Friday News: Wattpad Studios, future of e-readers, a first for the US Army, and a career for insomniacs
Publishing NewsAmazon / Army / careers / childrens-books / e-readers / gender equity / Kindle / multimedia / wattpad15 Comments
Wattpad Wades into Hollywood with Wattpad Studios – We’re seeing more and more of these hybrid enterprises, demonstrating in part the way that stories are diversifying across media platforms, well beyond traditional books. Wattpad has been particularly ambitious in this regard, with initiatives like Wattpad Brands, which has Wattpad writers creating original material for corporate advertising and Wattpad Insights, a subscription data service for “media executives” to see what’s hot on the platform.
Levitz said the goal of initiatives like Wattpad Studios is help the site’s best writers “find opportunities to earn money.” Levitz said “we do take a small percentage, but the writer receives the majority of the earnings.” The majority of Wattpad writers own the rights to works they upload to Wattpad, but Levitz said that “in certain instances Wattpad may license the work directly from the writer.”
Wattpad will “act as connector” between Wattpad writers and partners to “find a right fit for their story,” Levitz explained. Wattpad will also help manage that aspect of the writer’s career. “For many properties developed under Wattpad Studios, we will also play a producer role.” He acknowledged that “this hasn’t really been done before, so a traditional label like ‘agent’ doesn’t exactly capture the role that Wattpad plays.” – Publishers Weekly
Is the e-book reader about to stage a comeback? – The advent of the Kindle Oasis defies conventional wisdom that e-reading devices are on the decline, and it’s not just Amazon who is investing in more expensive e-ink devices. At almost $300, the Kindle Oasis is a dedicated e-reader more than three times what a decent Kindle device costs (you can get an iPad mini for that!) — are they simply deluded in thinking that their customers will buy enough of these things, or do they know something the rest of us don’t?
Amazon’s dilemma is that it needs to service a community of highly engaged incredibly price sensitive digital readers while also making the production of new devices economically viable. The Oasis, rather like the Voyage, is an attempt to make a business case for making money from the device rather than the content. Note that name too: oasis.
Amazon is not the only e-reader company spotting the same trends.
In an interview on CNBC ahead of the London Book Fair Kobo c.e.o. Michael Tamblyn argues that e-readers are a thriving business. Rather like Amazon, its e-ink devices are getting more expensive, not less.
He argues that for “certain types of customer” the book is at the centre of their lives and they like single-use devices. More importantly, he likens e-reading devices to premium headphones. – The Bookseller
Meet the Army’s first female infantry officer – So think about this for a minute: the US Army is older than the country it defends (1775), but in more than 240 years it has never allowed for a female infantry officer. Until now. Capt. Kristen Griest is the first, and she was also among the first women to earn the Ranger tab. Part of a campaign to expand opportunities for women in the military, the Army is employing a “leader first” strategy, which focuses first on bringing female officers into various units and branches before assigning enlisted female soldiers to these units.
More women are expected to follow in [Griest’s] footsteps; the Army earlier this month announced that it had approved requests from 22 female cadets to enter as second lieutenants in the infantry and armor branches. Thirteen of the new officers will enter into the armor branch, the other nine will go infantry. After commissioning, the new officers must successfully complete branch-specific training before they will qualify as infantry and armor officers. . . .
Carter on Dec. 3 announced his decision to lift all gender-based restrictions on military service. The move paved the way for women to serve in the previously all-male infantry, armor and Special Forces fields and opened nearly 220,000 jobs across the military.
“We’re not going to turn our back on 50 percent of the population,” Acting Army Secretary Patrick Murphy has said. “We are opening up every occupation to women. I think that’s pretty historic.” – Army Times
Book for Japanese kids offers one big reason not to be a systems engineer when you grow up – Well,this Japanese children’s book highlighting different careers definitely gets points for illustrating the job of systems engineer with a little girl. But then there’s the little warning about being on call to your company:
This being a children’s book, in the interest of keeping the topic understandable to young minds certain nitty-gritty details are left out of the discussion. That doesn’t mean the book is sugarcoating everything, though. Upon flipping to the page for systems engineer, Lee found this charming anime-style girl cheerfully calling out “Let’s study how to use all sorts of software!” . . .
There’s one more point in the list, though, which is: “Not getting in a bad mood even if you’re woken up in the middle of the night.” – Japan Times
I’m one who prefers to read on an eInk reader. These new updated readers are very exciting. I don’t enjoy reading on an LCD screen so was a bit worried that eInk was going to become obsolete. I’m glad they’re staging a comeback. I think we need both kinds of devices, personally, tablets and dedicated ereaders.
I’m the same way, don’t like to read on an LCD screen unless it for short times. I love my kindle paperwhite with the lighted screen (the screen is great for when your husband wants to go to bed but you don’t want to go to the living room to read). When I was reading about the oasis the other day I was getting so excited until I saw the $300 price…yikes! But on the other hand I can totally see myself saving the money up to buy it.
I love e-ink. But when I have to buy a new e-reader, I doubt it’ll be a $300 one.
I own both a tablet and an eink (both Nooks) and I rarely use the eink. I never got used to the flash when turning pages. I found that way more uncomfortable than reading on an lcd screen. If the next gen einks don’t flash, I might try again (if the price comes down).
Yeah, it’s good I don’t mind LCD screens, because even though more modern Kindles seem to have /less/ page inversion flash when changing pages… It’s still a stimulus that bugs me.
I occasionally poke at eink devices in stores, though, to see if the technology has improved.
I prefer reading on an eInk reader. I’m still using my Kindle Keyboard but have been afraid of how much it will cost to replace it when it wears out (so far, still works fine, and I plan on using it until it wears out). It’s actually good news to me that some companies are still willing to invest in eInk readers. I also use my mini-ipad for reading, but can only do it for shorter stints as I get eye fatigue reading from an LCD screen.
I prefer e-ink. I have a tablet, but never use it to read. I also like to read outdoors and nothing works better than e-ink for that. I have a Sony PRS-T3 and when they discontinued them, I bought another that is sitting in a drawer until the one I use now gives out.
I’m a big fan of Wattpad since I discovered it last year. I think it’s a great platform for writers to hone their skills. There’s a lot of fresh talent waiting to be discovered.
ChatEbooks recently posted https://www.chatebooks.com/blog-Book-Marketing-5-Ways-to-Make-Money-by-Giving-Away-Free-Ebooks
I’m one of those willing to save up and pay a lot for a good e-reader. Probably 95% of what I read is on e-book at this point in my life, so it’s hugely important to me to have something lightweight that won’t cause eye-strain or annoy my husband when he’s trying to sleep. I also find the blue light on phones and tablets affects my ability to sleep. I have a Kobo Aura H2O, which isn’t cheap, but considering how many hours of my life are spent reading, it feels like a reasonable indulgence.
I’m definitely an e-ink girl. I hate reading for long periods of time on an LCD, not to mention I can’t read outside on one!
I’m always willing to pay more for a really good e-reader and I’m just hoping mine holds out until next year when the newer screens and processors hit the market. I have a Kobo mini and I love it. Unfortunately, no one makes a small one anymore… the Oasis is smaller than other Kindles have been, but still larger than my Mini and I prefer to be able to stick it in my back pocket when I’m not reading.
There are some things I’ll read on my tablet because it just works better for certain types of material. But the vast majority of my for-pleasure reading is done on an e-reader. I’ve loved my Paperwhite, but I’ll probably replace in the not-so-distant future, and I’ll most likely go with a Voyage or Oasis at that point. Considering how much time I spend reading, I’ll pay a little more to get an e-reader that is physically comfortable to use, as well as suits my other needs/wishes.
I have all sorts of tech, but if you had to strand me on a deserted island with only one item, it would be a Kindle Voyage with a solar charger (I’ll find one somewhere, somehow) attached. That goes everywhere with me. It’s small enough to toss in any bag I have, and I am never without a book. Likewise, it’s far easier to prop up in place late at night when I’m contorting my body at awkward angles to lay down between two cats in bed and try to read.
I’m a big fan of e-ink — not only do I have a kindle, but an e-ink watch as well! The fact that it didn’t need to be charged every day (and is waterproof etc) was the big reason for it, but it’s colour e-ink which is kind of slick. I have trouble hearing my phone, especially if it’s in my bag, so my response time has gone from possibly several hours (or um days) to immediate now that my wrist vibrates when I get notifications I’ve set as important.
I would absolutely buy the Oasis if my Paperwhite wasn’t still running so well. I’ve replaced covers twice, but the device itself is still lovely (it does need more frequent charging than it used to) and I put in 2-3 hours of reading on it every day. It’s definitely de-stress time for me, and it’s absolutely not screen-time for me as I work on screens all day. I do have blue light blocking glasses (I was pretty shocked at the difference they made as I didn’t think I had screen glare problems) but I don’t need to wear them for reading, and don’t wanna in bed.
I do really well with unitask devices (e-reader, Ipod Classic with zero connectivity, 3DS, etc) as I focus better without distractions or even potential distractions. I don’t know if this is because I have a little trouble with executive functions at the moment with the medication I’m on, or if I’ve always been like this. I can focus and concentrate at work (until I can’t) but it’s a lot harder at home and on my own time.
@Meg: Or prop ON the cat once they decide they need to insinuate themselves between you and the screen. Not that mine do this ever. Nope.
Another e-ink reader here. I browse the web on my iPhone and iPad, but except with cookbooks, I prefer to read text on my kindle Voyage. The phone and tablet have too much glare and cause me eyestrain, as well as making it harder to fall asleep at night. I may hold off on the Oasis for a while though, because I have enough reading devices.