tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370Mon, 25 Apr 2016 06:19:46 +0000ebooksLoreen Leedyappspicture bookstechnologyiPadprocessdigital booksElizabeth O. DulembaLaura RubypublishingBarney SaltzbergconferencesAmy TimberlakeKindleMaryann Cocca-LefflerOP booksinteractivenew releasesresourcesreviewsEPUBJohn NezKatie Davisenhanced bookserevolution*author introsebookstoreseisforbookiBooksmarketingFreddie LevinJanet Wongagentsauthorschildren's booksepublishingereadersfreebiesfuniPad Kids appsinterviewslibrariesmiddle gradenewsnovelspricesteachingyoung adultJanie BynumPhillis GershatorRuth Sandersonbookschapter booksdevelopersebook appsgraphic novelsguest bloggersiPodillustrationskids appspre-KArthur SladeEllen BeierEmilie BoonInteractive Touch BooksJune GouldingMo ManningNookPDFPiggles Goes To Schoolbook appsdigital artiPad appsillustratorsnonfictione is for booka coalition of respected children’s trade book authors developing their books for electronic mediahttp://www.eisforbook.com/noreply@blogger.com (Mo Manning)Blogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-1790371384590188133Sat, 02 Feb 2013 14:08:00 +00002013-02-02T06:13:28.517-08:00digital booksLoreen Leedynew releasesprocesstechnologyAnother option for making digital picture books...?<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's been ages since I've posted on E is for Book...aside from the usual print book projects that clamor for attention, I have felt stymied by the process of making digital books. Every platform has its own format to learn which also limits the potential audience to the users of that platform and/or device.&nbsp;</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I did make an iBook in 2011 which took weeks of work to convert the art work from an O.P. book (<a href="http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/10/my-first-ibook-bringing-op-picture-book.html" target="_blank">process article is here</a>.) It was a hassle to become an iBookstore seller but doable. Then, much like tossing a book into a giant pile in a warehouse, it instantly disappeared into the confusing, inaccessible "store" that doesn't even have a rudimentary search engine or Internet portal. (It only searches on titles, not book descriptions, and you can only browse the iBookstore via the iBooks app.) The few people who have bought <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/tracks-in-the-sand/id468571161?mt=11" target="_blank"><i>Tracks in the Sand</i>&nbsp;</a> found it somehow but it wasn't by searching on the term "sea turtles" because that won't bring it up. The other drawback is that it is basically a digital version of a print book, which is fine but I'm interested in adding interactive elements.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />To make a long story short, none of the current options available for making interactive books have grabbed me for various reasons including:</div><ol><li style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The difficulty of making the book</li><li style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Having to get the final product approved</li><li style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The limited platform (e.g. book apps that only work on tablets)</li><li style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bad or nonexistent searchability in "stores"</li><li style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Having to be "inside" another app (e.g.Interactive Touch Books)</li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The monumental problem of marketing, especially due to items 3-5</span></li></ol><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While marketing is an issue for anything indie-published (and traditionally published, for that matter), here is one solution I've come up with that solves the other issues:</div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MEhAWLfL89I?rel=0" width="500"></iframe> <br /><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As mentioned in the video, <i>Valentine Mystery Critters</i> was made in PowerPoint, of all things. It took a fair bit of time to get the animations working right, but compared to other options I've tried, it wasn't that hard. Obviously, the interactive options are limited in PowerPoint, but the selling options are quite open...zillions of computers have PowerPoint installed. To read more about the pros and cons of this method of making digital books, please <a href="http://loreenleedybooks.blogspot.com/2013/02/valentine-mystery-critters-digital.html" target="_blank">check out this article on my books blog</a>. </div>http://www.eisforbook.com/2013/02/another-option-for-making-digital.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-925439169935714360Sat, 17 Nov 2012 22:47:00 +00002012-11-17T14:48:09.513-08:00book appschildren's booksiPad appsiPad Kids appsJohn NezPiggles Goes To SchoolPiggles Goes to School... the video trailer. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://3.gvt0.com/vi/4A_erSCUXFs/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4A_erSCUXFs&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4A_erSCUXFs&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">About this book:</span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">On his first day of school Piggles worries about everything. But Piggles learns to think for himself as he outsmarts dinosaurs, a witch, a goblin, a UFO, a dragon and a pirate. Filled with puzzles and interactive fun, Piggles loves school once gets there.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></span><br /><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">'Piggles Goes to School' challenges children to think for themselves and overcome problems as they travel with Piggles on his way to school. Touching objects initiates sounds, actions, animations.&nbsp; Help Piggles solve a variety of puzzles to make his way safely to school.</span><br /><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">As an illustrator and writer of more than 50 children's books I had a great time creating this app.<a href="http://store.interactivetouchbooks.com/books/john+abbott+nez/piggles+goes+to+school" target="_blank"> You can download this app in the InteractiveTouchBooks.com bookstore, which is an iTunes store</a></span> </span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://store.interactivetouchbooks.com/books/john+abbott+nez/piggles+goes+to+school" target="_blank"></a></span></div>http://www.eisforbook.com/2012/11/piggles-goes-to-school-video-trailer.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nez)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-1895509151651489226Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:26:00 +00002012-11-16T11:26:05.876-08:00appsbookschildren's booksebook appsebooksiPadiPad Kids appsiPodJohn Nezkids appsPiggles Goes to School - A new e-book app<div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1pTdPiQkjUI/UKaSyOeMvdI/AAAAAAAADBk/ZwzjcLAl3Cw/s1600/PigglesGoesToSchoolPromo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1pTdPiQkjUI/UKaSyOeMvdI/AAAAAAAADBk/ZwzjcLAl3Cw/s400/PigglesGoesToSchoolPromo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;">When a book-maker gets a book in a box on the porch it's always a thrill to open it up and see it 'for real'... finally.&nbsp; This same rule applies to e-book apps... only more so.<br /><br />I had the wonderful opportunity to finally download my 1st copy of '<a href="http://store.interactivetouchbooks.com/books/john+abbott+nez/piggles+goes+to+school" target="_blank">Piggles Goes to School' onto my iPod touch.</a><br /><br />To savor the experience I quietly <span style="font-size: xx-small;">stole</span> away to my favorite cafe to plug in my headphones and push the 'Read to Me' button on my iPod.&nbsp; On the scale of the quiet joys of book-making this first reading rates up near the top. It's the first time ever that you get to be 'the reader'.&nbsp; I was not disappointed.&nbsp; <br /><br />This new book is an actual book, whereas Mousey the Explorer was sort of an improvised idea on a theme.&nbsp; 'Piggles Goes to School' has an actual storyline, plot, resolution and all that.&nbsp; <br /><br />On his first day of school Piggles worries about everything. But Piggles learns to think for himself as he outsmarts dinosaurs, a witch, a goblin, a UFO, a dragon and a pirate. Filled with puzzles and interactive fun, Piggles loves school once gets there.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;">'Piggles Goes to School<span style="font-size: xx-small;">' is available from InteractiveTouchBooks.com, a<span style="font-size: xx-small;">n iTunes store.</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">John Nez</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">www.johnnez.com</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">&nbsp;</span></span> </span><br /><br />http://www.eisforbook.com/2012/11/piggles-goes-to-school-new-e-book-app.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nez)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-3828627986643233620Wed, 22 Aug 2012 13:03:00 +00002012-11-29T15:57:29.946-08:00appsbookschildren's booksebook appsebooksiPadiPad Kids appsiPodJohn Nezkids appsMousey the Explorer e-book app - in bookstores now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2pd7Wl9XRQU/UDTX4v53V_I/AAAAAAAACvY/aK-Rh6ZbYu4/s1600/ITB+page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ws1MblT-x0/UDTX8hwau2I/AAAAAAAACvo/LKXPDcsKAh8/s1600/Mousey&amp;pages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ws1MblT-x0/UDTX8hwau2I/AAAAAAAACvo/LKXPDcsKAh8/s640/Mousey&amp;pages.jpg" width="459" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>My first interactive e-book app, Mousey the Explorer has been published in the InteractiveTouchBooks.com bookstore.<br /><br />So this will be my toe in the water for e-book app making.&nbsp; <br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh5hxRcGu4M&amp;feature=g-upl%20" target="_blank">I made up this little app-trailer for YouTube.&nbsp;</a><br /><br /><br />This e-book app is filled with interactive sounds, animations, puzzles, coloring and musical activities.<br /><br />I'm the actor, writer, producer and director. I do the set-design, lighting, costumes, makeup, stunts, choreography and special effects. I'm also the cameraman, technical wizard, animator and I make the coffee.<br /><br />I'm the publisher too.<br /><br />I have to say, it's almost boring to do just plain flat digital art that doesn't have sounds, motion and interactivity.&nbsp; Here's the movie trailer to 'Mousey the Explorer'.<br /><br /><a href="http://store.interactivetouchbooks.com/books/john+abbott+nez/mousey+the+explorer" target="_blank">So feel free to pass on this link for some e-book interactive fun!</a><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://3.gvt0.com/vi/FqQjdaClm0M/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FqQjdaClm0M&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FqQjdaClm0M&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2pd7Wl9XRQU/UDTX4v53V_I/AAAAAAAACvY/aK-Rh6ZbYu4/s1600/ITB+page.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2pd7Wl9XRQU/UDTX4v53V_I/AAAAAAAACvY/aK-Rh6ZbYu4/s400/ITB+page.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>http://www.eisforbook.com/2012/08/mousey-explorer-e-book-app-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (John Nez)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-855379004842755133Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +00002012-02-08T09:01:17.501-08:00authorsfreebiesKatie DavisLoreen LeedymarketingresourcesMarketing your digital book: What's the plan? (#giveaway)<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If there is one topic that is almost sure to elicit a quizzical frown and not much else from most children's book authors and illustrators, it's <b>marketing</b>. That's the publisher's job, right? We creative types don't want to think about promotion…yuck. Yet publishers can't do everything and there are many innovative techniques nowadays that are often inexpensive or free. And if you haven't heard yet, authors/illustrators are expected to carry the marketing ball more and more these days. If you choose not to participate, your book's sales will almost certainly suffer. <br /><br />Indeed, the word is that having a "platform" can make the difference between getting or not getting a publishing contract in the first place. And in the digital realm, many authors/illustrators are now seeking to release ebooks or book apps based on out-of-print (OP) as well as original titles, bypassing publishers entirely. Based on my limited experience with my OP book about sea turtles*, it’s pretty tough to get the word out. Putting a digital book on the iBookstore, App store, Kindle store, NOOK bookstore, et al has been compared to tossing a book into a warehouse and slamming the door shut. Now what?</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_o7oA38GFmU/TyLwlmk4fBI/AAAAAAAACPk/_7mq4jEC1pw/s1600/How-to-Promote-cover.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_o7oA38GFmU/TyLwlmk4fBI/AAAAAAAACPk/_7mq4jEC1pw/s320/How-to-Promote-cover.gif" width="246" /></a>Fortunately there is a terrific newly-released resource for #kidlit creators by children's author-illustrator Katie Davis, <a href="http://katiedavis.com/books/how-to-promote-your-childrens-book-tips-tricks-and-secrets-to-create-a-bestseller/" target="_blank"><i>How to Promote Your Children's Book: Tips, Tricks, and Secrets to Create a Bestseller</i></a>. (Note: I am one of the 60 contributors to the book and received a free copy.) The content ranges from Your Website and What's Wrong with It to Skype Visits to The Secret Sauce and much more…including social media, of course. Katie has built her platform in a myriad of ways that she generously shares. She makes a monthly appearance on TV in Connecticut to recommend great kid's books; she produces a weekly kidlit podcast; writes a blog; gives keynote speeches and presentations; has judged awards; is on the board of a literary charity; and created two book trailers that made it to the finals in the School Library Journal Trailee awards…she clearly has a lot to tell the average author/illustrator. Not incidentally, her book <i>Little Chicken's Big Day</i> was the <a href="http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/home/893391-312/trailee_award_winners_announced_at.html.csp" target="_blank">2012 winner in the publisher or author-created trailer category for elementary readers</a>. (I just found this out while writing this post, so big congrats, Katie!)<br /><br />Here are a few random items from the book to give you an idea:</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Book Trailer Rule #1</b>: <i>No slow, loving pans of your cover.</i></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>On YouTube</b>: <i>It's easy to forget that YouTube is yet another social media site, isn't it? But that's exactly what it is…</i></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>On Contests</b>: <i>Don't have a "contest"—have a "giveaway," or a "sweepstakes," or a "drawing"…I've checked, and you just don't want to use the word "contest." </i></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>On Printed Postcards, etc</b>.: <i>Now that you know about all kinds of appearances, are you going to arrive empty handed? No, you are not!</i></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The book's tone is lighthearted and conversational while the content is comprehensive and well-organized. There are many, many tips from the various author/illustrator/librarian/blogger contributors plus links galore to a huge variety of resources. At the end of each chapter is "homework" that consists of action items to do such as <i>Create a school visit page on your site.</i> It's obvious that my internal Excuse-O-meter is going to have more trouble coming up with reasons to NOT work on promotion for my books. I certainly won't be able to plead ignorance! After all, the whole point of writing and illustrating a book is to have people read it, and they can't read it if they don't know about it, right?<br /><br />Katie has managed to get her book into a number of formats/ereaders including <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006V7RWRK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=katdav-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B006V7RWRK" target="_blank">Kindle</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-promote-your-childrens-book-katie-davis/1107992631?ean=2940013846289&amp;itm=7&amp;usri=katie+davis" target="_blank">NOOK</a>, <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/how-to-promote-your-childrens/id493806405?mt=11" target="_blank">iBooks</a>, and <a href="http://katiedavis.com/products/" target="_blank">PDF</a>. It's not easy dealing with the different formats and ebookstores; kudos are due on that score as well.<br /><br />If you’ve read this far, perhaps you would like to become eligible for a free PDF version of Katie's book. Please leave a comment by this Friday, February 3 at midnight Eastern time and I'll choose a random number to determine the winner. Check back on Saturday to see if you won! The book costs $9.99, which is not bad for over 200 pages, no?<br /><br />Today's post is only the first on the blog tour for <i>How to Promote Your Children's Book</i>; there will be additional giveaways at some of the blogs, so here is the schedule:</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Feb 2 - <a href="http://bananapeelin.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Banana Peel Thursday</a></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Feb 3 - <a href="http://chrischengauthor.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Creative Spaces</a></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Feb 6 - <a href="http://deareditor.com/" target="_blank">DearEditor.com</a></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Feb 7 - <a href="http://umakrishnaswami.blogspot.com%20/" target="_blank">Writing With a Broken Tusk</a></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Feb 8 - <a href="http://shutta.com/" target="_blank">Shutta Crum</a></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Feb 9 - <a href="http://mcbookwords.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">McBookWords</a></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Feb 10 - <a href="http://www.keremerkan.net/" target="_blank">Kerem Erkan</a></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Feb 16 - <a href="http://www.dulemba.com/" target="_blank">Elizabeth O. Dulemba</a></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Feb 17 - <a href="http://www.darcypattison.com/" target="_blank">Fiction Notes</a></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">March 1 - <a href="http://writeupmylife.com/" target="_blank">12x12 in 2012</a></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">March 2 - <a href="http://www.christinefonseca.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Christine Fonseca, Author</a></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Update: Check out Katie's <a href="http://katiedavis.com/how-to-promote-your-book/" target="_blank">Brain Burps about Books podcast</a> about the <i>How to Promote</i> ebook, with several mini-interviews with contributors.<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by!</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Loreen</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.loreenleedy.com/index.html" target="_blank">My web site</a></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">*My iBook about sea turtles, <i><a href="http://bit.ly/pebUdk" target="_blank">Tracks in the Sand</a></i></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div>http://www.eisforbook.com/2012/02/marketing-your-digital-book-whats-plan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-4476913599648107389Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:57:00 +00002012-02-22T09:15:59.705-08:00ebooksebookstoresenhanced booksiPadLoreen LeedytechnologyiBooks Author: Links to resources (so far)<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br /><img class="right" height="235" src="http://www.apple.com/support/ibooksauthor/images/hero_ibooks_author.png" width="280" /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you are interested in making ebooks, you've probably already heard about Apple's new iBook creation tool, iBooks Author. To clear up one bit of confusion, iBooks Author is a Mac app (for desktop or laptop computer) to make an <b>interactive iBook</b> that is read in the iBooks 2 app on the iPad. In other words, you're not making the iBook on your iPad, unlike <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/book-creator-for-ipad/id442378070?mt=8" target="_blank">Book Creator</a>, for example, which makes a standard iBook. (Here is <a href="http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/10/my-first-ibook-bringing-op-picture-book.html" target="_blank">my post about using Book Creator</a>.)<br /><br />The term <i>interactive</i> means different things to different people, from choose-your-own-adventure stories to ebooks with tappable read-aloud text to game-like animated book apps. <a href="http://www.curatingbookappmom.com/2012/01/what-do-ibooks2-and-ibooks-author-mean.html" target="_blank">This blog post </a>by Curating Book App Mom discusses iBooks Author and interactivity. Seems like we need better terminology to describe these digital books…but they're a moving target!<br /><br />In order to download the free iBooks Author app, you must have a Mac with the Lion OS installed. To read the souped up iBooks you need the free iBooks 2 app on your iPad. The <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/e.o.-wilsons-life-on-earth/id490270998?mt=13" target="_blank">free sample of E.O. Wilson's Life on Earth</a> has embedded videos, animations, photo galleries, 3D models you can manipulate in any direction, clickable maps, quizzes, and more. It's quite sophisticated, no doubt about it. The file size is large, though. One of the features I'm interested in using is embedded Keynote presentations. I think the file sizes for those could be much smaller than full videos, while still allowing movement and user-directed interaction.<br /><br />[Update 2.23.2012]: A (currently) free 94 pages ebook, <a href="http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920025597.do" target="_blank"><i>Publishing with iBooks Author</i></a> by Nellie McKesson and Adam Witwer is available from O'Reilly. It covers the ins and outs of text formatting, tables, widgets, and much more.<br />&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To get an excellent overview of iBooks Author's features and what it can and can't do, <a href="http://www.databasepublish.com/blog/apple-ibooks-author-early-review" target="_blank">check out this post by Ben Vanderberg</a>.<br /><br />Here is<a href="http://www.apple.com/support/ibooksauthor/" target="_blank"> Apple's iBooks Author Support</a>, which has several articles and tips such as to use "iPad safe fonts." There is also an <a href="https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_app_store/ibooks_author" target="_blank">iBooks Author forum here</a>.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The templates that come with iBooks Author are set up for textbooks, with Chapters, Sections, and pages. This is great for textbooks, cookbooks, craft books and so on, but excess baggage for picture books, my primary interest. I haven't tackled stripping out those features myself yet, but came across <a href="http://danidraws.com/2012/01/24/ibooks-author-first-impressions-and-making-a-comic/" target="_blank">this article by Dani Jones </a>that shows how she put her comic book into a Photo Gallery widget to get full bleed images. Looks promising.<br /><br />There has been some controversy about the licensing for this software, such as the limitation that you can only sell the resulting iBooks through Apple's iBookstore. (You can give them away on your web site, etc.) The article <a href="http://www.cultofmac.com/141832/why-the-emotional-criticism-of-ibooks-author-is-wrong/" target="_blank">Why The Emotional Criticism of iBooks Author is Wrong</a> links to some of the critical articles and attempts to address these concerns. There are 172 comments on it as of today, so if you'd like to wade into that, happy reading!<br /><br />My biggest complaint is the totally inadequate Search capabilities on the iBookstore itself. My iBook <a href="http://bit.ly/pebUdk" target="_blank"><i>Tracks in the Sand</i></a> is about sea turtles, but if you search on "sea turtles" it won't come up. Only books with "sea turtle(s)" in the title or subtitle of the book show up in the search results. It's like trying to find books in a library that has no subject index, which obviously makes it difficult. If Apple is serious about making the iBookstore and its contents useful to teachers and students and readers in general, they need to support key words and/or pick up terms in an iBook's description. Hello?<br /><br />Loreen</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.loreenleedy.com/index.html" target="_blank">my web site</a></span>http://www.eisforbook.com/2012/01/ibooks-author-links-to-resources-so-far.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-7869477344893568569Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:23:00 +00002012-01-23T08:23:14.034-08:00Barney Saltzberg: live from Digital Book World<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Children's author-illustrator-songwriter Barney Saltzberg is attending the <a href="http://digitalbookworldconference.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=24240&amp;tabid=36957&amp;">2012 Digital Book World conference</a> in New York, NY, which runs from today through Wednesday, January 25th. He is live-blogging his notes, so <a href="http://www.barneysaltzberg.blogspot.com/2012/01/morning-session-on-childrens-books-just.html">visit "Noodlings" to see what he is finding out</a>. To read the rest of the entries on his blog, click on the right sidebar index of post titles. A few quotes…<br /></span><br /><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How do traditional publishers deal with digital books?</span></i><br /><br /> <i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Provide a reason to buy eBooks. Know and understand each ecosystem.<br /></span></i><br /><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Knowing that tomorrow or whenever, digital is going to be part of the success of the book. </span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bookstores and libraries still VERY important in discovery (About finding out about new children's books).</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />What drives the purchase of a book?</span></i><br /><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thanks for the info, Barney!</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Loreen <br /><a href="http://www.loreenleedy.com/index.html">My web site</a></span>http://www.eisforbook.com/2012/01/barney-saltzberg-live-from-digital-book.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-8799853699415014631Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:45:00 +00002012-01-22T10:45:11.093-08:00Picture eBook publishing tutorial by Julie Olson<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--tyjiLJMD4o/Tw3g33OigTI/AAAAAAAACxI/xc7hyjvqVLY/s1600/coversmall.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--tyjiLJMD4o/Tw3g33OigTI/AAAAAAAACxI/xc7hyjvqVLY/s320/coversmall.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Freelance picture book illustrator Julie Olson has posted a detailed tutorial about how she created her ebook <a href="http://jujubeeillustrations.blogspot.com/2012/01/ebook-published.html">Princesses, Princesses, Princesses!</a> on her blog called: <a href="http://jujubeeillustrations.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-to-create-and-publish-ebook-picture.html">How to Publish an Ebook Picture Book from a Mac: for Nook, Kindle, PDF</a>. <br /><br />Like many digital processes, your mileage may vary depending on what tools you have. In any case, check out her post to read a very detailed explanation with plenty of screen shots (yay!) The comments have some good nuggets in them as well. <br /><br />Note that she has made the words part of the image as opposed to having the words in "live" font form. There are some disadvantages to this that I'm aware of:&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1 A user cannot use accessibility features such as having the text read aloud</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2 Users cannot search on a word</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3 The word will not stay as sharp if the page is enlarged.</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Just some factors to be aware of when deciding how to create your ebook. I’m not sure whether InDesign could export the file properly the way Julie describes with live text because I haven't tried it. If anybody knows, please chime in.<br /><br />Loreen</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.loreenleedy.com/index.html">my web site</a></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>http://www.eisforbook.com/2012/01/picture-ebook-publishing-tutorial-by.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-2432176991072982076Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:36:00 +00002012-01-12T10:36:29.298-08:00KindleLoreen LeedynewsNew Kindle Publishing Guidelines released (Kindle Fire included)<div style="color: #b45f06; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">The Kindle Fire tablet that was released in 2011 displays full-color images, unlike the previous Kindle ereaders. In addition, the images can cover the screen as opposed to having a white border around them. As a picture book author-illustrator, I’ve been interested to find out how easy or difficult it may prove to be to prepare picture books for the Fire. Finally, the publishing guidelines have been released. This email came yesterday from Amazon's Kindle publishing team:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“We’re pleased to announce that Kindle Publisher Tools with Kindle Format 8 (KF8) support are now available for download. Kindle Format 8 is Amazon’s next generation file format offering a wide range of new features and enhancements – including HTML5 and CSS3 support that publishers can use to create all types of books. KF8 adds over 150 new formatting capabilities, including drop caps, numbered lists, fixed layouts, nested tables, callouts, sidebars and Scalable Vector Graphics - opening up more opportunities to create Kindle books that readers will love. Kindle Fire is the first Kindle device to support KF8 - in the coming months KF8 will be rolled out to our latest generation Kindle e-ink devices as well as our free Kindle reading apps.</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Publishers have created thousands of KF8 titles already and customers are enjoying the improved formatting and reading features across all types of books. Additionally, KF8 features such as Kindle Panel Views and Kindle Text Pop Up enable great fixed layout books including graphic novels, comics and children’s books. We’ve updated our Kindle Publishing Guidelines to help publishers get started with Kindle Format 8.&nbsp; </span></i><i><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Please download the new versions of KindleGen (</span></i> <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/kindleformat/KindleGen" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1326333505_0">www.amazon.com/kindleformat/KindleGen</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">) <span style="color: #444444;">and Kindle Previewer (</span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/kindleformat/KindlePreviewer" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1326333505_1">www.amazon.com/kindleformat/KindlePreviewer</span></a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">) to get started today. More information about KF8, Kindle Publishing Tools &amp; Guidelines can be found at </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/KindleFormat" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1326333505_2">http://www.amazon.com/KindleFormat</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) users, KDP is ready to receive your KF8 books. In addition to accepting books in the KF8 format, KDP is releasing a new KDP Simplified Formatting Guide to help you take advantage of the new features offered by KF8. Go to </span></i><i><a href="https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=200798080" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" target="_blank">https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=200798080</a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #444444;">for more information on publishing KF8 books via KDP.”</span></span></i> </span> <br style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="color: #b45f06; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The section about fixed layout children's books (i.e. picture books) starts on page 23 of the Guidelines PDF. I’ve only scanned it, but it appears to require HTML coding, as opposed to the process for text-oriented ebooks, which can utilize InDesign, Word, and other programs. (Sigh.) Hopefully someone will create an app for the Fire analogous to the Book Creator app for the iPad. (Here is <a href="http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/10/my-first-ibook-bringing-op-picture-book.html">my post about using Book Creator</a>.)<br /> <br />According to the Guidelines, Amazon has not yet released the additional instructions that will be required to create graphic novels, manga, and comic ebooks. Though I'm only speculating, the reason may have something to do with the ability to read the text, which is typically part of the image in comics et al. My reason for thinking that is that the guidelines for fixed layout books have an option called "region magnification," which allows the user to enlarge selected areas by double-tapping:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gP4WQJZhR7A/Tw8fq_adxOI/AAAAAAAACOs/EeoStKPgVRM/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-01-12+at+12.58.46+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gP4WQJZhR7A/Tw8fq_adxOI/AAAAAAAACOs/EeoStKPgVRM/s400/Screen+shot+2012-01-12+at+12.58.46+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I haven’t played with a Kindle Fire so am wondering if this is an alternative to zooming? It seems to me that a better solution (at least for picture books) would be to use a font that is large enough to begin with…just saying.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I could be totally mistaken, but I can't find any online discussion about it. Anyway, I’m not going to be tackling this anytime soon; if anyone out there working on a picture book or other image-oriented book for the Kindle Fire, please leave a comment.</span><br style="color: #444444;" /><br style="color: #444444;" /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Loreen<br /><a href="http://www.loreenleedy.com/index.html">my web site</a></span><br />http://www.eisforbook.com/2012/01/new-kindle-publishing-guidelines.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-8312692191888677385Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:10:00 +00002012-01-11T09:10:24.599-08:00Visit me at CynsationsToday (Wednesday) I visit Cynthia Leitich Smith's blog to talk about promoting and marketing your BOOK APPS. I hope you'll <a href="http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2012/01/guest-post-elizabeth-o-dulemba-on.html">GO READ</a>!!!<br>Elizabeth O. Dulemba<br><a href="http://dulemba.com">http://dulemba.com</a>http://www.eisforbook.com/2012/01/visit-me-at-cynsations.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-8401806587209675374Thu, 01 Dec 2011 01:51:00 +00002011-12-01T08:08:07.464-08:00appsdevelopersdigital booksInteractive Touch BooksMaryann Cocca-LefflerAn interview with Interactive Touch Books<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="http://store.interactivetouchbooks.com/books/maryann+cocca-leffler/grandma+and+me" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tum8RP931jM/TtbeGsf1-1I/AAAAAAAAAT8/uap06_aHSB0/s200/Grandma+%2526+me.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">I had the pleasure of working with <a href="http://www.interactivetouchbooks.com/" target="_blank">Interactive Touch Books </a>(ITB) and recently interviewed Ameen Saafir, founder/CEO about his company. The goal of ITB is to offer “A truly interactive reading experience for the iphone and ipad.” Below Ameen explains how authors and illustrators can create an original interactive book or work with ITB to have their designers create your book. (And with ITB you don't have to wait for Apple to approve your App.) &nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434; font-family: Arial;">My ITB title is <a href="http://store.interactivetouchbooks.com/books/maryann+cocca-leffler/grandma+and+me" target="_blank">GRANDMA AND ME</a>&nbsp;published in October, 2011. I worked with ITB designer Stacy Russell, who used my existing art from an out-of-print Random House title. Stacy did the work of adding the interactive elements and sound. My experience with ITB has been very pleasant and professional and I was very pleased with the results. Thank you Ameen for taking the time to answer my questions.&nbsp;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">In a paragraph tell us about Interactive Touch Books. When did you get started? What is your position and your history?</span><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eDIm2TWIxx4/TteUj21i8wI/AAAAAAAAAUU/GJAqSfyCMgk/s1600/ITBLOGO.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eDIm2TWIxx4/TteUj21i8wI/AAAAAAAAAUU/GJAqSfyCMgk/s200/ITBLOGO.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial;">The idea for Interactive Touch Books began to form over a year ago when I noticed that my then 18-month old son found the iPad incredibly intuitive to use. What I found surprising was that there just wasn’t a lot of quality content (e.g. interactive books) available for young children. As I began talking to children's authors and illustrators, it became clear that the issue was not a lack of desire to create app versions of their books, but of resources. It is very expensive to create a children's app for iPad. So I left my engineering career (designing flat screen TV technology) behind and started Interactive Touch with the goal of creating a platform that would let professional author illustrators create interactive books for children for very little upfront cost and without needing to write any code.&nbsp;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">How many titles do you currently have? Who is your audience? How does the public access</span><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">/buy</span><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">&nbsp;your books? What e-reader is needed to “read” your books?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">We currently have 38 titles, all available for download through the free <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/interactive-touch-books/id423957406">Interactive Touch Books app</a> on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Our target audience is 1–10 year olds. Books can be purchased directly through the app or at our online store (</span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1591320950738487370"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;">store</span></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1591320950738487370"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;">.</span></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1591320950738487370"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;">interactivetouchbooks</span></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1591320950738487370"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;">.</span></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1591320950738487370"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;">com</span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">) but are only readable through our app.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">How does an author/illustrator go about creating an Interactive Touch Book?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">1.</span><span style="color: #953666; font-size: small;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Original book?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">2.</span><span style="color: #953666; font-size: small;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Existing book? (For which author/illustrator owns the rights.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Whether an author wants to create an original book for iPad or translate an existing one into digital form, the process is the same. We give authors two options for accomplishing the process.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">1. The author can use our online interface to create the interactive version of the book. Our team is available basically 24/7 to provide technical support and can walk an author through implementing a wide variety of effects.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">2. You can allow us to create the book for you from your art. This can be for a book that has already been published or it can be a brand new idea. We accept art in almost any format. To create greater interactivity, we prefer .psd [Photoshop] files with background and foreground images on separate layers. However, we have created books from original canvas art and even scanned pages of a published book. This will generally require us to fill in some background art in order to allow characters to move around on the screen.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Talk about fees. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">1. Fee for ITB to create book from existing art?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">2. Royalty structure.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">1. For the vast majority of books, we charge $500 to convert a title for an author. This includes implementation of art, sound effects, and interactive elements. Books are typically completed and live on our app within about 2 weeks of the start of the project. This production schedule may vary depending on the length of our project queue at the time of project submission.&nbsp;Should the project be delayed we will communicate that clearly before agreeing to take it on.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">If the author/illustrator creates the interactive version of their book primarily on their own (we are always here for an assist or to answer questions) then it is free to create and publish.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">2. The author/illustrator retains all rights to work that is created and published through our platform. This differentiates us from traditional publishers. Our only requirement is that the author does not publish the same material as an interactive book on a different platform. However, the author is free to sell static ebooks or print versions of the book elsewhere. Authors receive 70% of net proceeds after 3rd party fees (e.g. Apple on iTunes). This translates to 49% of sales from in-app purchases and roughly 65% on purchases from our online store.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">What are your current needs?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">We are very actively looking for high quality educational content as well as puzzles and activity books.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">What is your biggest challenge?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Our biggest challenge has been to construct a platform that is powerful enough to create amazing interactive books, yet simple enough that anyone can use it. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Look into the future…where do you think the ebook industry is going?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">I believe that we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of the potential of digital books. &nbsp;Right now, ebooks typically look like electronic versions of print books, which is only natural when translating existing media onto a new platform.&nbsp; At Interactive Touch, we believe we have a unique vision for re-imagining how stories are told using digital platforms, which we will start bringing to market in the next few months.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">It is too early to predict what will happen to the industry in the long term, but as we look back on similar technology revolutions there are a few constants.&nbsp; We can expect to see a lot of consolidation in the next couple of years, and whoever ends up leading in the space will likely be someone most people have not heard of yet, and will definitely not be a traditional publishing house. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Anything else you’d like to add?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">I’d add that what authors/illustrators can expect from Interactive Touch is an amazing technology supported by a team of hard working professionals who will do whatever it takes to make sure every need in the creation process is met. The best testament we get to the quality of our platform and our team is that every author who completes a book with us start working on their next book almost immediately.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #953666; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Interactive Touch Books Contact information and website:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Authors/illustrators can contact ITB at:&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;">authors</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;">@</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;">interactivetouchbooks</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial;">.</span></span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">com</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">Website: <a href="http://www.interactivetouchbooks.com/">www.interactivetouchbooks.com</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><b>ITB Informational video:</b></span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.interactivetouchbooks.com/publish/">www.interactivetouchbooks.com/publish/</a><b> </b></span></div>http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/11/interview-with-interactive-touch-books.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Maryann Cocca-Leffler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-1806498688831738883Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:13:00 +00002011-11-28T13:35:22.882-08:00Navigation in iBooks: Fixed layout screen controls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Most of us have seen ebooks with “reflowable” text that the reader can enlarge or shrink as desired.</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XIkYb8sWv8w/TtPjZYB1gBI/AAAAAAAACNU/nTdC143gFlM/s1600/Pooh-reflowable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XIkYb8sWv8w/TtPjZYB1gBI/AAAAAAAACNU/nTdC143gFlM/s400/Pooh-reflowable.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While this is fine for text-only books or those with spot illustrations, it doesn’t work for a picture book. As seen in the above screenshots from the <i>Winnie-the-Pooh</i> iBook, when the text is enlarged (on the right), the tree illustration is pushed onto the next page, leaving a blank white area. This gives book designers the heebie-jeebies, along with the lack of fonts. In addition, the artwork cannot cover the 2-page spread in the reflowable format, due to the white borders along the edges and in the gutter.<br /><br />Picture books typically have the text on top of the artwork, which is impossible to achieve with a normal ePub, Kindle, or similar format. Fortunately the iBook, NOOK, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&amp;docId=1000729511">now the Kindle Fire</a> formats allow a fixed layout, which means the art and words keep the same relative size and location on the page. Yay! <br /><br />The way you navigate around this type of iBook is different. This video shows how the screen controls work in my fixed layout iBook, <i><a href="http://bit.ly/pebUdk">Tracks in the Sand</a></i>:</span><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gLHpEnF3_VE?rel=0" width="500"></iframe><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Let me know if you have any questions! If anyone is familiar with how the NOOK and Fire tablets work with fixed layout vs. reflowable, please chime in.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Loreen Leedy</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.loreenleedy.com/index.html">my web site</a>&nbsp;</span>http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/11/navigation-in-ibooks-fixed-layout.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-6222627831279298006Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:36:00 +00002011-10-20T07:37:00.798-07:00ebooksJanet WongJanie BynumLaura RubymarketingA winning cover for an ebook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zqAteZtZWZU/TZxzj1qoZ5I/AAAAAAAAB7Q/1ulyVEZB86g/s1600/tiger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zqAteZtZWZU/TZxzj1qoZ5I/AAAAAAAAB7Q/1ulyVEZB86g/s200/tiger.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Last April, children's author Janet Wong <a href="http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/04/publishing-ebook-three-questions-to.html">wrote about her adventures</a> as she released two Kindle books. A few days later Janie Bynum and Laura Ruby collaborated on <a href="http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/04/judging-ebook-by-its-cover.html">Judging an ebook by its cover</a>, which goes into detail about the process of designing an eye-catching cover.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It turns out that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Tiger-Beginnings-ebook/dp/B004NEVWLK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1319120199&amp;sr=1-1"><i>Once Upon a Tiger</i></a> won the <a href="http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2011/10/e-book-cover-design-awards-september-2011/#comment-16869">nonfiction cover award for September</a> given by The Book Designer blog. Congrats to the artist, Sladjana Vasic!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There is an interesting series on the Password Incorrect blog called Ebook Specific Cover Design…here is <a href="http://www.passwordincorrect.com/2011/07/15/opportunities-of-designing-covers-specifically-for-ebooks-1-context/">Part 1: Context</a>.</span>http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/10/winning-cover-for-ebook.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-66979146933037893Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:53:00 +00002011-10-17T11:04:52.435-07:00ebooksiBooksLoreen LeedyOP bookspicture booksprocessMy first iBook: Bringing an OP picture book back to life<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Readers of E is for Book may recall my post from last February, <a href="http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/02/from-out-of-print-to-ebooka-progress.html">From out-of-print to ebook—a progress report</a>. Since then, some of you may have wondered if I'd given up on the effort to transform my sea turtle book, <i>Tracks in the Sand,</i> into a digital book. Despite various delays, side trips, and stumbles, I'm happy to say that it's now for sale on the iBookstore, so yay!</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kxMDAiNnD8s?rel=0" width="500"></iframe><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The key to making it possible was a new, inexpensive iPad app called <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/book-creator-for-ipad/id442378070?mt=8">Book Creator</a> that went on sale in September. The app allows you to make what is known as a <b>fixed-layout</b> EPUB in the size and format that works for the iBooks app, without having to code (double-yay!) Unlike regular EPUBs that have "reflowing" text and separate images with white borders around them, fixed-layout EPUBs can have <b>text on top of images</b> that are <b>full-bleed</b> (i.e. the artwork can cover the pages completely.) This screenshot shows how a spread looks in iBooks:<br /><span id="goog_89560838"></span><span id="goog_89560839"></span></span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3p_I7VEuBNA/TpxCxFII8VI/AAAAAAAACKo/p_2VJ3TxuJ8/s1600/tracks-grow-ibooks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3p_I7VEuBNA/TpxCxFII8VI/AAAAAAAACKo/p_2VJ3TxuJ8/s400/tracks-grow-ibooks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here is an overview of the process of making the iBook, more or less in order:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <br /><b>1) Scan artwork</b> The turtle artwork had been scanned a few months ago so I was partway to the finish line already. I used a desktop scanner…fortunately the pages fit height-wise, though I did have to stitch the two pages into a spread in Photoshop.</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br />2) Revise text and make book plan</b> I ended up eliminating some pages such as a redundant title page, splitting up some spreads, fixing a couple of minor text errors, adding a sentence to smooth a transition, and abbreviating the afterword. The biggest issue was that the original book had horizontal pages while the native iBooks page is vertical. I discussed the page versus tablet screen size dilemma in more detail in <a href="http://inkrethink.blogspot.com/2011/02/digital-books-will-form-affect-content.html">Digital books: Will form affect content?</a> on the I.N.K. blog. It's possible to maintain the book's original page size (requires coding), but it means that the reader either sees letterboxed art with black bars above and below or if zoomed in has to keep swiping to see both pages. I wanted readers to easily see a complete spread when the iPad is held in landscape orientation.<br /><br /><b>3) Tweak artwork</b> I moved turtles around and performed other Photoshop surgery to keep important parts of the images out of the faux gutter in iBooks. This took the most time…the head of a cute little baby turtle cannot be squinched in the gutter! I set up an InDesign dummy file to allow me to see all the spreads in a book-like arrangement with roughed out text placement. Unfortunately, </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">at this time</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> InDesign cannot output fixed-layout EPUBs, although it can export the reflowable kind.<br /><br /><b>4) Save for Web/Devices</b> The artwork was split into single-page jpegs with these dimensions: 816 X 1224 pixels. That keeps it under the maximum size for a single-page image, 1 million pixels. Apple suggests in their <i>iBookstore Asset Guide</i> (available only to approved publishers) that it's better to have two single-page images than one double-page image. Probably helps them to load better; wish I'd read that before doing it the other way first. I used <a href="http://www.dropbox.com/">Dropbox</a> to get the jpegs onto my iPad.<br /><br /><b>5) Apply to be an iBookstore publisher</b> Once it appeared that making an iBook was really possible, I applied to be a publisher on the iBookstore. You need a U.S. tax I.D. number among other things; here is the<a href="https://itunesconnect.apple.com/WebObjects/iTunesConnect.woa/wa/apply"> iTunes Connect Online Application</a>. It doesn't cost anything and took about a week for approval. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In addition, iBooks need an ISBN number, available in the U.S. from </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.myidentifiers.com/">Bowker</a>. There also are 3rd party aggregators that you can use instead of doing it all yourself, see this <a href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/content-providers/book-faq.html">iBooks FAQ page</a> for more info.<br /><br /><b>6) Prepare layouts</b> I placed all the images and added the text in Book Creator, then previewed the book in the iBooks app. After much tweaking and previewing back and forth, when it was finally, really finished, I used Dropbox to get the epub file back on my computer. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One extra thing that I did was to prepare a special epub file to be the sample on the iBookstore. If you don't, a sample is automatically generated that may not be to your liking. I wanted a longish sample so people could see what they were getting. If you have an iPad, you can <a href="http://bit.ly/pebUdk">download the <i>Tracks in the Sand</i> sample here</a>. Or, in your iBooks app, click on the Store button and search on the title.</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /><b>7) Upload the iBook</b> Apple provides free software called iTunes Producer in which you provide details such as the author and illustrator name(s), ISBN number, description, category, and so on, then it "packages" all the files for delivery. Once the package was uploaded, it took about 11 days to go live. All iBooks have to go through an approval process.<br /><br /><b>8) Create buzz</b> So now I just have to figure out how to let people know <i>Tracks</i> is available again…otherwise known as marketing. It ain't easy…for one thing, there are no iBooks review sites that I'm aware of. By all means if you know any turtle-lovers, please spread the word.<br /><br />Whew!<br /><br />If you're interested in adding audio and word highlighting and otherwise tweaking the code, check out <a href="http://www.elizabethcastro.com/epub/">Liz Castro's various EPUB guides</a>. If you have any questions I’ll try to answer them in the comments. Thanks for reading!<br /><br />Loreen<br /><a href="http://bit.ly/q5BfB6">visit the <i>Tracks</i> page on my web site</a></span>http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/10/my-first-ibook-bringing-op-picture-book.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-6810169365784920366Sun, 09 Oct 2011 17:10:00 +00002011-10-09T10:10:52.659-07:00appsLoreen LeedyA librarian looks at book apps<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As a new medium for telling stories, book apps include many factors for authors and illustrators to consider. We always love to hear what librarians have to say on the topic.<br />A mini-series by school librarian and blogger Mary Ann Scheuer considers<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"> “...how books created in this new medium can engage children, can help them get excited about reading, can make books and information more accessible.”</span><br style="color: orange;" /><br /><a href="http://greatkidbooks.blogspot.com/2011/09/evaluating-book-apps-for-children-mini.html">READ MORE of Part 1: Evaluating Book Apps for Children: Introduction</a><br /><br style="color: red;" /><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">*</span><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: red;"></span></span></span><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: red;"></span></span></span><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: red;"></span></span></span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"> &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">*</span><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: red;"></span></span></span><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: red;"></span></span></span><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: red;"></span></span></span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"> &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">*</span><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: red;"></span></span></span><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: red;"></span></span></span><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: red;"></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><br />“…a slide-out menu at the bottom of every page…symbols that guide users to digging deeper into the content…a thumbnail picture of each page…”</span><br /><br /><a href="http://greatkidbooks.blogspot.com/2011/09/evaluating-book-apps-for-children.html">READ MORE of Part 2: Navigation</a><br /><br /><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">* &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: red;">*</span></span></span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"> &nbsp;&nbsp; </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">*</span><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: red;"></span></span></span><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: red;"></span></span></span><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: red;"></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">“I know from working with many students that audiobooks help provide an essential way into longer stories that they would not be able to read on their own.”</span><br /><br /><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"></span></span><a href="http://greatkidbooks.blogspot.com/2011/09/evaluating-book-apps-for-children_24.html">READ MORE of Part 3: Narration</a><br /><br />Multiple languages, interaction with words, elements that can be replayed, and how the medium shapes reader expectations are some of the issues Mary Ann touches upon. Happy reading!<br /><br />Loreen Leedy</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.loreenleedy.com/index.html">my web site</a></div>http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/10/librarian-looks-at-book-apps.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-2333014482723744976Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:39:00 +00002015-10-16T05:21:48.275-07:00ebooksiPadLoreen LeedyOriginal Alice manuscript is free on iBooks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_ZN1ULOfTPc/ToXgFDwKglI/AAAAAAAACKQ/xdgvXxNIAhU/s1600/Alice1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_ZN1ULOfTPc/ToXgFDwKglI/AAAAAAAACKQ/xdgvXxNIAhU/s320/Alice1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#Kidlit lovers, would you like to see Lewis Carroll’s original handwritten and illustrated manuscript of <i>Alice’s Adventures Under Ground</i>, eventually known as <i>Alice in Wonderland</i>? The entire 98-page work <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/alices-adventures-under-ground/id461441683?mt=11">is available on the iBookstore </a>for <strike>free</strike>.&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An optional narration is also included.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Update: The iBooks version now costs $8.99. A free version is available on the British Library site <a href="http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/alices-adventures-under-ground-the-original-manuscript-version-of-alices-adventures-in-wonderland" target="_blank">at this link</a>.</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span id="goog_1011299293"></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fu_XQoi9Avs/ToXgy8ofb9I/AAAAAAAACKU/VvlAMP9eGkM/s1600/Alice2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fu_XQoi9Avs/ToXgy8ofb9I/AAAAAAAACKU/VvlAMP9eGkM/s320/Alice2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Enjoy!<br /><br />Loreen<br /><a href="http://www.loreenleedy.com/index.html">my web site</a></span>http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/09/original-alice-manuscript-is-free-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-1157817841059009909Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:48:00 +00002011-09-29T11:49:46.110-07:00graphic novelsLoreen Leedypicture booksCombining words and pictures<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Just a quick post to recommend jumping over to read this post on Peter Meyer’s blog (A New Kind of Book)<i>.</i> Excerpt:<br /><i><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;">Pictures &amp; Prose: Making ‘Em Work Together</span></span></i><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><em>A novel that uses words &amp; illustrations to tell its story offers lessons on integrating media</em></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What’s the best way to combine text and pictures?&nbsp; Most designers—print or digital—try to artfully position both on the same page. Brian Selznick, author and illustrator of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Invention-Hugo-Cabret-Brian-Selznick/dp/0439813786/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0">The Invention of Hugo Cabret</a></i> uses a deceptively simple alternative… <a href="http://newkindofbook.com/2011/09/pictures-prose-making-%E2%80%99em-work-together/">continue reading</a></span><br /><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /><br />Though Hugo isn’t digital yet (in an authorized version at least), the movie is coming out in December. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj5cZP7fqmA&amp;feature=related">Here is a short trailer </a>that incorporates the illustrations.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Loreen<br /><a href="http://www.loreenleedy.com/index.html">my web site</a></div>http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/09/combining-words-and-pictures.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-7227179786890894656Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-09-30T08:40:54.502-07:00digital booksebooksElizabeth O. DulembaCreating a B&N Nook Picture Book (part 2)<br /><img align="right" src="http://dulemba.com/BOOKS/Lulas/Shop/Nook.jpg" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">So last week I announced that I converted my picture book app,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://dulemba.com/ActivityPage-Lula.html">LULA’S BREW</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">, into a .pdf for download to</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://theillustratedsection.com/">The Illustrated Section</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">and various electronic devices... and a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lulas-brew-elizabeth-dulemba/1104683938?ean=2940013195547&amp;itm=6&amp;usri=">Nook color picture book</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">. I got you started on preparing your files for the process. Here's the rest...</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"></span><br /><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The latest buzz is that Adobe InDesign 5 (CS5) can convert files to .epub. VonLogan's tutorial will walk you through this step-by-step, so you'll need to <a href="http://willterry.blogspot.com/2011/07/interview-with-ebook-programer.html">download it from Will Terry's blog</a>. My first glitch was that I only have ID4 (CS4), but turns out, it can do it too. The only difference is, when I went to save, rather than “save as .epub,” it said “Export Book for Digital Editions” (wait for it = .epub). It did crash the program, but it gave me the file I needed. So, okay.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The trick with picture books is you have to create a new document in ID for every page, which is what forces page turns in what would otherwise be flowing text for a typical .epub file. Those documents can then be converted into an .epub “book.” However, there is some coding in those files that needs to be tweaked to get the images to show up full-screen on a Nook.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">By converting the .epub file to a .zip file (by changing the suffix), you can open the separate documents and change the code in the templates. Follow VonLogan directions meticulously. And be sure to use a text program that doesn’t have “smart quotes” on as all those reversed quotes can negate the html commands. (He used WordPress on a PC; I used Dreamweaver on a Mac.) You also have to save a cover file into the master folder, then convert the folder back to .epub from .zip (I used WinZip for Mac to get what I needed, although you could also use Stuffit).&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">My file was ready!</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br /></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The next step was to create an account through <a href="http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit_app/bn?t=pi_reg_home">Barnes &amp;amp; Noble’s PubIt! </a>site (accessed through their main page). You will need an associated bank account to which any profits can be directed. (I opened an account especially for Paypal and transactions such as these, rather than allow access to my main bank account.) I plugged in all the information (setting my book for the 3-5 age range), uploaded my file, previewed the document online and hit “Sell Now.”&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">With an already existing book, the entire process took me about two days - mostly because I didn’t know what I was doing. I imagine a day or less would work once a comfort zone is established. Granted, with <a href="http://yopnik.com/publish/">Tom Gilson's reasonable rates</a>, you may rather hire him to do the techie stuff, but I wanted to get a full idea of the beastie.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It took one day to go live on Barnes and Noble.com, and you can now find LULA’S BREW <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lulas-brew-elizabeth-dulemba/1104683938?ean=2940013195547&amp;itm=6&amp;usri=">HERE at B&amp;amp;N</a> (or just search “Lula’s Brew”). The only down side? I have an iPhone, iPad, and a Kindle, but I don’t own a Nook color! Here’s hoping lots of people do...</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">- <a href="http://dulemba.com/">Elizabeth O. Dulemba</a></span><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span> <i><a href="http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/08/creating-b-nook-picture-book-part-1.html">Click here to read part 1.</a></i>http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/08/creating-b-nook-picture-book-part-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-4088348165708551369Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:00:00 +00002011-09-30T08:40:54.498-07:00digital booksebooksElizabeth O. DulembaCreating a B&N Nook Picture Book (part 1)<img align="right" src="http://dulemba.com/BOOKS/Lulas/Shop/Nook.jpg" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">I recently converted my picture book app,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://dulemba.com/ActivityPage-Lula.html">LULA’S BREW</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">, into a .pdf for download to</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://theillustratedsection.com/">The Illustrated Section</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">and various electronic devices... including a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">&nbsp;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lulas-brew-elizabeth-dulemba/1104683938?ean=2940013195547&amp;itm=6&amp;usri=">Nook color picture book</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">. It isn’t an exercise for everybody, but it can be done if you have the right software, some ease around technology, and a good deal of patience.</span><br /><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I have to give a nod to author/illustrator <a href="http://www.willterry.blogspot.com/">Will Terry</a> who has several eBook-themed videos on his blog that got me started (see April 2010 in the archives especially). He <a href="http://willterry.blogspot.com/2011/07/interview-with-ebook-programer.html">interviewed his developer</a>, <a href="http://yopnik.com/publish/">Tom Gilson</a>, who discussed much of the tech side; and he includes a tutorial by <a href="http://www.vonlogan.com/">VonLogan Brimhall</a> which walks you through converting to .epub (the standard file format for the Nook) via Adobe InDesign (CS5) on a PC.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The first step was formatting the files. I suggest keeping your picture book files in layers so that artwork can be moved around and text adjusted as needed for various devices. (Lots of space needs to be reserved for text and large, simple images tend to work well.) Since I’d already sized my book down for the iPad/iPhone, I didn’t have to do too much tweaking. Vertical layouts work best on most of these electronic devices, despite Apple’s rotating features, to keep text readable and allow the greatest visual impact. Think single pages rather than double page spreads - eBooks really aren’t the same thing as a traditional books, despite the debates.</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">There does seem to be some wiggle room on height on the Nook, although the easiest dimensions to work within safely are 562x750 pixels. (It can go as tall as 850 pixels.) By using batch processing in Adobe Photoshop I was able to size my files easily (saving them in a new folder), tweak the layouts, then convert them to jpgs.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i>Important - I numbered my files from 01-cover.jpg to 34.jpg to keep them in order. Without end papers included, the book is a bit shorter than your average picture book. 34.jpg was a closing page directing people to my website (and includes a QR code).</i></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i></i></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Then I dove into VonLogan’s tutorial. I'll share the rests of the process next week if you'd like to play along!</span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">–<a href="http://dulemba.com/">Elizabeth O. Dulemba</a></span><br /><br /><br /></div> <i><a href="http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/08/creating-b-nook-picture-book-part-2.html">Click here to read part 2</a>.</i>http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/08/creating-b-nook-picture-book-part-1.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth O. Dulemba)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-4852156450764605918Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:16:00 +00002011-08-03T06:16:30.544-07:00Summer re-reading about digital books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qovBTqibdQ4/TjlJchwJxpI/AAAAAAAACGc/WzYpDBEpPKw/s1600/Tropical.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qovBTqibdQ4/TjlJchwJxpI/AAAAAAAACGc/WzYpDBEpPKw/s320/Tropical.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br />In case you missed them the first time around, here are a few “summer rerun” posts from E is for Book:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/02/interview-with-app-developer-picpocket.html">An Interview with App Developer PicPocket Books</a>&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">by Maryann Cocca-Leffler</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/01/ipad-app-as-therapeutic-tool.html">The iPad App as a Therapeutic Tool</a>&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">by Freddie Levin</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/02/books-rising-up-from-dead-dust.html"><br />Books Rising Up from the <strike>Dead</strike> DUST</a>&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">by Laura Ruby<br /><br /><a href="http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/03/scott-neumyer-published-his-first-ebook.html">Scott Neumyer Published His First eBook</a>&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">by Katie Davis<br /><br /><a href="http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/03/lets-hear-them-ebook-fears.html">Let’s hear them: ebook fears</a> </span><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">by Amy Timberlake</span>&nbsp;</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/02/librarians-ebooks-some-concerns.html">Librarians &amp; ebooks...some concerns</a><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">by various members</span><br /><span style="color: #444444;"><br />Publishing an eBook? Three Questions to Consider: <br /><a href="http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/04/publishing-ebook-three-questions-to.html">Part 1</a> and <a href="http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/04/publishing-ebook-three-questions-to_07.html">Part 2</a></span><span style="color: #444444;">&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">by Janet Wong</span><br style="color: #444444;" /><span style="color: #444444;"><br />Happy reading!</span></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Loreen Leedy</div><a href="http://loreenleedybooks.blogspot.com/" style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">my blog</a>http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/08/summer-re-reading-about-digital-books.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-3182912598034303305Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:41:00 +00002011-06-27T13:41:56.876-07:00appsconferencesLoreen LeedySpeaking of picture book apps...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X5bsyuI9fP0/TgdIjUu_LhI/AAAAAAAAB-8/ZXgcnsG88MU/s1600/Title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X5bsyuI9fP0/TgdIjUu_LhI/AAAAAAAAB-8/ZXgcnsG88MU/s400/Title.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444;">I gave an hour-long presentation last Saturday for the Digital track of the FL SCBWI mid-year workshop and am happy to report it went very well. Emma Dryden of DrydenBooks gave an excellent overview of digital books and the changes in children’s publishing. Agent and consultant Rubin Pfeffer discussed the process of creating <i>A Present for Milo</i> and much more, while Curtis Sponsler kept our varying devices hooked up properly plus gave many great tips for authors about hardware, software, online resources, and other techie goodies. One cool idea he mentioned is that you can make a book trailer using Keynote... who knew? If you have a Mac, you can download the Keynote Mac app for $20, create a “presentation” (i.e. trailer) with moving images and text, add the audio in various ways (iMovie is one), then export it to QuickTime and load it on YouTube. The Keynote app gives options that iMovie doesn’t have, such as being able to float any font you like across an image.<br /><br />Anyway, for links to the speakers, the book apps I discussed, notes, plus links to DIY app-creation software, please check out <a href="http://bit.ly/jAifIn">this post on my books blog</a>.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">Loreen Leedy</span><br /><a href="http://www.loreenleedy.com/index.html" style="color: blue;">my web site </a>http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/06/speaking-of-picture-book-apps.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-4681282051360810280Sun, 12 Jun 2011 17:15:00 +00002011-06-12T10:15:58.106-07:00appsLoreen LeedyprocessHow many pages should a picture book app have?<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Picture book (PB) apps are not the same as standard picture books in many respects. (These issues are top of mind at the moment because in addition to working on my current picture book app project, I’m giving a presentation in a couple of weeks for the <a href="http://www.scbwiflorida.com/details.htm">FL SCBWI</a> about how to go about creating them.) <span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: orange;">Page count</b></span> is one way PB apps are very different. As any aspiring author/illustrator who has done a teensy amount of research knows, a standard print picture book has 32 pages. Historically, that number arose from the way books are printed plus market expectations. To see a layout template, check out this <a href="http://www.mightyartdemos.com/mightyartdemos-shulevitz.html">storyboard tutorial</a> from the classic picture book how-to book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Pictures-Write-Illustrate-Childrens/dp/0823059359/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1307897478&amp;sr=1-1"><i>Writing With Pictures</i></a>, by Uri Shulevitz. For authors, this translates into 14 or 15 double-page spreads that will have text on them.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: orange;">Picture book </b><b style="color: orange;">apps</b></span> don’t have a standard number of pages, nor are there double page spreads. Hmmm! In looking at a few apps, the number of pages (screens?) ranges from less than 10 to 30 and up. Some nonfiction PB apps may have even more. It’s really up to the app creator(s) to decide AND for app buyers to vote with their $$$.<br /><br />It’s worth noting that the number of pages may not mean much, especially if an app has interactive features that keep readers busy for a longer time on each page. The trailer for <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a-present-for-milo-a-touch/id405288824?mt=8"><i>A Present for Milo</i></a> shows some of its more than 125 hidden animations:</span><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="405" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MtAFPWGeWBk?rel=0" width="500"></iframe><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />From a storyline standpoint <i>Milo</i> has about 17–20 pages, depending on how you count them (one of those things you just have to see by exploring the app.) <i>Milo</i> is a good example of a PB app with charming artwork, a sophisticated design, and well implemented interactivity. It feels like a print picture book + More Fun Stuff. Note that it was conceived as a PB app and isn’t an adaptation. Reportedly there will soon be a print edition, which will make for an interesting comparison.<br /><br />Another wild card with any electronic book is that because revisions are so much easier, creators may decide to <span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b>add more pages at any time</b></span>. Say you’ve published a PB app that people seem to like (they’re buying it!) so why not change/add something to freshen it up? Perhaps some additional interactivity or a coloring page or two. That would reward previous buyers and hopefully inspire them to show your app to their friends. I love app updates that add something new, don't you?<br /><br />In short, the answer to the title question “how many pages should a PB app have?” is: <span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: orange;"><i>it depends</i>.</b></span> Hopefully as you’re working on it, the PB app will tell you how many pages it needs. What do you think?<br /><br />Loreen Leedy<br /><a href="http://www.loreenleedy.com/index.html">my web site</a></span>http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/06/how-many-pages-should-picture-book-app.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-1276847067998684827Thu, 09 Jun 2011 11:06:00 +00002011-06-09T06:52:44.388-07:00agentsLoreen LeedyAgents as epublishers...<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">...is that a good idea for authors/illustrators? Personally, I’ve never had an agent but one never knows, especially in these volatile times in the book biz. A flurry of articles have cropped up lately on the topic, so here are a couple to explore:</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.redhammer.info/news/agent-publisher/">Your Agent Should Not Be Your Publisher</a> <span style="color: #444444;">gets right to the point, doesn’t it? It’s by Peter Cox of Redhammer, a literary agency.</span><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />This issue is enormous. Because it will affect every book deal, every publication contract, from now until the end of time.</span></i><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">Yikes! He describes the case of the late author Catherine Cookson, whose agent signed a contract between herself and the estate to publish 100 titles in digital format, without notifying the publishers. Is this “self-dealing?</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">” Is it a conflict of interest because the agent is now a “principal” in the transaction? Does the agent have the resources to do what a publisher does? It makes for very interesting reading.<br /><br />The Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR) <a href="http://www.aaronline.org/canon">Canon of Ethics</a> lists many principles such as not charging “reading fees,”&nbsp; maintaining a separate bank account for client funds, and not representing both buyer and seller in the same transaction. Surely the AAR and similar groups worldwide will have to address this issue.<br /><br />The article <a href="http://kidlitapps.com/2011/05/24/bea-digital-panel/">BEA Digital Panel</a> on the KidlitApps.com blog by agent Mary Kole compares fees being charged by agents who are becoming&nbsp; epublishers. According to the article, some agencies who are publishing new titles are charging expenses PLUS a 50% of net commission. Kole’s employer the Andrea Brown Literary Agency is by contrast charging 15% after recouping costs. Quite a difference!<br /><br />If a 50% commission sounds high, it is my understanding from colleagues that publishers are offering contracts that grant themselves 75% of net, leaving authors with 25% of net. If the digital books are sold with 30% of the retail price going to the seller (e.g. Amazon et al), here is how the numbers work for a 9.99 ebook:</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">&nbsp;9.99 Retail price</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><u>-3.00</u> ebookseller’s cut of 30% (there may be additional charges)</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">&nbsp;6.99 Net</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><u>-5.25</u> Publisher’s cut: 75% of net</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 1.74&nbsp; Author/illustrator’s cut: 25% of net (which ends up being 17% of retail here.)<br /><br />Whether you work with an agent, publisher, and/or an ebookseller, by all means do the math and decide whether a deal seems fair or not. I know one thing... nobody is going to buy a “blank ebook”... <span style="color: red; font-size: large;">without the content that </span></span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">authors and illustrators </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">create, there’s nothing for anyone to sell. How much is writing and illustrating worth?</span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /><br />Loreen Leedy</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.loreenleedy.com/index.html"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">my web site </span></a><br /><span style="color: #444444;"></span></div>http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/06/agents-as-epublishers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-4596160081325986516Tue, 31 May 2011 10:00:00 +00002011-05-31T03:00:07.642-07:00appsLoreen LeedyprocessSpot the Dot demo<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This concept </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">app</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> for toddlers occupies the space where book meets game...it’s interesting to see the sketches and storyboards by pop-up book author-illustrator David A. Carter:</span><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="405" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yhnga-Y3oYA?rel=0" width="500"></iframe><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I heard about this video by reading <a href="http://storyappchat.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/chat-transcript-52911/">the transcript</a> of the most recent #storyappchat on Twitter. If you’re interested in talking about book apps, the chat is on Sunday nights at 9 pm EST. In the first two weeks, several apps have been given away so that’s always fun! Follow @storyappchat to find out what the topic is every week.<br /><br />Loreen Leedy<br /><a href="http://www.loreenleedy.com/index.html">my web site</a></span>http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/05/spot-dot-demo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1591320950738487370.post-3766632311630555444Mon, 30 May 2011 14:46:00 +00002011-05-30T07:46:54.729-07:00appsiPadLoreen LeedyIt's easy to sync iPad Notes with your Mac<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thank goodness, because during our recent vacation, I used the iPad Notes app to record zillions of ideas for ebooks and apps, plus started outlining my June 25th </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">presentation for the</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Florida SCBWI, <a href="http://www.scbwiflorida.com/summer2011-agendas-digital.html">Picture Book Apps: New Options for Content Creators</a>.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />You <i>can</i> email individual notes to yourself, but that’s a bit of a pain. By syncing, all of the Notes are transferred with one action:</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GdPVJl8UTFo/TeOoWm2OIaI/AAAAAAAAB9A/VveVlS8jwns/s1600/sync-notes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GdPVJl8UTFo/TeOoWm2OIaI/AAAAAAAAB9A/VveVlS8jwns/s400/sync-notes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In case you can’t read the above image for any reason, here’s the info:</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /><b style="color: red;">How to sync Notes from your iPad to your Mac:</b><br /><br />1. Connect the iPad to your computer and launch iTunes.<br /><br />2. Click on Info tab in iTunes, scroll down, and under Other, check the box next to Sync notes.<br /><br />3. Click the Sync button on lower right in iTunes to initiate the transfer.<br /><br />A new Reminders section will appear in Mail, containing all of your notes.<br /><br />Via <a href="http://www.knowyourcell.com/apple/apple-ipad-2/ipad-2-guides/835513/how_to_sync_ipad_2_notes_with_your_computer.html">Know Your Cell</a><br /><br />Another thing I experimented with while on the road was sketching app ideas with the <a href="http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/item?id=15119465&amp;siteID=123112">SketchBook Pro</a> app for iPad. Since I don’t have a stylus (yet?) it’s pretty clunky to draw with any app, plus a mobile app is hard-pressed to compete with Photoshop or other full-featured painting software. For now, I’ll be sticking to pencil and paper for quick drawings. : )</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Loreen Leedy</span><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.loreenleedy.com/index.html">my web site</a></span>http://www.eisforbook.com/2011/05/its-easy-to-sync-ipad-notes-with-your.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Loreen Leedy)0
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