It’s a dream come true…for all fiction junkies, the Harvard Business Review now says that research proves that reading fiction can help you earn more money. How? Because people who read fiction learn superior emotional intelligence skills by absorbing their favorite character’s responses to the trials and tribulations their authors put them through. Emotional intelligence or the ability to appropriately read and respond to other’s emotions is key to gaining promotions and earning higher salaries.

So next time you feel guilty for settling into the couch with a blanket, a cup of coffee and a good book, don’t. The dishes can go in the dishwasher. The dust isn’t hurting anyone. So get to work on that promotion and get reading!

Here’s the full story:

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/01/the_business_case_for_reading.html

Yes, the e-book has evolved from a mere pest underfoot or perhaps a curious novelty into a giant in only a few years.

In doing so, it has upset the entire apple cart that is the publishing industry. Authors can now publish and manage their own books and communicate more directly with readers. Even better, e-books are finally starting to wake up to their potential.

From the start, I envisioned a whole new world for e-books that would make them far different from paper books. With the power of electronics’ magic, e-books can become entertainment powerhouses melding many forms in one (images, video, audio, and so much more.) With all these exciting visions dancing in my head, it was somewhat of a let down to find that even inserting images into a Kindle e-book was challenging. At the time I published, the colorful photos I’d taken were only viewable in black and white. Now they are in full color (thanks, Kindle Fire!).

My hope for 2012 is that it becomes feasible for me to do even more than put some photos and web links in my books (without spending a fortune and thus driving up the price for readers).

While e-books have huge potential, challenges have grown as the number of authors has rapidly expanded. It has become much harder to identify quality writing from experienced and knowledgeable authors. On Kindle forums, I see readers complaining about this challenge. Authors must work even harder to demonstrate their skills and show readers why their books are worth the time to read.

Despite the challenges, it has been exciting riding the rising surge of a wave of change in publishing. In 2012, publishing promises to continue the fireworks show. Every author will need to navigate a world changing by the minute. I will be right there with my fellow authors, trying to decide what is best for my books in a shifting world.

Here’s a link to 2012 predicitions for publishing:

http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2011/ten-bold-predictions-for-book-publishing-in-2012/

I’m well into the pre-Holiday crunch time. But just wanted to take a minute to point out an interesting (but rather long) post on author payments. In this post, the author argues that traditional publishers can afford to and should pay authors more for their work. This would then better compensate authors and discourage them from defecting to Amazon where pay is better. Will anyone take his advice? Time will tell…

http://www.idealog.com/blog/paying-authors-more-might-be-the-best-economics

The publishing community has responded with mixed feelings to Amazon’s latest move in buying up a line of children’s books from Marshall Cavendish. Amazon’s rationale is that the new Kindle Fire is an excellent tool for viewing color books as many children’s books are. (Lucky for my book, “Small Business Rocket Fuel”, I had already incorporated color photos and color flourishes throughout the book!)

While some were pleased that Amazon would offer good distribution of the books. Others felt it was further pushing publishing toward a monopoly. Independent book stores pointed out that there is no way Amazon can replace the personal touch and insightful comments they offer customers. A final comment was that Amazon’s dominance ends up devaluing books and training buyers of them to have a lowest-cost commodity mind-set.

So many tough issues here. While the broadest distribution possible is best for sellers/authors, a monopoly will reduce author power in their negotiations for the best payment for their work.

Here is a link to a useful article:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/49771-booksellers-unhappy-with-amazon–s-latest-moves.html

This is the kind of story I love. A group of smart, twenty-something New Yorkers disenfranchised by traditional literary society/industry strike out on their own and create a new journal and intellectual salon. These writers and editors could have given up when all the doors slammed in their face. But they didn’t. They pushed on and created something new themselves. Now they are starting to gain national attention for their work.

They might not be raking in big salaries yet, but that’s beside the point. They are on the right path. They are on the path of opening doors themselves, not standing outside closed doors passively and waiting for them to open. There may be twists and turns on the path and it may get discouraging, but it’s essential to keep trying and keep learning. Most successful people have experienced plenty of failure as well, but the key thing is they learn from it and move past it.

Here’s the whole story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/fashion/new-yorks-literary-cubs.html?pagewanted=3&_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha210

In September I launched a new social site, http://dudequote.me

This site lets visitors post their own original philosophical musings and share them with friends plus rate quotes from others. It’s another way to spur creativity and innovation. It’s also a way to look inside and find strength to overcome adversity- especially needed in this tough economy.

Visit Dudequote.me any time and post your unique quote. Hope you enjoy this recently published feature article that overviews my business ventures and writing projects (including the recently published e-book ”Small Business Rocket Fuel: Marketing Tools to Boost Revenue”) as well. It’s always exciting see your business through someone else’s eyes.

http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/wiltonbulletin/news/localnews/108643-the-business-of-writing-uplifting-quotes.html

No matter how crazy the economy gets, the things that can’t be taken away are aspects of your core personality. Creativity is one of these. Creativity is resilient, but there are still ways to feed it and grow it. One of these is through new and interesting experiences. These experiences can be used to build stories and spark new ideas.

My MBA program has been a tremendous idea sparker. As I look back on what I’ve learned over the past year plus, it’s been life-changing in many ways. It’s hard to believe that the end is growing ever closer.

Besides taking classes, new experiences can be gained through travel and meeting new people even at local conferences.

The new economy has given many of us a new perspective. Life isn’t all about what you can buy, but about what you can be.

In keeping with this philosophy, I’m hard at work on the next book in the “Small Business Rocket Fuel” series as well as finishing up novel 3 (really novel 4 except it jumped ahead and demanded to be worked on).

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Take a look at this interesting article on how experiences can benefit you more than be part of the “buy culture”.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/americans-rethinking-prosperity-162216815.html

In another big shift towards digital publishing (e-books), the WSJ has just announced that it will work with Nielson BookScan to add e-book rankings to it’s bestseller list. This is an exciting change that will further increase the prestige of e-books. It also serves to better align the bestseller list with total books sales. The two were becoming increasingly misaligned as more and more e-books are being sold with e-book sales recently exceeding paper books.

Here is a link to the article:

http://news.yahoo.com/wsj-best-seller-lists-e-books-113928679.html

Having a web site and being able to be found on the Internet, especially through the number 1 search engine, Google, is key for marketing your books and yourself as an author. But, it’s getting harder and harder to attract attention this way, likely because so many interesting (and not so interesting) online venues compete for attention.

A recent study found that only 52% of viewers will click on a result on the first page of their search results on Google. And how about for the number one search result? The position everyone spends large amounts of time and money trying to reach? The number 1 position garners only an 18% click through rate. The number 2 position has a 10% click through rate. These numbers don’t seem that impressive for enormous time, effort, and, often, money it takes to reach these coveted spots.

Of course other potential explanations exist. It’s possible that searches aren’t categorizing items well. Thus resulting in the top search results not addressing the searchers needs. I have had this experience sometimes myself, especially when trying to pull out complex concepts or conversely not having narrowed down my search enough.

Given the complexity of searching, it seems most likely that there are several factors acting together to result in fewer people clicking on top search results. It would take a detailed survey of users to try to tease all these out.

As a web site or content creator some things you can do to stand out are to write intriguing but accurate titles and to include key words that truly reflect content. Nothing is more annoying than to get links that have little to do with your search terms just because someone crammed in a bunch of irrelevant but common key words.

Here’s the link for more detailed reading:

http://searchengineland.com/organic-click-thru-rates-tumbling-study-97338

Hi! In honor of banned books week, I am posting a short reading of Orlando by Virginia Woolf. I read from the 1929 Tauchnitz edition. The bottom of the cover of this edition is printed with the words, “Not to be introduced into the British Empire.”

The reading is also available on You-Tube.

Hope you enjoy the reading!

Banned Books Wk Candice Hughes Orlando