Blurb Widget Makes Online Book Previews Easy


Blurb’s new book preview Widget lets you preview as much or as little of your Blurb book as you like online. You can embed it on any blog or webpage.
Visitors can view your book as a virtual page turning book or as thumbnails.
They can check Full Screen for a larger preview.
They can click the Share button and help you spread the word.
They can click the Comment button and give you instant feedback.
Or, they can click the Purchase button and get a copy of your book.
BlurbWidgetGrid
BlurbWidgetPage copy
This HTML code generates the widget.
<object classid=”clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000? width=”425? height=”300? codebase=”http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0?><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true” /><param name=”allowScriptAccess” value=”always” /><param name=”src” value=”http://www.blurb.com/assets/embed.swf?book_id=1244722? /><param name=”allowfullscreen” value=”true” /><embed type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”425? height=”300? src=”http://www.blurb.com/assets/embed.swf?book_id=1244722? allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true”></embed></object>
You can scale the display by changing the dimension numbers.
It’s easy to implement and use.
Here’s more on how to install the widget.
Find out more about how to Share, Promote, Sell your Blurb books here.
Learn more in my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops.

How To Make a Gorgeous Photo Book – Blurb


Blurb recently released a great overview of all the issues you need to consider to produce a great photo book – from concept to execution and promotion. Read it and make all your books better.
“Beautiful photo books don’t happen by accident. Talented people invest time and intent using proven design tenets, and the results can be spectacular. To help you up your bookmaking game, we’ve tapped our network of photographers and book designers and collected their best advice on everything from sequencing and layouts to typography and cover design. How to Make a Gorgeous Photo Book includes plenty of tips, tricks, and information to push your creative edge and help you design beautiful books that showcase your best work.”
Find my Blurb book Antarctica here.
Check out these other great design books I recommend.
Stay tuned for dates on my upcoming Blurb seminars and workshop.

Blurb's Photography Book Now Contest Is Open

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Blurb’s 2010 Photography Book Now contest is open through July 15, 2010.
Now it’s in its third year, this international competition celebrates the most creative, most innovative, finest print on demand photography books – and the people behind them.
Showcase your work to a jury of internationally-renowned judges – editors, publishers, photographers, and gallery owners.
Enter your books in one or more of three categories – Fine Art, Editorial, and Portfolio.
The grand prize is $25,000.
Find out more here.
See the 2009 winners here.

Made To Stick

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Chip and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick is must read material for any communicator – artist, businessperson, social advocate, politician, partner, parent … well, anyone really. Made To Stick will give you a proven formula for making any message more memorable and effective.
SUCCESs their simple formula.
Simple
Unexpected
Concrete
Credible
Emotional
Stories
That’s the key take-away from the book but it’s richly elaborated with hundreds of great stories about how SUCCESs is put into practice.
I give this book my highest recommendation.
Find the book here.
Find out more about the book and free online resources here.

The View Project – Joyce Tenneson

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Joyce Tenneson is coordinating a fascinating new book The View and she’s looking for compelling images and stories.
“I am editing a book tentatively called “The View”.   I have already received submissions from photographers around the world and would like to invite you to participate as well.  There is no research that explains why certain views affect people so deeply – this project will attempt to shed light on this intriguing visual-psychological phenomenon.
I would be most grateful if you would send me a high-resolution photo or two (no smaller than 8×10”) of a “view” that has affected you deeply.  I would also like you to send along 1-3 sentences describing, in your own words and in a simple fashion, what you felt or still feel when thinking about that particular scene.  Thanks in advance for your time and perceptions!
I’d like to make it clear that I am not looking for a simply beautiful landscape – a picture postcard – quite the opposite.  I am seeking to uncover what it is about certain places or photographs that, for some unknown reason, speak to our heart in an unforgettable and poignant manner.”
Find out more and submit images here.
Find out more about Cig Harvey here.

Chris Orwig on Visual Poetry


Fresh with the release of his new book Visual Poetry, Chris Orwig provides this insightful guest blog post.
Get a sense of who Chris is before reading this, view/listen to his short video introduction to his new book.

Hello
It is a privilege to have the honor to provide a guest post for this blog! John Paul is someone I admire deeply not only for his artistry but for the way he thinks, listens, challenges and empowers. Who he is, what he does and how he lives – inspires.
So who am I? My name is Chris and I am an artist, photographer and teacher.  As an artist I strive to live life fully and with passion, creativity, ingenuity and authenticity. As a photographer I subscribe to Marc Riboud’s perspective that, “Photography is savoring life at 1/100th of a second.” Somehow, with camera in hand I get more out of life and I enjoy sharing that with others. That’s where the teaching comes in.  I think William Yeats said it best: “Education is not about filing a pail, it is about lighting a fire.” And that’s what this post is all about – Ignition.
Over the years, I’ve watched hundreds and hundreds of students pass through the courses, conferences, workshops or photography school where I teach. Almost all of the students start off with more than enough passion that acts as kindling to get the fire going. Many of those students go on to achieve unbelievable success. Yet, sadly many of the students don’t make it, they whither and fade.
As a teacher, it’s part of my innate drive to counter this as much as I can. I want the people I know and interact with to succeed. There is nothing more thrilling than seeing others soar to new heights. With this in mind, I’ve completed one of my most recent projects which is a book titled, Visual Poetry – A Creative Guide for Making Engaging Photographs. The aim of this book is to awaken, enliven, ignite and further one’s passion for life and for making compelling, engaging and enlivening photographs. The book is a mixture of photography and creativity. If that sounds interesting – read on.
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