Advancing the understanding and utilization of technology in Sonoma Valley.

Section for Writing and Publishing (vis-a-vis New Media)

Hello WiredSonoma,

I know we have several writers and authors in our midst. Some of you write for newspapers, blogs, television and the big screen. Others of you are traditionally published authors while the several of you are pursuing the self-publishing route.

This all leads me to ask, how can we better support this segment of our community on WiredSonoma?

We have a New Media group and a New Media forum section but those two sections are a bit narrow for this population. So, if you consider yourself to be part of this writing and publishing community, I'd like to get some input from you on how can we better support your efforts. Here are some thoughts to stimulate feedback

Should we rename and repurpose the New Media group and forum to be more generic, e.g. Writing and Publishing?
Would you just want a new group to facilitate intra-group communication?
Would you just want a new forum to allow for more traditional dialogue?
If we created a new category or rebranded New Media, what would you call the new group and/or forum and how would you describe it?

Please leave your comments in this forum discussion.

Thanks!

Tags: authors, blogs, books, movies, newspaper, publishing, self-publishing, television, tv, writing

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Permalink Reply by Roy Tennant on November 5, 2010 at 11:01am

Chip,
I do quite a bit of writing -- both books and a magazine column, now a blog -- and I have to say I'm not sure what I'd look to Wired Sonoma to do for me. But I would agree that if you want to encourage communication by those active in writing and publishing, giving it that title instead of "New Media" would help. At least it would for me, as I could see "Writing and Publishing" to be more appropriate for me than "New Media". Thanks,
Roy

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Permalink Reply by Karla Noyes on November 5, 2010 at 12:17pm

Chip,
Thanks for thinking of "us." I'm just small fry as far writers go, occasional articles in the local paper about real estate, occasional blog entries about the Blue Wing Inn and the "Mission Square" development plans. I am, however, researching self-publishing a non-fiction book so I'd be interested in being in a room with other writers if nothing else than to listen to people talk about what they do; it's very inspiring! A forum titled "Writing and Publishing" would be interesting.
Yours
"Spell Check was made for Me" Karla

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Permalink Reply by Bill O'Neal on November 5, 2010 at 4:08pm

Chip,

There should be a new group called "Writers & Publishers." If people want to also belong to the "New Media" group,that's fine.

Bill O'Neal

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Permalink Reply by Judy Baker on November 5, 2010 at 4:10pm

Hi Chip

I like the idea of having the group renamed as Writing and Publishing. New Media can also be included too.

I am a member of the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association, www.baipa.org. We meet once a month in Marin. I recommend this group all authors, publishers, designers, printers who are involved in the publication process. It is a great group with lots of expertise, novices, and resources.

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Permalink Reply by Catherine Thorpe on November 6, 2010 at 2:30pm

I think it would be fine to expand the "New Media" name/focus to include writers and publishers. How about, "Writing, Publishing & Media" as a name? No need for "New" - since we're all on Wired Sonoma, I think a futuristic/forward-looking focus is implied.

I am not sure what's happening with the shared space, but I would love to establish a common creative workspace like The Grotto in SF.

Thanks as always for all you do!
Catherine

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Permalink Reply by Chip Roberson on November 6, 2010 at 2:53pm

OK, here's a follow-on question: if we merge "writing and publishing" into "new media" where do we put video and sound media? We have quite a lot of people who do video work in the valley and today many newspapers augment their websites with video.

Thoughts?

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Permalink Reply by Gina Cuclis on November 7, 2010 at 3:24pm

I think one group that covers the overarching topic of media. It's rare these days for a traditionally published writer to not also have an online presence. For example, print journalists blog. Also, video is used in various ways. Some bloggers like to include video in their blogs. My point is there's lots of crossover, and I don't think separating into small groups is necessary. Here's a name idea - Media Minds: For people who create what others read, watch, look at and listen to.

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Permalink Reply by Julie Jones on November 12, 2010 at 8:33am

hi, hoping to find a phone number to talk more about my website and how to reach more of the members. Could you give me a call -- Julie Jones 707-343-1252

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Permalink Reply by Karla Noyes on December 1, 2010 at 12:42pm

Chip,

Great meeting last night, Thanks!

One question that came up was authoring tools for iPad's iBook. I found this link which might be useful: http://shareable.net/blog/i-made-an-ipad-ebook-in-one-weekend-and-y...

One of my concerns regarding publishing digitally is copyright infringement, specifically someone stealing my work. I'm not sure the techniques in this link address that.

I see the Malone brother's self-publishing link is live on WiredSonoma; I look at that next.

Thanks, again.

Karla

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Permalink Reply by Kim Ficera on February 21, 2011 at 10:30am

Hi all,

I'm clearly a little late to this conversation, but I want to jump in just the same and introduce myself since I'm fairly new to the group.

I've been writing and editing for over 20 years. I began as an editor at a small publishing company and in the 90s became a print journalist and columnist for a chain of Tribune-owned alt-weeklies on the east coast. Today, I make a living in new media, focusing on helping large and small businesses enter the social media fray. I'm also a published author. I've written one book of humorous essays and have contributed to three others -- one academic and two that focus on media criticism. Speaking about writing is something I do from time to time, as well.

I think it's important to have the words 'Writing & Publishing' somewhere under the New Media heading, simply because writing with the intent to publish is very different from writing as an exercise or just to vent. There's a piece of me that would also like to extend that subhead to include the word 'Professional,' only because these days anyone with a blog can call him/herself a writer, even if he/she lacks the most basic skills. But, at the same time, I don't want to deter serious unpublished writers from joining the group.

That said, what I'd like to get out of the group/forum is information in the form of shared experiences and networking. For example, I'm currently working on my next book and thinking of self-publishing this time around, so I'd like to hear from people who've gone that route. In turn, I'm willing to share my experiences, including those surrounding working with a large publishing house and copyright/copyright infringement issues.

That sums it up for now. Thanks for reading.

Kim Ficera

kimficera@mac.com

www.kimficera.com

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Permalink Reply by Roy Tennant on February 21, 2011 at 1:56pm

Kim,

I used Lulu.com for my latest book, and I was fairly pleased with it. Since I wasn't out to make money on this one (it was in honor of a mentor), I put the PDF online for free at http://techinlibraries.com/ and made a hardcover version purchasable from Lulu for libraries and such: http://www.lulu.com/product/hardcover/technology-in-libraries-essay... . It was really handy for this, as the cost was minimal. Overall, I found the production process to be fairly straightforward.