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Sean's Writing Blog
Apple releases free multimedia ebook authoring tool for iBooks
26 January 2012
Last month, I wrote about The Beatles' Yellow Submarine ebook, which is like a modern pop-up book, with animated illustrations, interactive pictures, embedded videos, and text that reads itself aloud. Since that was published, there have been some educational interactive books appearing in the iBooks store. It's clearly something that Apple is putting a lot of weight behind, and it represents a new class of content that is ideal for the iPad.
Now Apple has released the software for creating these books, iBooks Author, for free on the Mac app store. It's only for the Mac (obviously), but it enables authors and self-publishers to lay out their books and embed video, images with pop-up captions, custom HTML (web page code), photo galleries, Keynote presentations and 3D objects.
This will make it much easier for anyone (with a Mac) to publish their own interactive ebooks, which has an upside and a downside. The upside is that authors can express themselves in more interesting and creative ways, and readers can benefit from a richer catalogue of original content, unfiltered by major publishers. The downside is that not everyone is brilliant at video, layout, writing, design and all the other skills that are required, so there's bound to be some rubbish content that undermines faith in the format as a whole. We've seen the same phenomenon in website publishing and print-on-demand publishing. I'd much rather that people have the opportunity to use these tools, but the best way to exploit them might be for writers to team with other creatives who can help to bring their ideas to life. For now, before the masses adopt the tool, there's clearly an advantage for authors who can move quickly to publish compelling interactive content.
You can find a short guide to iBooks in my book iPad for the Older and Wiser, and my articles for writers and publishers here.
Labels: iPad, iPad 2, journalism, webdesign, writing
Five short pieces of book news
15 January 2012
I just wanted to write a short blog post to round up a few snippets of news about my books:
- Lulu is running two special offers applicable to my novel University of Death. You can pay no shipping using the code WHOASHIPPINGUK305 or you can save 25% of the book price using the code LULUBOOKUK305. I believe these offer codes work on all books in Lulu's store. My novel takes a comical look at the music industry and has had rave reviews from magazines including Record Collector, Music Tech and Metal Hammer. Find out more and download the free sample here, but don't delay! Both offers expire 31 January 2012 and only apply to books bought through Lulu's website. The novel is also available as an ebook on iBooks, but I can't create a link for that so you'll need to search in the store (sorry!).
- Web Design in Easy Steps is following in the footsteps of iPad for the Older and Wiser, and is an Amazon bestseller. It's currently #1 in the categories for website design; web graphics and animation; and books published by In Easy Steps.
- Tata McGraw-Hill has published an edition of Web Design in Easy Steps for sale in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. It's wonderful to know the book is helping people in all these countries to create their websites!
- Saga Magazine has published a review of iPad for the Older and Wiser. It says the book "will have you set up on your new device in no time". See a scan of the review here.
- If you got iPad for the Older and Wiser recently (thank you!), you might have missed that there is a free supplement available for it here, to explain the latest software updates available for the iPad.
Labels: books, iOS5, iPad, university of death, webdesign, writing
Sharpen your proofreading skills with a short test
06 January 2012
Proofreading is all about quality control, making sure that an article is accurate and consistent. Often, it will involve picking up factual errors (such as names that have been spelled incorrectly) and layout problems, but the focus is usually on grammar and consistency of style. The art of proofreading interests me greatly. I have written an interview with the Guardian's style guide editors and created a proofreading exercise, and have some more ideas for content I can share on this subject.
I've also spent a lot of time on quality control in agencies and publishing houses I've worked with, and one of the key things I've noticed is that you can get better at proofreading. It's tempting to think you've either got an eye for it or you haven't, but I've seen people improve markedly by practising it and focusing their attention on getting their copy right. That's why I encourage writers to work on their proofreading skills. You can do it almost anywhere: simply pick up a newspaper and see if you can spot the errors the subs missed.
WM Group, which runs training courses on writing among other things, has put a short proofreading test online. In some ways it's easier than my test: it's shorter, and there are fewer errors in it. But in other ways it's harder, because the errors are quite subtle and easy to miss. The company says that only 31% of people who sent in a response were able to get full marks. People often queried accurate punctuation but missed some significant mistakes which made them cringe when they were told the answers afterwards. I've seen the results breakdown for 49 people who tried the test. I don't want to give the game away, but one mistake was only picked up by three people, even though there's a heavy hint in the article itself. WM Group has revealed that there are eight errors, but the two top scorers only found five of them. Can you do better? You can try the test here.
Labels: journalism, proofreading, writing
A charity project to help you kick off your writing year
05 January 2012
Whatever your ambitions, you can learn a lot from those who have already achieved them. The biography section of the library is packed with life lessons that can inspire you and provide practical advice, so that you can learn from others’ experiences and avoid repeating their mistakes. The internet too, makes it easy to find tips and tricks for almost any situation.There’s no real substitute for being able to speak to exactly the right person one-on-one, though. You can learn so much by asking a few well-composed questions to the right person. That’s why I think Pro Dono is an interesting concept. It enables you to meet with leading public figures, including famous writers, by making a donation to the charity of their choice. Here’s a short interview with Duncan Turnbull (pictured, right), co-founder and MD of Pro Dono, to explain how it works...
What is Pro Dono?
Pro Dono is a not-for-profit organisation that arranges meetings between members of the public and eminent public figures. The public figure gives their time, and the client makes a donation to the charity of the figure’s choice.How can young writers benefit from Pro Dono?
This is a unique experience for donors; the opportunity to talk one-on-one with someone we admire. For a young writer, this could be meeting a journalist such as Evan Davis, Toby Young or John Micklethwait; or a great author like Dame Jacqueline Wilson, Jill Shaw Ruddock or Alain de Botton. We hope that donors can gain advice, insight and inspiration from meeting our Ambassadors – and at the same time, raise funds for a good cause.What do the ambassadors get from participating in the programme?
All of our public figures (Pro Dono Ambassadors) have agreed to be part of Pro Dono as they see it as an effective and efficient way to raise money for their favourite charities. Most donors meet their hero over dinner, but we also organise events relevant to the Ambassador’s area of expertise. For example, afternoon tea at Lord’s with a cricketing legend, a tour of a museum with its Director, or an afternoon of wildlife spotting with an ornithologist. Additionally, the Ambassadors get the opportunity to talk about the charitable work they believe in and are passionate about.While I'm sure young writers would want to be as generous as possible, I doubt they can afford the real market value of a famous writer's time. How much does it typically cost to meet with someone under the Pro Dono programme?
Our Ambassadors have target donation amounts, but we encourage our clients to suggest donations on a case-by-case basis. Often donors group together and come to the meeting with one or two friends. Pro Dono is a popular gift idea – this is giving with a conscience.Where can people find out more?
There is more information about Pro Dono and our ambassadors on the Pro Dono website www.prodono.co.uk and we have a youtube video (below) to show the donation process. Pro Dono already has many Ambassadors from the journalism world, as well as sports icons, artists, politicians, businesspeople, Michelin-starred chefs, and TV personalities. Finally, we also encourage people to suggest new Ambassadors they would like to meet, and we endeavour to arrange this.Labels: writing
Download a free guide to iOS5 for the iPad
20 December 2011
In October, Apple published a free update to the iPad software, called iOS5, that introduced 200 new features and bug fixes. New iPads bought after the introduction of iOS5 will have it installed by default and older iPads can be updated for free.
Working with my publisher John Wiley, who have done a fabulous job on editing and layout as usual, I've published a free update to the book to cover iOS5.
The free iOS5 for the iPad guide shows you how to update your iPad (if necessary) and introduces the new features, including iMessages, tabbed browsing, the Reminders app, iCloud for wireless backup and synchronisation, the Notification Centre, new gestures and more.
If you have a copy of my book iPad for the Older and Wiser, this guide is like a bonus chapter that would come at the end of the book. If you don't have a copy, this guide will still get you up and running with iOS5 and will also give you a taster of the style and content of iPad for the Older and Wiser.
The 47-page guide is available as a PDF that you can read on your iPad or on your computer. Download the free iOS5 for the iPad supplement.
You're welcome to share that free supplement with your friends and post it on your blog. Let me know if you'd like any images, text or anything else to help you spread the word!
Labels: Apple, books, iOS5, iPad, iPad 2, iPhone, iPod
Download a free MP3 album from Mute Records for your iPad
16 December 2011
Mute Records has been home to some of my favourite artists, including Inspiral Carpets, Depeche Mode and Erasure.
Amazon is now offering a free sample album from Mute, which you can download and play on your computer, iPad, iPhone or other MP3 player. To buy MP3s on Amazon and add them to your iPad, you'll need to use your computer. Visit Amazon on your computer (click here to go straight to the Mute album), click the button on the right to add the song or album to your basket, and then click the basket in the top right and click Check Out to begin the buying/downloading process. Amazon has some special software you will need to install, which will download your music and add it to your iTunes library for you. When you synchronise your iPad, iPod or iPhone with your iTunes library, the music will be copied across so you can play it on your device. See iPad for the Older and Wiser for advice on synchronising your computer with your iPad.
Amazon's music is in MP3 format, which means you should be able to play it on any digital music player, including the iPad.
Some of the music on the Mute sampler is quite experimental, but there are some poppy tracks too, and the price is a bargain! If you haven't tried downloading MP3s at Amazon before, it's a risk-free way to test the process too. These sample albums tend to be available for free for a limited period, so I recommend you don't delay, download today!
Labels: Amazon, Apple, iPad, iPad 2, iPhone, iPod, music, music promotion
Apple announces 12 days of free downloads for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch
12 December 2011
Apple is once again running the 12 Days of Christmas promotion this year. From Boxing Day (26 December) through to 6 January, Amazon will make a song, video, app, TV programme or book available for free download for just 24 hours. The promotion is a great way for Apple to welcome people into the iTunes store who got an iPad, iPod or iPhone for Christmas, and also gives its loyal customers some nice freebies too.
In previous years, downloads have included the Trivial Pursuit game, pop videos by Lily Allen, Ting Tings and Katy Perry, and lots of songs and music EPs.
Check in at the store each day during the promotion period to see what's new, or download the dedicated app.
Labels: Apple, iPad, iPad 2, iPhone, iPod
The Beatles Yellow Submarine iPad ebook signals the future of iBooks publishing
09 December 2011
Apple is promoting a free ebook of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine, which shows the capabilities of the new version of its iBooks app. It's fantastic fun for younger readers, and a showcase for what the concept of a book might become for everybody.
There have been lots of apps that modernise the concept of the pop-up book. My friend Chris Stevens created the Alice for the iPad app, which is one of my recommended iPad apps. It uses clever physics simulation for the reader's interaction with the pictures, so that the characters move as if on springs, or respond realistically to you shaking the iPad. He shared the code to do this in his book Designing for the iPad. There are lots of other people who have created apps for their books too, so that readers can interact with them in memorable and engaging ways.
The interesting development here is that the Yellow Submarine app works within the iBooks app, which further blurs the lines around what defines a book. The iBooks app is great. I was really impressed with the user experience iBooks offers with my own books (including iPad for the Older and Wiser), but so far it's been mainly about reflowing text, searching text and viewing images. It hasn't offered a huge amount of interaction. Maybe that's because I don't usually read children's books, but in any case, I haven't seen anything like the Beatles app working as iBooks content, and the fact I had to upgrade iBooks to get it to work suggests this type of interaction is new to iBooks.
The Yellow Submarine book is everything you would expect: colourful, surreal, and interactive. The animations are quite subtle: it's not a video, but small parts of the image move, such as a waving hand or a waggling tongue. You can tap pictures to make them perform other moves and can sometimes drag pictures (such as butterflies) around. The Sea of Holes is fun, with The Beatles popping up and down like a whack-a-mole game. There's an option to have the book read aloud to you, with the words lit up as each one is spoken. The app includes embedded videos you can play within the page, and short bursts of music that are played when you tap some of the characters. The only disappointment is that the music bursts are quite short. I haven't bought the Yellow Submarine album from iTunes, but I do have many of the songs from albums I've bought on CD and it might have been nice for there to be a way to integrate playback of those.
There's still some work to be done on refining the user interface. The problem is that there can be a conflict between the book's content and the iBooks controls. For example, you can often touch a character to make them sing or move. Indeed, the whole point of the book is that you touch things to see what they might do. If you touch a character that doesn't have an action assigned to it, though, iBooks is likely to interpret that as a tap on the app, and turn the page or show/hide the iBooks controls. It feels broken when you touch a character to see what they might do, and it turns the page, or when the controls keep popping in and out of view as you try to explore the book.
These new iBooks capabilities create fantastic opportunities for book authors and publishers: it's easy to think of educational content that would benefit from simple animations, embedded videos or interactive elements (such as lifting the flap to reveal an answer). It's also a nice way to add value to written content. Authors often have access to audio recordings or other research materials which would be considered bonus features on DVDs, but which don't really have an outlet in book publishing.
To get the app working, you'll need to update your iBooks app (tap the App Store icon on your iPad, then tap Updates at the bottom, then find iBooks in the list, and then tap Free). Then go into the iBooks store and download the Yellow Submarine iBook. If you put the book into the app before you upgrade the app, it won't work unless you've previously upgraded to iBooks 1.5. Here's a direct link to download the Yellow Submarine ebook. There's more information on updating apps and downloading ebooks in iPad for the Older and Wiser.
Now I have the urge to check in with Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and catch up with Henry the Horse, Lovely Rita and all the other surreal characters there. Cue the music!
Labels: Apple, books, iPad, music promotion
Holy Zarquon! My iPad book is a bestseller
01 December 2011
My book iPad for the Older and Wiser is officially a bestseller. It's currently the #1 book on Amazon.co.uk in the Silver Surfers category, and the #1 book on Amazon.co.uk in the computer hardware category. It holds the second position in the chart for all computer science books.
You could argue that all the niche charts make it easier to get a bestseller now, but there’s still a lot of strong competition out there. It’s nice to know that my book has charted above every other book about the iPad and every other book about computing for the over 50s.
The book’s sales ranking overall is #1,655 out of all the books Amazon sells, which puts it ahead of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (#2,808), Pride and Prejudice (#1,925) and The Catcher in the Rye (#1,834). That’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek: these books have sold steadily over a generation or more, and will continue to do so for decades to come. But it’s still nice to think that for a brief period my book was more popular with Amazon’s customers than some of the most famous books in English. And this is the highest ranking I remember any of my books getting on Amazon, too.
The response to the book has been fantastic. I attended a U3A meeting recently and the members there were really enthusiastic about the book and the iPad. It’s been getting some great reviews too. Many thanks to everyone for their support with it. You can find out more about iPad for the Older and Wiser here. It's available to buy in all good bookshops, including Amazon.
How to create an advent calendar on your computer
23 November 2011
If you follow me on Twitter, you might have already seen this, but I've written an article explaining how you can create an advent calendar on your computer using PowerPoint. It's a simple project that uses a built-in template, which you can customise with your own pictures. The template features some nice PowerPoint animations and comes with some great default clip art, so even if you don't want to make your own calendar, you can use the default template to count down the days to Christmas.
PowerPoint is often overlooked in the Microsoft Office suite by home users, because people think it's only for business presentations. Together with the photo album project in Microsoft Office for the Older and Wiser, this project shows that PowerPoint can be used for fun projects too. What else have you used PowerPoint for?
Labels: books, Christmas, Microsoft Office
Choice Magazine recommends 'iPad for the Older and Wiser' as a Christmas gift
20 November 2011
The November 2011 issue of Choice Magazine includes a review of iPad for the Older and Wiser, which is the book of the month. The review concludes: "If you are wondering what to ask for next month for Christmas, then an iPad, together with this book, would keep you amused and entertained for hours, and prove a very useful resource to boot."
You can see the full review below, and read more about the book (including more excerpts from that review in text so they're easier to read) at my webpage for iPad for the Older and Wiser.
iPad for the Older and Wiser, Microsoft for the Older and Wiser, Social Networking for the Older and Wiser, and Web Design in Easy Steps are all out now and available on the shelf or to order from any bookshop. You can also find easy links to buy online in my shop.
Review reproduced by kind permission of www.choicemag.co.uk
Labels: books, Christmas, iPad
Tim Berners-Lee’s vision for the future of web-based applications
20 October 2011
Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the world wide web, delivered the closing keynote at RSA Conference last week, outlining some of his ideas for a more secure web.
Photo of Tim Berners-Lee speaking at RSA Conference 2011.
Photo ©Sean McManus
For the future of the web, it’s critical for applications to be able to access information from other applications, he said. He gave the example of those web-based event planning apps where each person in a group of friends enters the time and date they could meet up, and the app finds a consensus. The computer already has each person’s calendar, though, so it’s got a good hunch about when people are doing important things already. You end up with people typing in information that the software already has.
Berners-Lee spoke about software having what I would describe as “a conflict of interest”, for example an auction application which might represent his bids but also has access to everyone else’s and could easily cheat. The issue of trust is key, and Berners-Lee suggested we might use different parts of the screen or different colours to help identify the different sources of data and how trustworthy we should consider them to be. He also gave the example of software he uses to manage his tax return, and said he was “shocked and disturbed” when the software asked if it could sell him insurance. If he pays for software, he says, he wants to know it’s working on his behalf, and he was so annoyed by this that he gave up using the application and wrote his own instead. This is a problem that’s less of an issue with a website like a travel agent’s site, because Berners-Lee assumes the application is working on the travel agent’s behalf there, he said. As we move to the cloud, it strikes me that new types of advertising become technically possible but Berners-Lee insisted the cloud needs to be under the user’s control, with no backdoor for serving ads based on the data stored in it.
The key is that there needs to be a way for the user to control the resources every application gets, Berners-Lee said, including CPU, memory (local and in the cloud) and the disk and camera. He said he wants to be able to give particular apps, people and groups access to different pieces of data on all his devices, without any defaults that might result in data leaking and without having to set it up from scratch for each new app. And there needs to be a clear, colour-coded user interface, that makes it easy to see at a glance who has access to different types of data (such as family, work colleagues, everyone, and the user only). For example, he might use an exercise app which tells everyone he did 40 minutes of exercise, show friends and family the GPS trail of the path he took, and reserve details of his weight for his eyes only.
If it’s possible for apps and people to share data in a secure way, under the user’s control, there will be an explosion in apps that can talk to each other, which could lead to all kinds of new ways to share and process our data.
What do you think the future of web-based apps looks like?
Labels: internet, technology, webdesign
A computer shop's tribute to Steve Jobs
09 October 2011
I spotted the shop display above while out and about yesterday. I was saddened to hear of Steve Jobs dying earlier this week, but I don't think I have anything to add to my blog post about his achievements written when he stepped down as CEO.
Labels: Apple
Save 90% on the best of Black (Colin Vearncombe)
03 October 2011
As my friends know, I’m a huge fan of Colin Vearncombe (also known as Black), who is best known for the hit ‘Wonderful Life’, but who has been writing and recording continuously since that broke through into the mainstream in 1987. He’s now issued a best-of album, after putting the tracklisting to a fan vote. It includes re-recordings of Wonderful Life, an atmospheric Sweetest Smile, a new live version of Water on Snow (one of his finest songs), and tracks drawn from across his albums since he became an independent artist.
The 16-track album usually costs £7.50, but for a limited period you can get it for 75p by using the code smg4song. Buy the album here and enter the code to claim your discount. It’s available in a range of digital music formats, including MP3 and FLAC. If you don’t know which format to pick, choose MP3, which plays on most devices, including the iPad. (Leave a comment if you’re struggling to add MP3s to an iPad, and I’ll talk you through the process).
Independent musicians could pick up a nice idea here: to incentive sites to promote Black’s work, he’s giving a prize each month to the website that refers the most visitors using a unique discount code. To be honest, I don’t think I’m in the running for the prize, having seen a code on a much more popular website than this, but I’m pleased to be able to share Black’s music. It’s meant a lot to me over the years, and I hope you’ll give it a whirl and see whether it’s your thing.
You can read my interview with Colin from 2000 here and my interview from 1993 in Hamburg here. Colin was kind enough to review my novel about the music industry University of Death, and you can read his comment on it here. But before you read anything, I’d start downloading that album if I were you…
Labels: music, music promotion
Publication day: iPad for the Older and Wiser
09 September 2011
iPad for the Older and Wiser has now been published, and I've just received my box of author copies. Even though I've seen the laid-out pages for the whole book, it doesn't really look like a proper book until you've got the lavishly printed copy in your hand, so it's a good feeling to see all the months of work solidified in the finished product. The screenshots and photos have come out great, and Stephen Long has created some colourful cartoons to introduce each part.
The book is also available in a range of digital formats for reading on ebooks, including Kindle and iBooks. In due course, I'll add links to those in my shop, but if you prefer digital, you can probably find the book by searching for it in your preferred store.
Today I've also published the list of the top 20 best iPad apps which appears in the book. With my books, I try to provide links and other resources on this website to save readers having to search for things I can more easily just give them on this website. The online version has been enhanced with some videos demonstrating three of the apps, and links to all the apps so you can go straight to them in iTunes. Did I include your favourite iPad app? If you've got another to suggest, feel free to leave a comment or email me.
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