Square Pegs

We are not suggesting that the new RWA graphical standards have stirred up a bit of discussion on the Internets, but, well, they’ve stirred up a bit of discussion. All over the place. Sure, we could pick and choose our favorites, but why spoil the surprise. Here’s a sampling of what’s being said by taller, smarter people. We do not want to influence our readers in any manner, but we might suggest that certain sites should not be read with coffee in mouth. It saves the keyboard. In related news, why are they called “graphical standards” when they also apply […]

We don’t have much faith in the current Romance Writers of America Board of Directors (their lack of communication with members is unparalleled), and they’ve just given us another reason to doubt their skills as leaders*. Recently, they put their heads together and developed, uh, graphical standards for the organization. Now, our first thought when seeing those words was “huh?” We are now thinking, “Are they insane or just clueless?” The RWA board has, in its infinite wisdom, decided that the national organization and its chapters must adhere to a new, bizarre set of rules regarding linking to objectional sites.

It’s like all our friends have gone to a party and we’re stuck at home. Except for the part where we chose to be stuck at home. And we’re terminally shy, so would still be a wallflower. However, TEV checks in and shares the critical news from BEA as he attends a panel on blogs and publishing. Not necessarily in that order. Mad Max owns a bitchen Gandalf costume. And: Michael Cader gets it. He has since day one. He’s a man who has perceived and grasped the potential of blogs from their earliest moments, and he’s full of sensible

We do not often fall prey to hyperbole, but do sometimes indulge our curiosity. Call it our little way of confirming everything we believe to be true. Like when Publisher’s Weekly claimed their BEA blog was the wittiest, most knowing, etc. coverage of the convention. Right, we thought. Sure. Been there, read that. But what do you know? They’ve actually managed to start off interesting. A Mystery Blogger (should be easy to identify — how many bloggers would notice pink metallic shoes?) and John Searles share blogging duties, and Searles starts his long weekend o’fun in disguise: The nice lady

Please pardon us while we work through our confusion. It centers on the definition of the word “word”. While we are too lazy to pull out the OED, we are not too lazy to consult with the fine folks at dictionary.com. They, oddly, have the same definition we have for the word: A sound or a combination of sounds, or its representation in writing or printing, that symbolizes and communicates a meaning and may consist of a single morpheme or of a combination of morphemes. We bring this up because the recent article in the New York Times quotes Frank

There’s a pretty good chance that the person reading this post doesn’t realize they’re reading a blog. A blog is, after all, just a website. We’re hoping the person who chanced upon this item was looking for information about how they can make updating their website easier. Or how they can reach more people. Or how they can promote their work more effectively without knowing jack-diddley about technology. Below, more links to articles designed to open your mind to possibilities. If you’re thinking you’re not the right person, the quote below offers a hint of the subject matter. It’s your

As always, the nuances of the publishing industry escape us. Maybe it’s because the things we think should be easy…aren’t. For example, accurate data about books. While we would expect various interested parties to update their databases throughout the life of a book, it doesn’t seem to be so. Luckily, Bowker and Ingram have stroked their chins and puzzled over the problem and come up with a solution to “provide the most robust and accurate bibliographic content in the book industry.” As we understand it, Books in Print (Bowker) will talk to Book in Hand (Ingram) and somehow accurate data

Maybe we’re reading too much into this opinion piece from The Guardian, but it appears that bringing the books that people want to read to them is anti-democratic. Lower prices and convenience are bad. The legacy of Penguin will not be the fact that more readers could afford books, but that more readers could afford books. Next thing you know, the masses will be attending the opera*. Even George Orwell worried about the likely effect on the book trade, reasoning that someone with five shillings to spend on books would probably settle for three sixpenny paperbacks rather than two half-crown

To hear it told, you’d think the world was ending. Nobody reads, nobody thinks. Yet there’s lots of evidence that plenty of reading and thinking is happening. In his new essay collection Bookmark Now, Kevin Smokler addresss the issue of reading and writing in these supposedley unreaderly times. As the opening piece, where a writer looks back at the irony, missed at the time, of his time as a soldier, reading Hemingway in Africa, indicates, there is far more reading happening than the watchful eyes of statisticians realize. Below, Kevin talks about his project and issues a call to arms