On Snippet, PW, and a good friend

SNIPPET: I had several people email me to ask why we had the blog post about Snippet. The fact is, I simply love the tool. It’s easy to use (an author simply drops in short chapters or essays), it’s interactive (so it’s very much like an enhanced ebook), and it’s both word-based and visual. I don’t have any sort of stake in the company — I just like the results.

In my view, there are two ways an author could use Snippet. First, he or she could drop in some text, insert videos or photos or graphics, and in a very short time create a lovely book that would sell for $3.99 and be WAY more attractive than most short-form ebooks. Second, a nonfiction author could use it to create a shorter version of his or her book — offering some of the content, with a couple videos or interviews as highlights, and simply give it away as a marketing piece to promote the full-length book.  Besides, it’s free. This is the sort of tool that we see sometimes as writers and realize it has huge potential. Like I said– I love it, and I’m happy to have the folks using it come on and share their story. (And if you have a tool like this that can help writers, I’d love to hear about it.)

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: I’m often asked what the best resource is for figuring out trends, or hearing what’s going on in the industry, or looking for up-and-coming ideas. In my view, the answer is easy: Publisher’s Weekly. Sure, it’s expensive (I think an annual subscription is $168), but it’s probably the one place I go where I get the most information on our industry. (I also like the online daily digest at Publishers Marketplace a lot.)

This week PW highlights what they consider the best books of 2013, and I noticed they included Lost Girls and Going Clear, which were two of the best new books I read this year. We’re going to be flooded with the “best of” lists soon, but the PW list is always worth perusing. While we can haggle over what’s really “best” (and I was sad there was no mention of Les Edgerton’s The Rapist or Lisa Samson’s The Sky Beneath My Feet — two books that everyone admits were fabulous), it’s always nice to see their take on the industry, and to get a feel for what’s the best and brightest in the world of writing.

A GOOD FRIEND: If you don’t mind, please say a prayer for longtime bookseller, bestselling author, and all around publishing maven Jim Reimann. He’s been an encourager and industry leader for a long time, and one of the really influential friends in my life in publishing. Jim recently got some very bad health news, and tells me the prognosis for his brain disease is not good at all. Please keep Jim and his wife Pam in your prayers. Thanks.