Happy Hogmanay!

(Image credit)

Whether you're fireball swinging in Aberdeen, or 'burning the clavie' in Moray we hope you have a Happy Hogmanay!

But what is Hogmanay? 


In Scotland it is New Years Eve, the day before the New Year. Most celebrations don't kick off until Hogmanay night into the early hours of the New Year and with January the 1st and 2nd being public holidays in Scotland this is probably time enough for people to recover from the Hogmanay celebrations.


When the clock strikes midnight it is customary to hug and kiss the person next to you and wish them a happy new year. If you're at a party - or indeed at the Edinburgh street party - then you'll probably find yourself singing Auld Lang Syne, a traditional Scots poem by poet Robert Burns which is set to traditional folk music.

Whatever your plans are - and wherever you are, we wish you a Happy Hogmanay and a Happy New Year, all the way from Scotland and from North Highland Publishing.

Merry Christmas...

and a Happy New Year from the team at North Highland Publishing.

(Image credit)

November Recap.

We were delighted to attend the book launch of 'Latter-day Pioneers' at the Alloa library on the 26th of November.

George Stewart (pictured), the author of the book, and North Highland Publishing had been working very hard to bring the book to publication and we were delighted to share in the excitement of the book launch. It is an interesting and exciting book which chronicles the early beginnings of the Latter-day Saints church in Scotland to the present day and George shares his view from Scotland in the book.

The book is avaiable on Amazon, at the Kindle store, here.

We've had an exciting run-up to Christmas with the publication of another book about Scottish identity with Ken Pratt's 'The English Student' which, yep, you guessed it can be bought at the Amazon Kindle store here. 

Kindle Announce £89 Kindle e-Reader.

Before Christmas wish lists were compiled Amazon.co.uk announced the October 12 release of their new £89 Kindle e-Reader.

So why this Kindle? Well it's the same e-Reader, only with the following features:

• 30% lighter than before, less than 170 grams
• 18% smaller body, same 6" screen size - fits in your pocket
• Most advanced E Ink display, reads like paper

• Built-in Wi-Fi - Get books in 60 seconds
• 10% faster page turns for seamless reading

It will literally fit in your back pocket (Amazon have an interesting photo on their page here to depict the fact if you don't believe them.) And with the £89 price tag instead of the regular £111, it is markedly more attainable to the public than it's ever been before.

The reason why I love my own Kindle e-Reader so much is the speed in which it downloads eBooks. And of course Amazon knows eBooks well - as it outsells on copies of eBooks versus hard cover books.


Amazon are making it easier and easier for the general public to jump on the e-Reader love bandwagon and has made e-Reading a thing of the present - and the future.


To find out more about eBooks on Amazon from North Highland Publishing click HERE.

Why Self-Publish?

If you're reading this it's safe to assume you fall into the following three categories:


1. You have an idea for a book, you want to write it but you believe getting published is a one in a million chance. 


2.You have a manuscript ready and waiting to be looked over by an agent - or even better, an editor of a huge publishing house.


3. You're neither of the above and have just stumbled onto this post.


If you're in positions 1 and 2 then this post is for you. Number 3? Read on by all means, but this probably won't have any great meaning to you.


You have already 'worked for yourself' by writing your manuscript - so why should you lose control at the publishing stage? Traditional publishing usually doesn't allow for lots of input from the writer, whereas with self-publishing you have the best of both Worlds: an editor, proofreader and even a full marketing team supporting you at every step but ultimately the decisions are still yours to make.


Whether self-published or published by a traditional publisher, you still have to push the sales of your book. You still have to believe it will sell and you still have to identify who you're telling the story too - in other words, treat your book as a business.


If you had a business, would you want to give complete control over to someone else and reap very little reward in return? This is effectively what happens with traditional publishers. If your goal is to see your book placed into the bookshelves of some of the top-selling book stores, that is still a goal North Highland Publishing can make happen.


Amazon.com is massive and they outsell on Kindle eBooks over hard cover books. And with over 22 million eBook sales as of June, 2010, it would be silly for any author not to have their book or eBook on Amazon.com. 


So, why self-publish? Because the World is changing. Traditional publishing is becoming outdated and a far cry from what it used to be. Authors want to have more control over their books and don't want to work to the limits placed on them by traditional publishers.


To find out about North Highland Publishing's top three Publishing Packages click here. 

Amazon Kindle and North Highland Publishing.

A few weeks ago North Highland Publishing completed a deal with Amazon which will allow for our authors eBooks to be sold on the Amazon Kindle store.

Amazon is outselling on Kindle eBooks as for every 143 Kindle eBooks sold, 100 hard cover books are sold. On top of this is the fact that Kindle has over 725,000 books on their store - and growing. 

All of our authors, on any of our packages, will have their eBooks featured on the Amazon Kindle store for sale - on both US and UK sites. With the rise of Amazon's own eReader, the Kindle, self-publishing has become the natural choice for authors from all walks of life.

To check out our range on the Kindle store, click here.

To find out more on self-publishing with North Highland Publishing, click here.

Tuesday Book Club: Recommendation Week.

Hello and welcome once again to the Tuesday Book Club!

As you'll all know, our book of the month was 'The Land Beyond the Green Fields.' It is available for purchase on Amazon (Kindle and paperback) here.


If you've read this book then we'd like to know your thoughts - to be published here on the blog. Have you recommended it to a friend? Or perhaps it wasn't your cup of tea? Maybe it was the best book you've read all year - either way, we'd love to know what you, the reader, thought!


Leave a comment with your thoughts!


We'll be back again in September with another great book for your hungry eyes to devour ;). Until then, keep filling out the comment box!

Tuesday Book Club: Review Week.

Once again, Tuesday is here and this means that the Book Club has landed onto the blog once more. Read more about it here and here.

This months book is 'The Land Beyond the Green Fields' by Joan Campbell and can be purchased here. 

If you have read the book we would love to hear your thoughts, recommendations and reviews on the book. 

If you haven't read the book then sit back, relax and enjoy the following preview...

Thomas cannot live with his terrible secret.  As he heads away from all that he knows 

and all that he loves he has the word BETRAYAL engraved upon his every thought.

How could his mother do this to him?  His beliefs force him on to seek a land he is 

assured does not exist this side of death.  That decision sets in motion a series of events that allows evil to encompass what is left behind, allows those whom he loves to be cruelly tested.

His is a learning journey that brings love and hate, despair and joy in equal measure, 

mixed with adventures beyond his imagination, shared by a travelling companion 

whose loyalty is all that matters in this quest.  His troubled mother and his autocratic 

mentor wait at home with the news that will free him from all anxiety, if only he 

knew.

Will those who follow in his footsteps find him?  Will he make it back home to a 

heroes welcome, or spring the trap that is set to destroy him?  Read on and find 

out…

Tuesday Book Club: What To Expect.

If you missed out on last week's post here about our great new on-line Book Club. 

Every first Tuesday of the month we will release an eBook as part of our Book Club. It will give you, the reader and lover of books, author interviews, Editor recommendations, a chance to share your views and opinions with other readers - and even writers! 

So join in, be a part of something great that's happening at North Highland Publishing and in your eReader! 

For the month of July we're reading the book, available here, "The Land Beyond the Green Fields." 

The timetable for the Book Club is as follows:

Week One: Introduction. 

We will announce the book here on the blog, provide you with the link to the eBook store and catch up with you next week.

Week Two: Reading Week.

Once you have downloaded the book you should begin reading straight away. Every second week in Book Club will be a 'Reading Week' to prepare you for Week Three.

Week Three: Reading and Reviewing Week.

Time to finish up reading! This week has more of a focus on reviewing that month's book. This doesn't have to be lengthily so long as it relates back to the book. Write as much, or as little, as you like - all reviews are at home here!

Week Four: Recommendation Week.

By this week it is expected that you'll have already put a review forward and completed the book. It is time to give your recommendations! Would you tell a friend about the book? Would you like to see more or less of a character? Or perhaps you couldn't put the book down - we want to know it all!

Good luck - and remember to catch up on this month's Book Club book HERE.

Tuesday Book Club: The Land Beyond the Green Fields.

On the first Tuesday of the month we will run a Book Club and here's what you can expect:

• One free sample chapter available to you with no obligation.
• A chance for you to join our exclusive Review Panel; sharing your thoughts and recommendations on the book of the month.
• A new book to read and review every month.

For this month's Book Club we are going to be reading and later on reviewing 'The Land Beyond the Green Fields' from author, Joan Campbell, who has recently been featured on North Highland Publishing.

For your free sample chapter click here.

To purchase click here now.

Have you ever wondered what cats are thinking? 

In the Land Beyond the Green Fields follow the story of life on a Highland croft through the eyes of the cats who inhabit the draughty croft. A grown up version of your favourite childhood story books Watership Down and Duncton Wood.

Gaddafi eBook Give Away.

FOREWORD BY JOHN SIMPSON CBE In 1972.

 Neville Atkinson left a career as a night fighter pilot in the Royal Navy to take up a position as personal pilot to The President of Libya, Col Gadaffi. During the next ten years his role was to fly The President, Government Ministers and many world dignitaries around the Middle East and Africa.


You can read more about the author, Neville Atkinson, HERE on Wikipedia.

A picture from 'Death on Small Wings': (Above) A Young Colonel Gaddafi

Death on Small Wings is now available for the first time ever as an eBook on our eBook store for £9.99 and to celebrate this, North Highland Publishing are giving away 5 free copies as an exclusive comeptition for our Facebook fans. 10 runners up will recieve discount vouchers for the eBook.

To be in for a chance of winning, 'like' our Facebook page HERE and then set your status as:  '@North Highland Publishing Gaddafi giveaway'

This is a time limited give away which ends once all the copies and discounts are taken or otherwise ends on 15th June 2011 1:00PM GMT.


GIVE AWAY NOW CLOSED.

How To: Download an eBook.

To download a book from our site, it is very simple. Follow these instructions;

Once you have purchased an eBook you should have been taken immediately to a download page where you could download your book(s).

If not, here is the link to download the book (you will need to either log-in or register at this point):

My Bookshelf

Make sure you save the files (by following the instructions on the download page) to your hard drive in a place you can find them before you do anything else.

You should save the file to your "desktop" so you can find it easily and quickly once you have finished downloading.

Unless you change the name of the eBook file you downloaded, it is named (xxxxxx) -- this is important to know if you have a problem finding the file later.

London Book Fair, 2011.

Back in January I wrote about our experience with the 2010 Book Fair here. 

 April came around yet again for another year and off to the Book Fair some of the North Highland Publishing Team went.

This is one of the biggest events in the book publishing calendar with an estimated 23,000 publishers, journalists and other experts from the industry from all over the world in attendance. This years focus was on the emerging world of digital publishing. 

Underlying this focus is the perception that a change from paper to electronic books is approaching. 

In the UK, electronic book sales make up about 5% of the market, whereas in the United States, it is up to 10%, with Amazon US stating that it sold more e-books for its Kindle device than paperback books in the last three months of 2010. This, combined with the the pressure put on independent booksellers by giants like Amazon, Google and Apple, means that publishers of all kinds are having to adapt quickly to this changing market.

North Highland Publishing was fortunate to attend seminars on self-publishing, electronic publishing, marketing of Ebooks and many other seminars while at the Book Fair.

The most insightful Masterclass was delivered from Acorn Independent Press -  a brother and sister team who specialise in self publishing - who discussed how the recession and technological advancements had made an impact on the World that is known as self publishing and explained the boom in authors who are self publishing.

 And with known "marketing gurus" like Seth Godin opting out of traditional routes to publish, this comes as no real shock or surprise that the demand for self publishing has risen. Seth made an interesting point on his blog about traditional publishers by saying;

 "I honestly can't think of a single traditional book publisher who has led the development of a successful marketplace/marketing innovation in the last decade."

As far as I can deduce self publishing (and more so electronic publishing) is the innovation; it is current to technological advancements and how customers interact with technology and it allows the author to control what services and products they would like to use for publishing, promoting and selling their book; from electronic publishing, to hard back and POD (print on demand) the options seem far more catered to individuals who have, not unreasonably, individual needs and wants when it comes to publishing their books.

  As demand increases for self-publishing, it will be interesting to watch the shift between traditional and self publishing, especially for first time authors who may otherwise be chewed up and spat out in the big conglomerate publishing house.

Check out our FACEBOOK to see the rest of the London Book Fair photographs.

Makeovers.

So you may have noticed that our blog has underwent a makeover in the past few days.

And if you haven't - surprise!

What do you think of the new look? 

Speaking of new looks, some of our Ebooks have also gone off for a makeover and have been replaced with snazzy new covers. 

Take a look here.

We're excited to share these changes with you and welcome every comment for improvements - we love to hear from you, so please do not hesitate to leave us a comment!

As ever - become one of our VIP followers so you'll be the first to hear about give aways, news and lots of other lovely surprises!

North Highland Publishing.

A treat for your eyes when books and art collide:

(Image: Tagbanger)

This was the image accompanied with the annoucement of J.D Salinger’s death on the 28th January, 2010 on Tagbanger.

(Image: Isaac Salazar)

‘Books of Art’ brings a new twist to origami.

(Image: Seven Roads)

Browse the gallery of old Book Trade Labels on Seven Roads; labels from all around the World.

(Image: Aurora Borealis)

Nothing to do with books, but some great advice!

Check out our latest art titles on North Highland Publishing: HERE.

Ebook Versus Hard Copy.

“You can’t beat a good hardback book,” the sceptics will say before they’ve even picked up an e-Book.

But are they indeed correct, after all?

Libraries are stacked full of hard backed, crinkly paged, shiny covered books so to the borrowing public they’re readily available for free – all you need is a library card and to remember to check the books back in before you get fined (been there, done that, bought the T-shirt and matching mug.)

Hopefully one day in the not too distant future libraries will be stocked with eBooks. Perhaps as an on-line archive, rather than the buildings they are today.

It’s not too far fetched when I recall memories of my childhood public library. It was a one storey library with a modest children’s and adults selection of books (and later on they dug deep and added in a teen section.) They didn’t have any computers until around 1999 when they added one little dinosaur of a PC that you had to reserve lest it be taken pretty swiftly.

You could hook up to the Internet, if you were lucky. And had the patience of a Saint.

The Millennium Bug phenomenon had been and gone for two years before they added a computer suite; fully equipped with top of the range computers pre-loaded with Windows XP (totally retro now, of course) and this new fangled thing called “Broadband Internet.” It was Heaven sent at the time where it wasn’t too common to own a computer that didn’t run off an Operating System circa-2000 or to still be hearing that shrill sound Dial Up made – perhaps comparable to the sound a robot might make if it were possible for them to suffer death by Samurai.

My point is: technology is like art. It is fast paced and ever changing. One minute there’s Andy Warhol at the top of his game and the next it’s Damien Hirst…or whoever’s the new kid on the block these days. Technology moves in that same, sneaky way. It has to if change is to be made in the World.

From the quill to printing press. From printing press to typewriter. From typewriter to PC.

These advancements in technology have also meant that there are advancements in how books are presented to us, the consumer as we receive the end product, after all.

To the paying customer, who is shopping for a gift for themselves or for others, price will sway the decision (after all, I can’t recall the last time I heard of someone receiving a library book as a gift.) For a popular hardback copy of “The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo” it will cost £9.71 for the hard cover and £2.74 for the eBook version (check it out).

This isn’t just the case on popular titles but with savings made on printing, ink and shipping eBooks shape up to be the “New Book.” The future of books, if you like.

So, let the sceptics be. There will always 

be sceptics. 

But why not give an eBook a 

shot and see if it’s for you?

Happy New 2011 from North Highland Publishing!

 Naturally, we’re very excited for this upcoming year.

The 11-13th of April will be the London Book Fair. Due to that volcano this year we were very sad to be unable to attend the 2010 Book Fair in London – which we had booked tickets for! Such is life, but we hope to be at the 2011 Book Fair, which will feature in it’s run-up, a Masterclass in How to Get Published, being run by author, Peter James.

2011 looks set to be the year of the eBook. With more and more purchases being geared towards e-readers than ever before, interest in eBooks has increased. Last year saw the release of the iPad from Apple and the Kindle e-reader from Amazon. And of course the launch of our site.

Let’s have a great 2011 and that our authors, customers and potential authors will help us to make it a successful year.