This past week I wrote a column for the blog, ‘Starved Writer’, on the topic of innovations in eBook technology and already I have to take back my words My column posted just days before the newest innovation in eBook technology went viral. My bad. Kindlegraph, developed by Evan Jacobs on the DocuSign platform is the latest game changer in ePub technology. This exciting innovation makes it possible for eBook authors to dedicate and sign personal notes to their fans on a pdf image of their book covers which are delivered to the fans Kindle, or eMail account.
Unlike its cousin, Autography, developed in the sunny climes of Florida, Kindlegraph does not require that a fan of a particular author’s work buy from a prescribed platform. In fact, it doesn’t even require a purchase of the eBook! An interested reader, fan, follower may go to the Kindlegraph site, find the author’s name, or book titles, and sans purchase of the eBook, request a salutation and signature from the author.
Innovations in technology around ePublishing are expanding, exploding, and extravagant. Self-publishing has become The New Frontier as one development after another breaks onto the scene. Legend has it that Evan Jacobs, this season’s whiz kid developed the technology for Kindlegraph over a 48-hour period. Visit http://kindlegraph.com for details. Right now Evan is trying to keep up with the opening night atmosphere around his invention, which is delighting all IndiePub authors – including this one! Visit http://kindlegraph.com/books?utf8=%E2%9C%93&search=All+Smart+Cookies+Can+Self-Publish for details.
Once the weed patch of the literary landscape; self-publishing (sneeringly referred to as ‘vanity publishing’) is now the rage. According to Bob Mayer, following the 2011 Book Expo of America (BEA) convention, nine of every ten authors who emerge this season will be IndieAuthors. Smashwords, the pioneer of ePublishing, reports that giant is now receiving 10,000 submissions a week from authors who have given up on the concept of being wooed by an agent and a Big Six publisher. So, of course, with all of this interest from enterprising authors, technology leaders are going to step in.
Kindlegraph is, however, still in the development stage. Jacobs proudly rolls out his newest dashboard design in an introduction tutorial on his site, improving on his original author dashboard. But, other gremlins such as re-entry to author pages for authors who want to change their auto-pen signature, or update their profile, is not addressed yet. Also needing attention is ‘title variation’. If a follower of my blogs enters ‘All Smart Cookies Can Self-Publish” into the Kindlegraph search engine without the hyphenated, ‘Self-Publish’ an error message pops up. Likewise with my title, Jenkins: Confederate Blockade Runner. No punctuated title, no eBook! One caveat post on the Kindlegraph page warns of the possibility of Amazon Kindle charges – and one can opt for the ‘Pro’ upgrade; otherwise the service to authors is free.
Wow, if you are an IndieAuthor right now, it’s a novel world out there.
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Hmm– not sure where I said after BEA 9 of 10 authors will be indie. In fact, I know I didn’t say it. Must have me confused with someone else.
Well, again please accept my apologies: I see here that a June 07, 2011 news release on PRNews Wire, titled, “Arbor Books: Six Reasons the Anti-Self-Publishing Movement Is Dead” attributes Bowker as the original source of, “Ten times as many independent authors were published last year as those published by mainstream publishers, according to Bowker.” Obviously a fractured attribution if you never remixed that source. In a quick moment, that is all I can offer. Other than, your observations post-BEA were of great interest to me and I must have had your ‘take on things’ stuck in my mind. Sincerest apologies.
Oh Dear! I beg your pardon. Indeed I must have confused words spoken by someone else, with words spoken by you post-BEA. I will go back to my notes and correct the oversight immediately. Again, my apologies.