Wednesday Books Blog Report: Digital Publishing, That Deadman Dance, and a Daring Birthday

In this Brave New e-book World of ours, writers are wrestling with how to make the most of digital publishing -- a potential shortcut to the title of author, but one that is fraught with uncertainties.

Rhonda Eudaly says e-books and e-publishing have arrived and will make an impact, and that responsible writers should acknowledge the medium and use it to their advantage. Book sales are book sales regardless of format.

But making those sales happen, she says, is the difficult part.

For those writers with Traditional Publishers that question is mostly contractual for current titles. Many publishers are already converting titles to e-books. However, for those authors with independent projects and backlists, the options are more...complex, she writes on her blog. Do you do the conversions yourself or do you go with an e-book publisher/conversion service? This answer isn't all that cut and dried.

Eudaly weighs the pros and cons of going it alone and aligning yourself with a company. If you go solo, you get to keep all the money that self-publishers like Amazon or Smashwords pay you, and You control everything. You reap the rewards. You do things on your timetable, your way. On the downside, all the work is on you, including the cover, content, and marketing, Eudaly writes. For more, see her post.

At Living a Life of Writing, Rebecca comes at the issue from another angle, writing that the key is a book that is well written and edited -- not where it is published.

Really, what should be the most important thing is that you have written a book, edited a book, edited this again, have a person look it over and then get it published, with affordability in mind (if self-publishing) and professionally as possible (no matter which route you take), she says.

The most important thing about writing, she emphasizes, is writing a good book.

Down Under, Bec Kavanagh reports on a good book that just won Kim Scott the 2011 Miles Franklin literary award -- That Deadman Dance. It's the second time that Scott has been named a Franklin Award winner.

The prize is highly recognized in the Australian literary community and has been the subject of much debate this year as for the second time in three years no women appeared on the shortlist, Kavanagh reports on the blog of A Thousand Words.

Here are some more quick hits from the books blogosphere today:

? Did you know it's Dan Brown's birthday? At The Fountain Pen Guild, Shival Gupta wishes him a happy 47th, calling Brown one of the most successful self-made novelists in the world.

Dan Brown is perhaps the most daring author of the recent times. His books have always invited serious debate, Gupta writes.

? The Thompson Family plays host to another round in the debate over books vs. movies (vs. couches?), in words and pictures.

? Greeny News provides its weekly report about all those wonderful books about nature, science and history that are hot off the presses in North America and the U.K., including The Great Sperm Whale: A Natural History of the Ocean's Most Magnificent and Mysterious Creature, by Richard Ellis. The roundup is slightly disorganized, but worth checking out alone for the children's book illustration that you might recognize.

? And finally, Master & Commander by Patrick O'Brian has evoked tender feelings for The Sleepless Reader.

It's at such times I realize how falling in love with a book is so similar to falling in love with a person, Alex writes. You don't really know why it's happening, but you feel a connection, a feeling of hopeful expectation, which over time, if you're lucky, is happily confirmed.

Edward B. Colby is the Books editor of the International Business Times.

Have suggestions for Thursday's Books Blog Report? Email them to e.colby@ibtimes.com.