The Big Bad Book Blog's Link Love

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In true book nerd fashion, we’ve rounded up our favorite publishing-related links of the week for you! Read on to uncover the best in books this week. If you want to know about these links sooner than Friday afternoon, follow us on Twitter—@GreenleafBookGr.

• Is banning social networking in the work place a productive tactic? Surveys say more than half of young professionals refuse to work for an organization that prohibits use of social media while at work. All Twitter argues that efficiency is actually increased via Facebook and Twitter through the exchange and discussion of ideas, research, and collaboration.

• We are all in agreement that the issue of taxing online purchases has seen an inordinate amount of frenetic activity as of late, and the playing field just got more confusing. The Marketplace Fairness Act received Amazon and ABA backing last week. A bipartisan group of ten US senators introduced the online sales tax bill, granting states the authority to compel online retailers to collect sales taxes. Yet the question still stands—which is more fair, the Main Street Fairness Act or the Marketplace Fairness Act?

• Two of the most ominous questions in the publishing world are how public and academic libraries will be affected by the ebook uprising, and if the two systems should collaborate to bind their interests as one. The set of needs for both systems is vastly different, and raises questions on how the two could possibly work in partnership on questions of acquisitions, collections, and responses to the shifting commercial marketplace. If the kinks get worked out, and libraries start lending ebooks, we are ready to sit tight and watch the drastic change that ebook sales may have coming their way.

• Living in Maine with no heat would cause any of us to scream bloody murder. And who better to notice this horror than the master himself, Stephen King, who is raising money to heat homes after cuts to the federal Low Income Energy Assistance Program. Funds raised will assist poor, disabled, or elderly people in Maine most affected by the budget cut.

• Author Malcolm Gladwell answers readers’ questions in a New Yorker interview, The Real Genius of Steve Jobs. This transcription takes a very humanistic approach to the legacy of Steve Jobs, answering questions like, “Has anyone suspected that Steve has a personality disorder?” And, “What do you make of the fact that Steve Jobs cried in meetings so often?”

• Ever wonder what, exactly, an editor can do for you? You may be at the point in your writing where you’ve scrutinized over every detail, spent innumerable hours pouring your soul into the masterpiece that is your novel, and are ready to showcase your work to the world. But believe me, you ain’t done yet. Penguin gives great insight into how an editor can transform your work, from commenting and editing, to strategizing future projects with you.

• Turns out: The hottest gadget of the year is great for buying things off of Amazon, and that's … about it. Needless to say, the Kindle Fire does not live up to its hype. The Fire lacks a camera, 3G data connectivity, and a slot for removable storage, features that the majority of its competitors are not in short of. We’re glad to see the Fire is such a killer deal, but at this point, we’d rather scrounge up the extra dough for another tablet.

•  This week PRNewswer gives us a “story telling” system that acts as a framework for distributing content in the appropriate format to the right destination. David Krejci states that a unique story, with a conflict resolution dynamic and a core of humanity will be the recipe for a successful tale. With these elements in mind, Content Fusion can help deliver your message into multiple formats, insert formats into multiple vehicles, and drive vehicles into multiple destinations.

• Modernist writers have taken Twitter by storm, emphasizing their prose through the “less is more” method. Whether or not you are defined by this minimalist approach, if used correctly, Twitter can be an excellent tool to improve your writing skills by creating expressive, obscure, fragmented statements. Just stay away from the LOLs and OMGs.