The weekend is here and to celebrate a couple of days off, let’s look at the weeks best news. As usual The Turndog Tales are here to share some golden pieces of wisdom. Not from me, but from around the web.
Are you ready to have your world rocked and rolled? Good…let’s begin:
Penguin + Author Solutions = ?
What happens when a big publisher purchases a vanity press famed for being an awful awful business? Well, it seems to put a lot of people on edge. I’m certainly one of them.
It stinks of back handed badness. I worry about the road this will take, and Porter Anderson writes a very good overview of the deal, the thoughts around the web, and the current situation. I suggest you read and create your own opinion. Authors of all types need to have one on this subject.
Build An Epic Tribe
Call it what you will. A Tribe, a Community, a Group of Cool Ass Folk…online people across the globe are striving to create one.
Jonathan Mead has created a solid one at Paid to Exist and he has written a very inspiring post about it. I talk about engagement a lot and it’s something I intend to do more of, and more importantly, do it better and better. This post has helped me and I hope it helps you too.
Go Big Or Go Home
Chris Guillebeau tends to do things BIG. He also does things his own way and this post shares a great insight into his mind.
If you plan on doing something big in the future, this is the post for you. Chris describes how he goes about things, how he created the World Domination Summit, and what he suggests you do. Which basically requires doing your own thing. Go forth and read.
A Launch With A Difference
Cynthia Morris guested on Dan Blank’s site this week and talked about her recent launch. I love some of the things Cynthia did, but this post focusses on what a launch can do in the long term.
A launch is a great way to sell books in the NOW, but it’s also a great way to get on people’s radar in the future. As someone who’s beginning to plan his own launch, this is a post that has helped a lot.
Amazon Do good
I know this post is a simple bit of PR, but I nevertheless loved it. Amazon seem to go out of their way to make things better for their employees. Are they a perfect company? No!
They do seem to do things better than many, though. At a time when publishing is going through BIG changes, it’s good to see one of the big boys in book selling doing things in a positive manner.
The ‘Bloody Hell, Really’ Post
It’s old news now, but the thing really winding me up at present is the Penguin/Author Solutions deal. It especially annoys me when articles like this paint it as a great deal for self-publishing.
I’m sorry, but no deal. This whole acquisition is bad news if you ask me. I’m not alone either, but I suggest you create your own thoughts. There are plenty of Posts about this around the web. Let me know what you decide on
And there you have it. Another week is over and I’m off to enjoy the opening of the Olympics. Have a top weekend, but before you do, why not check out a few of my own Posts from the last few days.
Top day to you,
The 10 Rules of Social MEdia Engagement – @Problogger
Are Authors Secret Agent Marketers – @The Creative Penn
Turndog Millionaire – @turndog_million
