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 Reading single-handed
Even if Spring is only two weeks away, I still think of August as the dead of winter, hibernation time, time to contemplate, meditate and cogitate. The death of the fiscal year is a time when we are forced to look back on what we’ve done with our year, how much money we made, but particularly how much we spent (and what we can grab back from the government which so cruelly takes it from us).
I’ve spent a bit of money on books this year, I’ll admit. However, I’ve also spent a very little money on some books, that is, eBooks. I’ve cautiously paddled into the shallow end by getting books I can read on Kindle for iPhone (one of the books was The Sun Also Rises, which I found sexist, racist, kind of outdated – but very well written! Anyway, that’s another story … apologies to fans of Hemingway).
It’s so easy. I can read in bed. Kindle is not heavy like a book and you only need one hand with an energetic thumb. The ebook is always with me (or I should say they are always with me – I can get about 28,000 free ones). If I have a few minutes to spare waiting for a friend or a meeting (but not at traffic lights), I can click in and read a few pages.
Entertainment and knowledge is always at hand. This is strangely comforting. I like the fact that I can take 28,000 books away with me on holiday. I probably won’t even finish one, but it’s pleasing to know they are there, in the background, supporting me.
The Australian Society of Authors is currently working on the complexities of contracts for authors to include provision for eBooks. The ramifications also spread to editors whose work will only increase due to the dismissal of a large chunk of the production process, and the continuance of rigid content standards by respectable publishers. The eBooks are our friends. Embrace them, give them a try. You just might like them!
Happy editing
Robin
Robin Bower — President
Title: September networking meeting – Donna Ward discusses what sustains a literary community
Location: Subiaco Community Centre, 203 Bagot Road, Subiaco, WA.
Map: Click here
Description: In conversation with Donna Ward, managing editor, indigo. Donna will discuss what sustains and encourages a literary community and how we can help nurture ours
Come along for an informal evening of discussion about indigo’s amazing journey and how we can help sustain our publishing community.
Start Time: 7:30 pm
Date: 21 September 2010
End Time: 9:30 pm
Fee: $2 for members and $5 for guests/non-members. Tea and coffee will be provided.
RSVP: secretary@editorswa.com
Endings may be new beginnings… I’ve just returned from an amazing travel feast in Italy and Greece which, in the grand old days, they used to call a ‘sojourn’, or ‘we’ll be in Europe for the summer’, or ‘going abroad’. In Australia, if we say we’re going abroad, we’re either heading off to New Zealand or
Mauritius! Though I do still hear people say abroad…
Anyway, I came home to discover the machinations of getting a new prime minister were in place, and that another piece of the small but unique publishing puzzle in Western Australia is coming to an end… indigo. You’ve probably seen the letter from Donna Ward floating around cyberspace, The West Australian, The Australian, The Post, Facebook et al announcing that due to lack of funding by the Department of Culture and the Arts, the last issue of the journal is to be published in December. There’s more on this inside Bookworm this month and we’ll be in conversation with Donna Ward at our September networking meeting. We invite members to come along to share with Donna, indigo’s amazing journey, and see how we can help nurture and sustain the publishing scene in Western Australia. Our June networking meeting showed us what editing courses are available in Perth and online. The bulk of my emails are from non-members requesting information on how to get into publishing, and what courses they should do to nudge their way into that editing job. It’s a huge ever-changing area so we hope we’ve managed to supply you with
some up-to-date knowledge in this area. We will also be posting this on our website and updating our Publishing Information document for 2010. It’s not a short, easy answer – courses, on-the-job training, networking and voluntary work all play a part but skills, knowledge and persistence will pay off. I still get the emails though… Wolfgang Bylsma will speak at our August meeting. Wolf has a long and (self-proclaimed) dubious ‘career’ in community radio, including graveyard shifts, investigative reporting into the paranormal and his blog, Faster Than Light. He’s also managing director of Gestalt Publishing, an independent graphic novel publishing house. Come and be entertained in a brave new world… Happy editing,
Robin Bower, President
Title: August networking meeting – Wolfgang Byslma discusses editing and graphic novels
Location: Subiaco Community Centre, 203 Bagot Road, Subiaco, WA.
Map: Click here
Start Time: 7:30 pm
End Time: 9:30 pm
Date: 17 August, 2010
Description: Wolfgang Byslma, head of Gestalt Comics, will be discussing the editorial process as it applies to comic book and graphic novel publishing. Come along for a fun look into this literary form and to find out where the future lies for graphic novels in publishing.
Fee: $2 for members; $5 for guests/non-members. Tea and coffee will be provided.
Please RSVP to the secretary at secretary@editorswa.com .
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Reading single-handed