Have You Claimed Your Google Knowledge Panel?

At 22:14 of this video interview on The Indie Author Podcast, The Many Levers of Your Author Platform with Andrea De Werd, Andrea speaks with Matty Dalrymple about claiming your profiles:

"Once you have an ISBN, claim your profiles. Go claim your BookBub profile, go claim your GoodReads profile, claim your Amazon Author Central..."

I'd heard of all of those before. But even with my 4th book releasing in March, this next one was new to me:

"And then, related to your website, you can claim your Google Knowledge Panel... When you search for anyone on Google, there's a little side panel that pops up on the right hand column, and it will say 'Is this you? Claim this panel.' at the bottom... so you can click that."

I searched Google for "Claim Google Knowledge Panel"
and this is a screenshot of the beginning of the instructions. 

Andrea explains the once you've claimed it, you can control your Google Knowledge Panel contents--you can include a short bio, decide what social media channels it links through to, and you can even point people to your newest book. 

It's a great lever for your platform as a children's book creator, and we should all consider pulling that lever!

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

Legal News Catch-Up: Google's Book Scanning Found To Be "Fair Use"

First page of the legal ruling

As reported in Publisher's Lunch in mid-November (which is why this is "legal news catch-up,")

After 8 years of litigation over Google's broad-scale scanning and indexing of more than 20 million books in libraries, Judge Denny Chin has granted summary judgment in favor of Google, ruling that their work qualifies as fair use. The revised case brought by the Authors Guild and individual authors has been dismissed.

Judge Chin's ruling is sweepingly in Google's favor, praising the service the company has provided and offering no shades of grey or nuance of interpretation in weighing whether it qualifies as fair use. Judge Chin's examination of all four factors to evaluate fair use is unequivocable, beginning with the significant first factor of whether the service is transformative: "Google's use of the copyrighted works is highly transformative. Google Books digitizes books and transforms expressive text into a comprehensive word index that helps readers, scholars, researchers, and others find books. Google Books has become an important tool for libraries and librarians and cite-checkers as it helps to identify and find books. The use of book text to facilitate search through the display of snippets is transformative." He suggests "the display of snippets of text for search is similar to the display of thumbnail images of photographs." Google Books "uses snippets of text to act as pointers directing users to a broad selection of books."

Additionally, "Google Books is also transformative in the sense that it has transformed book text into data for purposes of substantive research, including data mining and text mining in new areas, thereby opening up new fields of research. Words in books are being used in a way they have not been used before." Yet "it is not a tool to be used to read books," so it does not take their place.

On the third factor, which addresses the amount of the original used, Judge Chin finds the scanning of entire books reasonable and permissible. "As one of the keys to Google Books is its offering of full-text search of books, full-work reproduction is critical to the functioning of Google Books. Significantly, Google limits the amount of text it displays in response to a search."

On the fourth factor, which considers the effect of the usage on the commercial market for the copyrighted works, the eight years that have passed since the litigation began more or less answered the question for the judge. He says the plaintiffs' arguments that "neither...makes sense." Rather, he leans in the opposite direction, as Google has suggested from the inception of the program, saying that it addresses the discovery problem so prominent in creators and publishers minds these day: "A reasonable factfinder could only find that Google Books enhances the sales of books to the benefit of copyright holders. An important factor in the success of an individual title is whether it is discovered -- whether potential readers learn of its existence. Google Books provides a way for authors' works to become noticed, much like traditional in-store book displays. Indeed, both librarians and their patrons use Google Books to identify books to purchase." Chin declares, "In this day and age of on-line shopping, there can be no doubt but that Google Books improves books sales."

Fascinating and important to know.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

In the News This Week

Fridays on the SCBWI blog, I share snippets of and links to some of the publishing/media-related news I've read during the last week that I found interesting, helpful, and/or fun. (I missed last week because I was on vacation.) Click titles to get to the full articles.

Today's news bits include collections of stories and posts related to just three topics: Google+ (you'll find helpful guides and tips), Borders (don't miss the going-out-of-business sale), and Harry Potter (who, surprisingly, is still not quite as popular as Jesus--at least on Facebook).


Google+: The Complete Guide (Mashable)
Google+: It’s the hot social network on the block. In just three weeks, Google’s competitor to Facebook and Twitter has amassed more than 10 million users, and its users are sharing more than 1 billion pieces of content daily. It’s become a hotbed for early adopters, tech luminaries, marketers and businesses around the world.

How Is Google+ Like Twitter And Facebook? [INFOGRAPHIC] (AllTwitter)
Google+ is the newest social network on the block, and it’s gaining a lot of momentum. But it’s very much an unknown quantity for a lot of people, as many of its features are still being explored.

HOW TO Tweet Your Google+ Posts Automatically To Twitter (AllTwitter)
A big Twitter management app has just added connectivity to Google+ for those of you who want to integrate your two accounts. Learn how below. ManageFlitter allows Twitter users to monitor which of their followers is active and which isn’t, in order to choose who is worth a follow back and who isn’t. And now they’ve added Google+ functionality, too.
 
How To Use Google+ Hangouts (eBookNewser)
Ever wish your writing group or book club could include readers from around the world? Last night we experimented with the Hangouts section of the new Google+ social network, coming up with some simple tips for using Google+ Hangouts to connect with readers and writers online. Using Google+ Hangouts, writers can quickly assemble spontaneous but private conversations in “live multi-person video” chatrooms.
 
Borders Sale Approved (PW)

In the end, Borders went the way of other large retailers like Circuit City and Linens 'n Things. At Thursday's hearing, Judge Martin Glenn said that he will enter the sales order for Borders's liquidation and going-out-of-business sales starting Friday. "This is a very bittersweet day in the history of this company," said Borders attorney Andrew Glenn. "We obviously didn’t get to where we wanted it to be, a full going-concern sale. Let’s just hope that people are reading books after this."

How Bookstores Can Survive in a Post-Borders World (GalleyCat)

Is the Borders’ liquidation the beginning of the end for independent booksellers? The American Booksellers Association (ABA) doesn’t think so.

Google’s Getting Harry Potter, But The Kindle Will Too (TechCrunch)

This morning Google made an announcement of magical significance: the Harry Potter eBooks, which are being released for the first time this October, will be available via its Google Books platform. That sounds like it should be a given, but in the case of Potter it isn’t — author J.K. Rowling is selling the books exclusively through Pottermore, a site that she launched with much fanfare last month.

JK Rowling 'writing hard' on new work (Guardian)

Start all the clocks and plug the telephone back in: JK Rowling has provided a shred of comfort to the millions of mourners lamenting the release of the final Harry Potter movie with the revelation that she has written "quite a lot" of new material and has plans to publish it.

Harry Potter Publisher Leaving Bloomsbury Children’s for New Venture (PW)

The news that Sarah Odedina is to leave Bloomsbury Children's Books after 14 years came as a shock on Monday, as London publishing was winding down for the summer. Odedina, who has published all of the Harry Potter titles, will take the reins as managing director and publisher of a to-be-named children’s fiction list at Bonnier, the privately owned Swedish media group whose U.K. operation already includes the illustrated children’s publishers Templar and Autumn. Odedina’s start date has not yet been announced and she has agreed to stay on at Bloomsbury until a successor has been named.  

  

Jesus Daily Beats ‘Harry Potter’ For Most Engaging Page (AllFacebook)

Jesus Daily fans rejoice as they tackle their toughest competition yet to hold on as Facebook’s most engaging page: Harry Potter shattered box office records, but the noise on the film’s social networking home could not successfully outshine the long-standing number one contender.

In the News This Week

Fridays on the SCBWI blog, I share snippets of and links to some of the publishing/media-related news I've read during the last week that I found interesting, helpful, and/or fun. Click titles to get to the full articles.

Today's news bits include virtual book clubs (or critique groups?) made easy, more on the WSJ YA story, e-readers print habits, some love for publishers, a digital deal for Harper, and more.


Host A Virtual Book Club Using Facebook, Skype Or Google (eBookNewser)
Having a virtual book club has never been easier thanks to new tools from Facebook, Skype and Google. Today Facebook announced new updates that make it easier to chat with multiple people and to hold one-on-one video calls.

YA Author Apologizes To 'Wall Street Journal' Critic (NPR)
Debates over what material is appropriate for teen readers have been raging ever since the young adult--or "YA"--genre first emerged.But the argument took on new life in June, when Wall Street Journal children's book critic Meghan Cox Gurdon suggested that teen fiction had gone from dark to lurid.

Comics And Kids Book Apps Lead Top Grossing iPad Book Apps (eBookNewser)
To prepare for Mediabistro’s upcoming Publishing App Expo on December 7-8, we will be spotlighting the top grossing book apps every week–helping our readers discover and analyze successful content.
 
Twitter Tip: Don’t Auto-Connect Your Facebook And Twitter Accounts (AllTwitter)

Twitter has made it deceptively easy to connect your Twitter account to your Facebook account, but don’t be fooled. It’s usually not a good idea.  

Why You Should Own Your Domain Name (GalleyCat)
Having an online presence is critical for writers to market their work. In a recent blog post, author John Scalzi urged writers to purchase their own domain name online.

Tablet, E-reader Owners Also Print Junkies (MediaPost)
People who are heavy print magazine and newspaper readers might seem like the last ones to embrace gadgets like tablets and e-readers. But new research from Gfk MRI shows tablet owners are 66% more likely than the average U.S. adult to be big print magazine consumers and 54% more likely to be heavy print newspaper readers. Similarly, e-reader owners are 23% more likely to be print magazine enthusiasts and 63% more likely to get newsprint on their hands.  

Cherish the Book Publishers—You'll Miss Them When They're Gone (WSJ)
The Klondikers of digital publishing are rushing to stake their claims, inspired by tales of the gold to be found in the Kindle hills. A few pioneering prospectors have indeed struck it rich with light entertainments, most famously Amanda Hocking, who is a sort of Tolkien for our times (if Tolkien had been an avid fan of "Star Wars" instead of an eminent scholar of "Beowulf"). Her self-published e-books racked up so many sales over the past year that St. Martin's Press recently signed her for some $2 million.

Harper Children's Books Debuts Digital 'I Can Read' Series (PW)
HarperCollins Children’s Books is teaming with both the Apple iBookstore and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Bookstore to launch digital editions of its popular I Can Read early reader picture book series. Harper will set up I Can Read digital boutiques at each online store, launching with 80 titles with plans for more to come.

Breaking News: Federal Judge Denies Google Books Settlement

Today, a federal judge in Manhattan rejected the Google settlement with authors and publishers that would allow it to make millions of books available online, saying it would give the Internet giant the ability to "exploit" books without the permission of copyright owners.

Essentially, the judge felt that the settlement as it currently exists went too far in allowing Google the ability to make books available online without copyright owners' permission.

He felt that the deal would "give Google a significant advantage over competitors, rewarding it for engaging in wholesale copying of copyrighted works without permission." He also said that, "many of the concerns raised in the objections would be ameliorated if the [settlement] were converted from an opt-out to an opt-in settlement."

The judge granted the ruling without prejudice, which means that the parties can go back to the bargaining table and renegotiate.

For more, check out this online coverage:

• GalleyCat
• Wall Street Journal
• Forbes 
• CNNMoney

In the News This Week

Weekly on the SCBWI blog, I share snippets of and links to some of the publishing/media-related news I've read during the last week that I found interesting, helpful, and/or fun. I've been doing this on Fridays since the blog debuted, but look for Saturday news round-ups occasionally in the next couple of months (due to a hefty freelance writing gig).

As you peruse the articles beginnings below, click titles to get to read the rest of the stories.

This week's stories include Google eBooks launch, trends courtesy of Scholastic, research tips from the recent NBA winner, a best YA list from GalleyCat, bookscan stats on Amazon, hard times for Borders, why teens don't tweet, eBook predictions, trouble for GLBT teens, and more.

Google Launches Google eBooks, Formerly Google Editions (PW)
After months of anticipation, Google today launched its long-awaited cloud-based e-book program, Google eBooks. Rebranded from its original moniker, Google Editions, Google eBooks overnight becomes the largest e-book provider in the world, at least in terms of its offerings, launching with nearly three million books available for purchase or download, including “hundreds of thousands of e-books” available for purchase and over two million public domain titles available for free.

Research Advice from National Book Award Winner Kathryn Erskine (GalleyCat)
Kathryn Erskine tackles tough subjects through children’s books. Her debut novel, Quaking, responded to the Virginia Tech tragedy. Her second novel, Ibhubesi: The Lion, dealt with apartheid. Her third book, Mockingbird, featured a character with asperger’s syndrome–winning this year’s National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. We caught with her to learn about her writing process. Here are some highlights from the interview.

Best YA Books of 2010: A Literary Mixtape (GalleyCat)
What’s the best young adult book you’ve read this year? Share it in the comments and we’ll add it to our new literary mixtape of the Best YA Books of 2010. This GalleyCat editor makes an annual mixtape (CD actually, but the idea is the same) collecting his favorite songs from the year–allowing his friends and family to sample some of the year’s best music. We love reading “Best Books of …” lists, but we want to build a list focused exclusively on sample chapters. Using your suggestions, we will create a giant directory linking to sample pages from your favorite YA books from 2010–allowing readers to sample the books like a literary mixtape. 

What Children's Publishers Are Doing in the Apps Space (PW)
Last week we looked at how some adult trade houses view the potential market for apps, finding that most publishers are cautiously moving into this area. While adult and children’s divisions face many of the same questions about apps—costs, sales potential, and whether they should drive profits or market books—children’s content is generally more suited to this space. Still, like their adult counterparts, children’s publishers are developing apps slowly. PW contacted a number of children’s divisions and houses and found that many publishers are experimenting with different formats—some are creating heavily educational material (which occasionally doesn’t even link to a specific title), others are investing in games, and still others are looking for more direct ways of adapting existing fiction into an app.

Scholastic Experts Issue List of ‘Ten Trends in Children’s Books from 2010’ (Scholastic.com)
Scholastic, the largest publisher and distributor of children’s books, today released a list of 10 Trends in Children's Books from 2010. The list was compiled by editors from Scholastic, including children’s literature experts from Scholastic Book Clubs and Scholastic Book Fairs, divisions of Scholastic that distribute books from all publishers through schools nationwide. "We've seen some exciting innovation in children’s publishing in 2010, including new formats and platforms for storytelling that are helping more and more kids become book lovers," said Judy Newman, President of Scholastic Book Clubs. "At the same time, we’re seeing a rejuvenation of some classic genres, which I think is evidence of the timeless power that stories and characters have on the lives of children."

5 Useful Tools to Monitor Twitter Hashtags (AllTwitter)
Want to know what’s being talked about on Twitter right now? Or how about what people are saying about your or your brand? Monitoring hashtags is a great way to get in on a conversation on Twitter, whether it’s a trending topic or a few tweets per day. We’ve compiled 5 useful tools that will help you monitor hashtags on Twitter, so you can keep up with the conversation.

'Get the Xanax ready': Authors respond to BookScan on Amazon (LA Times)
Authors responded to Thursday's news of Amazon making Neilsen BookScan's sales numbers available with both enthusiasm and trepidation. "Get the Xanax ready," tweeted David MacInnis Gill, author of "Black Hole Sun," a sci-fi thriller for young adults. In an e-mail, he explained: "Authors worry. We worry about writing. Worry about our editors, our agents, our reviews, and our readers. We worry about everything, including all forms of social media including blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and personal websites. The one thing we haven't been able to obsess about is real-time sales numbers."

Borders Sales Disappoint, Loss Soars; Liquidity Issues Arise (PW)
Borders third quarter results, released just after the market closed Thursday afternoon, provided little sign that the company is turning around as total revenue fell 17.6%, to $470.9 million and comparable store sales dropped 12.6%. The loss from continuing operations was $74.4 million compared to a loss of $37.7 million a year ago. CEO Michael Edwards called the results disappointing, adding they reflect “the business challenges facing Borders and the industry at large.”

Gay and lesbian teens are punished more at school, by police, study says (WashPost)
Gay and lesbian teens in the United States are about 40 percent more likely than their straight peers to be punished by schools, police and the courts, according to a study published Monday, which finds that girls are especially at risk for unequal treatment. The research, described as the first national look at sexual orientation and teen punishment, comes as a spate of high-profile bullying and suicide cases across the country have focused attention on the sometimes hidden cruelties of teen life.   

Why Teens Don't And Won't Tweet (ReadWriteWeb)
I'm 16 and, unusually, I use Twitter quite a bit. I say unusually because perhaps you've heard that teens don't tweet. This first came to light last year when a 15-year-old Morgan Stanley intern wrote a report [PDF] where he explained that teens "realize they are not going to update it," and that "no one is viewing their profile, so their 'tweets' are pointless. Teens' lives are entirely built around their actual friends. Quite simply, why would teenagers bother using Twitter when Facebook exists, and offers so much more? Teens want a platform that allows easy, fully-functional communication to an exclusive social circle. That is, solely to their friends and peers. Twitter is a platform built for inclusive broadcast (to everyone), and to teenagers it offers no obvious value.
 
Figment Looks to Attract Young Writers (PW)

Founded by New Yorker staff writer Dana Goodyear and former New Yorker managing editor Jacob Lewis, Figment.com is an online writing community aimed at attracting a membership of young people, ranging from kids to teens and older, to post, share and comment on each other’s original writing. Launched this week, the site is also teaming with YA author Blake Nelson, author of the well-received 1994 adult novel Girl, who is serializing Dream School, a long unpublished YA sequel to Girl, on the Figment site. 

eBook Readership Will Grow To 30 Million Readers Globally By 2013 (eBookNewser)
eBook readership is predicted to grow to 30 million readers globally by 2013, almost double the predicted 2012 total, according to ABI Research. According to ABI analyst Jeff Orr, a number of these people will come from Western Europe followed by China. Orr had this statement: ““In two or three years we will enter a period in which much more digital printed matter will become available in other countries and regions. Western Europe will be first, followed by Eastern Europe and Asia, especially China.”

eBook Predictions Are Futile (HuffPo)
It's the end of the year, which means prophets will soon be flooding every possible venue with predictions for the future. Most of them will end up being laughably wrong. And because it's the end of the decade, they'll be wrong about what happens for the next ten years. The publishing industry is especially difficult to speculate about because it's undergoing so much upheaval.