Pride – Confessions of a Publishing Aid in Africa
Warning: gushings ahead. Sorry, I can’t help myself. After how many years in the business, I still just love, love, love that moment when you unwrap that single proof copy of a new book from the printer, and feel the weight of it in your hand, and you page carefully through it, possibly remembering to […]
‘There’s a gap in the market’
This is the number one motivation my clients tell me they’ll give a publisher when pitching for a new book contract. As if publishers, with all their experience, don’t know the market, and this never-before-been-published person really is the expert. [Fact is, this might well be true. I don’t necessarily believe publishers are market experts. […]
Help! I’ve got a book in me
About time too… I’ve been planning to do this talk and series of workshops for a while now. Wanted to have it perfect before I started, but there’s been so much demand, I’ve finally just jumped in. Here’s the info we sent out in the weekly newsletter for the local indie bookstore, Kalk Bay Books: […]
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 […]
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
“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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
‘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 […]
Fontistry
Mixing Fonts | Hoefler & Frere-Jones. Oh, to live in a world where one is surrounded by beautiful things! South Africa has such scenic beauty, but I feel I am surrounded by such a dull aesthetic so much of the time. This is an environment wallpapered in dullness. In faux Tuscan houses. Comic Sans, Arial […]
Beautiful handscripted book cover
See some of the inside spreads here. Will you forgive me for stating the obvious, as it does need to be said: you probably would not have known about this beautiful celebration of paper and ink and craftmanship if you weren’t reading this e-ink. I came across it via Twitter which lead me to a […]
How the iPad fits in a Photography Workflow
How the iPad fits in a Photography Workflow. A simply FABULOUS overview of apps and functionality of the iPad for photographers. From being a remote for your camera, to a provider of model releases and obviously an awesome portfolio tool.
How The Attack On Osama Bin Laden Was Live-Tweeted
How The Attack On Osama Bin Laden Was Live-Tweeted | Fast Company. Just in case you were in any doubt about the power of social media and the way it’s replacing many aspects of the role of traditional news agencies. The problem of course, still remains: how do you and I know that some random […]
The Nonviolent Method For Teaching English (via Avy Around the World)
Great blog! Is this travel writing or social commentary or a letter home? It is literature, I think. It is everything I love about The (New) New(est) Journalism. It is a simple story, told with flair, that transcends the mundane boundaries and definitions of genre. Good on WordPress for picking it up as a ‘Freshly […]
Think Quarterly: a beautiful book for slow intake by kings-of-speed Google.
See the whole mag here. Wow. Such lightness of touch and depth of thought. It makes me go “aaaaaaaaaaaaaah……” Much respect
Love. And letting it be known. And finding the gold.
There’s something brewing in my head. A triumvirate of ideas that speak into passion, people and the power of media. It starts with this image, now embossed on my heart. Two people embracing. Two factory workers. Bangladesh. In a far-off shopping mall, destruction is lighter: my trousers are torn from use and my shirt has […]
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