Is ‘Tweeting’ Becoming the New ‘Writing’?

By Story Star Publishing correspondent Elinor Rees

It has been announced recently that Bloomsbury will publish a book that is written completely in the style of Twitter. The book focuses on the one hundred and forty character sentences exchanged via Twitter between two people who meet in New York on New Year’s Eve. The action unfolds over the course of a year and is entitled ‘The Twitter Diaries’.

It is an interesting idea as the book will be completely character driven due to its complete dependence on dialogue and builds on the concepts of books such as ttyl and ttfn by Lauren Myracle, which are written entirely in text messaging language. All of these books are trying to challenge the status quo approach to books and should be applauded for their innovation but should we be encouraging more writers to break the established rules of the literary world?

The importance placed on grammar and structure within writing is rightly so as they not only promote succinct ways of communicating but just make it easier for everyone to understand a variety of writing and the messages they want to convey. Correct grammar not only shows a respect for language but demands respect in return; if someone can effectively demonstrate how to use and manipulate language then they have harnessed a skill that takes years to master and that is definitely admirable.

However, there is a growing attitude that adhering to rules on how to write and structure communication is a sign of snobbery and a way of making yourself appear ‘better’ than everyone else. If the improper structure of a sentence grates on your ear then it can be quite easy for you to be labelled as a ‘snob’.

Books that embrace new forms of communication such as Twitter and texting are, therefore, almost leading the way in the rebellion against what is deemed correct. They are not only embracing these new forms but they are actively endorsing them by creating whole narratives around them. But is this something we should be worried about?

The chances are that the majority of your friends have a Twitter account and all of them have a mobile phone so these new narrative styles are simply recreating a prevalent part of our communication system rather than competing with them. They are taking what people enjoy and putting their own spin on it to create something else for people to enjoy. These books still require creativity, originality and structure like any other book but the way the stories are told are what make them unique.

Books are a way of communicating new and old ideas and it’s important that we all know the rules so that we can all understand these ideas but new ways of communicating can try and bring these ideas to a wider net of people who may be disenfranchised by what they perceive to be strict rules. Originality is what drives publishing but it is the established structures underpin it.

Has Piccadilly Press’s dalliance in fashion paid off?

By Story Star Publishing correspondent Jane Haynes

Today is the official UK publishing day of 'I'll be there' a great novel by Holly Goldberg Sloan which has been advertised in many New Look stores across the country this May. In the competitive age in which we are living it appears that companies are consistently thinking more and more outside the box when it comes to getting an edge over their counterparts in the market. As technological innovations advance at an alarming rate it seems that there is no time for resting on laurels – you either join the race or get left behind. 

Following the innovation in vision, technology and production, accordingly, is an essentially innovative approach to PR policy and strategies, which naturally must be constantly adapted to their environments in order to gain optimum return, regardless of the industry.

Spring/ Summer is associated with laughter, laziness and most of all love and this season Piccadilly Press has taken advantage of this. They have certainly adapted its PR technique to move with the times and stake its claim in the competitive market of the electronic publishing. 

Throughout the month of May, you must have seen their campaign across New Look fashion stores advertising ‘I’ll Be There’ through promotional posters in a bid to appeal to a wider audience of female readers of all ages. You may also have seen avid readers who were very excited about spotting these posters in the shop windows and then re tweeting this message to the online world:

Piccadilly Press ‏@PiccadillyPress

Oooh 'I'll Be There' poster spotted - New Look in Brent Cross - well done, Andrea!  

Liz Bankes ‏@armadilliz

In the mood to read books about LOVE. Currently reading I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg-Sloan - LOVEly! @piccadillypress

Piccadilly Press ‏@PiccadillyPress

We featured on the homepage of The Bookseller! People are seeing how amazing I’ll Be There is! 

Sophie Waters ‏@sophie_waters

On the Blog: review of I'LL BE THERE by Holly Goldberg Sloanhttp://solittletimeforbooks.blogspot.com/2012/05/ill-be-there-holly-goldberg-sloan_03.html @PiccadillyPress

Piccadilly Press ‏@PiccadillyPress

Wonderfully insightful review of I'll Be There by @the_bookette

As well as serving to raise the novel’s profile, New Look customers were rewarded for their shopping preferences with the exclusive opportunity to download the book’s first chapter through an embedded QR code on the promotional posters.

Copyright of Noomie Doodles

Reports of the publishers’ latest promotional venture not only reflects the true mark of innovative thinking in the industry but also stands as yet another example of the mutually beneficial PR deals and arrangements which companies all over the world are striking of late. While Piccadilly Press and its author, Goldberg Sloan, will reap the benefits of heightened exposure to their prime target market, retailer W H Smith which will be promoting the book throughout the month of May is also set to benefit from being featured in the poster campaign. So collaborative effort in the publishing industry is also a key to success.  

With Piccadilly Press estimating the reach of the campaign to tally at over a quarter of a million teenagers and young women, this latest venture is nothing short of a stroke of PR genius. Young female readers love nothing more than shopping for a great deal. Piccadilly Press will use this passion for clothes to encourage a renewed love for reading. If things carry on like this, the reading revolution in the UK will be underway in no time at all. 


With the release of the book today, we must keep a close eye on this venture to see whether unique promotional techniques have led to it being one of the best selling summer books of this year. Will readers now be encouraged to buy the book after getting a taster? If it is, other young adult publishers or publishers in general should also start thinking of innovative ways to engage the UK audience in a great book. Readers have moved on in this technological world and they want experience more than just a great storyline when buying a book. 

NOOK teaming up with Houghton Mifflin Horton to bring the e-book to the classroom

By Story Star Publishing correspondent Jane Haynes

While sources and opinions differ greatly on the subject of the projected longevity of the e-publishing phenomenon, it appears that the balance is tipped firmly in favour of a lasting presence and force in society. Beyond the realm of recreation and entertainment from whence the eBook initially launched, its bearing over some of our most important industries and institutions is becoming highly significant at a rather alarming rate. 

In the case of such time-old institutions as the library service it may be justifiable to state that it has done so to its detriment, in industries such as technology and entertainment the benefits are displayed for the world to see.

There have been rumbles in recent months as to where e-publishing and the eBook stands in relation to the education industry: the possibility of downloadable eBook versions of expensive textbooks at third level universities and colleges, the introduction of reading tablets to replace resources at primary and secondary level, and much dispute over not only the feasibility and the practicality of such a move, but also over the true projected benefits and advantages of such a move. 

Well, it looks likely that any dispute and opinion (and contention, for that matter) which surrounded this particular topic will be settled over the coming months, as the first experimentative steps are about to be taken.

Indeed, the Barnes and Noble chain has struck a deal with publishing impresario Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to pre-load and deliver e-readers to US schoolchildren. While the more popular e-reading tablets such as Amazon’s Kindle and the Apple iPad have always dominated the market, Barnes and Noble’s NOOK is evidently leap-frogging its competitors both in terms of educational innovation and strategic approach to getting a fresh edge in such a highly competitive sphere. 

The deal will focus on schoolchildren from the K-12 grade, who will be delivered batches of the NOOK Simple Touch and the NOOK Colour pre-loaded with carefully selected titles which, Houghton Mifflin Horton has guaranteed are all “age-appropriate [and] International Reading Association (IRA)-recommended.”

The eBook’s latest dalliance into the education system is definitely one to watch; should the NOOK- Houghton Mifflin Horton alliance deal succeed, this will surely give the green light to other companies and schools alike to take digital education to the next level and beyond. While this specific deal is being tested with story books, including such popular titles as The Willoughbys and Gathering Blue, it success will logically lead to a textbook equivalent which will open up an entire new facet of the book publishing market to e-reader and tablet producers. 

Indeed, speaking of the potential and expectation riding on this new deal, the companies have stated that the aim and hope is to “provide a clear path to digitisation of a school’s reading program".

The latest ebook phenomenon? Warner Brothers set to publish film scripts as ebooks

By Story Star Publishing correspondent Jane Haynes

There is simply no stopping the run or the reach of the ebook right now. While once a teenager risked enduring such slurs as ‘nerd’ when caught carrying around their preferred titles, now in a complete image reversal, the must-have accessory to be seen walking around with is not your Blackberry or iPod – it is in fact your ereader. Traditionalist or tech-savvy modernist, no one can deny the positive image makeover which the glamorisation of book reading has done for the publishing industry. It seems lately that between the burgeoning popularity of ebook and the app, reading has become the in vogue pastime and it follows then, naturally, that everybody wants in on it.

Indeed, it appears that company upon company from every corner of the entertainment industry and beyond is tripping over itself to get in on a piece of book action and capitalise on its sweeping popularity; the film industry proving no exception to this latest craze. Of course, the tie between both of these beacons of the entertainment industry goes way back. Between film adaptations of best sellers to book accompaniments and other textual paraphernalia, both the movie and the book industries have always mutually benefited from their closely integrated relationship.

And it appears that now that the book has gone digital their ties are set to become a whole lot more technical, as Warner Bros. announced the launch of an exclusive new range of ebooks recently as part of its ‘Inside the Script’ digital publishing initiative. To capitalise on the success of such cult classic movies as Casablanca, Ben-Hur and An American in Paris, the company have released enhanced versions of the movies’ scripts and released them as ebooks, jam-packed with extra exclusive content, illustrations and photography.

From the promises of the press release which accompanied the launch of this unique range of ebooks on the market, your £6.49 (the price per ebook) is an absolute bargain. These ebooks are sure to prove an instant hit with everyone from movie buffs and fans of the chosen classics, to those with particular interest in the many facets of the industry, technological and creative alike. As well as the original scripts, the individual ebooks will also contain director’s notes, music scores, content documenting the progression of filming, previously unreleased photography and historical documents such as story-boards and production notes. However, the term ‘exclusive’ is truly taken to the wire at the revelation that Charlton Heston’s personal journals, kept during the shooting of Ben-Hur, will also be included in the package.

The company are obviously well-aware of the lure of their latest offering to the publishing world, as they selected no less than three of the e-publishing world’s biggest players as platforms for the unique e-book range. Customer s to Amazon’s Kindle store, Barnes and Noble’s Nook store and the mighty Apple’s iBookstore can now download this unique range of ebooks, which also includes the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock classic North By Northwest, for less than the price of the DVD.

Just as we think there is an app or an ebook for everything, the old familiar saying of the limitless possibilities of the book come back to mind. With such an appealing publication release, movie buffs are sure to be more than a little excited by Warner Bros.’ latest venture into the book publishing world, which could yet prove to be the latest phenomenon of the entertainment industry. If fans of these classics rise to the tantalising bait which this collection promises, one cannot help but wonder how such film impresarios as Lionsgate (The Hunger Games) and Paramount (The Twilight Saga) will react. One thing is for sure, the film industry will certainly be watching this space.

What does the closure of the Early Learning Stores mean for publishing?

By Story Star Publishing correspondent Jane Haynes

We are all by now aware that the landscape of the book publishing industry is transforming; if you were to step back ten years in time, this era of eBooks and apps would be virtually unrecognisable. However, as we have reported upon repeatedly, no genre has experienced such a state of flux in recent times than that of the children’s genre. Only last week we reported that some of the publishing industry’s key players are now planning to shift their focus away from the more traditional children’s book and instead to place a renewed importance on the picture app.

While still relatively contained, the swing towards all things technological in the industry is already having knock-on effects which are penetrating even some of the most established areas of the industry. This was certainly clear as it was announced recently that the majority of the Early Learning Centre stores in the UK will face closure over the next three years. The move was announced as part of a plan to scale down the Mothercare conglomerate which counts the Early Learning Centre among its companies.

Founded nearly forty years ago in 1974, at the peak of its popularity the Early Learning Centre chain tallied its stores at 215 in the UK alone, not to mention over 80 in various countries worldwide. It is not merely its strong presence on a national and global scale, but also the nonpareil service offered to their target market which saw the Early Learning Centre chain emerge as somewhat of an institution in the area of early childhood development and education. 


While renowned for its range of toys directed towards formative development across each stage of childhood, the Early Learning Centre’s book range has also always proven a hit among children and parents alike. Indeed, speaking of the announcement to downscale Les Phipps of Hachette Children’s Books reflected upon the loss of the stores, alluding that it will have a decidedly negative impact: “The closure or cutback of any outlet that sells children’s books is always sad, but particularly so with ELC, as it is such a supporter of the pre-school market”.

Of course, this downscale (which doesn’t look particularly promising for the future of the chain) cannot come as a surprise when one takes the current state of literary affairs in the country into account. The entire national library system, already one of the chief facets of literary education and one of the major influences in early childhood educational development is threatening, remains under threat of collapse with the closure more and more libraries each week all over the country. If the library service goes under, the very institution which represents education and promotes reader interest development, then surely a company even as established as the Early Learning Centre cannot consider itself safe.

So what does this all mean for the future of the children’s book and the face of early childhood education? The most likely scenario will be an emphasis on technological material and teaching the accompanying skills to young children, as an inherent aspect of their early education. Furthermore, in the short term, who or what will step up to take the place of this nationally treasured and popular chain – will a new digital impresario step in and assume the dominant position which the Early Learning Centre once held or will this create the perfect opportunity for a traditionalist company to take its place. One thing which is certain is the concern the closures will cause for the public, conveyed in RHCB’s Helen Randles sombre reflection: “The broader question must be what is going on in the high street and the issue of people’s confidence in high street shopping.”

The app to revolutionise children’s story-telling as we know it

By Story Star Publishing correspondent Jane Haynes

As much as the drastic and, at times, damaging effects of the digital-heavy landscape of the modern publishing world has been criticised and bemoaned, the truth is that it has not been all doom and gloom. If the news reports, statistics and figures of the past months are to be believed, the children’s genre appears to be in full bloom, something which even the traditionalists of the book world will find difficult to argue with.

The results of a rejuvenated World Book Day which melded the worlds of said traditionalist and the new-age digital reader were a soar in the interest and sales in the children’s genre, while Waterstones promptly took note of the trend to announce they would be broadening their collections to cater to the surge in book interest among children and young people. 

Now, this could be due to the fact that the brightly coloured animations and popular, lively tales of the child’s book have proven the most easily adaptable for such innovations as apps and Facebook page; despite the reasoning, however, according to a new report, it appears that head honchos of the publishing world have given much thought and weight to this upward trend in their future plans.  

While the phrase “digital revolution” is thrown around quite a bit from media and literary critics and reporters, the latest insight into the world of the children’s books appears not only to justify, but also, to shed light on the bearing of this phrase in the book industry. Speaking at London Book Fair’s Digital Minds conference this week, representatives from publishers Penguin, Macmillan and Nosy Crow, as well as transmedia production firm Starlight Runner Entertainment revealed the state of flux the industry is in right now. 

They spoke of the intensely intricate process of producing an app, the combination of work of animators and technological experts, as well as the classic “author” behind the initial material. Alluding to the fact that more and more companies are turning to the app as a primary weapon of book marketing and indeed, an essential facet to the book industry in its own right, the reps were at one in their belief that the app is fast becoming more superior to the book both in terms of production and popular appeal.

Furthermore, Penguin’s publishing director, Eric Huang, added that his own company will be building on the popularity of the digital era’s prized asset by incorporating the app into the entire creative and marketing process. Instead of using the app as they have done until now, as an added extra to explore the full joys of the published book, Penguin is set to create a range of apps which will actually precede the release of the physical book itself. Referring both to the mix of creative powers and abilities which the digital era demands, as well as the revolutionary path it is taking, Huang stated: “The new breed of authors isn't necessarily coming from a literary background…They're still storytellers."

Again, Jeff Gomez, president and chief executive of Starlight Runner, emphasised the significance of interaction and the relationship between the customer/consumer and the product, citing the popularity of tablets and smartphones as inspiration behind this new direction. He explained the almost symbiotic nature of the relationship, stating that by "involving the reader as a participant in some form or another in the narrative…the decisions that the participant makes and the activity that the participant does have an impact…on the narrative".

The representative panel did much to “sell” the concept of the app to any doubters, highlighting and indeed, praising the modern features of this cutting edge piece of technology. Aside from the significance of the interactive experience - the reader’s level of control and involvement through the app’s ability to be “manipulateable”- other features such as voice narration were counted among the advantages which would give a child the opportunity to grasp the technology and the experience in an independent capacity. With the app firmly set to lead the children’s book truly into the 21^st century, one can only guess at the innovations yet to come.

The phenomenon of the book app

By Story Star correspondent Jane Haynes

It seems that “app” is the word of the moment – quite literally. Aside from being at the forefront of technology in every industry and market of recent times, it was in fact voted the American Dialect Society’s ‘Word of the Year’ only two years ago, indicative in itself of the global significance and popularity of this latest software programme. 

While the app revolution has changed the face of the business world, enabling increased productivity, interaction and creativity while on-the-go, the app’s popularity does not stop at the working environment. With the creation and overwhelming popularity of millions of apps relating to the worlds of movies, music and gaming the face of entertainment has also been revolutionised, along with our interaction with these various industries.

In-keeping with the recent digital revolution which is sweeping the book publishing industry, it too has been subjected the app treatment, with thousands of them relating to authors, popular titles and every aspect of the publishing industry now available to the avid reader. Now they can enjoy exclusive content and extras pertaining to their favourite stories, old and new, on every modern convenience from their laptop to their phones, from e-readers to tablets. 

Whether seeking information on-the-go or merely looking for some entertainment to distract you from your train journey, the app has it all, and the book app specifically is working wonders for the industry.While the phenomenon of social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter were the craze of recent years, with each author and publication, modern and backdated, creating fan pages and interest groups, the book app is the latest PR tool to be tested out. And it is proving overwhelmingly successful thus far.

As we covered in a report a few weeks ago, the organisation committee behind this year’s World Book Day tempted in the readers with a specially designed app which promised exclusive streamed content and extras from the likes of Philip Pullman. In what transpired as the most successful World Book Day of recent years, it was digital features such as this app which significantly contributed to such success.

When one peruses over the array and extent of content covered by these apps, however, it is not easy to see why publishers and industry experts view the book app as their ultimate PR weapon of choice. There literally is an app for everything even remotely related to the publishing industry. There are audiobooks covering every genre from Disney to time-old classics, every topic from Bible stories to jokes and all that comes in between, puzzles and games, spell books and handbooks. The range of choice is staggering with every age and interest catered for – a modern phantasmagoria for the lover of all things literary.

As the embracing of other modern technological innovations in the publishing industry has proven, right now there is no greater tool in the effort to encourage, promote and sustain an interest in reading among all ages. Throughout history people have always tried to make reading ‘hip’, the ‘in’ thing to be doing in order to promote broadening of the mind and an appreciation of literature; and while traditionalists may take a negative view on the transforming effect which technological innovations have had on the industry, it cannot be denied that they may finally have achieved this goal. 

Today it is cool to be seen carrying around your Kindle. Thanks to apps we are becoming experts in our area of interest, whether that is comic books, Disney tales or Edgar Allen Poe novels. Technology is broadening our access to information, and while becoming tech-savvy is the way forward, thanks to the book app so is becoming literature-savvy.