Amazon is capturing headlines again as the company bullies its way into book publishing - as distinct from book selling. But there are some bright spots for self-published authors. You can run occasional (very occasional) $0.00 promos for your book. That's what's happening right now on my Amazon page - but only for the next 36 hours. Download The Corporate Blogging Book (Updated Edition) for $0.00.

I think you'll like the new

[Sold out in less than 12 hours.]

The cool thing about publishing a book for Amazon Kindle is that you can think of yourself as a Beta Author. It's easy to take the plunge and commit to publishing a digital book, knowing you can update your book later.

And forget BOOK in all caps. When you write an eBook it can be as short as 30 pages.

Nobody can tell how long your book is when they look at the thumbnail cover on Amazon. Nor

David Meerman Scott often writes with great clarity about stuff that the rest of us are thinking about but haven’t gotten around to articulating. His newest book, Newsjacking, released today, is no exception. Two things are notable about Newsjacking: 1. it is being released in almost real-time in e-book format only (for Kindle, iPad and soon, Nook and Sony) and 2. the topic is real-time PR and how to get it. I read about the book

What, in fact, defines a book? Is it the linear, text-only format, whether digital or print? Is it the reading experience? Those are questions a lot of folks are asking. Two filmmakers in DC, Aziz Isham and Patrick White, have their own answer. Not a definitive answer, mind you. But an intriguing approach to the continuing redefinition of a book. Their answer has to do with non-linear storytelling, as well as with the experience of

Today is a sad but provocative day as so many people try to articulate precisely why Steve Jobs (who died yesterday at age 56) was a genius and a visionary.

We know that Steve and Apple (one and the same for the past several decades) revolutionized the technology and computer industries. We know that he changed forever how we consume and share music, news, books, video and more. 

But I was reminded by Self-Publishing Review of a

A mere five years ago, the idea of self-publishing a serious business book would have been laughable. Self-publishing was for losers, right? Self-publishing was a last resort after not being able to get a book contract from one of the Big Six publishers (Penguin, HarperCollins, Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette or Macmillan), or a business book publisher like Harvard Business Press.

Well, guess what. The book publishing - and