Are Book Covers a Dying Art? – This article from NPR is frustrating. A book designer actually says that someone will not buy a book on the web because of the cover, unlike what happens in a brick and mortar store. I disagree. Covers, even the size of a postage stamp are still a key component to the sound bite of a book’s content. Go to this link (please click here) to show anyone how amazing book covers in the Christian fiction market can be. Or to anyone who says that all Christian novels have an Amish theme. Clearly that is not the case. Each book at this link are Carol Award finalists this year. (Thank you to Cecelia Dowdy for creating the list!)
Author Fabricates Bob Dylan Quotes – A few weeks ago I did a post asking “Can You Plagiarize Yourself” because of certain discoveries found in the book Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer. Now it has been revealed that the author, Jonah Lehrer, made up quotes and attributed them to Bob Dylan. The publisher has pulled the book from publication (you can’t buy it new from Amazon anymore) and will pay the freight for any store to return the books to them. The author has resigned from his position at The New Yorker. A swift crash from the heights of being a bestselling author to humiliation. Every writer who reads this should remember this cautionary tale.
The Origin of the Rorschach Ink Blot Test – More than you ever knew about ink blots! Weave them into one of your novels and see what happens. Oh, by the way, what do you see?
Who Really Invented the Internet?– Contrary to popular culture, Al Gore did not invent the Internet, despite his claim. But this article also says that it was not invented by the government? Gordon Crovitz says that it was a division of Xerox!
HarperCollins Forms New Christian Publishing Division – In case you missed the news last week because you were avoiding Olympic spoilers, HarperCollins has placed Zondervan and Thomas Nelson under a new division. The first step in this new era. It is notable that HarperOne is not included in that division. Likely since they publish titles that cover a wide range of religious perspectives.
