As the publisher of a brand new e-book edition of The Corporate Blogging Book I’ve had a blast commissioning a new cover from 1106Design as well as working with e-book guru Joshua Tallent who formatted the manuscript for Kindle (and for the iPad).
I’ve been pleased with how easy it is to use Amazon’s DTP (Digital Text Platform) although it was a bit frustrating at first. The Kindle Operations team, presumably made up of real people, acts like a black box. You exchange “form” emails in order to prove you have the rights to publish. But the DTP people don’t sign their emails so it’s all quite impersonal. I could tell from the timing of the emails that a person was behind them. But even when I wrote back: “Dear Amazon people, thank you! thank you! The Kindle page looks great… ” I couldn’t elicit so much as a “Glad you’re pleased, Debbie. Signed: Bob from Amazon.” Their emails were addressed to “Dear Publisher” and signed “Amazon.com.”
I’ve now got the hang of how the “team” operates inside the black box. You can only make changes to the page once every 24 hours, etc. Still, if there’s an advantage to being opaque and corporate in dealing with Kindle publishers, I fail to see it.
Debbie Weil is one of social media’s most gifted, learned and respected practitioners. She’s also a heck of a writer. In the Updated Kindle Edition of The Corporate Blogging Book, Debbie teaches us how to create a thoughtful blog that lights up minds. A must-read for those of us looking to make a profound impact.
– Mark Levy, author of Accidental Genius: Using Writing to Generate Your Best Ideas, Insight, and Content
What’s New in the Updated Edition?
Here’s what I’ve written on the Kindle page to describe this new edition. [This description may not be up yet, as I submitted it only a few hours ago.]
Product Description:
A refreshed and updated edition of the original and definitive book about corporate blogging.
This is the how-to bible on corporate blogging recommended by best-selling author David Meerman Scott in The New Rules of Marketing and PR, 2nd edition (thanks David). Writing in a style that Kirkus Reports calls smart, witty and accessible, Debbie Weil deconstructs the myth surrounding company blogs (they are boring and pointless) and shows you how to write a compelling blog that will, ultimately, increase sales.
Despite the buzz surrounding Facebook and Twitter, a blog remains the hub of social media marketing. This updated edition explains step-by-step how to start a test blog and sell it to management, 13 ways you can use a blog as a marketing strategy, and everything non-geeks need to know about blogging tools and technology.
– A new preface explains why corporate blogging is not a passing fad: in fact, it’s the home base of an effective social media strategy
– Facts and stats updated throughout
– A new section on Twitter explains how Twitter complements, but doesn’t replace, a blog
– A revised section clarifies the ROI of blogging
– Updated best practice lists of corporate, CEO and small business blogs
– Updated bonus resources including the latest Social Media Policies and Guidelines
The Corporate Blogging Book (Updated Edition With a New Preface) is your up-to-date, indispensable guide to creating a compelling company or organizational blog. One that will attract customers and search engines alike, as well as meet business goals.
Other News About E-books
Publishing 2.0 is a brave new world that I’m just beginning to explore. Sales of e-books were up 176.6 percent in 2009. As far as e-books go, the future is here.
I’ll be exploring other e-book formats with Joshua Tallent, including the iPad. Finally, I’m delighted to say that this new e-book edition hits the digital reading space during E-book Week (March 7 – 13, 2010). As the E-book site put its: the words without the pulp.
