|
July, 2010
Currents
Online Journal
Pearl Street Publishing
July, 2010
The Know Something
Project, a sister site of Pearl Street Publishing, currently
features an in-depth look at the growing, multi-faceted e-book industry.
From e-readers such as the Kindle and the Sony Reader to retailers such
as Fictionwise and ScribD (and the players such as Simon and Schuster
(which just signed on to sell digital copies of some of its titles on
ScribD) and Google, e-publishing is on the brink of something big.
ReadGreen is a new initiative that encompasses aspects of electronic as well as
print-on-demand publishing. For more information, read Currents, a
comment on technology and the independent press-the last bastion
of freedom of expression.
The Gutenberg
Project is a must view for all readers. It is a volunteer effort which
has produced 25,000 free e-books which are accessible without
limitation. These books' copyrights have expired.
The distinction which the Project makes between free of charge and freedom
of use is fascinating in this era of "monetizing" everything.
From The Gutenberg Project website:
This distinction is immaterial if you just want to
read a book privately, but it becomes of utmost importance if you want
to work with the book:
- you are a teacher and want to use the book in class,
- you wrote a thesis about the book and want to distribute the book
along with your thesis,
- you have a literary web site and want to distribute the book to
your audience,
- or you are a writer and want to adapt the book for the stage.
If the book you got is just free of charge, you
may do none of the above things. You may not
even make a copy of the book and give it to your best friend. But if the
book you got is free as in freedom you may do anything you like
with that book. Clearly free as in freedom beats free of
charge.
February 4, 2009
Amazon's Kindle e-book
reader is wondrous and elitist. It is wondrous because a reader can
download books directly to the Kindle within 30 seconds anywhere anytime.
Recently, I read John Updike's obituary on Kindle and downloaded his last
book, The Widows of Eastwick, while sitting by the ocean. In the
middle of the night when the reality of the next great Depression sets in,
I have downloaded John Adams by David McCullough, The Great
Depression and the New Deal by Eric Rauchway, and Bad Money by
Kevin Phillips. These titles and others I have downloaded range from
$1.50 to $9.99 which are substantially less than hard copies of the same books.
There is no monthly fee for the whispernet radio wave service that brings
the books to your Kindle without the need for computer hook up or
wifi hot spot.
It is elitist, however, because the Kindle costs $349.00 and can only
access Amazon's designed-for- Kindle books. Unlike Adobe's PDF
format, which is uniformly available, Kindle
e-books are not. While we at Pearl
Street Publishing have begun
designing our books as Kindle books without having to pay fees, the Kindle
daily blog continue to discuss the same authors and publishers who dominate
Amazon and other book retailers. Tom Clancy was added to the list of
exciting new Kindle authors today. Presumably publishers pay Amazon
for such advertisements as well as placements as "other books" a
reader may be
interested in. It is curious that the book business, in dire straits
for many years, would change nothing about their business model except the
distribution. Kindle/Amazon receives 65% of the book price.
Change has come to the book business; there is no doubt
of that. HarperCollins' earnings are predicted to
be down 90% at the end of their fiscal year in June of 2009. Now is the
time to make change meaningful. The wondrous technology
behind Amazon's Kindle could be used to inform the reading public of fresh
voices from independent presses as well as the already well-known authors
from mega media corporations. As we celebrate Black History Month in 2009,
we recommend two books whose authors are the change. One
Sister's Song by Karen DeGroot Carter and Lady Bird
by Sheryl Mebane.
Both these books deserve to be read.
ReadGreen
As we watch the global markets in turmoil and hear we are on
the brink of another world-wide Depression, it is time to ReadGreen.
We recently launched Offerte,
The Burnt Offerings by
Jon Marie Broz, a poetry collection, whose varied formats reflect Pearl Street Publishing's ReadGreen concept.
Offerte is available in
hardback or paperback via print-on-demand technology. A reader can
purchase either format when ordering Offerte through Amazon. The book
is then printed and dropped-shipped within 48 hours. Offerte
and other Pearl Street books are available as Kindle e-books, as well.
There is more to ReadGreen than saving the paper and
fossil fuels required to distribute hard copies of books. The
revolutionary aspect of reading green centers on our belief that individual freedom of
expression must be advanced throughout the world. We were
pleased to be recognized by the Yale Review as an independent press
publishing new voices that deserve to be heard. But
recognition of the historical fact that the "independent press"
has always been at the forefront of publishing fresh voices and new ideas, is
not enough.
Through ReadGreen, we are committed,
not only to utilizing technology to produce and distribute the written word,
but to tearing down barriers to freedom of expression wherever they
exist. Always Current
Pearl Street Publishing is
located on Old South Pearl Street in Denver, Colorado. We are housed in a Victorian
house built before the turn of the 20th century. While we honor that heritage, we
embrace the exciting technological revolution that has ushered us into the 21st century. We
are committed to the proposition that all of us who love to read will benefit from
these marvelous advances. In that spirit, we invite you to browse in the
Pearl Street Publishing Online
Bookstore, which was created in July of 2002, so long ago that PayPal was not yet owned
by E-Bay.
|