Catch Up

I've been busy writing. Plus, Underwood is a family name, and so I'm very fond of old Underwood typewriters.

In many ways, I've used this blog as a repository for clips and works in progress. Occasionally, I've let it slip because I get more involved in the sort of writing that pays the bills. In the spirit of pulling all of these loose threads together into one place, I'm going to link to a few of those pieces now. All were published in Publishing Perspectives, and I'm grateful that my editor over there gives me so much leeway in pitching.

A few weeks back, I had the pleasure of having the Marco Beghin, the President of Moleskine America, come to my fashion publishing class to discuss mobility in the digital age. The topic was relevant to my class on many fronts. How do the things we carry inform who we are, and how we are changing as a society? My wonderful students asked thoughtful questions, and I culled a feature out of the event for Publishing Perspectives. Read about Marco Beghin and Moleskine [here].

Next up is a feature I wrote about the state of publishing in Australia. Working with editors down under for this story was interesting. Researching my piece I found myself stumbling into some Australian blogs, and I'd see that they're preparing for their summer while we're pulling out our sweaters. Weird! Writers and publishers are taking it upon themselves to drum up support for local writers. They're not ditching the global marketplace, but they're on the ground locally working to build solid publishing houses that are committed to fostering quality from local talent.  Read about the Aussies [here].

Next up, a feature about CoverCake, a new tech company in Silicon Valley that has developed analytics tools exclusively for the publishing industry. Sound kind of dry? I thought so too until I began to realize how complicated it is to market books using the current tools afforded to publishers that were intended more for companies like GM. With CoverCake, publishers can now search the vast haystack of the web and create the most thoughtful campaigns to target their desired readers. Read about CoverCake [here].

Last, but not least, Egypt comes into play with a new self publishing platform called BookBake that-- my goodness-- works in Arabic. How could that not have existed before? I loved writing this because I know nothing about the goings on in publishing in Egypt, and it took a great guy like Ayman Abdel-Rahman to explain it to us over here in America. Go, Egypt! Read about BookBake [here].

Thanks for reading!