A former colleague announced today on Facebook this he has created a book of his tweets.
He uses the app that posts the identical status update to Facebook and Twitter. They are usually sentence fragments with hashtags and links to related content — very Twitter-friendly, but I’m not sure how they will translate to the printed page. Will they be as rich in meaning outside of their original Internet home?
I find those tweets jarring even on Facebook, where hashtags have no relevance, since they are meant to help Twitter users find related content easily.
It all goes back to putting your audience first when you write….and I would argue that posting the same status update to Facebook and Twitter doesn’t. I know everyone who follows me on Facebook; I certainly can’t say that about Twitter, so I treat the two audiences differently.
And if I were going to write a book based on my Facebook status updates or Twitter posts, I would use them simply as inspiration. The medium is different, so I think you should use different language.
Let’s face it — my reader can’t click a link or follow a hashtag in a book. And if they are nice enough to read my stuff, I certainly won’t bother them with ‘em.
Book sense
Do you ISBN?
If yes, it will cost you.
A friend has a book close to publication, and today she purchased her ISBN — International Standard Book Number — that you see pictured above. This 13-digit number identifies the author, title, edition and format being printed. Publishers, booksellers, and libraries use it for ordering, listing, sales records and inventory control.
That’s all fine and dandy.
But having writers pay for the identifying number assigned to their book would be like me having to pay for my Social Security number. Or the passwords I use to access the many accounts in my life. Or the name tag they give me at ComicCon.
Wait. I guess I essentially do pay for all those things.
Sorry, Tina. I tried.
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Posted in Books, Business, Commentary, Humor, Life
Tagged author, book title, books, bookseller, Business, comiccon, commentary, Humor, International Standard Book Number, ISBN, library, life, name tag, password, publisher, publishing, Social Security