I see the huge reason why self-publishing is trendy today… I have even done it myself!
There is a huge digital land grab in the making… we have seen many governments and companies backing the idea of protecting copyrights and our security. It looks like what they truly want is control of our minds and thoughts, which can never really happen. But, they do have the possibility of controlling our intellectual properties.
The old and vanishing road to book success has always had major flaws, there was the damn risk of the work being returned to the publisher or going out of print. Plus, the 1001 other damnable truths.
In order to save the author’s life and have an archive of the greatest books for the 21st century, we must start a revival of the old way of literary success… where talented authors have copyrights to their intellectual property and a profitable living income.
Join me and my merry band of wonderful minds as we look at our long term valuation of copyrights and the right to own our works!
John and Toni Rakestraw are the owners of Rakestraw Book Design. Toni is the editor; she keeps all those words in line. John is the voice of the company. He can often be found hosting Google+ Hangouts on writing and issues writers face online. Archives for his shows can be found on YouTube.
An interesting assortment of views on writing, writer’s block, the rules of writing, and dialog tags.
We had a lively and fun conversation with writer, teacher and soon to be film director +Mark David Gerson.
We touched on creativity, the muses, the energy blocks that stops the flow of writing and the consent to allow us to be that which we truly should be… CREATIVE!
My band of wonderful minds had fantastic words to add to all of this… many thanks to Harlan, +Sergey Andrianov, +David Amerland and +Simon Grew.
John and Toni Rakestraw are the owners of Rakestraw Book Design. Toni is the editor; she keeps all those words in line. John is the voice of the company. He can often be found hosting Google+ Hangouts on writing and issues writers face online. Archives for his shows can be found on YouTube.
Both of these are important to writing, but regrettably the way we are taught writing focuses mostly on grammar or the content. We are overlooking the more interesting aspect of writing, the one I love best, composition. This is the process of being able to put an idea together, in writing, in such a...
Our digital world rushes by so quick… it’s as if we see our lives in microseconds.
My band of wonderful minds; Susanne Ramharter, Simon Grew, Bitte Rozalia, R. Harlan Smith and Adam Boenig had a great conversation about the Transient World of Social Media.
The internet and it’s rush towards commercial use has changed the virtual world we live in. It’s hard to remember a time before the World Wide Web… the internet connection. It has become a part of our daily lives. It has transformed the way we go about living our everyday lives. Once you start follow a social stream, it’s hard to leave the experience, the vast ambiguity and the grandness of engagement and access to our data.
Just as previous forms of social communication were amplified through many media systems; stories, news, TV, radio, celebrity and chats… social media on internet has undeniably been acting in the same social amplifying manner. Well, at least to the degree that it has tried to rush down the established paths for social communications, but then something significant happened. Something manifested in the social commercialization of the internet…. engagement!
The internet has became an amplifier of everything the offline and online world has to offer. Due in most parts by the results of easy-access… the mass introduction of amateur creations and exposure to a seemingly unending world of content. Where social media has step forward as the ultimate amplifier.
John and Toni Rakestraw are the owners of Rakestraw Book Design. Toni is the editor; she keeps all those words in line. John is the voice of the company. He can often be found hosting Google+ Hangouts on writing and issues writers face online. Archives for his shows can be found on YouTube.
I’m interested in seeing how Google+ could evolve as a heaven for writers. Google’s “author rank” could become more important than actual blogging, if writers bring their quality written content, books and flash fiction too social media. Being tracked on the web by our actual author name and having an “author rank” might be the coming thing.
I got together with my band of wonderful minds today and we had a great conversation about the merits of Page Rank or is it just voodoo!
Here is what David Amerland, Bitte Rozalia, Cowboy aka Simon Grew, Susanne Ramharter and R. Harlan Smith had to say.
I was checking Page Rank, just out of curiosity, and it got me wondering, how much does PageRank matter? Does it make a significant difference in how people engage with us? Is it primarily for google and does it impact search results?
Everybody thinks Page Rank is important but almost no one admits how important it is. If you have a good Page Rank then you might have a higher chance to be ranked above other content.
Where do you fall in the conversation…
John and Toni Rakestraw are the owners of Rakestraw Book Design. Toni is the editor; she keeps all those words in line. John is the voice of the company. He can often be found hosting Google+ Hangouts on writing and issues writers face online. Archives for his shows can be found on YouTube.
Why do you need an editor? Every writer needs an editor. Even famous best-selling authors need editors to polish their prose and make it shine. There are lots of reasons why writers don’t make the best editors, especially for their own work.
1. Writers know what they wanted to say, so each time they read through their work, their brain fills in the writing the way the writer intended it. A pair of fresh eyes is best for editing.
2. Sure, writers can do some basic editing before they hand it off to an editor. The difference between the first draft and the third or fourth draft is all determined by the writer. Each time they read through their work, they may tweak it here or rewrite it there. Editors come in and make it the best it can be by catching everything the writer doesn’t, like small typos, problems in the flow of the text, etc.
3. Editors work with style books like the Chicago Manual of Style to make sure the text is readable and fits the guidelines for professional publishers. Most publishing houses will have their own editors, but polishing your manuscript before the publisher sees it can make the writing more impressive.
John and Toni Rakestraw are the owners of Rakestraw Book Design. Toni is the editor; she keeps all those words in line. John is the voice of the company. He can often be found hosting Google+ Hangouts on writing and issues writers face online. Archives for his shows can be found on YouTube.
I had another fantastic time with my merry band of wonderful minds…
David Amerland, Bitte Rozalia, Susanne Ramharter, Cowboy aka Simon Grew, R. Harlan Smith, Adam Boenig and Omar Bilal.
We talked how Semantic Web and Search could change the web and our engagement. We had a lot to say in our two hours of hanging out together.
David Amerland said…
“I would also like to open this up a bit and talk about what goes into the creation of a good book. +Toni Rakestraw’s post : *Learn the Craft (Writing) …it gave me [an] idea and as we talk about semantic search… it might be interesting to see how the writing process has changed in the social media age – this is the first book I am writing since G+ took off and the process has been an interesting one. Many G+ members contributed ideas and suggestions, plus the book itself is not complete without editorial eyes and more than just the mind of the writer working on it.
John and Toni Rakestraw are the owners of Rakestraw Book Design. Toni is the editor; she keeps all those words in line. John is the voice of the company. He can often be found hosting Google+ Hangouts on writing and issues writers face online. Archives for his shows can be found on YouTube.
Writers need to understand how video can add to their engagement here on the web. Ronnie Bincer is one of the best sources for this info. You get over and hour of his time with the importance of Video SEO
First hour and nine minutes is with The Hangout Helper himself, Ronnie Bincer.
Here’s his great blog: http://www.thehangouthelper.com/
We talking about the three stages of a Hangout On Air…
Pre-producion, Production and Post-production.
Just remember… the three P’s with the Bincer!
Here is a quick look at these stages.
Pre-production:
Techie side – Good lighting, good sound, the right webcam, etc.
Topic – Do your research, know the what you talk or be ready to learn from your guest. If your going to interview someone read their blog, post, profiles and look for that gem… something that talks of them.
You – know you image, your persona. Have a clear picture of how you want to be viewed. If you have a host you like copy them, watch what they do and pick-up on their style. Soon you will be putting in your own touches.
Promotion – We need to let the public out there know that we are doing this LIVE show… Google Events Page, posts, sharing with your guest and etc.
Production:
Naming – You need to find a great title that talks of your Hangout and has good tag (keywords) punch.
Invite – Make your show work with the right guest. Make your guest feel welcome.
Streaming – Hangouts On Air will stream LIVE on Google+, your YouTube channel and wherever you put the link at; your blog, Event Page and etc.
Sharing the screen time – We Social Media Entrepreneurs types are vulnerable to grabbing the glory hogging… if we don’t toot our own horn, who will, right! Plus, our small business is a reflection of us and its success often depends on the our ability to build a reputation for knowledge and expertise. We do stand in the spotlight. But, to really make your Hangouts On Air to work… you will need to step back little and let your guest shine in the spotlight.
Tools – Know all the Hangout apps and how they can help you.
Host Appeal – Remember you are hosting a party, the guest are there by your invitation. We need to be helpful, understanding and grateful. The guest will at times get out of hand and you need to be able to pull them back on topic. A great host can go with the flow and make the change in topics work. The evolution of a conversation is its beauty to grow and move to different view points. Keep yourself open and ready to meet the challenges.
Post-production:
Archived – The Hangout On Air saves to your YouTube Channel automatically, and Google+ makes links to it in your stream.
Enhancement – You can download the video file from YouTube and edit it, add music, titles. and etc.
Syndication – Promotion, sharing and getting more play time out of your Hangout On Air.
Here are just a few ideas about the wonders of Hangouts On Air.
People, if you want to feed the soul of a writer, read their book!
In this wonderful world there are those who can make you think, those that make you wonder and those that take you beyond their imagination into yours…
RAKESTRAW BOOK DESIGN
Editing is the heart of our business.
It’s hard to hand over your baby to someone who is supposed to be critical. We strive to do our very best for you and create a wonderful experience as you go through editing.
John and Toni Rakestraw are the owners of Rakestraw Book Design. Toni is the editor; she keeps all those words in line. John is the voice of the company. He can often be found hosting Google+ Hangouts on writing and issues writers face online. Archives for his shows can be found on YouTube.
Google Self-Publishing used to mean that you went to a vanity press or print shop that specialized in printing books. You would get 1000 books printed up, take them home and start pushing your book around to your family, friends and anyone else you could think of… in a way it was like selling...
John and Toni Rakestraw are the owners of Rakestraw Book Design. Toni is the editor; she keeps all those words in line. John is the voice of the company. He can often be found hosting Google+ Hangouts on writing and issues writers face online. Archives for his shows can be found on YouTube.
John and Toni Rakestraw are the owners of Rakestraw Book Design. Toni is the editor; she keeps all those words in line. John is the voice of the company. He can often be found hosting Google+ Hangouts on writing and issues writers face online. Archives for his shows can be found on YouTube.
