Thoughts on Google's eBookstore

Google’s eBookstore opened its virtual doors late last year. I’ve kept tabs on the situation for awhile (see blog posts here, here, and here) and maintained an open channel with my publishers about the situation, but I honestly have mixed feelings about this.

Seeing my illustrations in e-book form is a novel experience and there are some definite opportunities here for everyone, but I just can’t forget the sordid story of how those e-books came to be. CNN reported that Google is entering various licensing agreements with publishers in order to sell the products through their e-bookstore, but predictably, Google is setting the terms of what publishers, authors, and illustrators are entitled despite our pre-existing contracts.

To my surprise, digital copies of my books were available through the eBookstore last month, despite the claims of Google's own Settlement website that these books weren't even scanned. I've since adjusted the settings to lock them down, but this doesn't breed much confidence. I may reopen the floodgates once I’m more convinced of Google’s supposedly altruistic motives.

So what are you published authors doing about this? Are you happy seeing your books in Google’s eBookstore? Do you feel that the terms Google has set are fair, or are you exercising more limiting options on the Settlement website? I’d appreciate any feedback in the comments.

My Public Service Announcement for Bloggers

To my comrades in the blogging world, I beseech you: open up your comments form! You work hard to write your entries and maintain your website, so why not make it easy for an appreciative reader to leave feedback?

As I make my rounds on some blogs, Blogger-hosted ones in particular, I am often stonewalled when I try to make a comment. The section may be open to Blogger users only, or just Blogger plus folks with an OpenID.  While this probably covers most of the bases and identity platforms, this actually doesn’t work for everybody. For Blogger websites, it’s easy enough to open the comments section just a bit more so visitors can leave their name and URL information:

From the Dashboard, go to Settings, and then click on Comments. Next to Who Can Comment? check Anyone – includes Anonymous Users. Read Google’s tutorial here if you have problems setting this up.

It might seem a little daunting to let anyone in the whole wide world leave a comment, but don’t let the anonymous factor scare you. So long as you’re practicing good blog hygiene and moderating all comments, you’re really just letting more people like me leave positive feedback, ask a question, or give you kudos.

So that’s my personal plea to bloggers everywhere. What are yours?

Art Crush Wednesday: Kids Draw and Cook

I religiously follow They Draw and Cook for all its wonderful grown-up illustrated recipes. Now, I'm pleased to report that there’s a pint-sized version for kiddos!  Kids Draw and Cook welcomes submissions from young artist cooks under the age of 16.  Scroll down the website to learn how to join the fun!

The above illustrations are by my friend Nina’s little girls.  Talent runs deep in the Crittenden family!

Art Crush Wednesday: Show and Tell Me

Author Amy Timberlake has a nifty new project going on called Show and Tell Me. The blog serves as a platform for children’s book creators to “show and tell” where they work, their favorite place, what they’ve recently made, found, or did, and quotes they love.

Published children’s book writers and/or illustrators are free to submit as often as they’d like (Amy is using the Children’s Book Council list to define “published”), giving readers little glimpses into other facets of their lives.  It’s quite fascinating!

Subscribe to the blog's feed here. If you’re a published author and/or illustrator who would like to feed the project, submission guidelines can be found here.

Thanks to Amy for always being such an inspiration!

#Kidlitart and #Kidlitchat on Twitter

If you’re a children’s author or illustrator on Twitter, you’ll want to check out the neat chats they have going on.  #Kidlitart and #Kidlitchat are held Tuesday and Thursday nights at 9 p.m. Eastern.  You can join in the fun by following the topic updates on Twitter via TweetChat and using the hashtags “#kidlitart” and “#kidlitchat” in your tweets.  It’s that easy, and a great way to get involved in the hottest topics!

For more information and transcripts of the latest chats, visit The Kidlitart Blog and Kidlitchat Transcripts.