Sunday, August 14, 2011

MANNERS.


Brilliant news this week.

obooko, the award winning directory of free ebooks, is in the process of converting their titles from pdf only to epub and mobi. Pdfs are still available, of course, for those who need to print the works, but rather than muck about yourself converting the files for your ereader, the team are now making the process of reading that much easier for everyone.

All four of Letitia’s books are now available in all formats, and check out the wide array of titles from other indie authors in all genres.

There is a star rating system in place for those who like a little bit of reassurance when they are choosing a title to read, and private feedback is encouraged. If you download and enjoy an ebook from the shelves at obooko, take a moment to write a quick note of thanks to the author. You should never underestimate the value of those comments.

And there’s more.

Letitia has cheerfully agreed to provide some reviews of titles at bibliotastic, another of our finest ebook directories, so watch out for them over the next month or so. bibliotastic also has a wide variety of titles across genres, and uses both a star rating and comment/review function. Also available in all ereader formats.

Again, if you enjoyed a book, take a moment to thank the author for making their work available to everybody for free, and to thank the teams who run the directories and make those books easy to find, and to comment/review so other readers know what you thought.

Touchstone is finishing its run at the end of this month. August 31 is the date for the last installment and I am not sure yet, I must check actually, how long the whole story will remain available online at 1889 Labs. Terra, editor at 1889, ran a guest spot with Letitia today, so hop along and check her thoughts and the inevitably illuminating spots of wisdom she shares.

There is a lot more to see while you are there, too. Great book titles and a couple of excellent shorts from Tim Sevenhuysen and Nora Weston.

This rather upbeat version of Letitia’s blog replaces a large select all/delete rant about courtesy today. I find it astonishing that we have moved so far from once accepted personal interactions, that even the smallest effort at showing consideration has become unnecessary. Taking a moment to say thank you or to acknowledge correspondence speaks to our priorities and the value we place on the time and effort of others.

I know that everything we use on the WWW is provided for free, and therefore the wobbly Entitlement Complex of the Baby Boomers has slowly solidified in GenX/GenY and set into an absolutely concrete Entitlement Complex in iGen, but it is good for the soul, even now and then, to be more than an ego.

 And a thought for today?

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes and everybody knows
- Leonard Cohen.

Lxx
.

4 comments:

rhoda said...

letitia,
thanks for this and your other posts on online publishing and possibilities. i just wish i had more time to explore these things myself.

Letitia Coyne said...

You are very welcome.

It does look a bit like I'm more needy than usual this week, but I really do marvel at how many people provide amazing services online for free, and there is never just a 'thanks' in the comment box.

There are so many wonderful opportunities opening up for artists these days. I wish I had more time to keep up with them all.

Thank you for taking the time to read and comment.

Lxx

Mozette said...

I love the lyrics you've put up at the end of this post. They used them in 'Pump Up the Volume'; but I never knew Leonard Cohen wrote them.

Letitia Coyne said...

Hi Mozette.

I was just adding some lyrics to the new post when your comment dinged. It's 34 yrs since Steve Biko was beaten to death by policemen in Port Elizabeth, on the 12th of this month.

Cry Freedom was made about his life and death.

I love Leonard Cohen.

Lxx