Hephaestus Books is a scam

Indie publishing. Still a concept that’s little-known here in South Africa, where I keep explaining to people that somewhere between self-publishing and mainstream publishing there might just be a rich, rewarding and authentic space for them. And quality is what I harp on about. Self-publishing, at its baser self, is that on-the-cheap product that Mom edits and the neighbour’s cousin proofreads and the margins are too small and the type all wrong… Mainstream publishing used to be so good. But now perhaps they can’t afford the best in the business. Those who stick around are too often harassed and stifled and forced to keep hand-winding the conveyer belt.

And somewhere in-between is Independent Publishing: where a business plan and production team are tailored to the product. Professional AND personal all the way.

Which is why Hephaestus Books totally pisses me off.

It’s clearly an automated production line ripping stuff straight off Wikipedia. No editing, nothing. Not even put into any kind of meaningful order. Hell, not even alphabetical order. This is the one I am holding in my hand. It cost US$13.85 on Amazon. No mention of what date it even came off Wikipedia, or who the team is, how the publisher can be contacted, or what criteria determined what was included in the book.

And on the title page, even the country ‘new Zealand’ isn’t spelled with a capital letter.

This kind of publishing is the way to make a very quick buck. This is NOT the future. This is NOT indie publishing. (Please don’t tar us with the same brush.)

Type for Photos

Simple is beautiful.

Love the use of type on the cover of The New York Times Magazine Photographs book.

A bold move for designers who had a great selection of images to play with. They chose counter-intuitively. And oh so powerfully.

 

Thinking, um ‘out the box’?

First there was the alternative approach to the print publication. And then a really neat (or not!) way of taking that to the electronic form without losing the essence. Great work, Visual Editions!

Check out the videos by John Pavlus of Fast Co Design: Composition No.1: An iPad Art Book You Read On “Shuffle”

‘Creative Combustion’

Take a look: 

The handmade issue of Wallpaper* mag. Collaboration, artistry, passion, perfectionism, ingenuity, humour…

the moonshinemedia weekly

Read this week’s round-up of what’s happening in the publishing world.

On Teaching Self-expression

Baboon footprints on my car window at dawn. Shot by me using Hipstamatic app on my iPhone. Whose identity? Whose creative expression? Any originality?

“I don’t have any problem with using others’ concepts and putting your vision onto them but straight out shooting to look like someone else isn’t going to get you (or anyone else) very far. Surely we are photographers because we want to share our personal vision of the world with others, much like writers and painters. We create something which expresses how WE see the world, not how we think others want us to see the world.”

So writes photographer, “digital artist” and blogger Mark Ivkovic on a post titled “Lacking Curiosity” on his bang | Photography blog.

On the same day, fellow Briton Gillian Holding titles her blog post with a question: Can Creative Writing Be Taught?

“Of course, if you think of creative writing or art as simply the outcome of a process of applying a specific skill set, then there is a strong argument for saying yes, it can be taught. Skills can be taught to anyone who wants to learn,” she writes.

You know there’s a “but” coming up, don’t you?

“But then as any artist/writer/musician will recognise there’s rules and then there’s the rest of it. The unquantifiable, the ineffable, the x factor. The work product which rises out of and in spite of and above the rule-guided product. The spark, the life, the essence. Can this be taught?”

I find myself reading her blog with personal interest, challenged by her comment on the “fashionable delusion these days that everything can and needs to be taught. Yet whilst this clearly applies to skills of all sorts, it doesn’t necessarily follow that you can teach the mindsets which lead to great novels, wonderful art and memorable music.” You see, I have increasingly found lately that some of my most rewarding hours are working with clients and their text. People who have incredible stories to tell; important things to say. And I try to draw it out of them in the most readable, flowing, inspiring way. I find myself thoroughly energized by these interactions, finding my own creativity is heightened as I develop vision and strategy for how to get this story across best, most engagingly, yet authentically in this author’s voice. And we invariably also need to get the story across in a way that will sell. So the trick is always to articulate the writer’s own vision in their own words. Yet this does not mean we can’t use mechanisms that have worked for others.

I guess Holding is right: All that I can really do “is provide an environment (please follow her fascinating link) in which it can be facilitated and encouraged and nurtured.”

Partnership in Publishing

“In essence, that’s what we all are, I think, publishers, authors, and booksellers: partners in the quest to find and engage readers. It’s a difficult task, but as long as I keep the attitude that we’re in it together, it’s easier to deal with the vicissitudes of being an author,” writes accomplished author Lisa Tucker in her Publishing Perspectives blog post about the arc of a writer’s career.

“Recognizing that you’re part of a business doesn’t mean you’re a sell-out or anti-art.” Thank you, Lisa. That sums it up well. Whenever a potential author comes to me for advice, I first ask them about their motives in publishing. And they almost NEVER say “I want to make money.” No, they all have valuable stories to tell and wisdoms to impart. But I know that later, suddenly there will be a lot of finger pointing about others in the publishing, printing, sales, marketing and distribution processes who are making too much money or not pulling their weight. I try to give authors an understanding of the business, end to end, and the role they can play in helping this long list of co-workers on their project.

I think we all need to have compassion for our partners in the value chain. Let’s face it: the margins are miniscule. For everybody. Very few are making it rich. All could have, in all likelihood, done better in a different business. Publishing is a labour of love in so many ways.

And she quotes Wordsworth aptly: “What we have loved, others will love, and we will teach them how.”

Mobile web content in East Africa

Mobile web content in East Africa [Report] | memeburn.

Erik Hersman’s report is short and to the point, making the case that there is possibly too much focus on fibre-aided connectivity and too little on mobile.

He summarises as follows:

“The success story of mobiles in the developing world is well known. Yet in the case of extending data services in emerging markets, there is a real danger of some serious policy mistakes. As in developed markets, broadband strategies in developing countries have tended to focus on investment in fibre. This is too simplistic. This focus on fibre may miss an opportunity for a transformational change built on the capabilities and in particular accessibility of mobile broadband. The early evidence suggests that mobile internet is spreading as quickly, in some developing countries, as mobile telephony did originally.”

Amazon: ebooks, print books, more and me

Amazon Says Now Selling More E-Books Than Print Books – Eric Savitz – The Tech Trade – Forbes.

As of 1 April, says Amazon, they were selling 105 e-books for every 100 printed books. The good news, though, is that they’re also selling more books in total. People really are reading more, it seems. This is good news for authors and for publishers. Now is not the time for doom and gloom.

Yes, I know books smell wonderful. No need to alert me to that fact. And that they provide a great tactile experience. Indeed. But enough about books; let’s talk about me: I carry a library of books with me in my handbag. Which is why last week, when I was heading home from work and passed a quaint little pub and pulled in, I ended up staying for hours and hours: I ‘happened’ to have a book with me in my iPad that was gripping. I read and read and read and… No matter how wonderful books smell, I wouldn’t have had the most charmingly fragranced one with me on that occasion.

And another of my favourites (did I mention, this is all about me?): the writer in me loves the way I can highlight bits and pieces. In the aforementioned pub, I found myself highlighting all kinds of facts, which I’ll be able to quickly find again, either to form the words and sentences in my mouth and head to inspire my own writing, or to quote the facts, once again in my own writing.

Does that mean I’m done with printed books? Not at all. Just this morning I was close to tears with the emotion of finally holding a book we’ve been working on for quite some time. Called ‘Beneath‘, this is a weighty hardcover with the most sublime illustrations. ‘Exploring the Unconscious in Individuals’ says our slugline. It’s a book that I, as a reader, would want in e-book AND hard copy format. The e-book would be where I’d highlight and search and be able to dip in. The hard copy would be the one I’d sit on the couch in solitude and read with all seriousness as I try to work out why the hell I’m reverting to the same old patterns that have screwed up previous relationships. It’d be a heavy read. A serious one. A soulful one.

You need paper for that.

Below, the cover and some sample pages to show the beautiful photographs and illustrations that bring Beneath to life.

     

‘Go the F— to Sleep’: The Case of the Viral PDF

‘I just absolutely love this story. Here is a book that is only due to be published in mid June, the publisher admits to having done absolutely nothing to promote it, and yet it is already at the top of Amazon’s bestseller lists.
How, you ask?
Piracy!

Read the story here: Go the F— to Sleep’: The Case of the Viral PDF – The Bay Citizen.