July 31, 2012

Being Old Makes You a Better Writer


So, we recently celebrated our little girl's first birthday over the weekend. She is a very active and social little tike, and I figure she gets that from her mother's side. My side of the family is a bit more reserved and often incapable of expressing emotions. I just know she'll have a good life.

In my 20s I would have never thought that being married with kids would be very exciting. My primary concern during my college and Navy years was partying with my friends and meeting women. It would have been almost impossible for me to commit to any long term project or initiative, especially writing a book or starting a small business. However, as you get older and life changes, you tend to be able to focus more on what's important. I was at first overwhelmed with the thought of having to be responsible financially for someone other than myself, but it's a good kind of pressure that helps you stay on track.

Since I'm able to put behind me the shenanigans of my 20s, it has really helped to keep a clear mind. Not that my accomplishments are anything spectacular, but for me it would have been difficult to try and take on a big endeavor when I was younger. That is why I feel the best writers are older (usually at least 40), and writing a book is indeed a big project. Older writers don't have the need for instant gratification and they can commit to something long term. I'm not saying that young writers are lousy, but people seem to become better wordsmiths as they age.

The Taleist self-publishing survey estimates that 75% of writers are between ages 30-60. I don't think a single one of our clients at BB eBooks (all authors) is under 40. So while the fun and excitement of youth goes away with age, at least you can become a better writer. That's what I'm counting on.
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July 13, 2012

A New and Improved EPUB and KindleGen Tutorial

The EPUB and KindleGen tutorial originally written last year is one of the most viewed pages on this site. I believe the reason for this is that the information online is relatively sparse concerning this open eBook standard. I spent some time working on a new tutorial for building an eBook from the ground up, without the use of third-party software. The result is the EPUB and KindleGen tutorial on the BB eBooks website. There are also EPUB samples that you can download for your eBook projects on our Developers page.

Please let me know if you have any feedback or questions on it, and I hope that it helps eBook designers create better eBooks.
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July 8, 2012

Everything You Want to Know about Publishing


We have been receiving a lot of inquiries at our BB eBooks site about how and where to self-publish. It can be a bit daunting at first, since all the different eBook stores have differing standards. That is why we compiled a comprehensive list that can hopefully act as a resource for independent writers and self-publishers.

Some highlights include the following:
Please let us know if you have any questions about the material, because we would like to continuously improve upon it.
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