More of What’s Coming in 2010 on TheBookDesigner.com

Yesterday I talked about my goals for the coming year at TheBookDesigner.com. Today I thought I would preview for you some of the things I have in store.

Stories and Interviews

Here are a few of the stories and interviews I’m working on right now for posting in the coming months:

• Interview with the author/publisher of one of the best-looking self-published books I’ve ever seen. You’ll be amazed at the project that this author put together.
• Article from publishing pro Paula Hendricks on the role of the book shepherd, what they do, and who needs one.
• Interview with Sarah B., a teenage Kindle-lover, how she got hooked, what she reads on her Kindle, and what it all means for the future.
• A look at the plethora of new e-readers being introduced right now at the Consumer Electronics Show (and perhaps, later this month, by Apple?).
• A visit, with photos, to a local installation of the Espresso Book Machine to check out this wonder of the print-on-demand world.
• Case study articles about some of the projects I’m working on right now. These include a lovely book that combines photographs and poetry, a terrific history of a seafaring nineteenth century Captain, a sociological exploration of the roots of war, a memoir of growing up in Johannesburg, South Africa, and a fine art photography book unlike any I’ve ever seen.

Article Series

One of the great advantages of a blog is the ability to break down content into bite-size chunks and publish it a piece at a time. With the right strategy you can use a blog to write a book. I have several series in mind for the coming year, and in particular a series for absolute beginners, explaining how to get started in self-publishing.

I’m interested in ideas for other series, and it would be very interesting to hear your suggestions. What do you want to learn about in 2010?

BAIPA and TheBookDesigner.com Weekend Blogging

As regulars know, I cover the monthly meetings of the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association (BAIPA). These meetings are incredibly helpful for the aspiring, new, and experienced self-publishers and independent publishers who attend. Starting with tomorrow’s meeting I’ll be expanding my coverage of these events.

My plan is to go into much more depth about the Q & A sessions at the beginning of the meeting, because the questions are ones that can apply to many people in the same situation. I’ll blog about the featured speaker’s presentation separately, which will allow more room for detail that comes up during the meeting.

Self-Publishing Review Design Reviews

Over at the newly-renovated Self-Publishing Review, I’ve started a column to do a Design Review for self-publishers game enough to send in their books. My hope for this series is to bring detailed critiques to an open forum where anyone trying to produce their own book can profit from them. As far as I know, this offer is unique. Check this link for the first Design Review.

A Note About Post Times

A reader told me this week he believed I was “quite a night-owl” because he was getting blog posts from me marked 3:00 a.m. I probably do stay up later than I should sometimes, but not that late. I know there are readers of this blog in England, and I like to get my post up right after midnight so it’s nice and fresh for the start of the day.

I use the great WordPress interface to schedule my articles in advance, so I don’t have to stay up just to click the “Publish” button. Since midnight here (California) is 3:00 a.m. on the east coast, undoubtedly some servers are stamping the date at that time. But believe me, I’m far away from the computer when all this is happening.

So that’s what the beginning of 2010 looks like. Of course, I’ll keep writing articles about book design, self-publishing and the wider world of books. I’m really glad to have you with me for the journey, and I hope you’ll let me know in the comments what’s of interest to you. And thanks for reading.