or Sony’s e-book store, you’ll need to submit your e-book to those companies. Sony’s submission site for publishers is now up and running, and they accept several different file formats. Amazon’s Digital Text Platform also accepts submissions in a number of different file formats. These large online stores certainly expose your e-book to a much larger market, but they take a very large slice of the money you make (Amazon takes 65 percent of the cover price from each sale).

There are, of course, many other formats and many other options available; this article is by no means exhaustive. Now that you’ve gotten your feet wet, follow the links and explore the world of e-book publishing. Like any high-tech field, it is rapidly changing, and there’s no telling what the next Big Thing will be. Whatever happens to e-books, though, it’s bound to be a fascinating ride.

For more of Tom’s helpful musings, please visit his blog at tom-mccluskey.com.

© 2008 Tom McCluskey

By guest writer/editor Rosie McKinlay

Western Fiction is a genre you don’t hear much about these days. Its popularity may have peaked in the 1960s, but that doesn’t mean it’s dead, not by a long shot.

I knew little of these Old West tales (by definition, Western Fiction covers the years between 1860 and 1900) and thought of them as nothing more than special interest collector’s books that were no longer being produced. Turns out, I was way off target.

I had the opportunity to read submissions from the Idaho Writers League Conference, which was held in Idaho Falls last month. Many of these courageous authors are ignoring the stigma attached to Historical Fiction in these oh-so-modern times and capturing the essence of a wild west that should never be forgotten.

And guess what? There are several publishing firms in the USA that are seeking this very genre. Sounds like the Old West is making a comeback!

Here’s a brief list of companies that list Western Fiction in their submission guidelines:

For Books:
Kensington Publishing Corp.? (www.kensingtonbooks.com)
Forge Books? (http://us.macmillian.com/forge)
Five Star Press ?(www.gale.cengage.com/fivestar)
Tres Picos Press ?(www.trespicospress.com)
Harcourt Trade Publishers ?(www.harcourtbooks.com)
Wheatmark Publishing? (www.wheatmark.com)
Bantam Dell Publishing Group? (www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell)
Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster? (www.simonsays.com)

Other:
Roundup Magazine, Western Writers of America ?(www.westernwriters.org/roundup.html)
Virtual Tales eBooks ?(www.virtualtales.com)

© 2008 Rosie McKinlay

By guest writer Tom McCluskey

At first glance, e-books may seem just one short step removed from the electronic files used in publishing. After all, once the book has gone through editing and design, it is usually in a PDF or InDesign format. Why not just package that up and put it on the Internet as an e-book?

The answer to that question is that e-books require a different design paradigm than standard printed work, because with e-books we can never quite be sure how the book we have published is being read. Consider three persons reading the same “traditional” book: a commuter on the train on the way home from work, a child reading by flashlight under the covers after bedtime, and a student relaxing with a book in a coffee shop. The book they read is perhaps 5½” by 8½”, with black text on white or off-white paper and a fixed number of lines per page. Page 44 for the student will be page 44 for the commuter and page 44 for the child.

E-books, however, are completely different in that one person may download an e-book to read on his Sony Reader, while another may view the same book on her iPhone, and still a third person may be using his desktop computer’s 22-inch monitor. These devices have quite different screen resolutions, screen sizes, and overall appearances, which means that the notion of fixed book design needs to go out the window to avoid the very real risk of creating e-book content that is not viewable on some devices. A PDF file of an 8 ½” by 11″ document, for example, would be larger than the Sony Reader’s screen and far larger than the iPhone’s.

In order to deal with this issue, e-books must either be designed individually for each specific e-book reading platform (a project so massive in scope that it would not be surprising to learn that it was never-ending, as more platforms are added faster than old ones can be designed for), or they must be flexible enough to fit any platform. Reflowability of text is one of the most crucial elements to ensure this flexibility. In essence, text must be able to flow by itself, much as text on web pages will shuffle itself about in order to fit on the page as width changes. And this, of course, leads to many consequences for editors, as it becomes meaningless to ensure that there are no widows, orphans, ladders, or other such typographical eyesores in a given manuscript.

Fonts are another important area to consider; beyond a certain few basic fonts common to nearly all systems, it’s impossible to know which fonts a reader will have on his or her device. Font families (serif, sans serif) rather than individual fonts should be specified for e-books, and margins, padding, and other spacing should be proportional (4.5 em margins rather than 1-inch margins). This helps to ensure that the page will scale well and be presented well on a screen of any size. In many ways, the design of e-books is similar to the design of web sites.

Publishing e-books, then, requires a shift in how we think about design. The format of a book is no longer static and unchanging; rather, like the publishing industry itself, it must be flexible and adaptable.

In the next issue of Inside Ink, we’ll look into the specifics of what sorts of e-book formats are common in the market, and the nuts and bolts of formatting for them. Until then, enjoy the flexibility of a new way of looking at book design!

by guest writer Lake Boggan

MEDIA RELATIONS
Begin a discourse with a half dozen freelance writers or editors in your field of expertise and keep the conversations going over a long period of time. Take a moment each Monday morning to write a brief e-mail just to say hi: “I read your article in Sunday’s paper (for instance), and I liked your ideas. How was your weekend? What is the weather like in your neck of the woods?” The real truth is all editors are lonely, hard-working nuts just like you, sitting long hours in an uncomfortable chair in front of a monitor. If you are sincere, you know your stuff, and they know you are the real deal, eventually they will want to have a real conversation that can lead to your being quoted in the media with a reference to your book.

BE YOUR OWN PUBLICIST
Make a big splash with local newspaper articles and radio/TV interviews. Arrange these interviews yourself by sending an e-mail press release to newsrooms, and then follow-up with a cover letter and a review copy of your book. Become a media junkie and plug yourself–as well as your book–with your press release:

• To broadcast that you are someone who can provide content and background for a breaking news story
• To release new data on a controversial issue, current piece of legislation, or similar trendy concern to the public and your community
• To respond to a recent shocking development on the national stage and offer your expert opinion, reaction, or position on how it affects your region by naming you and your book as the expert on the subject
• To expose a new angle to a current issue–the media of the day says one thing and your book has a substantially important spin
• To announce a newsworthy event related to your book and to invite the press to offer a more interesting or controversial look
• To show a local perspective on a national issue, including your quotes that set the record straight because the research in your book can prove it

BOOK-SIGNING SUCCESS STORIES

1. Books don’t sell themselves; people sell books. Be sure to make friends of booksellers. If they like you, they are going to tell customers about your book.
2. Carry a copy of your book with you at all times. Arrive ahead of the scheduled time, and MINGLE and INTERACT. Do not sit at a table and stare at the empty room. Tell customers who you are and invite them to hear you talk.
3. When your event begins, get to the point. Speak loudly, and with energy and enthusiasm. You are now a public speaker. Leave that introverted writer at home and become a whimsical entertainer. Don’t leave anything to chance. Script an introduction for the bookstore to introduce you and your book.
4. Conduct yourself in the bookstore like a gracious guest. BE HELPFUL! Clean up your mess.
5. Create and use collateral and support materials for your events like bookmarks, postcards, invitations, posters, and all the good take-away stuff that can help make a sale after the event.
6. Support your own events by inviting friends and family. It’s just like an election; go to your base for support.
7. When you get events, do media-related, tie-in interviews, or get listed in event calendars, newsletters, and anything you can to support the event for the store.
8. Don’t complain when only a few attendees show up, and don’t apologize for a low turnout. Treat the few who are there very well. They will tell many other potential readers how wonderful you are. Authors are celebrities in everyone’s mind–even today. Get their addresses, send them thank you notes, and they will remember you forever.
9. Always have a signup sheet for e-mail and addresses so you can create a fan base for your next book.
10. Think about non-bookstore events and venues. Grocery stores, hotel lobbies, corporate meetings, schools, and other nontraditional book places are options for future events and ways to sell books.

Lake Boggan has sixteen years of book selling and book marketing experience. She is currently Publicity Manager in the marketing department for Timber Press. She taught Book Marketing and Promotion for five years at Portland State University’s Center for Excellence in Writing, in the Ooligan Press Graduate Publishing Program. Lake is also the instructor for Ink & Paper’s “From Write to Read” book marketing course (info below). Future classes have yet to be scheduled, but you can send a query to our class coordinator, Linda Meyer, if you are interested in future class details: linda.meyer@inkandpapergroup.com.

“From Write to Read” Class Description:
Book marketing for writers is filled with mysterious language and tricks of the trade that every successful author needs to know. The sooner you learn the language and understand the process, the stronger your book sales will be.

Lake Boggan believes in the basics. She also likens marketing your book to preparing a great recipe for your favorite dish: when fresh, new ingredients are available, you should use them. She will share what’s tried and true in the book marketing business, and add pointers about blogging and getting linked on the internet.

Lake will share a bundle of information that will serve you well before your book is published (your “marketing platform”), during the season of your book (when it’s a “new release”), and after your window of time has closed (and you’re on the “backlist”).

by guest writer, Amanda Taylor

It’s a well-known fact that in the Young Adult/Children’s publishing world, YA follows adult trends. If a book sells well to adults, publishers often try to make a version for teens and kids. And if a genre is doing very well for adults, there will be reader demand for a YA version of the genre. This is mostly because younger readers want to read adult books to be more grown-up, and possibly to read what their parents are reading.

It seems, though, that the opposite may be true for writers. With the success of fantasy in the YA genre, more YA authors are trying their hand at fantasy titles for adults. Stephenie Meyer’s successful Twilight series for teens prompted her to release her adult title, The Host, this May. Looks like we might be seeing a lot more trade paperback romantic fantasies for adults from larger publishers soon…

by guest writer, Amanda Taylor

With the success of The Lightning Thief and subsequent titles in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan, booksellers have noted an increase in sales and interest in mythology. Carly Cohen of A Children’s Place Bookstore in Portland, Oregon, said, “Thanks to Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, parents, teachers, and kids have been coming in asking for other books on Greek mythology.

Riordan’s books are fun for parents to read also, and there has definitely been an all-ages increased interest in Greek mythology. The books are really popular in the classroom because they help teachers teach mythology in a fun and interesting way. Kids get so hooked that parents and teachers have been looking for supplemental materials to appease their young readers until the next book comes out.” Book Four, The Battle of the Labyrinth, is slated to release on August 19; fans and booksellers alike will be paying attention.

To explore Ink & Paper Group’s own offerings of mythology, check out Bowler Hat Comics’ Kid Beowulf and the Blood-Bound Oath.

by guest writer, Emilee Newman Bowles

I have a new favorite social networking site: Goodreads.com, where friends share what books they’re reading and write reviews for books they’ve read. Since I trust the opinion of a few choice friends over even a New York Times book review, I was happy to find a site where my friends and I could share our reading experiences. The site includes lists of the top books that people are actually reading, the books with the highest ratings, and the books with the lowest ratings.

Goodreads is also a great place for authors to network and share their work with readers on a personal level. For one thing, anyone clicking onto the site is almost guaranteed to be an avid reader, and many of them are looking for something new to read.

The Goodreads Author Program is free and is easy to use. Just sign up for a Goodreads account, search for your book, click on your name, and click on the “Is This You?” link to set up your author page. A few of the things you can do with the Goodreads Author Program are:

• create an author bio
• make a list of your published books
• spread the word about your books to friends and fans on your network
• publicize upcoming events such as book signings and readings
• participate in online Q&A sessions with readers
• share excerpts of upcoming publications
• share your favorite books with readers
• set up free giveaways for new titles

Anyone whose published book is available on an online bookseller’s site can be a part of the Author program. If you’re not published yet, you can still add your writing to your personal profile for others to see and comment on. Publishers like writers who have a web presence.

Goodreads.com is an easy, free way to create an author profile or a value-added feature to link to an existing site.

by guest writer, Amanda Taylor

As a Young Adult Editor, I spend a sizeable amount of time watching market reports and trying to figure out industry trends. Some projections come to fruition, some don’t. According to last year’s ICv2 conference on the Graphic Novel, there was a notable shift underway in the young adult graphic novel industry. Industry leaders reported that the 13–18-year-old market was saturated, and that buyers and customers were interested in seeing more graphic novels for readers aged 10 and under.

Milton Griepp, President of ICv2, the news magazine and website that is recognized as a pop-culture authority, stated that those watching the graphic novel industry would notice the “generational transfer” that was underway. Griepp predicted more graphic novels being published for a younger audience. The success of graphic novels for the younger audience, such as the Captain Underpants books, showed publishers the demand did indeed exist, and the shift is definitely in progress.

This year has already produced some notable graphic novels for younger readers, and leaves this YA editor wondering what’s next?

If you’re interested in reading a new graphic novel for ages 9+, I recommend Bowler Hat Comics’ Kid Beowulf and the Blood-Bound Oath by Alexis E. Fajardo.