Librarians rock!

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) has been working for the past two years with researchers, librarians, foundations and other public cultural institutions to offer the world’s largest and most comprehensive online digital library. Readers would be able to access the digital library from anywhere for no charge. Not since the invention of the printing press, which revolutionized the distribution and sharing of books to the masses, has a project been so exciting to readers (well, me, anyway, and as a reader, you should be excited, too!).

The project began with university librarians responding to Google’s efforts to digitize every book in public domain, and offering them to readers along with advertisements. (Gee, where have we seen business model before?) When the company expanded its plan to include books under current copyright, the Authors Guild responded by filing a class-action lawsuit.

The DPLA will offer the books free of advertising. To show your support, go to the link to add your name. 

http://dp.la/get-involved/pledge/

Write soon,

Mary

Do you have any New Year's Resolutions for writing?

Are you overwhelmed with all the reading and writing you want to do? This year I have a few specific projects I want to work on, and lots of books to read, but with so much information out there, it’s not easy. Checking emails alone can take a half hour or more to read and respond to because I follow links to Facebook or other websites that take me away from my initial goal. By the time I’m finished reading those, I either forgot what I wanted to do, or ran out of time to do it! 

I don’t think I’m alone, because several of my writer friends have mentioned that they are cutting back on some activities to focus more on others. So tell me, how do you stay focused on your goals?

Write soon,

Mary

Words writers don't want to hear

In honor of the most overused words and phrases of 2012, (here's a link)

http://www.canada.com/entertainment/Gallery+most+overused+words+phrases+2012/7760091/story.html

I’ve come up with my own list of words and phrases that writers never want to hear again:

Simultaneous submissions not accepted

Entry fee

We regret to inform you

Agented submissions only

Not what we are currently in the market for

Doesn’t meet our needs

Do not contact us

Unfortunately, we cannot afford to pay

My wish for the new year is that we don’t hear any of these phrases in 2013!

Write soon,

Mary

Pseudo-fun!

What do porn stars and writers have in common?

They use pseudonyms! What did you think I was talking about?

Do you recognize these names?

1)     Anne Rampling

2)     Richard Bachman

3)     Victoria Lucas

4)     Currer Bell

5)     Charles Lutwidge Dodgson

6)     Eric Arthur Blair

7)     Mary Ann Evans

8)     William Sydney Porter

9)     Francois-Marie Arouet

10) David John Moore Cornwell

11) Sanuel Langhorne Clemens

12) Theodore Seuss Geisel

13) Edgar Box

14) Diedrich Nickerbocker

These may be a little more familiar.

1)     Anne Rice

2)     Stephen King

3)     Sylvia Plath

4)     Charlotte Bronte

5)     Lewis Carroll

6)     George Orwell

7)     George Eliot

8)     O. Henry

9)     Voltaire

10) John Le Carre’

11) Mark Twain

12) Dr. Seuss

13) Gore Vidal

14) Washington Irving

They are the same people (match the numbers).

Tell me, have you ever used a pseudonym?

Write soon,

Mary

So many books, so little time

Thousands of free e-books are available to you regardless of which e-reader you use. The Gutenberg Project at Gutenberg.org features the classics, as does OpenLibrary.org and ManyBooks.net. 

Free-ebooks.net is another valuable site, and don’t forget to search “free nook books” at Barnes and Noble (BN.com). Amazon.com also has freebies if you search “free Kindle books.”

Write soon,

Mary