I decided last night that before I start my work, that I would sit down at my desk and write a quick blog entry. As I signed into my site and prepared myself to create a new blog entry, I realized something very shocking: I haven't written a blog entry since 2011.
I can't believe it. I knew my life was hectic, but I didn't realize that it was this bad. Here is a quick update of my life: I moved from Queens to Brooklyn, to my grandmother's in East New York because my roommate found a place with her boyfriend. It was her apartment so my mom and I had to go. And just in time because my grandmother is in the beginning stages of Dementia. That's been another journey all together that I will save for my poor creative writing which has suffered during this whole adjustment process. Between home and work, writing has taken a back seat and fallen asleep.
But this is going to change! If I want to reach my goals, I have to write. To start centering my life around writing again, I have downloaded books about the craft of writing and creating books so I can read them during my breaks and while riding on the train going to and from work.
I also went and did something exciting yesterday evening. I stopped by the 2012 Chapbook Festival at the CUNY Graduate Center on 34th Street. I went to a workshop called "Digital Chapbooks" where editors from Publishing Genius, Epiphany, and Triple Canopy talked about how to create a digital chapbook and the benefits/disadvantages of digital chapbooks.
For those of you who don't keep up with all the digital trends in publishing, especially self publishing, there are many ways to get a chapbook online. You can create a PDF of your book through Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word, or any word processing software that lets you save and/or convert your file to a PDF. Then you can place that PDF on websites that will let people view, print, or even purchase your chapbook.
One site where you can view documents is called Issuu. Issuu is one of the leading sites for digital publishing. The best part is that they are FREE (paid options for more features are available)!
Another site, where you can sell your book through the method of print on demand, is called Lulu. Lulu helps you self publish your book and not only provides readers with the chance to read it digital, they also have the option to buy a physical copy! The costs of printing is calucated and deducted from your sale, so you don't have to pay upfront fees.
While this was not discussed at the workshop, through my own personal research (and addiction to downloading free books), you can also publish a chapbook through mobile e-book publishers such as Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing. When I say mobile, I don't mean cell phones (though with a smartphone, you can read books). I'm talking about devices you can carry around with you such as Amazon's Kindle, Barnes and Nobles' Nook, and the many tablets that are around such as the Apple iPad. Through these devices, a book can be downloaded directly to the device and you can start reading instantly.
Other things that were discussed were the sense of community (or the lack of community) digital chapbooks create, how one can make it profitable (well it was touch upon), the methods of design, and how to make it easier to understand.
I hope to in the future months, create a series about the different methods of publishing, since I do want to publish my own chapbook in the near future. I am going back to the Chapbook Festival today which will be going on until about 7PM. I will report my experience at the other workshop I am attending this weekend.
Also, don't forget, April is National Poetry Month so you know what that means at The Write Queen: NaPoWriMo!!! and fun blogs to help writers produce poems (I promise there will be more posts).
Till next time!
I can't believe it. I knew my life was hectic, but I didn't realize that it was this bad. Here is a quick update of my life: I moved from Queens to Brooklyn, to my grandmother's in East New York because my roommate found a place with her boyfriend. It was her apartment so my mom and I had to go. And just in time because my grandmother is in the beginning stages of Dementia. That's been another journey all together that I will save for my poor creative writing which has suffered during this whole adjustment process. Between home and work, writing has taken a back seat and fallen asleep.
But this is going to change! If I want to reach my goals, I have to write. To start centering my life around writing again, I have downloaded books about the craft of writing and creating books so I can read them during my breaks and while riding on the train going to and from work.
I also went and did something exciting yesterday evening. I stopped by the 2012 Chapbook Festival at the CUNY Graduate Center on 34th Street. I went to a workshop called "Digital Chapbooks" where editors from Publishing Genius, Epiphany, and Triple Canopy talked about how to create a digital chapbook and the benefits/disadvantages of digital chapbooks.
For those of you who don't keep up with all the digital trends in publishing, especially self publishing, there are many ways to get a chapbook online. You can create a PDF of your book through Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word, or any word processing software that lets you save and/or convert your file to a PDF. Then you can place that PDF on websites that will let people view, print, or even purchase your chapbook.
One site where you can view documents is called Issuu. Issuu is one of the leading sites for digital publishing. The best part is that they are FREE (paid options for more features are available)!
Another site, where you can sell your book through the method of print on demand, is called Lulu. Lulu helps you self publish your book and not only provides readers with the chance to read it digital, they also have the option to buy a physical copy! The costs of printing is calucated and deducted from your sale, so you don't have to pay upfront fees.
While this was not discussed at the workshop, through my own personal research (and addiction to downloading free books), you can also publish a chapbook through mobile e-book publishers such as Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing. When I say mobile, I don't mean cell phones (though with a smartphone, you can read books). I'm talking about devices you can carry around with you such as Amazon's Kindle, Barnes and Nobles' Nook, and the many tablets that are around such as the Apple iPad. Through these devices, a book can be downloaded directly to the device and you can start reading instantly.
Other things that were discussed were the sense of community (or the lack of community) digital chapbooks create, how one can make it profitable (well it was touch upon), the methods of design, and how to make it easier to understand.
I hope to in the future months, create a series about the different methods of publishing, since I do want to publish my own chapbook in the near future. I am going back to the Chapbook Festival today which will be going on until about 7PM. I will report my experience at the other workshop I am attending this weekend.
Also, don't forget, April is National Poetry Month so you know what that means at The Write Queen: NaPoWriMo!!! and fun blogs to help writers produce poems (I promise there will be more posts).
Till next time!
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