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There are no doubts now that e-books are changing the way we publish. Designers have to worry about how their layouts will look on Kindles and iPhones instead of just the printed page. Those in marketing have to set up Facebook pages and Twitters for their authors and their presses. And gone are the days when all an editor had to do was decide between a semicolon and an em dash (if those days ever existed).
Editors are now expected to know how to blog, for example, and explain viral marketing to their clients. Now, suddenly, editors have to worry about links in the written text. This is far different from a reference at the end of the book. Now, the reader can immediately leave the page and be scanning a new documen—and whose job do you think it is to make sure all those links work? Editors are now expected to be web and tech savvy. One suddenly has to know the difference between an OCF and OPF, or what an .epub file is, for that matter.
Though e-books mean that publishers can get the author’s work out to the public more quickly and easily, it doesn’t diminish the amount of work that goes into making the writing publishable. Editors will do no less for e-books than they have in the past for print books. Or will they? If the time line of book production is sped up and the cost of the book goes down so significantly (not to mention the potential of hackers being able to get the books for free), will editors be able to spend the time and care that they are accustomed to? These are important questions about the overall quality of writing that will be produced and distributed. It is easier than ever to get your writing in the public’s eye, through blogs, POD, and viral self-marketing. In this brave new world of publishing, what is the editor’s role?
Written by Kathryn Foster, Ooligan editing work group member.
It’s true that reading habits don’t change overnight, but now that computer reading is fast becoming an integral part of our life, switching from online reading to perusing text on electronic gadgets no longer seems like such a giant leap.
Continue reading Tides Are Turning
Given the recent popularity of e-books and Kindle-type devices, print enthusiasts must confront the environmental impacts of the publishing industry if they are to remain dedicated advocates of old fashioned, tangible books. Print on Demand (POD), a digital printing technology that creates a complete book – printed and bound – in less than 4 minutes, is certainly an exciting alternative, particularly at smaller, independent presses like Ooligan.
POD makes it cost effective and simple to produce short runs of books (or even just one) at a time when small publishers can’t justify the high production and storage costs of a large print run. POD trades minimal startup costs for lower per-book profits (since digitally printed books have a higher individual production cost than larger scale print runs).
How can POD help Ooligan become more environmentally responsible? Continue reading POD at Ooligan
Held at the Convention Center on the weekend of October 10 and 11, Wordstock 2009 was a big smash for Ooligan. Two new poetry books, Dot-to-Dot Oregon and Killing George Washington were available to the public, adding to our poetry backlist. We unveiled another new title, Cataclysms on the Columbia, which is about the formation of the Columbia River. Three of our authors Linda Crew (A Heart for Any Fate), Sid Miller (Dot-to-Dot Oregon), and Anne Jennings Paris (Killing George Washington) did readings and an author signing after.
Many people inquired about the program and were genuinely interested to learn that the students do all the work. Our sustainability title Rethinking Paper and Ink was a popular choice. Becoming environmentally friendly is important and this title shows the community that Ooligan is committed to doing that by publishing two open books a year. Our acquisitions group held a session with Dennis Stovall about how to get a manuscript published, which was incredibly successful. They also had a pitch table, where potential authors could come and pitch their story.
It was a pleasure being at Wordstock again this year and we look forward to celebrating next years festival. For more information about Wordstock please visit www.wordstockfestival.com.
 The virtual world is in an uproar surrounding Barnes and Noble’s upcoming ereader. It is being heralded as the first real Kindle competitor and the first great hope of giving Amazon a run for its money. Barnes and Noble has made it their purpose to deliver “any book, any time, anywhere” and touts the nook as the most recent vehicle for achieving this goal.
At Ooligan press, the issues raised by this (and all ereaders) is how it will affect publishing. Following is a look at the nook’s features and how we think they might contribute to the future of reading.
Continue reading A Look at the Nook
 From the Gottesman Libraries at Columbia University:
Christoph Keller is a Swiss writer and critic, living in New York City with his wife, the poet Jan Heller Levi. He has written three prize winning novels in his native German; plays for Swiss, Austrian, and German audiences; and most recently a memoir about living with a progressive disability, Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Also known as Kugelberg-Welander Syndrome, SMA is an incurable hereditary disease of progressive muscular degeneration. Now wheelchair dependant, Keller was diagnosed at the age of fourteen, just after playing a game of tennis.
Der Beste Tänzer received glowing reviews for its release in Germany by S. Fischer, in 2003. It spent six weeks on the Swiss bestseller list, and triggered talk show appearances, as well as an hour-long movie about Keller for the prestigious Sternstunden documentary program on Swiss National TV. The book was translated into English by Alison Gallup and made its American debut through Ooligan Press in May 2009. Continue reading Christoph Keller at Columbia University, Monday, 10/26, 6:30-8pm
 Classroom publishing front cover In conjunction with the upcoming publication of Classroom Publishing: A Practical Guide for Teachers, we at Ooligan Press have created a blog for educators, in order to provide an online forum where those interested in or engaging in classroom publishing can find additional resources for their own classroom publishing curricula, and connect with others who are working on similar projects. Check it out at www.ooliganpress.pdx.edu/cp!
What does “classroom publishing” mean? Broadly defined, classroom publishing includes any project that takes student work beyond the classroom, sharing it with an audience that is not just the teacher. Classroom publishing projects can be as diverse as an online wiki, a printed anthology, a podcast, or a handmade book. Students of all ages can benefit from the experience of publishing their work, as educators across the country are finding out.
We will be posting stories from the classroom, information about upcoming writing events and contests for students, and other musings about education and publishing. In addition to the blog itself, this website contains an extensive and ever-growing selection of links to other online resources and organizations. Eventually we will also offer a large selection of downloadable worksheets and materials for use in the classroom. Check back often to see what’s new!
This week, Portland Fashion Week (PFW) put on a four day event in sustainable style. Their vision: “to emphasize eco-responsible fashion, stage independent designers, and draw national attention to Portland’s unique intersection of Art, Commerce, and Sustainability.”
According to Prasenjit Tito Chowdhury, executive producer of PFW, “This is the first and only sustainable production of a fashion week in the world—not just the United States.”
Since 2007, PFW has promoted green fashion designers with eco-friendly practices. Anna Cohen, for instance, uses sustainably produced fibers from Oregon’s Imperial Stock Ranch and incorporates environment-minded production ideas into her work. For the 2009 event, PFW built a sustainably harvested bamboo stage, printed programs on recycled paper, and used low-voltage LED lights and soy-based paints. They decided to forgo electrical tape, saving three thousand rolls (which cannot be recycled down into raw ingredients) from a landfill! The event even used sustainable-certified hotels.
Portland Fashion Week—style savvy and environmentally forward. Here at Ooligan, we’re taking note. Producing a class-act event doesn’t have to hurt the environment.
Sources:
http://www.kgw.com/environment/stories/kgw_100809_lifestyle_portland_fashion_week.1f8d5c686.html
http://www.portlandfashionweek.net/
http://www.imperialcollectionbyac.com/
This year’s Pacific Northwest Bookseller’s Association (PNBA) trade show, held at the PDX Airport Holiday Inn from September 10–12, was a great success. Events focusing on aspects of publishing and bookselling were held Thursday, Friday and Saturday, including the usual book signings, hunts for this season’s buzzworthy books, and panels on effectively using Facebook to promote your business.
Interested attendees visited Ooligan’s booth on Friday and Saturday to ask questions and peruse our backlist. Many signed the guestbook, yet the truest proof of our success was the plentiful distribution of Rethinking Paper & Ink. These were supplied to anyone with the slightest interest in environment-friendly practices. Our aim was to let anyone and everyone know what titles we have that might interest them, their organization, bookstore, or library. Ooligan students engaged attendees with information about our OpenBook series, our upcoming books, and our backlist titles.
It was a pleasure to participate in this event, one loaded with enthusiasm for this year’s hard-earned accomplishments. Everyone praised the achievements of their publishing peers, and in return saw their own recognized as well.
For more information about PNBA, visit www.pnba.org.
September 4th marked the beginning of Ooligan Press’ commitment to becoming a sustainable publisher. With the printing of the book Rethinking Paper & Ink: The Sustainable Publishing Revolution, Ooligan began moving toward its new OpenBook series. In addition to that book, this small party for the series is the start of a large move toward publishing more books sustainably. The OpenBook series will make Ooligan’s printing practices more transparent, aiding in the protection of the environment—a definite reason to celebrate.
The members of Ooligan Press would like to thank the businesses that donated food and other items that helped to make this event a success. The contributions of Grand Central Baking Company, World Cup Coffee & Tea, and Whole Foods are greatly appreciated by Ooligan Press, as well as the people that stopped by the launch. A large thank you to everyone who attended the gathering and helped to set it up; without such support this great start to a great idea would not have happened.
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Other Ooligan sites - Classroom Publishing: Come see what Ooligan has learned from teachers about using publishing in the classroom.
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