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by Kimberly A. Cook            (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

The publishing and epub industry is heaving like the Titanic, with publishers and agents trying to rearrange the band, the deck chairs and the captain’s table. Some writers have been caught in steerage, of course. A good thing to do in any storm is to check on what the independent bookstore ships are doing. One small business article this past Friday caught my eye.

Our beloved www.Powells.com Books here in Portland, Oregon, a mega-independent bookseller, is always worth watching. The article talked about how the former site of Powell’s Technical Bookstore is being proposed for demolition to become a “seven-story, 60-unit apartment building with ground-floor retail storefronts,” according to www.oregonlive.com

The article goes on to say the Technical Bookstore “vacated the site in 2010 and moved to a smaller location” across the street from the main Powell’s bookstore.  Notice the “smaller location” for technical books? See them moving into real estate and diversifying their revenue streams?

The Powell family presents their $7 million project proposal today to the city of Portland through their development firms.  The fun new project will come complete with a bicycle parking room and no on-site parking.  Who needs to park when you can walk to the bookstore?

Besides thinking book lovers might want to get in line to sign up for an apartment a short saunter from a block large book treasure, it brings to mind the changes in our industry. If one of the largest independent bookstores in the country is going into real estate development, what does that say to the writing community?

Me thinks we authors have slipped the bonds of steerage and escaped into the epub lifeboats. Grab an oar and let’s row!

Full Article Here: http://www.oregonlive.com/front-porch/index.ssf/2012/04/apartment_building_planned_at.html

By Kimberly A. Cook             (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

One of the great things about being a writer is how few tools we really need to practice our craft. Having progressed from feathers and ink to computers, we can make up stories and novels with very few tools. Paper is everywhere.  But then along came the gadgets.

Having survived my recent computer upgrade, barely, we’ve gone from simple tools in the old days to a geek gadget space race. It’s getting complicated.  Smart phone or dumb phone? Tablet or iPad? Android, Apple or Blackberry? Flip video, camcorder or a digital camera that also records video? Nook, Kindle Fire or iPad?

It’s enough to make even a semi-sane writer cower under the bed. No matter how much research I do to make my life easier, it seems I always run aground on the gadget reef in the tech ocean. If I pick the product and then buy it, it’s going to tank and be upstaged by another upgrade or innovation. I’ve got bread older than some of my now past-their-prime gadgets. Palm PDA anyone?

Sometimes the good old days look pretty darn good. So after much soul-searching and trying to figure out how to consolidate my gadgets and reduce my costs for roaming and wandering, or whatever they charge us for, here is my next wish list.

I’m keeping the Flip video cameras and my Canon PowerShot cameras for photos and video. Get the new iPad to combine my Nook eReader and Kindle accounts, transfer my email to the iPad off my Blackberry, go back to a prepaid phone for talk and text only, have a screen large enough I can read and carry around with a wireless keyboard to replace my pink notebook and be able to use Squareup to sell books using credit cards at my talks.

Finally, a decision. Looks like I will buy in June. Expect Apple to tank in July. You heard it here first!