Eggplant.place

157d

So excited to see that The Barbellion Prize is returning soon after a hiatus, I’ve missed it! This UK prize shines alight on talented disabled and chronically ill writers and I’ve discovered some great books through it #bookstodon #writing #Publishing #BarbellionPrize #disability #ChronicIllness @bookstodon @disability
https://www.thebarbellionprize.com

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105d

I just finished So Many Books, 2nd Edition: Reading and Publishing in an Age of Abundance by Gabriel Zaid and enjoyed it as much as I did the 1st edition, though this did feel more like a re-issue than a truly updated edition. It is still worth a read. Robin Sloan's introduction is excellent. It sets the right tone for this edition. #booksaboutbooks #publishing

(comment on So Many Books, 2nd Edition)

Gabriel Zaid, Natasha Wimmer, Robin Sloan: So Many Books, 2nd Edition (2025, Dry Books, Incorporated, Paul)

ALT

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101d

The Interlisp documentation has a distinctive style that conforms to "Xerox Publishing Standards: A Manual of Style and Design" published in 1988 in this edition. It was the Xerox house style, i.e. the style guide for company publications and documents. The manual covered everything from the publishing process to visual design.

https://www.janvwhite.org/xerox-publishing-standards

#xerox #interlisp #publishing #retrocomputing

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94d

15 years in and we're just getting started! Flipboard's CEO
@mike spoke with @forbes's Andy Meek about being digital survivors, @surf, and our role in the future of publishing.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andymeek/2025/10/30/flipboard-ceo-mike-mccue-on-the-15-year-old-app-were-just-getting-started/

#Technology #Tech #Media #Journalism #Publishing #Flipboard #Apps #SocialMedia #OpenSocial #SurfSocial

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1y

#Lucire issue 49 out now, as lavish as ever

https://lucire.com/insider/20240630/lucire-issue-49-out-now-as-lavish-as-ever/

Order your copy at: https://lucire.biz/?s=Lucire+49&post_type=product

#publishing #fashion #FashionMagazine #photography

Lucire issue 49 cover, photographed by Lindsay Adler, fashion edited by the Cannon Media Group, make-up by Joanne Gair, hair by Linh Nguyen and modelled by Molie Onyongo; gown by Hala Algharbawi from her spring–summer 2024 collection.

ALT

Edited 1y ago

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91d

"The 'Why I’m Leaving Substack' post is the new 'Goodbye to All That,'” writes Sarah Scrier for NiemanLab. Some top newsletter writers — including Anne Helen Petersen, Lyz Lenz, and Virginia Sole-Smith — have left Substack for Patreon. Email delivery issues, poor technical support and an overemphasis on social features were reasons for their departure. Both Petersen and Lenz also referenced Substack's platforming of Nazis and hate speech in their farewell notes. Here's more.

https://flip.it/L22UTT

#Media #News #Publishing #Substack #Patreon #Newsletters #LyzLenz #AnneHelenPetersen #VirginiaSoleSmith

Edited 91d ago

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28d

Why I Left Substack https://buttondown.com/MaxGladstone/archive/why-i-left-substack/ https://buttondown.com/MaxGladstone/archive/why-i-left-substack #Substack #Publishing

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83d

🌐 中文（繁體）

偉大的聯邦宇宙各位朋友好 🙌
請問這裡有 Adobe InDesign 或 InCopy 的高手嗎？
我正在學習這兩款軟體，想了解一些工作流程與協作方式。
另外也想請教：

有沒有推薦的免費 InDesign 版型／範例網站？

匯出 EPUB 時，有什麼方法能避免排版失真或跑版？

任何資源或經驗分享都非常感激 🙏

#adobe #indesign #incopy #epub #design #layout #publishing #workflow #federation #help

🌍 English

Hello, amazing Fediverse friends 🙌
Are there any Adobe InDesign or InCopy experts out there?
I’m currently learning both tools and looking for insights on workflow and collaboration.
Also wondering:

Any good free InDesign template/sample websites?

How can I export to EPUB without layout distortion?

Any tips, tutorials, or resources would be super appreciated 🙏

#adobe #indesign #incopy #epub #design #layout #publishing #workflow #fediverse #help

🇯🇵 日本語

フェディバースの皆さん、こんにちは 🙌
ここに Adobe InDesign や InCopy の達人はいらっしゃいますか？
今、この2つのソフトを勉強中で、ワークフローや共同作業のコツを知りたいです。
さらに教えてください：

無料で使える InDesign のテンプレート／サンプルサイトはありますか？

EPUB に書き出す時のレイアウト崩れを防ぐ方法は？

情報やアドバイスをいただけたら本当に助かります 🙏

#adobe #indesign #incopy #epub #デザイン #レイアウト #出版 #ワークフロー #フェディバース #help

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62d

The Barbellion Prize is coming back! This essential literary prize which “celebrates and promotes writing that represents the experience of chronic illness and disability” has been on hiatus but is now relaunching. They need help to raise funds to cover the cost of running the prize and welcome any donations, please spread the word!
“As with disability in general, the literature of disability and chronic illness is too commonly turned away from, leaving non-disabled readers ignorant of the profound difference experienced by many and disallowing a voice to chronically ill and disabled writers. All of the volunteers working to support the prize are motivated by a desire to celebrate difference as represented in literature and to effect positive social change via that representation.”

https://barbellionprize.org/donate/

#bookstodon #reading #books #chronicIllness #Disability #disabled #literature #publishing #InternationalDayOfPersonsWithDisabilities #IDPWD @disability @bookstodon

Edited 62d ago

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48d

Great essay by Andrew Liptak on the loss of mass market paperbacks - "there are fewer opportunities to buy stories from new authors, and fewer places for people to encounter books in their everyday lives."

https://www.andrewliptak.com/mass-market-paperback-novels-publishing-books/?ref=transfer-orbit-newsletter

#books #publishing

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46d

@bookstodon #Writing #Publishing #Translators #PSA

Some publishers are delegating translation of your work to GenAI/LLMs, which a) puts humans translators out of work, and b) ensures you'll lose readers, because GenAI/LLM translation is basically Google translate: no context word for word translation.

So you need to contact your publisher about this AND make sure you future contract include a clause demanding human translators for the FULL job--not just "fixing" slop.

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/02/03/how-translation-works-book-title-edition/

Apolline Dsc @apolline.bsky.social:
French publishing house Harlequin decided to use AI translation instead of human translations.
All their freelance translators (some of whom had been working with Harlequien for +30 years) were told they would no longer receive work from Harlequin.
If they want to keep getting work, they can review (meaning rewrite) the AI slop, for one third of their normal rate (which was already low to begin with).
Readers, we have to complain about it, hold the publishers accountable, and boycott these books.

ALT

John Scalzi @scalzi.com (on Bluesky):
Remember how I said I have it written into my foreign language contracts that my work has to be translated by an actual human? This shit is why.
Those book translations are gonna suck. The'll save money putting out books that are going to be painful to read. That's not a great long-term strategy.
(quoting Apolline's Bluesky post about Harlequin switching to GenAI translations)

ALT

John Scalzi @scalzi.com (on Bluesky)
Authors, remember that you CAN insist on human translation of your foreign-language editions and have it written into your contracts. You can no longer just assume you're going to get a human to work on the book whose every word you wrote wit intent.
I wrote a piece about translation earlier in the year, talking about how a good translation isn't, and can't be, just matching words one for one.

ALT

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37d

The exploitative character of academic publishing in a single cartoon.

#publishing #universities #research #academics

h/t Alexandra Kupferberg/LinkedIn

original illustration: Thailand by Tawan Chuntra.

https://www.irancartoon.com/site/artists/tawan-chuntra#&gid=1&pid=30 #TawanChuntra #Thailand

Cartoon (meme - retitled) showing academic publishers at the ned of a plank over the void, supported by the weight of academics on the land-end, while one turns away (saying 'fuck this'), the publisher says: 'You will write papers for us & pay us to publish them. You will review those papers fo free. You will also pay us to read those papers'.

ALT

Edited 37d ago

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31d

I've been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul before, but I am consistently amazed at how big their brand is and yet how little they pay. $250? Then again, I think one of their books has like 100 stories in it? And I am certainly not a math guy. I just thought that maybe this year they'd increase their pay rates. I pitched a story about finding a cat in my kitchen. #Publishing #Writers #Writing

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20d

Did anyone else try out the Apple Voice Technology offered for free by Draft2Digital to produce audiobooks? I was amazed at how terrible and primitive the Apple Voice Technology actually is, considering what Apple is. Here's one clue about how terrible the technology is: I wrote a book in 2023 under the pen name N.J. Edwards. The computer-generated male voice introduced the audiobook this way: "This is an audiobook by author New Jersey Edwards. Granted, New Jersey Edwards is a fantastic pen name. I wish I'd thought of it. But that is not the author's name on the front of my book. The audiobook of my novel BEER POUR is so atrocious that there's actual computer code jibberish spoken in the middle of a dialogue scene. I could go on and on about all the flaws, but there's not enough room here. Go back to the drawing board, Apple. #Apple #audiobook #books #bookstodon #mastodon #book #novel #novel #voice #tech #technology #author #NewJersey #draft2digital #D2D #computergenerated #computer #introduction #intro #introductions #scribesAndMakers #writing #writersCoffeeClub #writer #publishing #MyWork #writersOfMastodon #writers #writersLife #indieAuthor #author #authors #audio #audiofiction #startup

I was commenting on how terrible Apple Voice Technology is for creating audiobooks. It can't even get the author's name right.

ALT

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20d

Continuing to pitch His Lordship's Landscape, a Dracula retelling that @lapis actually kind of created! Thank you, by the way, and they did a beta reading of it! Pitching and pitching. Ah yes. I hope a publisher picks this up because it really was a *lot* of fun writing this!

The Elevator pitch?

What if Dracula stole Jonathan's raiser because he wants to see what Jonathan looks like with a beard but is an anxious vampire? A Romantic Comedy retelling of Dracula with a HEA and a masterclass in anxious communication! I had *fun* writing this so much!

#Publishing #Romance #RomanceLandia

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1y

Looks like my dear Polish friends can't afford to renew my contract after 28 February, largely because of what the Russian invasion of Ukraine has done to the cost of running a large public institution with a lot of buildings. So my new year's resolution is to find a new job, one where I get to put on pants in the morning and commute to a workplace where there are other people whom I collaborate with. 1/2

#jobs #academia #publishing

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182d

<p>Ghost, the popular open source competitor to WordPress and Substack, offers a new release with ActivityPub support.</p>

Edited 182d ago

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1y

In my blog
Publishing A Farewell to Arms, in the form Hemingway intended

https://jackyan.com/blog/2025/01/publishing-a-farewell-to-arms-in-the-form-hemingway-intended/

Purchase link: https://lucire.biz/product/a-farewell-to-arms-uncensored-and-unabridged/

#book #bookstodon #ErnestHemingway #publishing #AFarewellToArms #JYAMedia

Our cover for A Farewell to Arms.

Artwork, Isola Bella In Lago Maggiore, by Sanford Robinson Gifford (1823–80).

ALT

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10d

One good thing about life these days are the number of independent and small press publishers that have sprung up. The majority of the most interesting books published now come from them, and in this piece six editors whose presses specialize in finding and reissuing engaging backlist titles talk about why they publish the books they do and how they find them.
#books #publishing #indies #SmallPress #reading @bookstodon

https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2026/01/08/literature-small-press-editors-out-of-print-books/

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2d

Like a lot of industries, the publishing industry's purpose is to put more money in the pockets of those who already have to much... 😒

@galacticwriters @writers @bookstodon
@writingbooks @keepwriting @aiop

#Publishing
#WritingMemes #Meme #Memes
#Author #Authors #IndieAuthor #IndieBooks #AmWriting #Writerdons #Writers #Writer #Writing #WritingCommunity #Writinglife #WritersOfMastodon #Bookstodon

Meme of a drawing of one person standing on a plank over a cliff with a group of people standing on the plank preventing it from going over.

Man over the cliff called Le publishers: "You will write papers for us and pay
us to publish them. You will review those papers for free. You will also pay us to read those papers."

One of the people holding the plank up steps off saying: "Fuck This!"

ALT

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315d

Publishing looks glossy from the outside. Inside? It’s built on unpaid labour.

My first book is out this year.
Here’s what I actually got paid, what my contract says, & why most authors can’t afford to do this twice.

https://kristie-de-garis.ghost.io/published-doesnt-mean-paid/

#Publishing #Books #Author #Writer #WriterCommunity #bookstodon #authors

Edited 315d ago

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266d

<p>At the International Journalism Festival, Mastodon joined forces with Save Social to make a case for journalists and publications to join the network.</p>

Mastodon’s work to highlight their platform to journalists led to the opportunity to host an aperitivo, with special guests Save Social, at the International Journalism Festival (April 9th – 13th, 2025) in Perugia, Italy.

IJF brings together people from across the news industry to talk about the issues they face and celebrate the work they are doing. This year, Big Tech was one of the topics that dominated the panel discussions.

Bonjourno Mastodon

Andy Piper speaking at the event. Source: Saskia Welch

Mastodon, represented by Andy Piper, Head of Communications, Felix Hlatky, CFO, and Philip Schröpel, Head of Staff, brought together supporters of the open social web, Big Tech-disbelievers, and curious locals to a small bar nestled in the old walls of Perugia.

Understanding that many in the audience were unfamiliar with Mastodon, Piper introduced the social platform to the room, highlighting the benefits for journalists. This included the work to highlight article authors, using the byline feature that rolled out in July last year, and emphasis on the value of links to external publications.

Mastodon promised new tools to track referrals through links would be rolling out across the network soon but were already live on mastodon.social – the server run by the Mastodon team.

Looking Ahead

Hlatky spoke of Mastodon’s future as an organisation and their ongoing work to transition from a German gGmbH to a new European nonprofit. He acknowledged internal work to restructure and remove single ownership from Mastodon claiming, “No one gives you money if one owner can run away with it.”

There was a strong message that Mastodon wanted what is best for their users, rather than their pockets. A stark contrast to the Big Tech platforms that had been discussed across the Festival.

To echo the sentiment, Mastodon then invited Björn Staschen from Save Social to speak.

Save Social

Björn Staschen presenting Save Social at the event. Source: Saskia Welch

Save Social is a predominantly German-speaking effort to turn away from Big Tech social media platforms and strengthen alternatives. In less than three months, their petition has reached 200,000 signatures.

“We, as a society, have to be part of the solution,” said Staschen. “We want to strengthen alternative platforms. Ensure freedom of expression by creating diversity and transparency.”

Converting Attendees

When it came to joining Mastodon, Schröpel admitted there are “multiple ways”, but that the Mastodon team are able to support individuals and organisations in setting up their own instance or offer advice on the network.

Philip Schröpel presenting ways to join Mastodon. Source: Saskia Welch

However, joining the platform continues to be a barrier for many users. A group of Italian women who attended the event abandoned their short effort to join the platform half-way into the presentation, confused about where to go and which app to use.

Alongside presenting Mastodon as an alternative platform, the aperitivo offered one of the only opportunities to take tangible action against Big Tech at IJF – attracting doers, rather than the commentators that lined the panels of the main event.

Wrapping Up

“There’s a mix of people in this room right now with the same instincts we have to save democracy,” Piper said in his closing remark, encouraging collaboration and action.

Based on the panels at IJF 2025, journalists are more worried than ever about the role they play in democracy. Witnessing the actions of the White House, many journalists are now calling for an “EU alternative” to Big Tech platforms.

Mastodon now has the opportunity to present themselves as the EU alternative and help journalists protect democracy.

Share Takahe has limited support for this type: See Original Article

Edited 266d ago

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237d

🚀 #dokieli ( https://dokie.li/ ) is a web-based #decentralized article #publishing and #annotation #application and browser extension, built as an #opensource ( https://git.dokie.li/ ) project using #webstandards.

dokieli enables individuals and communities to publish, share, and annotate articles using their preferred identities and storage, and you are always free to switch to another application and take your content with you.

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207d

Why on earth do publishers do this? It drives me nuts!

Why not just pick a book size and keep it consistent for the whole series?

*eye twitches*
#publishing #publishers #books #book #author #writing #rant

The books of the “Rosie” series by Graeme Simsion in two different sizes

ALT

The books of the inheritance series by Christopher Paolini in three different sizes

ALT

The books of the Artemis fowl series and other books by Eoin Colfer in four different sizes

ALT

Edited 207d ago

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221d

Whoa

#AnnaWintour tells staff she's seeking day-to-day lead at #Vogue

Anna Wintour is seeking a head of editorial content to handle more of the day-to-day operations at Vogue while retaining plenty of power to keep her a force at the magazine that built her reputation in fashion, a person familiar with the decision said Thursday.

#publishing #fadhion #editorial
https://apnews.com/article/anna-wintour-vogue-051ce8065b7034930566e45a41475751?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-06-26-Breaking+News

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