Category Archives: Book Development

Copyright Camp 2011 in Ann Arbor, MI

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Are you interested in how copyright affects your professional life? Do you miss the fun and welcoming atmosphere of summer camp? Then join us at Copyright Camp, where we’ll provide a forum to discuss copyright and how it affects you on a daily basis. Copyright Camp will be an unconference-style event with an introductory plenary by Deborah Wythe, Director of the Brooklyn Museum’s Digital Collections and open access pioneer. After the opening plenary there will be a large board with open time slots for any attendee to add any topic they want to facilitate, or submit your suggestions in advance on our website.  An Antiques Roadshow style “Open Content Roadshow” is also planned, where you can bring an “item” (like a presentation, publication, photo or other copyrightable material) for our panel of experts to review and make recommendations for making this item open and adaptable. Copyright Camp is sponsored by the U-M Library’ MPublishing office and the Open.Michigan Initiative, and is free and open to the public.
Date: July 29th, 2011
Time: 1:00 PM ­ 5:00 PM
Location: Hatcher Graduate Library, Library Gallery (Room 100)
For more Info and to Register (no charge): http://copyrightcamp.org/

Susan Topol
OER Publication Manager
Office of Enabling Technologies

University of Michigan Medical School
stopol@umich.edu
(734) 998-0218

Carolyn Scarborough – The Book Whisperer

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On May 19th, 2011 Susan Violante and Alan E. Smith spoke with writing coach Carolyn Scarborough on the “Book Whisperer” — what one is and why you need one! Carolyn is a writing coach, who works with people to turn their “whispering” to write into a reality.  Her most recent book is Backyard Pearls: Cultivating Wisdom and Joy in Everyday Life. She is an award-winning magazine writer, editor and newspaper columnist and has published more than 500 articles in magazines around the world.  We touched on many aspects of the writing process, including

  • What is writer’s block and how can we dissolve it?
  • How do we stay motivated to write?
  • Why do we tend to get so sidetracked with distractions instead of writing?
  • How do we get in touch with our “writer’ voice.”
  • What can we do to make writing easier and more joyful?

Carolyn Scarborough

Carolyn Scarborough - The Book Whisperer
Carolyn Scarborough’s passion is inspiring people to tap into their inner wisdom, then share their message with the world through books, blogs or articles. She coaches people privately, as well in telecourse and live retreat formats. In addition, she serves as Program Director for the Austin chapter of the International Coach Federation, and is a member of the Writers League of Texas, Story Circle Network and The Association for Women in Communications. For more information, go to www.backyardpearls.com

Backyard Pearls: Cultivating Wisdom and Joy in Everyday Life

Backyard Pearls: Cultivating Wisdom and Joy in Everyday Life
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Walt Shiel – Print Book Design, Typesetting, and eBooks

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On March 18th, 2010 Tyler R. Tichelaar and Victor R. Volkman spoke with veteran author and publisher Walt Shiel about some of the most confusing topics for the self-publishing newcomer: print book design, typesetting, indexing, and even eBook production. Walt’s publishing company, Slipdown Mountain, has published three novels, two military history titles, two other nonfiction titles, and one short story collection. It’s subsidiary Five Rainbows Services for Authors and Publishers was spun off to meet the demand for assistance from self-publishers. Walt addressed some of these key points in today’s interview:

Book Design & Typesetting

• Is there any difference between designing a book and typesetting it?
• What are the key decisions a book designer must make?
• Isn’t typesetting just pouring the text into the typesetting software, adding some formatting, and letting the software work its magic?

E-Book Design

• Does design and/or typesetting matter at all in creating an e-book?
• Aren’t there software packages that can create e-books virtually automatically?
• Do readers even care if an e-book is well-designed as long as they get the content one way or another?

Indexing

• What is an index and how is it different from a concordance?
• Doesn’t the author know better than anyone else what should be indexed?
• What do you need to know to create a useful index?
Independent publisher Walt Shiel claims he is now into his fourth career, following career stints as an Air Force pilot, telecommunications engineer, and aerospace engineer on the B-2 bomber program at Northrop and the F-22, F-35, and F-16 pilot training programs at Lockheed Martin.Walt has been a freelance writer since 1992, with magazine articles published in the US, UK, and Australia. Currently, he writes the “Warbirds” column for Cessna Flyer magazine and the View From The Publishing Trenches blog. Walt has served on the Board of Directors of the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association for the past four years.Walt, his wife Kerrie, and his daughter Lisa founded Slipdown Mountain Publications LLC in 2003 in North Texas but relocated to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in 2004.

Since then, they have published three novels, two military history titles, two other nonfiction titles, and one short story collection.In 2007, they formed a subsidiary, Five Rainbows Services for Authors and Publishers to meet the demand for assistance from self-publishers. Converting print books to Kindle and ePub formats has become a major part of this business over the past year.

Walt has written two military history books (Cessna Warbirds and T-41 Mescalero), a Michigan historical novel (Devil in the North Woods), and a short story collection (Pilots and Normal People). He also edited a reprint of Flying for France by James R. McConnell. His new book — Rough War: An American Fighter Pilot’s WW II Journey to Burma and Back — is due out in mid-summer 2010.
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Irene Watson – Target Marketing for NonFiction Writers: Why Some People Won’t Read Your Book

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On August 28th, 2009, Alan E. Smith, author of the award-winning “UnBreak Your Health: The Complete Guide to Complementary and Alternative Medicine” spoke with book marketing guru Irene Watson on the importance of considering target reader personas in the book writing process. Irene is the owner of Reader Views, a full-service book reviewing and marketing agency in Austin, TX. Irene’s psychology background and constant study gives her the ability to understand people and how they think, live, and for today’s interview, how they read. Some of the things we considered:

  • Importance of knowing your target market before writing your book
  • Understanding reading preferences, temperments and personalities of potential readers
  • Creating a profile of the potential readers/target market
  • Fully understanding why some readers like your book and others don’t.
Irene’s career took her from career counseling, to business ownership, to working for a police force, to psychosynthesis counseling, to teaching at a college, to retreat/seminar/workshop design and facilitation to her most recent – owning/managing Reader Views and its branches. She obtained her B.S. in psychology at St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX and her M. A. in psychology from Regis University in Denver, CO.After retiring in 2003 Irene authored an award winning memoir, The Sitting Swing, which was originally published in 2005. Having a hard time getting reviews for her book, she started Reader Views on a whim. Within a month it exploded to a full time business. So much for retirement! Since then she has pioneered many other innovative marketing sites including Inside Scoop Live, ReviewThe Book, BloggingAuthors, and many other services from press release writing to book videos to an international award contest now entering its 4th year.
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Irene Watson – Target Marketing for Fiction Writers: Why Some People Won’t Read Your Book

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On August 20th, 2009, Tyler R. Tichelaar and Victor R. Volkman spoke with book marketing guru Irene Watson on the importance of considering target reader personas in the book writing process. Irene is the owner of Reader Views, a full-service book reviewing and marketing agency in Austin, TX. Irene’s  psychology background and constant study gives her the ability to understand people and how they think, live, and for today’s interview, how they read.  Some of the things we considered:

  • Importance of knowing your target market before writing your book
  • Understanding reading preferences, temperments and personalities of potential readers
  • Creating a profile of the potential readers/target market
  • Fully understanding why some readers like your book and others don’t.
Irene’s career took her from career counseling, to business ownership, to working for a police force, to psychosynthesis counseling, to teaching at a college, to retreat/seminar/workshop design and facilitation to her most recent – owning/managing Reader Views and its branches. She obtained her B.S. in psychology at St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX and her M. A. in psychology from Regis University in Denver, CO.After retiring in 2003 Irene authored an award winning memoir, The Sitting Swing, which was originally published in 2005. Having a hard time getting reviews for her book, she started Reader Views on a whim. Within a month it exploded to a full time business. So much for retirement! Since then she has pioneered many other innovative marketing sites including Inside Scoop Live, ReviewThe Book, BloggingAuthors, and many other services from press release writing to book videos to an international award contest now entering its 4th year.  
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