Magdalena's books have been published by a traditional publishing house in ink on paper form. But now she’s one of the first to have her work read on the entire range of fancy new electronic reading gadgets and even mobile phones and iPods.
Using revolutionary new technology, Magdalena Ball's books Repulsion Thrust and Sleep Before Evening can be read as of this week in no less than NINE digital formats on any computer or portable reading gizmo anywhere in the world from the top deck of a London bus to a dentist’s waiting room in Los Angeles or on a stroll along the Great Wall of China.
“And to think,” said 45 year old Magdalena of Lake Macquarie, NSW “I started my writing career with a ball-point pen and a scrap of paper. It doesn’t seem so long ago that I thought high technology was carbon paper and liquid white-out.”
Magdalena's last two books were published in paperback by UK-based BeWrite Books (www.bewrite.net)
So BeWrite Books got smart and teamed up with US technical whiz Mark Coker this month who has – with his new company www.smashwords.com – developed unique new technology that will convert Magdalena’s work into every single electronic format used by millions of new ebook readers around the world.
Now Magdalena is a literary pioneer – one of the very first writers in history with an author voice loud enough to reach anyone, anywhere, any time.
Said Magdalena "I've always imagined, as a reader, that there was a point in time when there would be a conjunction between books and files, and where my favourite activity of getting lost in a book would happen on screen rather than on paper, but I'm amazed at the sudden speed of change, and excited (and if I'm honest, maybe a little daunted) by the possibilities of getting involved in this process early. "
BeWrite Books Technical Director, Tony Szmuk, said: “We always considered ourselves ahead of the game, having made those PDF files available for computer screen reading since our launch ten years ago – but the sudden explosion in the popularity of ebook reading on the new portable reading devices, mobile phones, iPods and what have you over the past few weeks woke us up to the fact that we were in danger of becoming dinosaurs in the new age. Did you know that the massive Amazon online bookstore sold more ebooks than paperbacks and hardbacks over Christmas? It’s something we’ve got to take seriously. Magdalena, who has always been a little cutting edge in her use of technology and multimedia imagery and vocals in her work, certainly does.
“The insurmountable problem we faced was the near impossible job of converting our books to the mind-boggling range of digital formats necessary to present them perfectly on the full range of reading platforms. Then we came across Mark Coker and www.smashwords.com.
“Mark’s system means that we need to specially prepare a title for digital conversion only once, and his magical technology converts it almost instantly into every current format for every single electronic reading device known. Then it’s out there for anyone to download with a few strokes on their computer keyboard or to dial up on their phone. And Magdalena was keen to join us in the experiment, encouraging Smashwords and BeWrite Books to take on the particular challenge of peotry. We’re happy to see Repulsion Thrust and Sleep Before Evening among the first in the world so widely available.
“Here’s a prediction: any author who doesn’t follow Magdalena's lead simply won’t have a readership in five years’ time.”
Smashwords founder and CEO, Mark Coker said: “A bemusing number of e-book reading machines have suddenly been released – everything from the massive-selling Kindle to devices from more obscure manufacturers – and they all require special formats to display books as their authors and publishers intended.
“That’s where my team and I stepped in to find an answer to the problem. BeWrite and (author name) are among the first to have realised that the future of literature is much more than ink on paper. It’s more and more becoming a matter of an author’s courage to experiment with brand new technology to get their message out there to a modern world.
“They tell me that this is the greatest revolution in literature since Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1450. Well ... maybe. I’m just glad to have Magdalena along with me while we try to promote good literature to more people than in the history of the printed word.”
End.
Repulsion Thrust, and Sleep Before Evening are both available in all digital formats from www.smashwords.com and in paperback from www.bewrite.net, all online bookstores, and on order from your local high street shop.
