Downloading BookRix e-Books to e-Readers
In the past, BookRix has given contest prizes of e-Readers, such as the Kindle for the Worst Nightmares mini-contest (of which Gooduklady was the lucky and talented winner) and soon an iPad in the Dear Diary contest! But did you know you can download e-books from BookRix to your e-Reader? It’s fairly easy to do so regardless of if you have a Kindle, Nook, iPad or other e-Reader!
It’s as simple as going to the book on BookRix that you want to read and hit the Download/E-Reader button on the right below the book cover (see image below). Follow the prompts to download the book to your computer or your e-Reader device.
For most e-Readers, you’re set to go because your e-Reader accepts the ePub file format. For the Kindle however, you will need to convert the ePub files to Kindle-friendly formats like .mobi. To do so, you will need the help of third party conversion software programs like Calibre and Mobipocket. There may be some formatting that does not convert well, but that mostly occurs with complicated layouts or formatting. Once you have converted the e-book into a Kindle-friendly format, you’re on your way to enjoy your free e-books. With thousands of books and e-books in our online library to choose from on BookRix.com, you’re sure to find several e-books that e-xcite you!
Have a favorite book or author online on BookRix? Share it in a comment here on this blog post!
Publishers Jumping on Digital Bandwagon as E-Book Sales Soar
This seems to be the year that the digital revolution is posed to take over the publishing world, here and overseas.
In a recent press release, the Association of American Publishers reported that in January 2011, U.S. net sales of e-books surged by 115.8% over the same month last year, more than doubling from $32.4 to $69.9 million. Total book sales were slightly lower, with both hardcover and paperback book sales declining significantly.
Across the pond, digital, print-on-demand and self-publishing have boosted the production of new book titles in the UK, up 14% from 2009 to 2010 (133,000 to 151,969), according to Bookseller.com. The article states, “The figure is derived from the number of ISBNs Nielsen issues over the year. However, the 2009 figure has since been increased to 157,039 because of the late addition of digital titles in that year, a factor that may also further increase the 2010 figure.” Last year also saw 3,151 new UK publishers registering for an ISBN, a 10-year high, compared to 3,007 in 2009—an increase attributed primarily to self-publishing authors.
Meanwhile, everyone wants a piece of the e-book pie. For instance, Barnes & Noble is expanding its PubIt! digital publishing platform for the NOOK format, Amazon’s new AmazonEncore distribution program helps self-published authors get more exposure across various channels, and even the perennial page layout software application QuarkXPress has been overhauled to let publishers catch the next wave of digital content production.
Also riding the crest of the digital self-publishing juggernaut is our own BookRix.com online author/reader community that has grown from zero to more than 15,500 digital uploads since launching just 2.5 years ago. As a BookRix member, aren’t you proud to be on the cutting edge of the future of book publishing? We are!
What are your thoughts and concerns as the world of publishing keeps changing?
BookRix Launches SocialBook©
As many of our community members already know, BookRix recently launched it’s beta phase for our newly introduced social media application, SocialBook©, an online feature that allows writers anywhere in the world to collaboratively participate in building an e-book from either their Facebook, Twitter or BookRix profiles, simply with connecting their accounts. The free-to-use SocialBook© application sets a new standard in collaborative writing and offers limitless opportunities and uses for online content, in a format that can be saved, stored, shared and even embedded like a YouTube video, with real-time updates and no limit on the number of co-authors.
The BookRix SocialBook© app now gives social media users an easy way to collect posts, tweets, stories, conversations and ideas that previously would have disappeared into digital dust. Writing on the internet has never been this social before!
Plus, with the ViewRix software features on BookRix, readers can comfortably read SocialBooks© like any other book on BookRix, with the same fun built-in sharing and usability tools to comment, forward or rate the title.
Social writing and content archiving is now truly an option with the SocialBook© application. By using any specified topic #hashtag, all participating #hashtag posts, tweets or comments by invited online users will be fed directly into a specific SocialBook©, with automatic updates of content every 15 minutes. Love the idea of saving every post? Go unfiltered and set-up the SocialBook© app as a collection tool for all posts or tweets by simply choosing not to set a specified hashtag – either way works!
A great feature that users should know about is that SocialBook© authors can control who can participate, how their SocialBook© is seen, whether it’s only readable online or as an e-book download, and whether it can be embedded or not. BookRix users owning an iPad, smartphone or a similar mobile eReading device also have the ability to download SocialBooks© from the BookRix mobile site as well.
There are endless topics where the SocialBook© might be the perfect way to save and share collaborative writing efforts including Group Writing, News and Events, Weekly #hashtag Chats, Daily Tips, Favorite Quotes, Haiku Poems and much more. Check out the SocialBooks© the BookRix community has already come up with. What are some ideas you might have for a SocialBook©? Join us and Socialize Your Voice by writing in a SocialBook© today!
Ready to get started? Check out our overview SocialBook© video tutorial here, or our tutorial snippets on the BookRix YouTube Channel to learn more about this fun new feature from BookRix.
BookRix Get Published Contest Finalists
The top ten finalists have been announced in the BookRix Get Published free writing contest!
And they are…
1. Gooduklady: You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby! with 118 votes
2. Marsha84: Awakening Summer with 117 votes
3. Michaelmpacheco: Summer Terror in Texas with 101 votes
4. Joeparente: Failing Well with 89 votes
5. Tatejackson: The Undead Heart with 80 votes
6. Writer723: To Where You Are with 65 votes
7. Lazarus67: The secret of the house on dead end lane with 63 votes
8. Selishxiii: Innocence of a Demon with 60 votes
9. Ruthus7: Moonlit Night Shadows with 59 votes
10. Constantine.eternal: The Eternals with 58 votes
Community Wildcard Pick: The Redemption of Marvin Fuster by Felixthecat
The judges are reviewing the finalists and will choose the top three winners of the contest. Good luck to all! Top three Winners announced February 23, 2011. Here’s a look again at what the three winners will receive:
The grand prize, generously provided by CreateSpace, is a Total Design Freedom Advanced Publishing Solution, which will include all of the following services valued at $2,567:
- Total Design Freedom Custom Book Interior
- Unique Book Cover
- One Round of Comprehensive Copyediting
- Promotional Text Creation
- Press Release Creation with Distribution
- Plus a Complimentary Upgrade to Pro Plan
CreateSpace also will provide the book a free CreateSpace ISBN if the winner of the Contest does not already have an ISBN of his or her own. The winner of the “Get Published” BookRix Contest will be able to choose any of the following sales channels through which he or she would like to enable the book for sale: the Amazon.com website, a CreateSpace eStore, and the CreateSpace expanded distribution channel.
The second place winner will receive a prize of $500 cash, with third place winning $300.
Edgar Allan Poe Remembered
In just a few days it will be the anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s birthday again. Born on January 19 back in 1809, perhaps one of the most referenced writers of all-time and still making an impact from the grave. His leadership into new written territory later proved to be influential even to writers born in the last few decades. And, in a world of constant change it seems, it’s nice to take a moment to reflect on this classic contributor who’s quotes pop up regularly. January also marks the anniversary of the 1845 publication of his famous poem “The Raven,” which was a quick and widespread success!
Poe was not only an American writer, poet, editor and literary critic, he was considered to be part of the American Romantic Movement, and is best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre. Poe was one of the very early American practitioners of the short story and is considered to be an inventor of the detective-fiction genre, according to the collection of data on the subject found on Wikipedia. He is also further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. Wow! Did you know that Poe was also an orphan? Pretty amazing that he was able to accomplish what he did back then. Thanks to the kind-hearted nature of John and Frances Allan during his younger years, Poe was able to work through challenges and come into his own.
To honor Edgar Allan Poe, literary legend and master of the macabre, I’m taking a look back at his renowned works that were later adapted into popular culture references in film, television and music (even the Beatles made reference to Poe!). I thought it might be a nice remembrance to start a dialog about where we’ve seen his influence in main stream media, and our thoughts and opinions on his classic works.
Can you think of other places “The Raven” has served as inspiration, or other works by Poe that have appeared? What other Edgar Allan Poe pieces do you like? Join the dialog about Poe in the BookRix Forum Thread, Edgar Allan Poe Remembered!
In case you’ve never read “The Raven,” here’s your chance! It’s available (along with several others by Poe) on BookRix as a download or readable online with ViewRix:
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