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This year’s Blog Action Day subject is climate change. At first I struggled with how to relate that to writing. The obvious answer didn’t jump out at me. I blame that on my muse sticking around Europe and not coming back home when I did.

My muse is back now, apparently refreshed and ready to work. She pointed out to me that we are in the middle of big climate changes in publishing now. Some of these changes will have a positive effect on the world’s climate.

Publishing as a business resists adopting new technology. Even when they moved from printing presses to computers, submissions still needed to be sent by “snail mail”.

Publishers didn’t take as long to shift the responsibility for publicity to the authors. Just because you receive an advance for your book doesn’t mean that the publisher will put money into your promotion. Very few authors get any publisher support for promotion.

Fortunately the Internet lets authors reach far more readers than even the largest publisher’s PR departments did in the past. Subscribe to this blog for tips on using technology to promote yourself and your writing.

Right now the e-Reader wars are heating up. This week Amazon announced a big jump in earnings. They attribute a large part of the increase to the Kindle, both the device itself and the books, blogs, and magazines sold for it.  The International Kindle version is now shipping.

Plastic 40 mg strattera Logic has said that they will release the product details and the price of their e-Reader device at the Consumer Electronic Show in early January. It will probably be called the Que or the QueproReader. AT&T will be the wireless provider. It will read PDF, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents.

Design Spring has announced an ebook reader based on the Google Android operating system. It will have full browser capability and a patented dual screen. The Alex will have an electronic paper display for reading and an LCD screen, running Android, for better web access with browser features for bookmarking, history, and security. It’s also mobile enabled with smart phone capabilities.

You are now able to pre-order buy viagra online without prescription Barnes and Noble’s ebook reader, Nook.  It’s also a dual-screen reader and has similar features to the Alex. Due to release at the end of November, you can check out the features on Nook.com or at Buy a prescription online target=”_blank”>Barnes and Noble.

These readers are great for those of us who freak out about running out of reading material. It’s especially handy when traveling. I saw lots of people reading Kindles on my recent trip.

As more readers accept e-readers and the e-readers themselves improve, the amount of paper used to print books will decrease. This will benefit the entire planet.

Do your research before you buy. Pick the reader that works best for your reading habits and your eyes. These readers will continue to improve. If you plan to upgrade, make sure you can read the books you’ve purchased on the new device.

If you haven’t already subscribed to this blog, sign up on the right. I’ll keep you updated on the latest changes in e-Readers and other technology.

Remember that the climate of publishing is changing. I’ll help you keep up with it.

Write on,

Lynn

Related articles by Zemanta

• Que and Alex set to challenge e-reader leader Kindle (seattlepi.com)
• Kindle is More Environmentally Friendly Than Old-School Books [Ebook Readers] (gizmodo.com)

I used Article Video Robot to make a sample video from an article that I had sitting on my hard drive that hasn’t been published anywhere yet. The only premium feature I used was the website branding.

I didn’t spend a lot of time tweaking and editing this video. The text is cut off on the right side. If I had put it up on YouTube, it would be sized better. › Continue reading…

I volunteer for a couple of writing groups. As part of my duties, I email writers, and other professionals on a regular basis.

One thing I’ve noticed lately is the high number of people who use strange names for their email accounts.

As a writer, you should be branding your name wherever possible. Names like elfprincess, edit845, or yrgm33 won’t help you gain name recognition, or even help people associate your name with your email account.

If you are serious about your writing, you should take steps to be viewed as a professional when using email.

• Use your name or your pseudonym if you possibly can.
• Don’t use your family’s email account for business.
• Don’t send professional email using your husband’s name on the account.

Be professional with your social networking. Allow your personality to come through in your writing, but don’t share anything that you wouldn’t want published in a national magazine.

Also, no one cares what you are having for lunch, unless you write cookbooks and are teasing folks with your newest, greatest recipe.

Editors, agents, critics, and your readers are active on the social networking sites. You never know who may read your next post.

It’s become common for editors, agents, employers, and other business contacts  to “Google” the name of people before entering into a business relationship.

• Make sure you aren’t writing anything online that will reflect badly on you.
• Protect your online presence by setting up a Google alert on your name to see what others are saying about you.
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• “Google” yourself regularly to find out if your entries project a professional online presence.
• Check your pseudonym(s) as well.

Act as professionally on the Internet as you do in face-to-face meetings with your business contacts and your readers.

Here are some examples of folks who didn’t project a professional online presence.  Have a laugh, but don’t let this be you.

http://www.resumebear.com/blog/index.php/2009/04/10/30-ways-to-loose-a-job-on-twitter/

Write on,

Lynn Jordan