Stuart Eglin Online » Publishing

Fragment: digital

Stuart — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 11:30:52 +0000

…. in case you need just a little more tempting to follow the link, here is a short poem from ‘Scrapes against the Soul’:

Pictures on the wall were all taken with this new camera
Living in a world where every second can be captured as a
Perfect digital image. Still or moving images
Everything caught as a series of digital code
So that every trace of every life can be saved for future viewing
If only we had the time to review everything
At least then we might learn something from the mistakes of history.

Scrapes against the Soul – now available

Stuart — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:52:11 +0000

If you follow the link to the ‘free stuff‘ page, you will be now be able to download a free PDF booklet of ‘Scrapes against the Soul’, a booklet of poems which I produced last year.

Coming soon – ‘November Suite’ - a booklet produced (not surprisingly) last November.

The Coaching 30 – 4 for Starters

Stuart — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:14:31 +0000

Over the last few months I have been working on the latest book, “The Coaching 30″, which is a set of 30 tips drawn from my coaching practise. They will be useful for coaches, and also for anyone looking to improve their creativity and productivity. I have 28 tips prepared and undergoing editing. So I thought it was a good time to share some of this. I’ve already posted a few of them on this blog. But I wanted to share 4 tips in a booklet form, so that readers could see what they will get in the full 30 tip e-book. I have sent this booklet out to a small group of contacts who are acting as a ‘Critical Friend Circle’. The feedback from this so far has been incredibly helpful.

I’m keen to keep building this circle of support, as well as building a readership for the finished book so if you would like a copy of the booklet please do get in touch using the contact form and I will send it to you.

The Coaching 30 – an introduction

Stuart — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:47:27 +0000

Over the coming weeks I will be posting excerpts from a new booklet which I am working on. Called ‘The Coaching 30′ it will be available as a pdf downloadable file with 30 sections, each giving a tip or suggestion which I use in my coaching practise. Some of these tips will be ideas which I have developed in working with clients, others will be suggestions for materials, books and ideas from others – particularly leaders in the field who I have studied. The plan is to offer up some of the 30 tools and tips here on the blog. Then, if you want the whole thing you can get hold of the pdf. I hope you find the resources useful.

Print on Demand

Stuart — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:21:06 +0000

I am looking at print-on-demand publishing services like Lulu.com and Createspace.com. Both of them offer services which mean that you can turn a pdf file into a book manuscript which can then be printed off as a book. These can be printed when required so rather than printing a thousand books and watching them gather dust in cardboard boxes, it is possible to print off individual copies as required at an economically viable cost.

Now, unless I am much mistaken, some detailed research suggests that Lulu is probably a better service if you are based in the UK, because the other service (which is owned by Amazon) only prints in the US.

There is also the option to produce books through both services, although this might be somewhat cumbersome. Any views on the two services are welcome – just post a comment on this post.

I’m going to use this service in the next few weeks to produce the first couple of books. This is a real move forwards for my publishing press (bluewater books), which until now has only produced hand-printed chapbooks. I’m looking forward to experimenting, and will blog about the progress with it over the coming weeks.

Self Publishing

Stuart — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 08:24:00 +0000

In a recent post, Rik Roots talks about self-publishing using a print-on-demand service called Lulu. This is a really interesting approach to producing perfect-bound books without having a heap of them sitting about on a shelf.

Rik points out that he has a specific need to publish so that he can share his work with friends, family and people who ask to see work. The web, in the form of downloadable pdf files is one way to satisy this demand. But there really is nothing like a real artefact to hold in the hand and turn the pages.

Something well worth investigating further.

I have self-published chapbooks / booklets a couple of years ago under the bluewater books imprint, and am in the middle of preparing a new series of booklets – all produced myself. I like the idea of a service like Lulu where the work is done for you.

Wired News: Putting Eyeballs on Copyright Law

Stuart — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 11:23:00 +0000

The latest issue of Wired News has an article about a civil rights fight over copyright. It builds on something I commented on a few days ago. The article is well worth a read as it brings into sharp focus the issue of copyright and control of history, creativity and the arts by large corporations.

It feels to me like we are on the verge of real change around this whole issue – the challenges of digital media, the democracy of file sharing (see post from a while ago) – it’s a question of who will win out on this.

I’m becoming increasingly aware of the whole “Creative Commons” movement. Time to investigate further…

Download the first 100 entries

Stuart — Fri, 28 Jan 2005 07:28:00 +0000

Yesterday evening I put together a booklet of the first 100 entries to this weblog. It is available as a download in pdf format. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to open it – but then you knew that already!

Click here to download it. Left click to open it in the browser, or right click and choose “Save Target as…” to save the file to your own computer.

I’ve turned the whole thing around so that it is chronological, rather than the reverse order that posts appear in on blogger.

I’ve also put a permananent link to it in the column on the right.

This online publication is the third publication by bluewater books. Enjoy.

The Reviewer

Stuart — Wed, 14 Apr 2004 19:03:00 +0000

At the end of last week I sent copies of ‘Zen Words’ and ‘Umbrian Images’ through to Gerald England in Stockport. He runs a website which has heaps of information about poetry and a reviews section. I wanted him to review my first two poetry booklets – he replied today with a positive. They will be reviewed soon – I wonder what the reviewer will make of them! In the meantime, I asked him if he needed any more reviewers. His response – incredibly rapid – was in the form of three booklets for me to look at. So, it looks like I am a reviewer now. Time for some serious reading, and a few words of comment.

Meanwhile, thoughts continue to develop on the next two publications from bluewater books (site needs updating, but it is here). I’m working on the idea of producing a booklet with a mini-CD included. I’m really impressed with those little CDs that are about 3 inches across, play on ordinary CD players and hold about 20 minutes of sound files. Small enough to fit inside the back of a booklet. More news on this as the idea develops.

Musically I am still bouncing around inside the back catalogue of Joni Mitchell – scope for months of exploring there. At the weekend I bought the new album by The Divine Comedy which is back down to just Neil Hannon again. He moved to Ireland and his wife had their first baby since the last album. The album is a set of beautiful pop songs. Sounds like he has been listening to Scott Walker and maybe Frank Sinatra a lot lately. Orchestrations and production are wonderful. Favourite songs so far are ‘Absent Friends’ (title track), ‘Come Home Billy Bird’ and ‘Our Mutual Friend’. I also really like the sentiment in the last track where he sings about his ‘charmed life’ to his baby, hoping that his baby will one day ‘call your life a charmed life’ too. I know it sounds a bit coy, but within the confines of the song it works really well.

Sea in UK as hot as the Med!

Stuart — Tue, 26 Aug 2003 15:34:00 +0000

The Bank Holiday Weekend has passed. It was an excellent one, crowded with activities. Amongst many other things, we spent yesterday exploring the Lleyn Peninsula in North West Wales. We even went swimming in the sea at Aberdaron. The weather was mixed, but lack of rain on a bank holiday was a miracle for the UK.

This is the week when the ‘zen words’ booklet finally comes out under the ‘blue water books’ imprint. It has been a few weeks in the making, but we are just about there. Finally, I am the proud father of a publishing house. It’s not a patch on being the proud father of three boys, but it’s still an achievement!

Now work beckons…