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Beth Cox Report: September/October 2017
Dear Loyal Readers, Authors, and Publishers,
I'd like to start with a link to an excellent article written by John H., about how to spot untrustworthy reviews on Amazon (or any other platform that hosts reviews):
https://www.floship.com/10-ways-to-spot-fake-amazon-review
Mr. John H. emailed me about his article, and I wanted to share his insights.
I was also fascinated by another article about Amazon on the Floship.com website, which explains how Amazon recoups the costs of free shipping for Amazon Prime members:
https://www.floship.com/how-amazon-floats-free-shipping
Apparently, the edge is that Amazon Prime members *as a whole* spend more money on Amazon products - including digital-only products with negligible shipping costs! - and aggregate into a reliable market. The increased volume of business from Prime members offsets the loss of paying for free shipping, even in today's era when shipping costs have skyrocketed.
(It's worth noting that Amazon has placed some restrictions on free shipping for Prime members though, especially for individuals who live in remote areas).
Now for the September and October Links of the Month. September's link is Bookhitch.com, a search engine especially for books:
http://bookhitch.com
and October's link is The Reedsy Blog,
https://blog.reedsy.com
an excellent hub of resources. Their tagline is "A trusted place to learn how to successfully publish your book."
Both of these sites have done interviews with our very own Editor-in-Chief, Jim Cox! I've added these interviews to the "Interviews and Testimonials" page of our website at
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/interviews/interviewbookhitch.htm
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/interviews/interviewreedsy.htm
The Bookhitch interview is an old one from 2010, but the Reedsy interview is quite recent, done just this month!
Now to close with the September and October Books of the Month. September's pick is useful not just to young adults, but to readers of all ages in these tough economic times:
The Young Adult's Guide to Selling Your Art, Music, Writing, Photography, & Crafts Online
Ann O'Phelan
Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
1405 S.W. 6th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34471
www.atlantic-pub.com
9781620231777, $19.95, PB, 189pp, www.amazon.com
"The Young Adult's Guide to... Selling Your Art, Music, Writing, Photography, & Crafts Online: Turn Your Hobby into Cash" by Ann O'Phelan will provide the practical information and tools needed to sell material by using the internet. This is an ideal and thoroughly 'user friendly', step-by-step instruction guide and manual specifically written for writers and artists that have absolutely no experience with respect to selling on the internet. Included are tutorials, examples, and research that will turn any hobby into fast cash. "The Young Adult's Guide to Selling Your Art, Music, Writing, Photography, & Crafts Online" covers online galleries, website design, search engines, publicity sources, online forums, auction sites, the basics of online marketing, email marketing, and so much more. Those new to online selling will learn the exact times that people are most likely to look at a specific social media app so that they can reach as many people as they can. Of special note is the information regarding popular DIY sites like Etsy and Pinterest -- as well as how to start an online store. Exceptionally well organized and presented, "The Young Adult's Guide to Selling Your Art, Music, Writing, Photography, & Crafts Online" contains everything anyone will need to find customers -- and keep them coming back for repeat business. While very highly recommended for community library collections, it should be noted for personal reading and reference lists that "The Young Adult's Guide to Selling Your Art, Music, Writing, Photography, & Crafts Online" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.57).
and October's choice examines how the digital revolution is transforming older America, particularly the aging baby boom generation:
Aging and the Digital Life Course
David Prendergast & Chiara Garattini, editors
Berghahn Books
20 Jay Street, Suite 512, Brooklyn, NY 11201
www.berghahnbooks.com
9781782386919, $120.00, HC, 300pp, www.amazon.com
Across the life course, new forms of community, ways of keeping in contact, and practices for engaging in work, healthcare, retail, learning and leisure are evolving rapidly. Breaking new ground in the study of technology and aging, "Aging and the Digital Life Course" examines how developments in smart phones, the internet, cloud computing, and online social networking are redefining experiences and expectations around growing older in the twenty-first century. Drawing on contributions from leading commentators and researchers across the world, "Aging and the Digital Life Course" is comprised of eleven erudite and informative articles exploring key themes such as caregiving, the use of social media, robotics, chronic disease and dementia management, gaming, migration, and data inheritance, and more. Of special note is the informative introduction (Critical Reflections on Ageing and Technology in the Twenty-First Century) the editors David Prendergast (a Social Anthropologist based at Intel Labs Europe and a Principal Investigator in the Intel Collaborative Research Institute for Sustainable Connected Cities with Imperial College and University College London. He also holds the position of Visiting Professor of Healthcare Innovation at Trinity College Dublin) and Chiara Garattini (who is an Anthropologist working as part of the Health & Life Sciences Group at Intel. Enhanced with the inclusion of a listing of illustrations, a ten page listing of the contributors and their credentials, and a five page index, "Aging and the Digital Life Course" is unreservedly recommended as a critically important addition to both community and academic library collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of academia and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Aging and the Digital Life Course" is also available in a paperback edition (9781785335013, $34.95).
That's all for the September/October Beth Cox Report. I hope you had a happy Halloween!
Bethany Cox
Managing Editor
The Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
e-mail: mwbookrevw@aol.com
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
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