WORLDREADER.ORG

I have long held that the cure for most of the world's ills lies in literacy and access to information. If we teach the disenfranchised to read and then provide them with the opportunity to access books and ideas, they will throw off the yoke of oppression, poverty, hunger, addiction and violence. We have seen the results of some of this in recent months in many places around the world. I suspect that we will see much more in years to come thanks to a project that I am privileged to be participating in.

THE STORY

As many of you might know, I am a big fan of Seth Godin and especially his commitment to making ideas available on a large scale basis and his willingness to share his own. He recently offered some thoughts on an organization called Worldreaders.org that you can read here. The ideas and efforts of this organization make so much sense in my mind that I just had to contact them and offer my own humble writing attempts for their program. I have just signed the agreement and sent it off to them. I don't know how many kids in Africa, Asia and South America will be interested in my books but that is not the point. The point is to give them the opportunity to read about the world and its possibilities. This project truly is about "teaching them to fish" rather than giving them a loaf of bread.

THE IDEA

In a nutshell, Worldreader is providing Kindles to students in developing countries, where paper based books are almost non-existent, and they are asking authors and publishers to make their books - the ones that are already part of the Kindle program - available at no charge. They will pre-load any books onto the devices before giving them to the students. They have made an agreement with Amazon and it really is possible for anyone who has written a book to make a difference in the world, in a very real sense. Simple, easy and brilliant - ideas, information and access, all in one package.

IF YOU ARE A READER

As a reader, there are three ways that I can suggest for you to participate:

1. send an email to your favorite authors asking them to make their books available to this program - you can send the link to this blog if that makes it easier.
2. send a message of support to info@worldreader.org and tell them how important their work is in transforming the world - I'm sure they would accept any donations, too!
3. forward this blog post to your friends on Twitter and Facebook and encourage them to do the same - let's make this a movement for change.

IF YOU ARE AN AUTHOR

Assuming your book is already listed on Kindle, it is a very simple process to contact Elizabeth Wood, Director of Digital Publishing for Worldreader and request their information package. There is a simple one page contract wherein you can direct Amazon to make your book available to this program. Yes, you will give up any income from potential sales to this group of potential readers. Kids learning to read in third world countries may not be that big a potential market for you, so, perhaps you will be willing to give up the royalties from sales in Ghana - think about it.
If your publisher holds the worldwide digital rights to your books, please consider talking to them about this program. Some are participating but others are requiring that the charity pay for the e-books. As you know, there is NO cost involved in making e-books available.
Send this post to your editors, designers, author-friends, distributors, and anyone else connected to making books available so that they can learn about this possibility for creating real change in the world.


AND FINALLY

A big thanks, once again, to Seth Godin for bringing this to our attention and big, big props to Worldreader.org for creating a project in which readers and authors can combine our talents, expertise, and need to make a difference into a program that will create so much good for so many people. Education will change the world and you can be a part of it.

Once again, please pass this message on to your social networks like Twitter and Facebook and let's get more people involved in this life-changing, world-building project.

PUBLISHERS ARE SPEAKING

The publishers appear to be taking a stand in terms of e-books. If you take a quick glance at the top 100 books on the Amazon Kindle listings, you will see that the major publishing houses now dominate the list. What is amazing is that in most cases, the Kindle price is higher than the paperback price and in more than a few instances, higher than the hardcover price.

As a reader, and an owner of a Kindle, I have a hard time justifying the price asked for a digital copy of a new release that is in the 15 - 20 dollar range. Some are well over $20.00. I don't think Amazon minds the prices since they get paid a percentage of the list and the higher the better for them. What does this mean for the early stage author who is publishing independently and doesn't have the marketing support of the big guys? It means the same thing it has always meant, build your own list of followers, connect and communicate with them in a timely and authentic fashion. Build your list one reader at a time - the same way you sell your books.

To be an author, you also need to be a marketer. If you are looking for advice in that area, I strongly suggest that you subscribe to Seth Godin's blog - no question that he is the preeminent marketer in this digital age. I suspect, but don't actually know, that there may be more platforms on the horizon for indie authors, so that they can get noticed by readers who appreciate us. I kind of like John Locke's philosophy for selling his pot boiler novels for .99 as he says that he offers the readers good entertainment and that the "big guys" have to justify why the reader should spend 15 to 20 times more for similar entertainment.

I realize that "name recognition" sells and it always has, but good writing, combined with a marketing plan that suits your needs, persistence, and most important of all, more books, you can get there. Keep writing, keep talking, keep posting, keep the faith baby!

READING ISN'T DEAD, BUT...

Seth Godin, one of the pre-eminent marketers of our generation and clearly a thought-leader in the field of writing and publishing, has a few comments to make about the current state of reading.
As writers, we might want to pay attention.
Go here and read his brief blog - it's worth your time, if you are writing in this market.
As always, I welcome your comments and please forward this to people you think might be interested.

CHANGING THE GAME - SETH GODIN DOES IT AGAIN

Changing the game: Do the Work is free for now

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The next title from the Domino Project is by bestselling author Steven Pressfield. He’s the author of The Legend of Bagger Vance, the upcoming thriller The Profession, and most important, the classic The War of Art.
I don’t think a more important book on art and shipping and fear has ever been written. The War of Art changed me, probably forever, and I know it’s had that impact on hundreds of thousands of creators.
That Steve is entrusting his new manifesto Do the Work to us is thrilling. Do the Work is a logical outgrowth of the writing in The War of Art, but it’s quite clearly a manifesto, a short, powerful, memorable rant on what it means to do work that matters. This book is so important, I’d like everyone to read it again and again.
And now they can.
Today we’re announcing a significant breakthrough in book publishing, and it may be a first: the digital edition of a bestselling author’s next book is available for free, thanks to a generous sponsor. Because most of the costs of an ebook are fixed (extra copies cost far less than additional copies of a paper book) there’s a great opportunity for a sponsor to subsidize the distribution–readers get the ebook for free, the sponsor benefits by being connected with a great work and perhaps some gratitude from the reader for bringing them an idea that might bring positive change.
The folks at GE have stepped up and they’re our first ebook sponsors. Beginning today until shortly after the Kindle edition is available on April 20th, the sponsored edition is free.
Click here, order it and it will be automatically delivered on pub date. You can read it on a Kindle, an iPad, an iPhone a PC and more. (If you already ordered your copy, your payment will be credited back to you).
We’re announcing this first to our readers on this blog, but feel free to spread the word. It’s only going to be free for a limited time, so don’t tarry.
My hope is that other sponsors will step up and allow us to do promotions for our other books as well. In the meantime, be prepared to be changed by Steve’s book, and thanks for reading and for spreading the word.

Article by seth godin

Seth Godin is the founder of The Domino Project and has written twelve books that have been translated into more than thirty languages. Every one has been a bestseller. He writes about the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership and most of all, changing everything.

 

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