THE FIGHT FOR HTML5: ‘KEEP DRM OUT’ LOBBY STEPS UP STANDARDS BATTLE
The draft Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) specification would apply to video, audio or interactive content marked with HTML5 media element tags. The specification defines an API that would interact with a DRM or simple encryption system when the media… [read more]
Source: ZDNet

THE SELF-PUBLISHING ERA CREATES QUANDARY FOR BRANDS
Being a self-publisher means you are a content producer and distributor. That content, in turn, must appeal to the audience you are serving. It’s not just enough to post photos of your product and tell your Facebook Facebook followers how amazing you… [read more]
Source: Forbes

A LITTLE COMPETITION FOR SMASHWORDS?
When the free ebook distribution platform Smashwords was created, critics claimed that it was nothing more than a portal for lousy ebooks to flood the market while supporters countered that it was the first genuine concept in stripping away… [read more]
Source: Good E-Reader

WHICH PUBLISHERS ARE THE BEST AT SELLING E-BOOKS IN 2013?
Everyone knows self-publishing is growing by leaps and bounds, but who can say how well self-published authors in aggregate are doing against the big publishing houses? To answer these questions, we at Digital Book World created Ebook Publisher… [read more]
Source: Forbes

HERE COMES AMAZON’S KINDLE TV SET-TOP BOX
Amazon (AMZN) is making e-readers and tablets and will likely soon introduce a smartphone. As it works to build all types of connected devices, that leaves a natural next step: a television set-top box. The e-commerce giant is planning to introduce a… [read more]
Source: Businessweek

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HOW INDIE AUTHORS CAN WORK TOGETHER
For many writers, the “self” in self-publishing makes for a lonely endeavor. A team of indie authors recently banded together to create The Indie Voice group and release an eight-book To Die For boxed set, expanding their fan base and promotional reach… [read more]
Source: mediabistro.com

DON’T FEAR FREE
Take the thriller writer Joe Konrath. He recently wrote on his excellent blog, a Newbie’s Guide to Publishing — where he offers his insights into self-publishing and how others should benefit from doing it — that giving away books has helped sales of… [read more]
Source: Huffington Post

AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED?: CHAPTER 3 IN MY SELF-PUBLISHING DIARIES
Part of why I decided that I was a good candidate for self-publishing is that I have what is called a platform. Oh, that’s one of the buzziest buzzwords around the self-pubbing world, your platform. Do you have a platform? How big is it? The argument… [read more]
Source: Huffington Post (blog)

WHY LINKEDIN DUMPED HTML5 & WENT NATIVE FOR ITS MOBILE APPS
Prasad: We have definitely shifted from HTML5 to native. The primary reason for that is, we’re seeing that more and more people are spending more time in the app, and the app is running out of memory. It’s not performance issues, like speed or… [read more]
Source: VentureBeat

MEET THE LATEST SELF-PUBLISHING SENSATION, RACHEL VAN DYKEN
The author is Rachel Van Dyken, the Idaho-based writer of some 20 published and self-published titles. She has another six on the way this year. So far, The Bet has sold some 85,000 ebook copies in just the U.S. and UK in the ten days it’s been on sale… [read more]
Source: Forbes

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BARNES & NOBLE LAUNCHES NEW PUBLISHING PLATFORM
The bookseller’s new Nook Press self-publishing platform allows for in-tool editing, which B&N presumably hopes will make it easier to use than rival Amazon’s tools… [read more]
Source: CNET

BARNES & NOBLE INTROS NOOK PRESS SELF-PUBLISHING PROGRAM
Can Barnes & Noble’s new self-publishing program both compete with Amazon and save the Nook brand? Barnes & Noble is expanding its Nook portfolio to include a new self-publishing portal for authors…. [read more]
Source: ZDNet

NOOK LAUNCHES PRESS, A SELF-PUBLISHING E-BOOK PLATFORM
Nook Media, the Barnes & Noble subsidiary that includes the Nook line of ereaders and tablets, has launched a new self-publishing platform for ebooks. Called “Nook Press,” the new platform takes the place of PubIt, another digital publishing program… [read more]
Source: The Verge

IN THE SEARCH FOR SUCCESS: INTO THE SELF-PUBLISHING NIGHTMARE
I spent many days in the Barnes & Noble’s self-publishing aisle. I registered my manuscripts with the Library of Congress and Quality Books Inc. I bought the brand new Adobe InDesign and worked hard on the “ready to print” digital files for my books… [read more]
Source: Huffington Post

SELF-PUBLISHED “WOOL” AUTHOR HUGH HOWEY EXPOSES THE RISKS AND REWARDS OF THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF PUBLISHING
In fact, the advent of self-published eBooks has sparked an eerily similar struggle over control and ownership as in centuries past. People espousing open information are increasingly under fire from governments. Major academic and industry… [read more]
Source: Forbes

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IS IT A BOOK OR AN APP? DIGITAL PUBLISHING COMBINES THE TWO IN A NEW MEDIUM
Last year we invested in a start-up digital publisher called Open Air Publishing. The company focuses on creating how-to books for tablets. Two weeks ago they released their latest title, a high end digital parenting book that caters to mothers and… [read more]
Source: Forbes

HTML5 APPS ABOUT TO ENJOY “ENLIGHTENED COEXISTENCE” WITH NATIVE
What do you mean it’s April already and people only do this kind of thing in January, it’s still snowing in most of Northern Europe isn’t it? IDC’s Hilwa suggests that there will be a new “enlightened coexistence” between web and native device… [read more]
Source: ComputerWeekly.com (blog)

AMAZON TO LAUNCH COVER CREATING TOOL FOR SELF-PUBLISHED E-BOOKS, KDP COVER CREATOR
Amazon is developing a cover creation tool for its Kindle Direct Publishing self-publishing platform, dubbed KDP Cover Creator. The tool is currently being tested by a limited number of KDP authors but the company expects to roll it out to all its KDP… [read more]
Source: Digital Book World

WHAT’S UP AT PUBIT!?
Barnes & Noble has created a stir in the self-publishing community with the e-mail it sent yesterday to publishers and others who have used PubIt!, alerting them to “stay tuned for an upcoming announcement on our next chapter in self-publishing… [read more]
Source: Publishers Weekly

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