A Book Is Never Really Done

Amazon's Kindle changed how people read books, and a program called Penflip might change how we write them.

Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

When I started writing my first book in 2003, I’d been blogging for more than three years. I’d learned the value of a conversation with my readers. Most importantly, I’d absorbed the obvious truth that they knew more than I did. So, with the permission of my publisher, I posted chapter drafts of We the Media on my blog. The result was a variety of comments and suggestions, some small and some major, that in the end helped me produce a much better book.

That experiment was an early stab at bringing the Internet’s widely collaborative potential to a process that had always been collaborative in its own way: authors working with editors. The notion of adding the audience to the process was, and remains, deeply appealing.

Why so? It wasn’t only the fantastic prepublication feedback that appealed to me. It was also the potential for thinking about a book as something that might evolve. Now, I never did write a second edition, but the conversation we created together was enormously helpful to me—and, I hope, to the others who participated—as I worked on new projects and, later, a follow-up book.

The tools of online collaboration are still relatively primitive and often discouragingly awkward. But they’re improving, and I’m seeing glimmerings of hope that in a few years we’ll have vastly more capable systems. That’s particularly important because without better collaboration tools, we won’t be able to take advantage of the ways in which e-books can be truly superior to traditional print.

As British writer Charlie Stross—with whom I collaborated last week in an e-book experiment at the Frankfurt Book Fair—noted in a recent post, Microsoft Word, ubiquitous today for authors and their editors, needs to be replaced. Tom Scocca agrees. I rarely use it myself, but there are times when it’s the only way I can communicate with an editor. (I prefer to write in a plain text editor and then, if necessary, format in LibreOffice Writer; however, I find Writer even less stable than Word.)

The Track Changes feature in Word (and Writer) is, of course, one primary reason we all use it. (The other is that typesetters almost universally start with an imported Word document.) Google Docs doesn’t offer this kind of review feature, though it should. The closest thing I’ve found on the Web for this kind of collaborative editing is Poetica, an early version of an editing tool that re-creates much of the style—and I believe value—of traditional editing.

But we don’t do just text anymore. We “write” in mixed-media formats, incorporating charts, videos, and more into our work, and e-book formats still aren’t supported as well as they should be. I’m still looking, for example, for a great EPUB-native editor. The open-source Sigil is a fine start, but also very much a work in progress.

The most famous Internet collaboration is the one almost everyone uses, at least as a reader: Wikipedia. Editing isn’t terribly difficult, though not nearly simple enough for true newbies. Even if it were, Wikipedia isn’t a book with an author’s voice—and isn’t meant to be. Yet it shows many of the ways forward, including the robust discussions in the background of the articles. Wikipedia articles are also living documents, changing and evolving over time. Could books be like that?

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/10/penflip_github_for_books_publishing_needs_better_collaborative_tools.html
Similar Articles: engadget   beyonce   Gareth Bale   ellie goulding   Nick Jonas  

House debt limit, funding plan would not pass Senate: Reid

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Tuesday that an alternative debt limit and government funding plan promoted by conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives could not win approval in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Reid said the plan, which was discussed at a House Republican meeting on Tuesdays morning, was "an extreme piece of legislation and it's nothing more than a blatant attack on bipartisanship."

Earlier, House Speaker John Boehner said no decisions had been made to bring the House plan up for a vote. The proposal would track several key parameters of an emerging deal that Reid is negotiating with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell but it would require some concessions on "Obamacare" health reforms and add some other restrictions on funding and borrowing.

(Reporting By David Lawder; Editing by Bill Trott)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/house-debt-limit-funding-plan-not-pass-senate-155600643--business.html
Similar Articles: The Walking Dead Season 4   Cecily Strong   olinguito   tibetan mastiff   david ortiz  

Hope remains for global recovery beyond US impasse

Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, reads a newspaper before a meeting of the IMFC, during the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings at IMF headquarters, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013, in Washington. World finance officials prepared to wrap up three days of meetings in Washington, where fretting about the risk of an unprecedented U.S. debt default overshadowed myriad worries about a shaky global economic recovery. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, reads a newspaper before a meeting of the IMFC, during the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings at IMF headquarters, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013, in Washington. World finance officials prepared to wrap up three days of meetings in Washington, where fretting about the risk of an unprecedented U.S. debt default overshadowed myriad worries about a shaky global economic recovery. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde, right, listens to a question, with Singaporean Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who is also the chairman of the IMFC, during a media availability, during the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings at IMF headquarters Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013 in Washington. World finance officials prepared to wrap up three days of meetings in Washington, where fretting about the risk of an unprecedented U.S. debt default overshadowed myriad worries about a shaky global economic recovery. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici speaks in a news conference during the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings at IMF headquarters, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013, in Washington. World finance officials prepared to wrap up three days of meetings in Washington, where fretting about the risk of an unprecedented U.S. debt default overshadowed myriad worries about a shaky global economic recovery. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Governor of the Banque de France Christian Noyer speaks in a news conference during the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings at IMF headquarters, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013, in Washington. World finance officials prepared to wrap up three days of meetings in Washington, where fretting about the risk of an unprecedented U.S. debt default overshadowed myriad worries about a shaky global economic recovery. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Governor of the Banque de France Christian Noyer speaks in a news conference during the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings at IMF headquarters, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013, in Washington. World finance officials prepared to wrap up three days of meetings in Washington, where fretting about the risk of an unprecedented U.S. debt default overshadowed myriad worries about a shaky global economic recovery. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Worries about a possible U.S. debt default cast a pall over weekend meetings of global financial leaders in Washington. But they ended with some hope over signs that the U.S. and European economies are pulling out of long slumps.

During three days of talks revolving around meetings of the 188-nation International Monetary Fund and its sister lending agency, the World Bank, top officials pressed the U.S. to resolve the political impasse over the debt ceiling. The standoff has blocked approval of legislation to increase the government's borrowing limit before a fast-approaching Thursday deadline.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has warned that he will exhaust his borrowing authority Thursday and the government will face the prospect of defaulting on its debt unless Congress raises the $16.7 trillion borrowing limit.

"We are now five days away from a very dangerous moment," World Bank President Jim Yong Kim warned at the closing news conference on Saturday. "I urge U.S. policymakers to quickly come to a resolution before they reach the debt ceiling deadline. The closer we get to the deadline, the greater the impact will be for the developing world."

Kim said a default would be a "disastrous event" for poorer countries. It would also be certain to derail the already fragile global economic recovery.

"We know there are problems," Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the head of the IMF's policy-steering committee and Singapore's finance minister, told a news conference at the end of the IMF meeting. "We know there are near-term risks, the most obvious one being what's going on in the U.S. with regard to the fiscal deficit."

But one of the big near-term concerns, the expectation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will start scaling back its massive stimulus program for the economy, is actually pointing to a positive development, Tharman said. It means that the U.S. economy is strong enough to withstand a reduction of the stimulus.

IMF officials have been forecasting that the strengthening U.S. economy will be a main driver of the global economy in the coming year.

At the same time, developing country economies are slowing and their markets have been unsettled since May by anticipation that the Fed will soon begin tapering its $85-billion-a-month bond purchases, which poured cash into the economy to stimulate growth.

"The eventual normalization of monetary policy as economies recover in the West will be a net positive for the emerging economies," Tharman said, meaning that the strength of the major economies will help carry the global economy forward.

Lew told finance ministers that the United States understands the role it plays as "the anchor of the international financial system" and assured them the administration was doing all it could to reach a resolution on the debt.

An effort Saturday to pass a one-year extension of the borrowing limit failed to get sufficient votes. But in a more hopeful sign, negotiations began between Democratic and Republican Senate leaders to end the impasse.

Mario Draghi, head of the European Central Bank, was one of a number of officials who were guardedly confident that an eleventh-hour deal would be reached, as it has in similar standoffs in the past.

"I still think it is unthinkable that an agreement won't be found," Draghi told reporters Saturday. "If this situation were to last a long time, it would be very negative for the U.S. economy and the world economy and could certainly harm the recovery."

But once Draghi moved beyond the U.S. impasse, he sounded upbeat about the prospects for a European recovery. That in itself is a dramatic turn from the past three years, when global financial leaders were taken up with waves of crisis sweeping across the region and necessitating a series of international rescue loans.

The IMF called on emerging economies, which have been the drivers of the global economy in recent years, to undertake reforms that will help their economies better withstand the scaling back of monetary stimulus in the U.S. and other major economies.

When the stimulus money was flowing, emerging economies benefited from investments as investors were attracted by their relatively higher rates of interest vis-a-vis the United States and other major economies.

But many of those same countries that benefited from capital flows have been rocked since May, as the investment flows reversed and flowed back toward the U.S. as rates here began to rise.

Alexandre Tombini, the head Brazil's central bank, told the IMF steering committee that the worries about the U.S. and global economies might be overblown.

"A while ago there was an excess of exuberance and now perhaps an excess of pessimism," he said.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-10-13-Global%20Economy/id-9d81f4d31ef346cdb4514710a6fe103f
Tags: fiona apple   denver broncos   constitution day   lamar odom   elvis presley  

Why Harry Reid Won’t Take Yes for an Answer

Harry Reid leaves the Capitol on Oct. 13, 2013 as Congress continues to struggle to find a solution.

Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Majority Leader Harry Reid moved the goal posts. On Saturday, when Republican Senate negotiators came to work, they thought they were close to a deal with Democrats based on the proposal offered by Republican Sen. Susan Collins. The government would be reopened for six months in exchange for a delay of the medical device tax that helps fund Obamacare, flexibility in managing sequestration cuts, and new requirements to verify income for those entering the federal exchanges as a part of the Affordable Care Act. But the Senate Democratic leader didn't like the six-month date, so he called it off.

Why did Reid back out? The agreement would have made it harder for Democrats to negotiate changes to the next round of sequestration cuts, something they have sought as part of a larger budget deal. If Reid was moving the goal posts, it's because he—or some of the Democrats negotiating with Collins—temporarily forgot where he'd put them. 

It has always been a Democratic goal to wipe out the new round of sequestration cuts that kick in next January. It was something they were hoping to negotiate once the government shutdown ended and all the lights were turned back on. It was on the Democratic wish-list, just as entitlement and tax reform are on the GOP list. What elevated the issue into the center of the debate this weekend was the six-month timeline in Collins’ proposal. Under that agreement, which Collins worked on with Democratic senators, the government would be kept open until March. That seems reasonable, given how long it will take negotiators to wrangle with each other in the post-shutdown negotiations. But that also means that new sequestration cuts scheduled to start in January would kick in while the negotiations were ongoing. Democrats worry that if they allow them to take effect they won't be able to negotiate for their removal.

Democrats say they aren't dictating how the future sequestration cuts will be replaced, just that they want to have a chance to negotiate how to replace them. "Republicans want to do it with entitlement cuts," said Sen. Chuck Schumer on Face the Nation. "Democrats want to do it with a mix of mandatory cuts, some entitlements and revenues. And so how do you overcome that dilemma? We're not going to overcome it in the next day or two. But if we were to open up the government for a period of time that concluded before the sequester took place, which is Jan. 15, we could have a whole bunch of discussions."

Reid would like the government to stay open for a shorter period of time and the debt ceiling lifted for a longer period. McConnell would like something closer to the opposite.

This disagreement about dates is what caused the six Democrats working with Collins to say that they did not support her final offer. Some Republicans have claimed that the Democrats are trying to change the Budget Control Act, which is the law of the land. They are, but not as a condition of ending the partial shutdown or lifting the debt ceiling. That's an important distinction because actually asking to change the budget law now would be identical to the GOP requesting to lock in specific entitlement changes as a condition of lifting the debt ceiling or funding the government. The administration and Democrats have said that linking those issues to the current crisis is out of bounds.

As a negotiating posture however, Democrats have no problem letting Republicans charge that Reid spent the weekend attempting to undo the Budget Control Act. When the final agreement includes no such thing, Republicans will be able to claim that they thwarted Reid’s plan.  

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says Reid should just take yes for an answer, but Reid thinks he has enough leverage to hold steady and not deal away future discussions on the sequestration cuts. Democrats say, “Why should we diminish our right to negotiate in the future over something they don't like, just because Ted Cruz and some House Republicans created a crisis?” This is the White House’s position, too. When asked if they were overplaying their hand, an administration official pointed to this weekend’s rallies with Cruz and Sarah Palin. The demonstrations on the mall were keeping the Tea Party brand in the news, which Democrats believe hamper those lawmakers who are trying to ameliorate the Tea Party inspired budget detour over Obamacare.

So now Reid and McConnell will have a debate about dates. It's not an impossible divide. Reid would like the government to stay open for a shorter period of time and the debt ceiling lifted for a longer period. McConnell would like something closer to the opposite. Those are not differences big enough to cause a breach of the debt limit and suggest that, despite the weekend hiccup, the Senate will get its act together. After this brief Senate interlude, we'll be focused on the House again. House Speaker John Boehner will have to decide what bill he brings to the floor and how many Democrats he'll need to pass it. Will he be able to get a majority of Republicans, as he did during the debt limit votes of 2011 and early 2013? The clock is ticking. 

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2013/10/harry_reid_and_government_shutdown_negotiations_democrats_want_a_deal_that.html
Related Topics: amber alert   aldon smith   pittsburgh steelers   beyonce   Boston Magazine  

Joe Jonas A Drug Addict? Rumored To Be Using Heroin!

The Jonas Brothers recently axed their comeback world tour, which left fans wondering about the reasons behind the cancellation.

Sources reveal that Joe Jonas has picked up a nasty drug habit. Joe has reportedly become addicted to heroin after dating addict Blanda Eggenshwiler.

An insider reveals Joe has previously used heroin but is now fully addicted to the same drug that took the life of “Glee” star Cory Monteith in July.

Joe Jonas finished off their international tour before his drug use came to light. He drank and did heroin with his girlfriend Blanda during the tour, which worried crew members.

Joe’s family are fully aware of his escalating heroin and alcohol abuse, but are worried what that could mean for their clean-cut image.

A source said Joe Jonas admits he has a problem and just wanted to postpone the tour so he could receive treatment. But his family members said he was being selfish by putting their livelihoods at stake. They reportedly wanted him to pray about it and continue on with the tour.

Many of us are shocked to hear rumors of Joe’s drug habit, but it appears to be true.

The Jonas Brother was spotted with addiction specialist Mike Bayer, the CEO of Cast Recovery Services, who previously worked with Demi Lovato through her issues.

Click thumbnails for larger pictures

Images: wenn.com

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/Y_i4HvV8hws/
Category: trent richardson   Anna Gunn   Mayweather   Will Smith Miley Cyrus   oarfish  

New From Hershey: Soft Caramels

NEW YORK (AP) — Chew this.

The Hershey Co. is launching a new candy brand, its first new brand in 30 years, a soft caramel creme line called Lancaster. And for the first time it is taking a double barreled approach, debuting the candy in the U.S. and China at once.

The move comes as China increasingly becomes a focus for U.S.-based consumer goods companies that are seeking to offset slower growth in developed markets like North America. Hershey, which makes candy such as Kit Kat, Twizzlers and Hershey's Kisses, said its most recent quarter that new products in both the U.S. and overseas helped its net income rise 18 percent.

"China and the U.S. are major focus markets for the company," said Steven Schiller, senior vice president of sweets and refreshment. China is the second largest sweets market behind the U.S., he added.

The Lancaster name stems from founder Milton Hershey's first candy company, The Lancaster Caramel Co. founded in 1886. And the candy comes after two-and-a-half years of research into consumer tastes and the global confectionary market.

A category the company calls "comforting richness" — caramel or milk-based soft candy — was under tapped, Hershey found, even though at $1.5 billion dollars it was big business in China.

Caramel is also a fast-growing category globally, Schiller said, growing faster than chocolate and other non-chocolate candies. "It is one of the fastest growing segments in the food industry," Schiller said.

So Hershey developed caramels that could fit into the niche. The products in each country aren't completely the same, but tailored to their markets. In the U.S., Lancaster caramel's will come in three flavors: caramel, vanilla and caramel, and vanilla and raspberry. In China, where the company already sells Hershey's Kisses, Hershey and Ice Breakers, the candies will be more similar to milk-based candies that are popular in that country.

The target demographic is men and women in their twenties and early thirties. The candy will hit store shelves in January 2014 and come in two sizes for about $4 and $2.50. In China, it has already launched in three cities, with wider distribution set for 2014.

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=231418399&ft=1&f=
Category: Hiroshi Yamauchi   lesean mccoy   lil kim   Christopher Lane   Bbc News  

Cut to QE less likely this month due to fiscal problems: Fed's Bullard

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - A reduction in the Federal Reserve's bond-buying program is less likely to come later this month given the U.S. government shutdown and resulting lack of economic data, as well as the ongoing debate over the debt ceiling, a top central bank policymaker said on Thursday.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, a voter on policy this year, told reporters the fiscal problems in Washington have "changed the odds" on whether the central bank will trim the monthly $85-billion quantitative easing program at a meeting set for October 29-30.

(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Category: pittsburgh pirates   Ed Sheeran   Wojciech Braszczok   Malala Yousafzai   patriots