The L'Stok ePress

A Kodak Moment - Book publishing roundtable.

2011-01-30T04:22:00.000-08:00

Kodak recently hosted a roundtable discussion on the future of book publishing with executives from book publishing, manufacturing, retailing and distribution companies... and an author for good measure! The full release is here, but I found this precis most interesting...

Topics, highlights and points-of-view shared by various participants included:

- The fluctuating revenue model for e-books as publishers have assumed a number of new costs, such as licensing and privacy protection, associated with e-books.
- High-speed inkjet printing will have a significant impact on book manufacturing—“the biggest development in publishing in the past 50 years,” according to one panelist.
- Inkjet printing will allow for more and shorter production runs, saving on inventory, waste and obsolescence costs, and providing a means for niche books to be printed that otherwise wouldn’t get produced.
- E-books make it possible to offer new promotions based on an individual’s interests, such as bundling similar e-books into one download or including a sample of a different author’s work with an e-book purchase.
- Print-on-demand book production minimizes losses associated with returns, which can average 15% for many titles.
- While children have access to computers and other electronic devices, they typically prefer the printed book.
- All players in the publishing market need to remain agile and always ready to adapt their business models.
- Publishers will continue to add value and play a critical role in bringing books to the marketplace.

“The bottom line: people will have greater access to books and related content, what, when and however they want it, which should mean more people reading more often,” said Jim Milliot, Editorial Director, Publisher’s Weekly, and moderator of the discussion. “And that certainly bodes well for the future.”

Licensing is just part of the current model of handling IP but "privacy protection"? They're not talking about DRM are they? I know how they can solve that problem - scrap it! Evidently agility and readiness to adapt their business practises does not include ditching their sad devotion to an outmoded concept that you can own information.

They talk up a storm about why DRM is needed to protect their "property", making honest people who have paid for the eBooks jump through hoops, when they allow internet eBook pirates to traffic their stolen goods in apparent impunity.

Come on! Get serious!

eBooks for Christmas

2010-11-12T16:50:00.000-08:00

I am especially excited at the way that the preparations for the ePublishing stream of the Twelve Trek Days of Christmas are coming along, but what, I hear some of you say, is an eBook? What do they look like? What can you do with them that you can't do with a Newsgroup, forum post, blog or pdf? Why, in other words, should an author go to the bother of publishing his work as an eBook at all?

There is no shortage of general commentary on the advantages - and disadvantages - of ebooks on the internet. There are specific cost benefits, author incentives, and the big debate at the moment is (to oversimplify) whether the retail price of eBooks should be artificially inflated to be the same as the hard copy or not - they are definitely more environmentally friendly!

How does all this affect the fan fiction community? It means that eBooks are coming of age! They are no longer an immature technology, replete with a half-dozen different formats competing on hardware exclusive platforms - reminiscent of the wars between Apple and Microsoft or VHS and Beta - so that we can afford to sit on the sidelines and wait until a clear winner emerges.Today we have a technology that has become accepted not only by the great unwashed but the chic, the rich-and-famous and the tech-savvy. People now looking with envy over the shoulders of those who are flicking through their iPad as against the "what-a-geek" sneers I'd get when I used to read stuff on my iPaq five years ago.

Specifically, this wide acceptance of eBooks means that fan fiction writers can now list their books right alongside those of professional writers! Maybe not on the same websites, you'll not get your fanfic lited on Banes & Noble or Amazon, but there is no reason why we can't have them listed on similar amateur fiction sites. Production-wise we are on pretty much an even playing field, unlike the traditional printing industry, where making a book requires printing and and binding equipment that is beyond the grasp of the amateur (or is it?). With care and attention, you can create an eBook that looks exactly the same as a professionally made one!

How do they compare to the pdf books that we published in 2008? I'll be honest with you and say that eBooks are not as pretty. The 'page-turning' reading applications like Issuu are to my mind, the closest thing you can get to the experience of reading a book on a computer.

Open publication - Free publishing - More star trek

This is "The Black Gate" a book by Richard Merk, part of his Banshee Squadron fan fiction series. Richard has whole-heartedly thrown himself into making the eBook stream of this year's Twelve Trek Days a success and it is only fitting that we use one of his books as an example of what we are doing.

The heart of your eBook library, like any library is the way that it is organised. Think about what a public library has to do. They get all sorts of new media in, they prepare it for distribution, catalogue it then lend it out to the general public. Your eBook library needs to do exactly the same thing and, although I will be the first to point out that there are other good options out there, I use Calibre to do it.

Calibre is a freeware, open source software program that acts as an eBook organiser and reader. It is available for free download from the creator's website and, once installed, you are led to the heart of the system which, as user interfaces go, is pretty much self explanatory.

Firstly you add books to it. These can be of any one of a dozen different formats ranging from plain text (txt) through rtf , html and pdf, to a couple of the larger eBook platforms, such as the Mobipocket file formats, and what is fast becoming the defacto standard, ePub.

Once they have been 'registered' and 'catalogued' on the system, they appear on the main screen as a list in the central screen with the "metadetails" shown in the right hand screen.

Once it is on the system there are a number of cool things you can do with your books but, to keep things simple, let's just look at the main purpose you are going to be putting this to - reading your books. It couldn't be simpler! Point and double-click on the entry on the listing or click the listing and then "view" (the magnifying glass) on the toolbar. This will open a viewer to suit whatever format the book is in which looks like this...

What's the use of a library unless you can read the books though? Once a new eBook is imported into your library you can open up a viewer to read it no matter what format it was originally in. These screenshots are of The Black Gate viewed in the ePub viewer.

Notice that you have a neat title page with a table of contents in a separate window on the left hand side of the screen which you can close down when it isn't needed.

Regular users of Adobe Acrobat reader - the ubiquitous reader of the pdf format - might point out that it too has a window that acts like a contents with screenshots of the pages that can be opened down the left hand side of the screen.

But can a pdf remember your spot and open there when you close your book up at the end of your session? Can you change the size of the font and still get word wrapping within your screen without navigating around what is in effect a "big picture". You can set it to night reading mode, annotate the text, check a dictionary...?

Perhaps most importantly, you can use Calibre as the nerve centre to save versions of the book on whatever device you have connected to your computer - a netbook, smart phone (or in my case a dumb-phone!). Here are some shots taken of the The Black Gate on The-Heir-To-The-Family-Curse's iPod Touch where he has two eBook readers, Stanza (on the left) and Bookshelf (on the right).

K

Issuu goes Android! iPhone coming soon!

2009-12-22T02:16:00.000-08:00

Just got notice that Issuu, the online publication tool for pdf, has gone mobile! According to their release...

Introducing Issuu Mobile for Android phones. You can now access your favorite magazines, newspapers, catalogs and more everywhere you go. Enjoy the best mobile reading experience and share it with your friends. Choose from over 1 million free publications from Bauer Media, Penguin Books, Random House and more including the web's best indie publishers. Or publish your very own today!

Scratch for easy reading
With our groundbreaking EasyRead technology you can finally enjoy reading, yes reading, the text of magazines, newspapers, books and more on any small screen device.
It's social too
All the popular features of Issuu have gone mobile: get notified of the latest editions, subscribe to your favorite publishers, see what your friends are reading, keep up with your groups, synchronize with My Library, and much much more.

Without even lifting a finger, the books and 'zines published by L'Stok Press will now be available as true eBooks that you can read on the go! Issuu is also promising that they will soon be available on the iPhone, and by extension the iTouch.

This is going to make the dividing line between eBook reader and the new large, clear screen phones much more fuzzy! Competition? I don't think so. It will boil down to how much reading you intend doing on the device - the ePaper screens of the dedicated readers win hands down for clarity and legibility. However for convenience, the ability to snatch a few pages of the book you are reading on one of the new smartphones between phone calls, music and emails, would be magic!

Simon & Schuster get Scribd?

2009-12-01T00:37:00.000-08:00

I don't know how long they've been there, but I noticed today that Simon & Schuster, the publishers of licensed Star Trek fiction, are publishing teaser copies of their works on Scribd. Have a look at the latest in their Star Trek: Enterprise line ...

Star Trek: Enterprise: The Romulan War

Just out of curiosity, what exactly is the title? Most of the advance publicity says this is "Star Trek: Enterprise: The Romulan War", so what is, "Beneath The Raptor's Wing"? Is it just me or does it sound like the first of a new series? Surely they're not going to fit the whole of the Romulan War in one volume?

And, not wanting to be critical but... two colons in the same sentence?

All niggles aside, I will be buying this since I believe Enterprise has a lot of story potential and not just because of curiosity as to how they will unfold the Romulan War to us. My only caveat is what media to get it in. I recently lost my beloved iPaq >sniff< and I mostly miss its scheduling and eBook functions. I have a eeePC - called "Mini Me" - that is very handy but the Linux installation that it came with has no serious eBook reader (and the media player sucks too!). I'm trying to teach myself the arcane rituals of downloading and installing software in Linux to put one on there. (^V^)

I could get it from Scribd as a pdf download but pdf looses a lot of the eBook functionality, keeping your page, dictionary and note-taking for example. I haven't read an eBook in a while, can I get this in MobiPocket? Does MobiPocket still exist now that it has been bought by Amazon and they are pushing the Kindle?

I'll get back to you shortly.

Star Trek: Heritage - A Break With Tradition

2009-01-22T02:46:00.000-08:00

Star Trek: Heritage - A Break With Tradition
By T.L.Shull
Created by our friends at

ShadowKnight Productions

In 2413 the United Federation of Planets and its allies are once again at war. Exploration is on the backburner as Starfleet concentrates on defending the Federation's heart from a blood-thirsty and violent species from the Gamma Quadrant as well as a growing threat from a well-organized militia trying to disrupt a Romulan-Reman accord.

Now odd occurrences at its back door begin to cause the UFP alarm, right on the eve of the budding peace initiative in the region. Something or someone is murdering supply-ship commanders near the remote and normally calm edges of the Romulan Neutral Zone. The only eye-witness accounts describe the attackers as being ghosts.

Fresh off her fiery stint as the captain of a small Starfleet defense ship, the newly ordained commanding officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise-G, along with a tenacious band of defense ship commanders, are burdened with a task that will either bring peace to the region or will let the enemy run unabated through the galaxy, destroying everything the UFP holds dear...

...and really, what would that do to the family name?

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T.L. Shull resides in The Land of Enchantment, in the hub of the American Southwest. When not working in the blindingly exciting world of insurance, she spends most of her free time frolicking in the realms of Star Trek. She is currently working on the remainder of the Heritage series and is also the author of the "pre-Nemesis" tale entitled Star Trek: The Next Generation - Retribution as well as other short stories and works that revolve around Next Gen and Enterprise. Her work can be found at the TrekUnited forums, The Omega Sector BBS or on your hard drive at your request. She can be reached at terilynn@dragonox.com.

A Break With Tradition is a ShadowKnight Production by Steff Watson and the author would like to thank her for her personal support, advise and production skills, without which this book would not have reached it's full potential.

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TO BROWSE THE BOOK:
Click on the book cover above to go to the 12 Days Book Page where you can flick through the pages on the mini-viewer (Choose full screen for easy viewing).

TO DOWNLOAD IN ADOBE ACROBAT FORMAT:
Click on the Issuu site and choose 'Download' to read a copy offline using Adobe Acrobat Reader. Membership to Issuu needed for download.

Star Trek: Dominion

2009-01-22T02:21:00.000-08:00

Star Trek: Dominion
By Charlotte Kebbell
A TrekUnited Fan Press production

Krang gestured towards the rear of the ship. "The enemy is that way. I'm going after them." He paused, "Are you with me?"

Kargan stared at the captain for a moment, then seeing the enquiring look the helm officer was giving him, he confirmed the captain's order. "Turn the ship around. Today we go hunting!"

Krang returned to the captain's chair and sat down. "Send a message to the Endeavour" he said, "Tell them what we are doing and order them to return to Federation space." The message sent, the bird-of-prey began to turn around, its crew ready and eager to hunt Jem'Hadar.

Moments later a return message came from the captain of the Endeavour. "nIteb Qob qwaD jup 'e' chaw'be' SuvwI - A warrior does not let a friend face danger alone!" As Krang read out the message, the bridge erupted in cheers and the two ships, Endeavour and Hegh'Ta, flew side by side, back into Dominion controlled space.

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New alliances are formed as old enemies fight side by side against an enemy that threatens both the the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets ... from inside as well as outside. Will love and honour triumph over treachery and deceit?

Charlotte Kebbell is a mainstay of The Federation / Klingon Rapid Response Fleet, a large and active Role Play Gaming forum and fan fiction community.

This edition of Star Trek: Dominion is a production of TrekUnited Fan Press

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TO BROWSE THE BOOK:
Click on the Issuu viewer above and flick through the pages (Choose full screen for easy viewing).

TO DOWNLOAD IN ADOBE ACROBAT FORMAT:
Click on the Issuu site and choose 'Download' to read a copy offline using Adobe Acrobat Reader. Membership to Issuu needed for download.

Star Trek: Aldrin - The Enemy Within

2009-01-21T02:45:00.000-08:00

Star Trek: Aldrin - The Enemy Within
Written & edited by Derek Kessler

After several years of war with the allied powers of the Alpha Quadrant, in 2375 the Dominion was defeated and surrendered unconditionally. Not all in the Dominion were on board with the surrender and soon after their retreat to the Gamma Quadrant, the Dominion isolated itself. But before they retreated, they left something behind.

Five years later, the Federation launches its newest Starfleet ship, the advanced U.S.S. Aldrin, equipped with the latest futuristic weapons and defense systems. The ship is sent to explore the Gamma Quadrant, but before they can even leave Earth, the Dominion's plot is set into motion and threatens to reignite the war with devastating consequences.

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Derek Kessler lives in Cincinnati, Ohio where he is studying engineering and serving in the Ohio Army National Guard. He is also the forum administrator and news editor of the Star Trek news and community website Trek United. In addition to The Enemy Within, Derek has written two other Star Trek: Aldrin novels: Diplomatic Protocol and Shadows in the Darkness, and is currently working on book four: The Other Shoe. All three works can be found on the Trek United forums.

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A Leap of Faith

2009-01-21T02:21:00.000-08:00

A Leap of Faith
By House Abukoff
A TrekUnited Fan Press production

These are three episodes from a new Star Trek: Enterprise, Virtual Season 5 ...

...Continuing from the tragic ending of the fourth season episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, "Terra Prime", two babies of mixed Vulcan and human parentage face a deadly threat. The lives of two families are linked across the centuries in a race that will decide the fate of the Romulan Empire!

...A rescue mission to repair a colony's biodome is made more complicated by the "help" of the trickster from the Q Continuum. Starring Porthos!

...Of all the starships named Enterprise one has been shrouded in mystery. Of all the captains of the Enterprise one has stood out above all. Before the NCC-1701 was built there was another Enterprise - and another Kirk!

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These are the first three episodes in a planned Virtual Season 5 for Star Trek: Enterprise, continuing the adventures without the restrictions of networks, ratings and production costs. A group project, headed up by Kapact of House Abukoff, you can read more about it at their website.

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Embers Of The Fire

2009-01-19T06:56:00.000-08:00

Embers Of The Fire
By Sam Redfeather
Created by our friends at

ShadowKnight Productions

The Constitution-class starship Gibraltar was mothballed by Starfleet in the late 23rd century, and has now been resurrected in the first months following the devastating Dominion War. Though upgraded significantly, the vessel is still ninety years old and easily outmatched by most modern ships. This once proud heavy cruiser has now been relegated to escort duties, helping to safeguard relief convoys to the shattered worlds of the Cardassian Union that now languish under Federation and Klingon stewardship.

Command of the Gibraltar has been given to a reluctant and inexperienced new captain who finds his crew comprised mostly of the castoffs from the rest of the Fleet. Though they are not the best and the brightest ever assembled, they will have to learn to function as a team in the dangerous and uncertain times ahead as the Federation and their allies attempt to pick up the shards of the past and forge a new future for the quadrant.

On their first mission, the crew quickly discovers not everyone shares the Federation's vision for Cardassia's future. Gibraltar becomes embroiled in a fight-or-flight engagement over a beleaguered Cardassian colony, where Starfleet's allies may prove as dangerous as the insurgents struggling to expel the Federation presence from their territory.

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Embers of the Fire is the first volume of Sam Redfeather's Star Trek: Gibralter series, which currently has over a half-dozen works ranging from full-length novels to vignettes. His homebase is United Trek, a website and forum of ten authors writing in twelve series that share the same continuity and represents an amazingly broad and rich body of work. He is also active on the TrekBBS and HopeStation.net.

Sam welcomes feedack on his home forum at United Trek. He owns and uses a Sony PRS-505 eBook reader.

This edition of Embers of the Fire is a ShadowKnight Production.

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"A gut-wrenching, socially relevant tale that is a wonderful introduction to the Star Trek Gibraltar series and the United Trek universe."

DarKush, creator of the Dark Territory series

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Arc Of The Wolf - On The Nature Of Wind

2009-01-19T05:52:00.000-08:00

Arc Of The Wolf - On The Nature Of Wind

By S.L.Watson

Created by our friends at

ShadowKnight Productions

The miracle worker. His name rings true throughout Federation history. When a problem arose his captain would call engineering and he would answer ever dilligently, "Aye." His name was Scotty. A more down to Earth, gutsy and all round honest engineer could never be found. He is the standard for all Starfleet engineers. He helped develop countless new technologies and served aboard the most famous starship of all.

Yet Scotty is a mystery to most. His origins are unknown as is his life before the Enterprise. Before that he was Montomery Scott, a quiet young man in a loud world. He had few friends and felt no personal connection to anyone. He was smart but alone. That's when he found his polar opposite and began a journey that would shape his life forever. A journey that would test his mind, body and soul. A journey that would endager his life.

A journey that would make him the miracle worker.

You can never predict which way the wind will blow.

Stephanie Watson (mostly known as Steff) primarily posts her fanfiction to her LiveJournal, but has been known to also hang around the Omega Sector BBS, Trek United and the TrekBBS. She primarily writes fanfiction for the Original Series, as well as occasionally tries her hand at fanart. She is an unabashed Scotty fan, and it probably shows. You can find her at http://slwatson.livejournal.com, or you can look for her penname SLWatson just about anywhere you go.

On the Nature of Wind is a ShadowKnight Production, SL Watson's personal imprint.

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"A heartwarming and rollicking adventure across classrooms and the high seas. If you download one Star Trek fanfic, make it this one!"

R.Shelkey, Davisville Village Media Review-O-Rama.

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