Barry Lyga's Blog: The BLog, page 55

Today’s Tumblr – December 10, 2013

Here’s what I posted recently on Tumblr…

An Apology for Books — Barry Lyga Dot Com

Unsoul'd: A "Great Read for Less"

"I would like to apologize to the world of New Media on behalf of the Old Media. For lingering and…"

"Everyone thinks I’m a genius. And I will be, as long as I don’t do anything that…"

Memory Monday: "Don't Go In There!"

Yeah, no kidding, HuffPo…

This Week in Rejection!: The Journal

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An Apology for Books

You probably know that, recently, social media service Snapchat was offered a $3 billion buy-out from Facebook. The founders rejected the offer, and the media went slightly batshit, unable to comprehend why and how someone could turn down so much money.

If you were wondering why the Snapchatters turned the money down, the answer is actually pretty simple: They think the company is worth more than $3 billion. Why do they think this?

The New Yorker does an excellent job explaining in this piece: Why Did Snapchat Turn Down Three Billion Dollars?. But if you don’t want to read it, I can boil it down to you this way:

Attention is more valuable than money. Or, as the article puts it: “Attention is the real currency of social-media companies, and it can be mercilessly capricious, particularly among the most coveted demographic of all, youth.” And: “ephemeral social media [is] destined to become a fundamental, lasting phenomenon.”

Let’s repeat that: Attention is more valuable than money. You would think and hope, then, that books — which command your attention — would be hella valuable. But for the most part, no — the world seems to be in a rush to de-value books, with complaints that ebooks are “too expensive” and that books and authors need to “adapt” to the digital world and so on. The key word above is “ephemeral.” As in “not lasting.”

Snapchat lasts ten seconds. And that ten seconds is worth so much money that $3 billion can’t buy it.

With that in mind, then, I would like to apologize to the world of New Media on behalf of the Old Media. For lingering and sticking around and delaying the onset of the Edenic world of omnipresent, instantaneous, effortless communication. I’m really, truly sorry for books, for all these reasons:

I’m sorry it takes longer than ten seconds to read a book.
I’m sorry they are longer than 140 characters.
I’m sorry that they don’t get pushed conveniently to your phone in bite-sized morsels.
I’m sorry sometimes there are words you don’t understand that you have to look up. (Or, even worse, interpret through context.)
I’m sorry that sometimes you have to consider a sentence two or three times to really get it.
I’m sorry that not every question you have is easily, explicitly answered for you, leaving you to ponder it for days, weeks, months, or even years.
I’m sorry that you have to read between the lines. (And there are so many lines.)
I’m sorry books don’t move, beep, flash, and change every so often in order to hold your interest.
I’m sorry they might make you uncomfortable or make you question something you’ve always believed to be true.
I’m sorry you have to wait for them to be written and published.
I’m sorry they cost money.

 

 

 

(I’m actually not sorry at all.)

Memory Monday: “Don’t Go In There!”

You’d think super-heroes would learn…

(From Infinity Inc. #3, June 1984. Written by Roy Thomas. Art by Jerry Ordway and Mike Machlan.)

This Week in Rejection!: The Journal

No, not the Wall Street Journal.

You know, I usually save TWiR! snark for myself and my idiotic younger attitudes, but this week I gotta say: “The Journal” is a remarkably generic name for a literary magazine. Really.

Today’s Tumblr – December 5, 2013

Here’s what I posted recently on Tumblr…

hellogiggles:

ITEM OF THE DAY: “THE DIVINERS” BY LIBBA BRAY

by…

wordbookstores:

Barry Lyga and Christine Munroe raffled off…

The Hybrid Publishing Experience with Barry Lyga and Kobo

Toad’s Place, Yale at odds over exits

Don't Start a Company, Kid » Big Nerd Ranch Blog

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Today’s Tumblr – December 3, 2013

Here’s what I posted recently on Tumblr…

Can you recommend some books for your fans of Jasper Dent?

"Learn about spelling and grammar. Writing is now so essential to our lives online, and sometimes…"

Memory Monday: September What?

parislemon:

shortformblog:

thenextweb:

"Your Amazon Drone…

Small Business Saturday: Ebooks!

And Another Thing

Published three times a year.

Three times.

Think of your…

Bruce Springsteen. Manuscript of Born to Run auctioned at Sotheby's New York | Yareah Magazine

OK, Internet – here’s your Thanksgiving picture TO HAUNT…

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Memory Monday: September What?

Southern tip of Manhattan? The government touchy since “last September?”

You’d be forgiven for thinking this panel came from a post-9/11 comics. But, no. It’s from 1984.

Why is the government so touchy? Probably either this or this, both from September 1983…

(From Justice League of America #228, July 1984. Written by Gerry Conway. Art by George Tuska and Alex Nino.)

Small Business Saturday: Ebooks!

When I decided to publish my latest novel – Unsoul’d — as an e-only novel, some people thought I was turning my back on independent bookstores.

Nothing could be further from the truth. I love independent bookstores. Some of my best events have taken place in them over the years, and I’m so thrilled to still be in touch with many of the owners and managers, years later.

That’s why I made certain that when I published Unsoul’d, it would be available on the Kobo platform, which makes it possible for independent bookstores to sell the ebook on their own websites.

In fact, pretty much all of my books are available on Kobo, meaning that you can buy any of them and still support independent bookstores. Which is important all year-round, but most especially during the holiday season and today, Small Business Saturday.

Check your local bookstore’s website to see if they offer ebooks. If they do, great! If not, here are links to some of my favorite independent bookstores — support them if you can!

Changing Hands: Unsoul’d | All my books
the river’s end bookstore: Unsoul’d | All my books
Mysterious Galaxy: Unsoul’d | All my books
WORD: Unsoul’d | All my books
Oblong Books & Music: Unsoul’d | All my books

This Week in Rejection!: Epoch

Published three times a year.

Three times.

Think of your odds.

Takes the sting away a wee bit, doesn’t it?

 

Today’s Tumblr – November 28, 2013

Here’s what I posted recently on Tumblr…

Bunnies Wear Their Thanksgiving Hats for the Holiday

Daily…

thenovl:

Happy Turkey Day to one and all.

—Team NOVL

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