Archive for 'Alternative publishing'



Apr
15
Got Writer’s Block? Partner Up With 1 or 20 Collaborators

Writing has been said to be a lonely endeavor. WEbook, a Maryland company, aims to put an end to that by publishing collaborative books. It’s first publication is “a 58-chapter thriller called ‘Pandora,’ was written by 17 people and will hit shelves next week.”

The collaborations are done online and the works with the highest rankings will be made into a print book to be sold at Amazon and in Barnes and Noble. If the book does go to print, you and your hundred other collaborators will get to share the royalties.

Obviously, if you participate in WEbook, it isn’t for the money. But if it isn’t for the money, what is the point?

Via Wash Po. (Thanks Jill and JMC)

Apr
14
Artificial Authoring: Just Let the Computer Do It

Ned has this theory that humans will eventually be replaced with digital creations once the animations and the real life figures can’t be told apart. Philip M. Parker is taking the digital creation of characters into the book world digitally authoring books.  Mr. Parker is an “author’ only in the loosest sense.  He compiles information available on the internet and with the help of 60 to 70 computers and a few programmers, puts the results into a book.

So far, most of the books are non fiction resources such as “The Official Patient’s Sourcebook on Acne“ or “The 2007-2012 Outlook for Tufted Washable Scatter Rugs, Bathmats and Sets That Measure 6-Feet by 9-Feet or Smaller in India” but Parker is readying to enter the fiction world:
And he is laying the groundwork for romance novels generated by new algorithms. “I’ve already set it up,” he said. “There are only so many body parts.”
Parker admits that his books have little value to anyone who is internet savvy so I don’t think that the romance authors have much to fear here.

NYT.