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ruinison, n. any instance of harmony in which individuals or machine parts act in concert with a disastrous result. 1 Jun

grieflection, n. thoughts on the life of a passing friend or loved one, and on your life too (suggested by Jon Lange). 2 Jun

bucolage, n. construction or creation of something new from whatever is available in the countryside; also, bucoleur. 3 Jun

kedawdle, v to take too long leaving an event or ending a conversation, to the point of frustrating others. 4 Jun

confête, n. a celebratory day, especially one involving a tickertape parade. 5 Jun

sasstisfaction, n. the pleasure that arises from giving lively, cheeky backtalk. 6 Jun

brimdowed, adj. to have part of one’s face shaded by the brim or bill of a hat or cap. 7 Jun

dediduum, n. one’s mental or writtten to do list, encompassing both personal and professional tasks (plural: dedidua). 8 Jun

kabood, v. to group or pack people or things into some space (backformation of kaboodle, a variant of caboodle). 9 Jun

cogregate, v. to act as cogs in a machine, i.e., as teeth on a wheel, adding force by interacting with other cogs. 10 Jun

done sequitur, n. when the ending of a piece of writing has little to do with the rest of the essay. 11 Jun

sclare, n. look on a presenter’s face that could be either controlled panic or quiet determination. 12 Jun

blut, v. to fall asleep in a library, especially during exam week. 13 Jun

indoctorination, n. the awarding of a doctoral degree (with thanks to Jeannie Green). 14 Jun

laccalaureate, adj. to be just a few credits short for graduation from college. 15 Jun

gladuation, n. happiness and satisfaction felt by high school or college graduates, their families and their teachers. 16 Jun

gruve, n. the grading curve in a large class of students. 17 Jun

alsomore, adv. a transitional word used in a sentence after one has already used “also.” The equivalent of Post PS. 18 Jun

inglorified, adj. to be made ignominious, as opposed to mere deglorification. 19 Jun

tattooboo, n. an offensive or inappropiate tattoo that one regrets having gotten (from tattoo + taboo + boo boo). 20 Jun

extimidate, v. to make yourself larger and louder in order to show a cougar that you’re not afraid. 21 Jun

gagand, v. talk to oneself while preening and titivating in front of a mirror (titivating is a real word!). 22 Jun

hearread, v. to listen to an audiobook. Pronounced as HEAR-READ or past tense HEAR-RED (suggested by Mary Williams). 23 Jun

dilemmification, n. to create an either-or problem where one does not exist (to invoke the false dichotomy fallacy). 24 Jun

zeitweaver n. one whose narrative creates a backstory through a series of flashbacks (also, the backform zeitweave). 25 Jun

quipness, n. when a situation lends itself to a brief witty remark or spontaneous yet pointed observation. 26 Jun

enthudiasm, n. initial excitement about or interest in something followed by rapid disillusionment. 27 Jun

textpectant, adj. anxiously awaiting a text message. 28 Jun

broccolize, v. to make a false analogy, especially one using green vegetables. 29 Jun

smidgle, v. to reduce the size of a product while leaving the price the same. 30 Jun

Wow. I’ve made it to the half-way point. I can see Dec. 31 up ahead. Thanks to Jon Lange, Jeannie Greene and Mary Williams for their suggestions.

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Another new deal for authors is Amazon Select and the opportunity for authors with a decent backlist (and the digital rights to their work) to manage their own sales. An engaging presence and a commitment of marketing and systematic discounts can enable authors to build new readership—$0.99 ebooks are here to stay and at $2.99 your royalties go way up. So get people interested for $0.99 (or free) and make then repeat readers at $2.99 a download.

Ebooks still (so far) have interesting demographics (older and more well-off) and are not yet a textbook delivery system. And the impact of ebook digital rights management on libraries is still being sorted out, since ebooks don’t naturally wear out. One topic that didn’t come up, surprisingly, was environmental impact? Which is greener—ebooks, with their batteries and electronics, or book books, which their paper, ink and glue?

We looked too at distribution—how books get to people—from books by mail to book shops, to distributors and wholesalers like Publishers Group West and Consortium. We talked about issues of return and the role of publishers in product placement in bookstores and even in “staff picks” (is nothing sacred). And for the distribution of used and rare books, Amazon and ABE shifted book sales back to the mail for a time. (Now ebooks will change that dynamic again.) And what about Google, Apple, and Amazon are they now publishers or distributors?

There were some nice interviews this term as well, with Bill Gholson, Diana Malta, Warren Hedges, Steve Sendar, Mandy Valencia, Kelsey Clark, Abbi Nguyen, and Molly Best Tinsley.

Academic and textbook publishing turn out to be special cases, academe with its blind review, long process and high cost (especially in the sciences) and textbooks, with their captive audiences, frequent revisions and faculty inertia. Epublishing and self-publishing seem to have not made a big impact yet on textbooks. But keep an eye on the textbook cost and information laws like Oregon’s HB 4058. And a topic we didn’t discuss enough is the role of open access laws on academic publishing.

We looked at job and careers skills too, from the classic proofing symbols to jobs like ghostwriter, copyeditor, creative consultant, fact checker, proofreader, and indexer. Our guests helped to bring out the balance between acquisitions editing, developmental editing and copyediting—roles that increasingly fall together fpr small publishers and are sometimes opportunities for freelancers. We looked at two very different audiobook operations and the operation of a bookstore, which includes selection, promotion and events. We talked about used, rare and collectible books—both the kind that are routinely resold for half the cover price and the rare books that might be in a library special collections or sold by a book dealer. How do you assess a books condition? What determines a book’s price, or value?

And in our middle of the term reports, we investigated freelance writing and some of its issues and tools: pitch letters/query letters, book proposals, how much to charge, what records to keep, time Management, contracts and rights (don’t sell you digital right in perpetuity!), and other skills you want to develop (photography, video). For some of you, finding work may mean finding an agent or a publisher, who will want to know more about your platform than your plot.

We looked at copyright and what (and who) it protects and at some of what you want in a book or article contract. Be careful but flexible and don’t get starry-eyed about big advances. It’s not free money.

Finally—and throughout—we’ve tried to focus on audience. From grandparents with kindles and nooks to Ashland’s 200 plus book groups. It’s audience, audience, audience.