RT @Mashable: 10 Killer Tips for Creating a Branded YouTube Channel

Catherine-Gail Reinhard is Executive Producer & Director at Videasa, an award-winning web video agency that creates campaigns on YouTube and emerging media platforms. You can follow her on Twitter @catherine_gail. There was a time when YouTube was considered a wild-wild west of content — a place where marketers shied away from uploading their commercials, let alone building a branded channel. But these days, YouTube has become more mini-van than stagecoach. From Toyota Sienna's high-profile television commercials urging consumers to visit their YouTube channel, to (what might be considered the anti-minivan) Harley Davidson's fan-centric YouTube universe, there has been a noticeable shift in corporate adoption of the platform. There are many companies now that are hopping on the bandwagon. Just about every corporation and small business is creating a branded channel on YouTube, but there are still relatively few marketers who have managed to harvest the full potential of the platform. Whether your brand already has a YouTube channel that's in need of a facelift, or if you're interested in developing one from scratch, this article will provide some practical tips and valuable tricks to help you kick-start the process.   READ MORE AT: http://mashable.com/2010/04/26/branded-youtube-channel

The Literary World of Sylvia Hubbard NOW AVAILABLE ON KINDLE & Live Story News

In my exploration around the Internet and a fan of visiting other people's pages, I found a way to easily place by blog on the Kindle. Now originally when I had heard of the concept, I found the process very difficult to do. But you know I'm always shelving things and waiting for the right time. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SITE And how did I accomplish this? Through the wonderful world of Google IT! READ MORE: http://sylviahubbard.com/2010/04/24/now-available-on-kindle-live-story-news

ePub Book Design - Pt 2 from Walt Shiel

read more at: http://waltshiel.com/2010/04/26/epub-book-design-pt-2/ ePub Book Design - Pt 2 Walt Shiel | April 26, 2010 at 7:30 am | Tags: e-books, ePub, publishing, XML | Categories: XML, e-books, ePub, publishing | URL: http://wp.me/peKRL-iu If you already understand what an ePub file is, how it is structured, and what it contains, you can probably skip this post. For everyone else, who thinks an ePub file must be something mysterious and incomprehensible, stick with me. In this post, I will not tell you how to make an ePub. Instead, I'm going to try to explain it at its most basic level. And I'll tell you how to peek inside any non-DRM ePub file to view its structure and contents. If you haven't already heard, I'll tell you a "secret" -- an ePub file is really little more than a website zipped into a single package with the file extension "epub." In fact, you can change that file extension to "zip" and it will open in whatever zip archive software you have installed (WinZip, StuffIt, etc.). However, you can also right-click on it (at least on a PC) and select "Open with >" and then select your zip software, without ever changing the file name from "epub." If you do that, you will see something like this: You can see there are two top-level directories -- META-INF and OPS -- and one data file simply named "mimetype" with no file extension. So what is a mimetype? read more at: http://waltshiel.com/2010/04/26/epub-book-design-pt-2/

FWD: ePub Book Design - Pt 1

ePub Book Design - Pt 1 Walt Shiel | April 22, 2010 at 4:25 pm | Tags: Amazon Kindle, e-books, ePub, publishing | Categories: Amazon Kindle, Apple iPad, e-books, ePub | URL: http://wp.me/peKRL-ik Over the past couple of years, I've experimented with several ways to produce both Kindle and ePub documents, starting from either an InDesign or a word processor (like Microsoft Word) file. Initially, we offered only Kindle conversion and developed a straightforward means to extract what we needed from the source files, clean it up using a series of macros, and then fine tune the results with a basic text-based HTML editor and CSS. The process worked fairly smoothly. Then our clients began asking for ePub formatted books, usually in addition to the Kindle format. So, I found software that would take a well-formatted Kindle file and convert it into an "acceptable" ePub file...but I wasn't really satisfied. Instead, we learned how to create the ePub files from scratch and build up a file that would pass the latest version of epubcheck software. It turns out that, once you create the set of files required, you can easily turn them into either a Kindle or an ePub formatted result. If you have a properly constructed InDesign file to use as a source file, you can usually export a decent ePub file that requires only minor tweaking. Unfortunately, very few book designers using InDesign are aware of the dos and don'ts of creating an ID file from which a proper ePub file can be exported. So, more often than not, we have to export an RTF file from ID and then proceed as though we had started with a Word file. We are now working on standardizing our e-book development to minimize rework for Kindle and ePub formats. One of the annoyances of the ePub format is that, although it is ostensibly an industry standard, not all devices display the same code in the same way, standard or not. The new Apple iPad is a case in point. Many valid ePub designs display just fine on the Adobe Digital Editions desktop reader and all active elements work as intended. But upload the same file to an iPad and...oops...things go strange. This forced us to redesign some ePub books so they would work properly on the iPad AND still work OK on other devices, including ADE. READ MORE: http://waltshiel.com/2010/04/22/epub-book-design-pt-1/

[Motown Writers Network] News From The Michigan Literary Network | 4/22/10 | Fre

To join our Facebook Group, go to: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=68379811096#!/group.php?gid=68379811096 If you have trouble accessing any links or titles, please go directly to our blog @ http://motownwriters.blogspot.com (click here to wish us Happy Anniversary & receive a link to Free Stuff!) EVENT: How To Publish Your Book – April 22, 2010 6pm in Detroit (click here to read more information) http://sylviahubbard.com/2010/04/16/event-how-to-publish-your-book-april-22-2010-6pm-in-detroit/ Due to the great demand, the blogging 101 workshop at Techtown on April 29th original 20 seats are gone. But knowing the needs of our members, we've opened up 15 more seats. Hurry before those disappear as well! Click here now to register: http://blogging101-eomdetroit.eventbrite.com/ If you have trouble accessing any links or titles, please go directly to our blog @ http://motownwriters.blogspot.com Michigan Literary Network…Motown Writers Network Get Your Calendar Out! Events Hosted By Motown Writers Network | REGISTER EARLY! FORWARD TO OTHER READERS AND WRITERS VISIT OUR WEBSITE: HTTP://MOTOWNWRITERS.COM Events Hosted By The Essence of Motown Writers Alliance & Motown Writers Network Michigan Literary News & Events Meet the Reference Staff: David V. @ The CADL Michigan Writers stay true to mission - Grand Traverse Insider ... Writing Tip: Do The Research Latest news from Ken Hebenstreit, Michigan Bookseller Tenita Johnson's Book Info for Launch April 24, 2010 The Butterfly Bash.... Please support! Local authors and media event! Social Media Expert Pam Perry says, 2010 It's Time to Cash in! Crush it ... Fw: [HustleUniversity] We got the hook-up! Great Happenings At The Carr Center Saturday June 19 @ 2pm Jean Alicia Elster at Farmington Community Library--Main Library Call for Authors - Let the Dayton Book Expo Sell Your Books DBE IV | July 28 - August 1, 2010 | U of D Mercy Yoga and Poetry Workshop at Source Booksellers News from InsideOut Literary Arts Looking to go to the Book Expo America but can't afford it? Special Book Event April 30-May 1 Aquarius Press/Heather Buchanan DETAILS: Hold My Hand While I Write FROM Priority One Publications ArtServe Michigan -- E-Edition April 2010 Why Self-Publishing Beats Traditional Publishing Come See the Redesign with YOU in Mind & Enjoy 25% Off, Free S/H! If you have trouble accessing any links or titles, please go directly to our blog @ http://motownwriters.blogspot.com Michigan Literary Network…Motown Writers Network Get Your Calendar Out! Events Hosted By Motown Writers Network | REGISTER EARLY! FORWARD TO OTHER READERS AND WRITERS VISIT OUR WEBSITE: HTTP://MOTOWNWRITERS.COM Events Hosted By The Essence of Motown Writers Alliance & Motown Writers Network Meet the Reference Staff: David V. @ The CADL Posted: 21 Apr 2010 09:48 PM PDT Meet the Reference Staff: David V. annemr | April 21, 2010 at 7:56 am | Tags: librarians, meet staff, reference | Categories: Reference Wednesday | URL: http://wp.me/pba0M-RX David is the Local History Librarian at the Downtown Lansing Library. He Michigan Writers stay true to mission - Grand Traverse Insider ... Posted: 21 Apr 2010 12:52 PM PDT Michigan Writers Cooperative Press (MWCP) Chairperson Michael Callaghan recently announced the winners of the group's 2010 contest. His own winning chapbook, published by the MWCP in 2005, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Photo by Melonie Steffes View and purchase photos Writing Tip: Do The Research Posted: 21 Apr 2010 12:44 PM PDT click through to read more: http://sylviahubbard.com/2010/04/21/writing-tip-do-the-research/  WordPress.com Writing Tip: Do The Research sylviahubbard1 | April 21, 2010 at 7:16 pm Latest news from Ken Hebenstreit, Michigan Bookseller Posted: 21 Apr 2010 12:42 PM PDT April 21, 2010 Tenita Johnson's Book Info for Launch April 24, 2010 Posted: 21 Apr 2010 11:57 AM PDT Tenita Johnson's Book Info for Launch April 24, 2010 Come for an evening of inspiration and encouragement! Mrs. Tenita Johnson requests your presence at her official novel debut launch on Saturday, April 24, 2010 at Greater Grace Temple (City of David) at 4 p.m. For more information, please call 313-999-6942 or visit www.soitiswritten.net. The Butterfly Bash.... Please support! Local authors and media event! Posted: 21 Apr 2010 09:20 AM PDT Detroit Workshop: Learn to Create, Publish and Sell Your Ebook! Click Here!Visit our website for featured authors! You are subscribed to email updates from Motown Writers Network Upcoming Michigan Literary Events [Jul 9] Poetry, Pages and Scribes Phoneraiser [Mar 17] Idea Lab Spring Writing Contest! [Apr 9] Pharoah's Treasure Box Exhibition & Dining 1917 American Bistro [Apr 22] PRSA 2010 Michigan Conference [Apr 22] FREE Self-Publishing Workshop in Detroit [Apr 24] OFFICIAL BOOK LAUNCH! [Apr 24] Tenita Johnson's Book Info for Launch April 24, 2010 [Apr 25] The Drunken Muse [Apr 29] BLOGGING 101* [May 1] Dayton Book Expo * Member Recent Activity Sylvia Hubbard Happy 10 Years Motown Writers Network! http://ping.fm/NLRAS Plz sign our card Sylvia Hubbard Some cause happiness wherever they go; Others, whenever they go. Oscar Wilde Gabrielle David added a blog post Sylvia Hubbard Personal Observation: Most music 2day depends 2much on rhythm beats &bass 2hide the simple plain lyrics. What do u think? http://ping.fm/dlC Sylvia Hubbard Currently speaking to Darnell Neal, author of "Tenderheaded: The Saga of Plaits & Beads," a book of short stories and poems; www.outskirtspr Sylvia Hubbard Join me LIVE on my Authors Alisa Clark and Darnell Neal show on BlogTalkRadio at http://ping.fm/iS7qt or call (646) 915-9177 at 5pm est Sylvia Hubbard It is perfectly ok to write garbage - as long as you edit brilliantly. CJ Cherryh Shon Hyneman left a comment for Tia Reyes Sylvia Hubbard A Mother's creed: The needs of the many outweigh the needs of . . .The one. Spock St1 Sylvia Hubbard RT @problogger: New at ProBlogger: Making Yourself Accessible to Readers http://goo.gl/fb/J3Pux miscellaneousblogtips BookTour Metro Detroit Area Booksignings & Events Jane Healy Adra Young Versandra Kennebrew John Telford Savyon Liebrecht D. A. Powell Donna MacMeans Brad Leithauser Sheila Kohler Adra Young Add your events and blogs updates at:  http://motownwriters.ning.com/events