Interesting Things Going Down at #dbw11

Just an update for those of you interested in what's being said about the Digital Book World conference in New York this week.  A lot of to do about eBooks and of course, Google's growing market share in that field.  


Future Book.net has a list of Google eBook's bestsellers. No surprises there with romance as the top selling genre. It seems to be mimicking the NYT bestseller list. That makes the whole, "eBook customers and brick-and-mortar customers are two different species" argument a tad more interesting.  Are they?


The guy speaking at the conference from Goldman Sachs actually called brick and mortar booksellers an investment to steer clear of...ouch.  One thing that came out is the belief that indie booksellers can find a niche in the rapidly shifting market. I still love bookstores. I'm not giving up on them just yet.


This coming after hearing that 80% of Amazon's books are sold at cost. They're more interested in growing their market share than making money right now...pretty smart business move, actually.


Speculation at the conference on whether or not the prediction that multi-device homes are as common as we think.  I read books on my Droid, my PC, and in book form.  My husband wants a Kindle. I guess its not that uncommon after all. Still, most trade paper purchases are made by women...does that mean men are the eBook customer to court?   


If you're interested in following what's going on and what's being said at the Digital Book World conference, follow the hashtag (#dbw11) on Twitter.  


Until next time...Go Write!
Photograph Enkhtuvshin's 40D..

Digital Dose

First lets start off with some freebies. Who doesn't love free books, right? The folks over at Family Fiction.com post titles of books available for FREE download on Amazon. 

You don't have to have a Kindle to do this. I download them to my DROID. You can get the app for your iPhone or even your PC.  If you follow them on Twitter, then you get updates...also free.  Of the fifteen newly released books on my DROID...all of them were free.

Next up is a relatively new site called Quora.com. It seems to me like Yahoo Answers on steroids. A bit better put together though. I've seen some great answers to technical questions and as the person who answers has to post their qualifications...its less likely to result in dumb answers by bored kids in study hall. Check out Media Bistro's article on how publishers and writers can use Quora to their advantage.

Janet Reid, Literary Agent, posted a warning to those looking to enter this writing contest on Twitter and her blog. The contest rules are mind boggling in their blatant grab for rights to your work. "In perpetuity and without compensation" Wow...AND its $150 bucks to enter.  Steer Clear.

Finally, I leave you with a link to Digital Book World's article on agents and the changing landscape of eBooks. Things that had never crossed my mind...apps and book trailers...reversion rights and the like.

This has been your weekly Digital Dose...Now Go Write!

Photograph by Vancouver Film School.