Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch‘s APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur – How to Publish a Book is a fantastic and definitive how-to guide to self publishing. Kawasaki and Welch’s thoroughly researched every aspect of self-publishing and made that information available to anyone who has ever considered publishing their very own book–without going through the confusing and often complicated process of submitting work to publishing companies. APE has everything an author needs to have full control over their product, including marketing, cover design, and proper formatting of their book–whether publishing their work electronically or as a hard-bound physical copy.

Kawasaki and Welsh cover the strict policies of the standard paper book publishing world and condenses the complicated information into easy to understand, self-publishing steps. With the new self-publishing format, authors can be in charge of whom they publish their work through (such as Amazon, Apple, or Barnes & Noble), cover art, editing and reissues of new versions of their work, and the cost of their product. Self-publishing authors can also retain a greater amount of royalties from their work. In addition, your book can be made available almost immediately–instead of a period of several months that goes along with traditional publishing.

APE is divided into three easily navigable sections:

• Author – is about the writing process. As we all know that having authorship is crucial to any product or project. This can extend to transmedia options, game development, etc. This section help authors to find their source for purposeful writing, editing, and the techniques and tools needed from financing your book project, to its successful launch.
• Publisher – is the ultimate resource for authors to find ways to produce their work authored with efficiency. 
• Entrepreneur – is the most valuable portion of the book. It shows authors how to promote and market your book or business.  

Each section is filled with actionable and valuable information. Geared to help guide the author on how to effectively manage your own self-publishing process. It can be challenging to self-publish, and promote your own work. The book outlines the process by following a few rules: determining if your work is worth publishing, self promotion and interaction with your potential readers through social media, and the benefits of publishing your work as an e-book. Although e-reading is still a burgeoning industry, it is the optimum opportunity to gain footing in a thriving new market for first time, and even already published authors.

“Self-publishing enables you to determine your own fate. There’s no need to endure the frustration of finding and working with a publisher. You can maintain control over your book and its marketing, receive a greater percentage of revenues, and retain all rights and ownership.” Kawasaki and Welch, APE.

Authors will find APE to be an essential read filled with useful tips on how to self-publish, or how to apply these tips to their current book project. With the electronic reading industry expanding, this is a must have for aspiring authors to enter the playing field with great success.

The Hollywood Reporter – (June 7, 2012) American director Cary Fukunaga is set to remake the Stephen King novel, It, into two films. The pair of films are going to be Warner Bros. Studios productions, produced by KatzSmith Production with two representatives in the form of Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg.

Fukunaga will co-write the scripts with Chase Palmer (Neo-Noir, Dune) and Roy Lee. Dan Lin will be the main producers behind the projects, while Jon Silk will co-produce. The current theory as to why there are two films is so everything is fitted more into the plot of each film in order to cover a good portion of the novel, unlike the original made for TV film that debuted in 1990, which left out several plot elements due to time constraints.

The novel It was published in 1986 and is the story of a group of children being terrorized by an inter-dimensional demon using its powers to shapeshift into the fears of its victims. It’s most common form is the creepy clown Pennywise (Tim Curry). The most notable adaptation of the book was the 1990 ABC mini-series that starred Harry Anderson, Tim Reid, Annette O’Toole, Richard Thomas, and the late John Ritter. 

The second film will feature the story where It returns three decades later, and the same group of children must reunite to do battle with the entity once more, as in the 90s mini-series.

Fukunaga’s start in the movie industry began in 2004, where he directed and wrote the short Victoria para Chino. It was screened at the Sundance Film Festival and won a Student Academy Award in 2005. He went on to create his first feature film, Sin Nombre, in 2009, which received numerous awards, including Best Director, at the Sundance Film Festival. Fukunaga then directed an adaptation of Jane Eyre in 2010, starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender.

This just be awesome news for Stephen King fans. But I have to wonder if the idea of making two films just might be a little tricky–unless Fukunaga intend to include the truly gory bits of the tale; like animal cruelty, among other suggestive references from the book. What do you think?

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

The giant educational book publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (formerly known as the Houghton Mifflin Company) has filed for bankruptcy yesterday morning, stating debits and liabilities over the sum of one billion dollars was responsible for the sudden decision. Filing for bankruptcy is part of a financial plan that includes restructuring the company’s debt by having pawnbrokers exchange the debt for nest eggs.

Currently available to the public is the first handful of filings from Harcourt, however there isn’t much to see other than the amount the company owes the largest unsecured creditors, such as: printing company Donnelley with $20.3 million; Donnelley Asia Printing Solutions with $5.6 million; Williams Lea, a global company that specializes in assisting businesses with outsourcing, with a little less than $21 million; Marshall Cavendish, a children’s book firm, is owed $6.7 million; Kue Digital Inc., an international online schooling company, is owed $4.5 million; and lastly the Bulkley Dunton Publishing Group is owed $4.1 million.

Harcourt has eased concerns about what this means for their suppliers by assuring the decision will not interfere with daily business practices or shipping out supplies to customers anywhere on the planet. Also much appreciated is how the company will handle employee payouts–with usual pay and benefits still being granted. Vendors and suppliers of Harcourt can also expect full payment for all services midst and after the transition.

HMH still envisions June 2012 as being the time when the bankruptcy case will be completed.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt was founded in the year 1880, when William Ticknor and James Thomas Fields became tightly knit with Riverside Press, a printing company owed by Henry Oscar Hougton in the Boston area. Afterwards, Hougton and George Miffin founded a company together. In 1880, the group finally decided to operate as one, forming Houghton, Mifflin and Company.

 Source: LA Times