Here’s a list I wish I could have as an RSS feed in my pocket. It’s the Top 10 Out-of-Print Books that have sold on eBay. In other words, the top ten books you are most likely to run across at yard sales and flea markets that are netting the big bucks on online auctions.
I might have to start keeping an eye on this list. We have tons of little antique shops in Birmingham that always have books tucked in the corners. But to be honest, if I ran across Once A Runner, I’d glance at the cover and keep moving. But that just shows how costly ignorance can be. That book is selling for $200 on eBay! It’d be a dream to run across one of these knitting books for a couple of bucks and pass them along to someone who REALLY wanted it. I’ll pass along updates as I find them.
The term “web blog” was coined by Joen Barger. That article has some of Barger’s “principles for good blogging”. I found #2 interesting. After thinking about it for 10 seconds I realized just how true it is.
I wish #8 would catch on with everyone too! I hate clicking on a blog link just to find the pdf viewer launching to view some static calendar.
One of my favorite things to do is look at books. And I mean that exactly as I typed it. I don’t have to be looking ‘for’ a book… I literally can spend hours online looking at photos of other people’s libraries and book stashes.
And I’m tired of enduring this voyeuristic life alone…
There’s a new site in town, Worthy of Publishing. It sort of mashes the Threadless and MySpace democratic business models, to unpublished authors.
Basically, you sign-up and submit a synopsis, samples, etc. of your book. Then other people in the community go around reading and voting. The idea is that the cream will rise to the top and get the most votes/attention. Once that attention has hit a ‘critical mass’, publishers will step up sign the author and publish the book, banking on that ‘critical mass’ as an indicator of potential sales and interest in the title.
I’ve yet to find a self-published book that I enjoyed. I tend to have to lean on the profesional book folks to weed out the weaker stuff. Which I’m always greatful for them doing.
But this model intrigues me and I’m anxious to see if the “wisdom of crowds” theory applies here. I could see it happening…
