This Week in the Blogs: February 1 – 7, 2010

It’s been busy here this week at Marin Bookworks, with design proposals going back and forth with several clients at lightning speed, ARCs headed for the printer, cover designs getting fine tuned. Alas, my reading time has suffered. But never fear, Sunday brings goodies.

Today another thoughtful post from veteran author JA Konrath, a discussion of that strange new animal the “agency model”, everything you didn’t realize you need to know about the lowly email signature, and a couple of typographic gems: 5 years of the iconic Fraktur “T” from the New York Times logo, and a news report from the front lines of the font wars you won’t want to miss. Enjoy!

JA Konrath on A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing
Selling Paper
“In the current model, publishing is NOT about connecting storytellers and readers. It’s about selling as much paper as possible. They print paper, ship paper, use paper to advertise their paper. Paper, paper, paper.”

Mick Rooney on POD, Self Publishing and Independent Publishing
Are The Sleeping Giants of Publishing Waking Up?
“There is a new buzz word in publishing. It will not be the first this year, nor the last, but it might be the most significant and lasting one—AGENCY MODEL.”

Rachelle Gardner on Rants and Ramblings
Should You Have a Book Trailer?
“The truth is that we have no evidence to show whether book trailers sell books. There’s a “cool” factor with book trailers, and it’s certainly fun to be able to show your family and friends. It’s a nice little promo vehicle you can have floating around the Web.”

Kat Neville on Smashing Magazine
The Art and Science of the Email Signature
“Email signatures are so easy to do well, that it’s really a shame how often they’re done poorly. Many people want their signature to reflect their personality, provide pertinent information and more, but they can easily go overboard. Why are email signatures important? They may be boring and the last item on your list of things to get right, but they affect the tone of every email you write.”

Ethan Hauser on The New York Times’ TMagazine blog
Times Warp | The Best T’s of 2009
“All week long, we’ve been featuring slide shows of the T’s made by artists and designers for past issues of T Magazine. Today’s installment concludes five years’ worth of work.”

And for Something a Little Different . . .

On Rocketboom, Daily Internet Culture
Futura vs Verdana IKEA Smackdown