Category Archives: publishing

Make It Timeless

Lately, I’ve been working hard and playing hard. Life’s too short to do otherwise. And even though I’m hounded by deadlines, I feel calm. I have a sense of eternal time: I’m living in tandem with all other living things. Can you tell I’ve been reading Richard Rohr again?

Well, time may very well be eternal, but so is the list of books on my to-read list. That’s where Blinkist comes in. Sign up at blinkist.com to get a précis, or “blinks,” of various non-fiction books covering a wealth of topics.

Speaking of wealth, you say you never got around to reading The Wealth of Nations? No need! Blinkist has you covered in three to four “blinks.” This site is genius for distilling whole books into a few bullet points, which, let’s face it, is sometimes just what is needed.

I am so stoked that I’m going to finally finish Guns, Germs, and Steel today—thanks to Blinkist.

Who Says Editors Don’t Have a Sense of Humour?

I don’t often use social media abbreviations—BTW, ICYMI, IIRC, TTYL, LOL. They just aren’t me. Call me old school, but other than the occasional FYI, my most commonly used abbreviation is OK. What editor can deny the trenchancy of good old OK? In fact, I recently learned that editors are credited with creating the abbreviation.Continue Reading

Self-Publish at the Toronto Public Library

In a previous post, I suggested that if you commit to writing a mere 500 words per day, you’ll have a book written before the year’s out. And printing that book is easy-peasy. One way to do it is with the Asquith Press at the Toronto Public Library. The press is located at the TorontoContinue Reading

How To Save Local Bookstores

I’m always on the hunt for new ways to deliver content in the digital age. Here’s a great article that urges bookstores to embrace print-on-demand machines and e-books. I think the author makes some great points. Booksellers earn a greater profit on e-books compared to the old-fashioned variety (yes, the profit may not be aContinue Reading

There’s an App for That, but Will You Use It?

This year’s International Festival of Authors features Marisha Pessl, author of Night Film. I haven’t read this book yet, but it’s full of creative extras, including a “Night Film Decoder” app that can be downloaded and used to scan images in the book (print or e-book) that unlock multimedia content. I love innovative stuff likeContinue Reading