Future of Publishing

Mark Coker of Smashwords got me thinking about the future of publishing. Many people have written about the end of the year, end of the decade, predictions for the future, but Mark’s prediction kindled a flame of thought. I try to hold on to these moments because my work schedule has become so crazy I [...]

Collaboration in Fiction and Fact

I’m quite the ostrich with my head in the sand at times. And so when I began hearing about writing circles, post World Wide Web, I thought it was a new phenomena centered around new technology.  Writing circles are no newer than any group of people getting together to further a common cause – in [...]

Book Model Variant 1

Sometimes an author has a great idea for a book, but can’t get a nibble from a publisher. What’s he supposed to do? The first step involves risk. Either the author invests a great deal of time looking for an agent to sell the idea to a publisher, which cuts into any future royalties the [...]

Doom and Gloom or New Beginning?

Everyday I receive an article talking about the demise of this publisher or that book store chain. This morning The Independent out of the UK lamented the Borders UK non-agreement-that-would-save-the-day. The managers’ buyout does not seem to be happening, or they are too little too late – Borders UK is not taking online orders. It [...]

First Books Published

My first ever publishing experience was in grade school. I learned how to make paper. Then I learned how to bind it into a book using thread and glue. Only after the book insides were ready was I allowed to draw, color, paste, and print my story. It was kind of backwards, creating the book [...]

Print On Demand and the Toyota Model

In my heady ivory tower days I was exposed to “Lean Manufacturing” processes and “Just in Time” production. Studying industrial history with an eye towards business gave me the background necessary to take pieces of the Toyota production model and map them onto a print on demand model for publishing. “Lean Manufacturing” and “Just in [...]

Open Access and Print on Demand Model

At the beginning of 2009 I worked for a technical writing company. We, the staff, started a blog ostensibly to tell the world about technical writing. Each contributor added entries about topics that tickled their fancy. I stumbled on the Open Source philosophy in my search for inspiration. At that time I dipped my toe [...]

French Creek Press and its name

It has been said that where you live influences you, like an angel that sits over the land and guides the happenings of mortal men. Perhaps being born in a territory fusing East and West, and later spending most of my childhood in a place governed by a true innovator, formed my foundation.
Hawaii at the [...]