I’ve read about this a couple of times on the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books site. Marvel comics is going to publish a comic book version of Pride & Prejudice. And there was a link today to some sample pages…Is it terrible of me to think that the drawn version of Mr. Darcy is hot? (Dude in bottom right corner)

The comic book will be available for sale on April 1st. Here’s a link to more information:

Short article & More P&P sample pages

I’d love to see more romances in comic book form. And not just the classics….

Okay, I just read this very disturbing article about Sanjaya of American Idol ‘fame.’

Sanjaya received a $100,000 advance

Yes, you read the descriptor right, some idiotic publishing house gave a has-been American Idol loser $100,000 for a book.

These are the kinds of stories that really burn me. Publishers will throw large amounts of money at any ‘celebrity’ they can find, assuming that readers will buy this garbage and they’ll earn their money back several times over.

It’s been almost 2 years since Sanjaya was in any kind of spotlight. Do they really think his ‘fame’ is lasting? That scores of pre-teen girls (who are possibly no longer pre-teen and have now moved on) will spend their babysitting money on this schlock? I just can’t see it happening.

Meanwhile, that $100,000 advance could’ve been spent on ten or more new authors, books that might’ve hit the best seller lists and created NEW worthier celebrities.

I wish the NY publishing houses would take a look at their bottom lines a little more closely. Who exactly is carrying them? Which authors have been profitable and which celebrity books have failed? What is the ratio? I have a feeling celebrity books (or quasi-celebrities such as Sanjaya) have not done as well as expected.

And you know Sanjaya got more than that $100,000 advance. He got the time of the marketing department and the promo people to get those stupid interviews. Ugh.

I saw this super cool announcement in my Daily Lunch email from Publisher’s Lunch today: A company called Plastic Logic is about to unveil a brand new, revolutionary eReader, which will go on sale in early 2009. The details are it will be the same size as a sheet of paper (see pic), is thinner than a pad of paper, and will download content wirelessly much like the Kindle, plus it will have a screen made out of plastic which is more durable than the easily cracked eReader screens we have now.

Here’s a direct link to the Plastic Logic website and their announcement:

READ MORE

They say it will be competitively priced with other eReaders. Personally, I’m hoping this means they will undercut the Kindle by a decent amount. The larger size of this new eReader seems to be more geared towards those who want to read electronic magazine or news content. I don’t think I want to read a book on an 8.5×11 sized screen. But if they came out with a smaller book eReader that would be cool. OR if their pricing forced the Kindle to lower their prices a bit, that would be nice.

Personally, one reason I don’t have an eReader right now is the price. I want to buy a good one, but some of them are just so dang expensive. I would only use it for reading books, not carrying around other contest or web surfing/email. Because I spend the majority of my time at home. I want an eReader purely to read books.

However, to spend $400 on a gadget to do that is just too much money. I would love to see something in the $99 range someday. That would be worth it to me.

Anyway, what does everyone else think about this new device? Interested?

I found this truly fascinating article on tvguide.com over the weekend:

CSI Creator Developing ‘Digital Novels’

For a short recap, the CSI guy is planning to start a series of eBooks based of off the CSI franchise. The books will be tied into online video. The plan is to release several chapters at once…so not a whole book. And to have some kind of MySpace/Facebook interaction with the readers.

As a writer with eBooks to my name, I like to read about power players who see the value in electronic books. Any attention this guy can bring to eBooks and ePublishers would be fabulous.

I’ve seen the debate on many blogs about ‘real’ books vs. eBooks. And I wonder: Do we really need to decide which is better? I don’t think so. They are both books, aren’t they? With stories and characters and all that good stuff.

I like eBooks for several reasons, but my main one is this: accessibility to different books. We all know that the print publishing world is ruled by the tastes of a very few. Some great books will never see the light of day, because print publishers don’t want to take a risk on something that is too different or not genre-specific.

But ePublishers *will* take that risk. And thank goodness they do. ePublishers have given us readers access to some great, original storytelling. Also, we can read books with the “hot” factor we are looking for. Not until the success of Ellora’s Cave and the like, did New York take notice and start their own erotic romance lines.

I don’t think print and electronic publishing are in competition for readers. I really don’t. I think readers choose books from both types of publishers and will continue to do so. Readers are looking for a good book. That’s it. And if they happen to find the book they like online…they’ll buy it.

So, I look forward to this CSI development. If he can bring attention to the uniqueness of eBooks and their power to draw an audience, that will mean good things for other ePublishers and their writers.

Okay, one more reason I need to have an iPhone….you can now download a free app that will allow you to read e-books!

From today’s Publisher’s Lunch:

With the release of Apple’s ambitious App Store today, the company puts themselves in the ebook business without having to go through the messiness of dealing with publishers. Among the free app downloads is Fictionwise’s eReader software (bundled with free copies of the public domain books, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan of the Apes and James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans).

Often-overlooked among those eager to experiment (or simply understand the scale of the potential market here): You don’t have to go buy an iPhone to play along. The apps work just fine on an iPod Touch with updated firmware, connected via wi-fi.

I’m too cheap to buy a membership to Publisher’s Marketplace, but I sure do appreciate the snippets of information that come with my daily Publisher’s Lunch e-mail. This one really caught my eye because the software was developed by Fictionwise people. Very exciting stuff.

Kris