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Giving a new meaning to literary license: After reading a piece in The Economist about the proliferation of licensing requirements in the U.S., our friend Hal Gordon was moved to ponder a chill-inducing question -- should speechwriters be certified too? Gordon points out, with tongue at least half in cheek, that anyone can pass themselves off as a speechwriter without any credentials, and highlights the potential menace this poses to the public. 

"Consider the number of wedding receptions that turn into fiascos every year because the wedding toast was written by an uncredentialed speechwriter," Gordon, a top speech pro, writes on his blog. "Consider the number of aspiring politicians or rising young executives whose careers have been irretrievably blighted by a bad speech crafted by an amateur. Consider the effect that just one incompetently-written commencement address could have on hundreds of graduates. Ruining this major rite of passage in their lives by second-rate oratory could cause them untold psychological damage – even scar them for life." 

What say you speechifiers out there? Badge of integrity -- or sign of the apocalypse?

More learning, less lending: Marketing guru and futurist Seth Godin is making waves in literary land with a provocative blog post calling on libraries to change their core mission to go with the digial flow. Godin argues that pre-Gutenberg books were an expensive commodity, rivaling the price of a modest home, and as result the creation of shared books was a necessity. With the digitization of books and the overflow of information available electronically, libraries as warehouses are becoming obsolete -- but the need for librarians, to help us navigate the overflow of information out there, is greater than ever. The future, according to Godin, is the librarian as "... producer, concierge, connector, teacher, and impresario." Is this realistic? Tell us what you think.

App-ealing news for NYPL users: Speaking of library evolution. . . .The New York Times reports today that the New York Public Library has unveiled its first iPad research app. Biblion: The Boundless Library, is the name for what will actually be a series of apps that will highlight different elements in the library's research collections. The first edition in the series highlights the library's 1939-1940 World's Fair Holdings, which are among the most consulted collections by researchers; it's currently available for free at the iTunes Store. As we move into summer, be on the lookout for an app that allows you to reserve books.

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Everyone is a critic: Once upon a time writers only needed a good review from the New York Review of Books to consider their work a success. Now it seems that authors need to impress just about everyone with access to a keyboard and an Amazon account. At the PEN World Voices Festival last month, top critics delved into this trend and debated the merits of Amazonian reviewers and their influence on the publishing world. Reactions ranged from fatalistic ("The democratization of reviewing is synonymous with the decay of reviewing," said critic Morris Dickenstein) to mildly pessimistic. We'd be curious to hear from our author friends who have had books praised and/or panned by the masses about their experiences.

Living high on the blog: Is it just us, or does it seem like every third book you see for sale these days was born from a blog? Does this mean the "blook" is the new black in publishing? Publishing Perspectives takes an in-depth look at this how new trend and their main takeaway is an analog as it gets -- nothing still succeeds like success. Publishers are taking notice of blog-to-book goldmines like Post Secret, The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking, and Sh#t My Dad Says, and are scouring the Internet for the next big web thing to cash in on. 

Taking a few tips from the big top: Inspired by the new circus movie "Water for Elephants," our friend Cindy Starks is counseling speechwriters to get in touch with their inner Barnum as a way to better engage their audiences. For starters, instead of opening your speech with a mundane list of people to thank, Starks suggests on her blog that "perhaps we should take a page from the circus-master’s book and begin the talk with the most exciting piece of information we’ve got. An anecdote, a story, a question, a striking statistic, a joke." You should probably leave your bullhorn at home, though. 

Tweet revenge: Most speakers are now grudgingly used to audience members tweeting away during their presentations. But the Eloquent Woman suggests that speechwriters are better off seeing Twitter as opportunity to seize more than an annoyance to tolerate. She offers a few handy hints on how to capitalize on the tweet-speak relationship, like tweeting audio samples from your speech or conducting market research using your Twitter network.

2011 BEA Preview

The 2011 BookExpo America kicks off next Tuesday, with thousands of publishers, editors, and authors -- along with booksellers, librarians, bloggers, and a few Gotham Ghosts -- descending on New York City's Javits Center for the largest publishing conference in North America. For those of you will be attending, or just keeping score at home, here's an early look at what to expect for this year's word nerd Woodstock.

In addition to the countless exhibitor booths, author presentations, and book-signings, the 2011 BEA
features three days of "Big Ideas" conference sessions. The topics range from the acutely practical  ("How to Shoot Video that Doesn't Suck! And 10 Things Book People Need to Know") to the trend-watching ("Back to Basics: Why Home Economics Books are the New Retro Chic") to the globally-minded ("Translating Italy"). Not surprisingly, a significant number of the fair's events center on the evolving digital landscape -- e-books, Twitter, and multi-platform publishing are all on the docket for discussion, as are more general sessions on "The Future of Books" and "New and Evolving Publishing Models."

Even with what Publisher's Weekly calls the "digital revolution" at "the epicenter of this year's Expo -- big time," though, BEA show manager Steve Rosato tells the industry mag that "the value of personal interaction still trumps all." At The Girl from the Ghetto, one book blogger offers tips on how to capitalize on those face-to-face connections and other ways to make the most of the show. From annotating the business cards you collect with the details of your meeting to making the most of the time you spend in line, her common-sense guide is a welcome pep-talk for BEA newcomers.

Not up for the convention but still hankering for a literary fix? Echoes of the BEA resound throughout the City next week, with a diverse menu of author-focused events set to take place around the Big Apples as part of New York Book Week. The free events run the literary gamut: check out star journalist and author Susan Orlean at the Soho Apple store and run across town in time for Granta's panel on the Spanish writers in translation -- that is, unless you've got plans to check out celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain's talk and book signing or the author-studded (and open-bar) Lower East Side book party. Remember, though, to make time for the free workshop on how to break into ghostwriting that we will be co-hosting on May 24 with ASJA.

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Freelancer family fun: Just because you don't work in a cubicle doesn't mean your work life isn't still full of zany Dilbert-esque moments. Freelancing has its own set of head-to-desk frustrations, and Mashable directed us to a quirky cartoon game that captures the trials and tribulations of being your own boss. Styled like the Game of Life, the cartoon freelancer goes to work in his PJs, does his own taxes, pulls an all-nighter and eventually retires early after a successful career.

Logical commas: Just when you thought you had figured out your 10th grade English teacher's grammar lessons, Slate's Ben Yagoda makes the case for changing a particularly thorny punctuation rule. "Logical punctuation," that is, putting commas and periods outside of quotation marks, is standard practice in the U.K. and is gaining popularity on the Internet. Though professional editors aren't likely to change their ways anytime soon, Yagoda predicts that the fickle grammarians of the Internet are bound to make "logical punctuation" the digital norm.

Free to be you and "e": There may not be such a thing as a free lunch, but if you look hard enough, you can find free lit all over the Internet. Mediabistro has made things a bit easier by compiling a list of websites that offer free legal e-book downloads. Check it out and let us know if you find any free e-books that are worth reading.

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It's a relatively slow news day in the online realm of the word, but our friends at GalleyCat had a couple tidbits we thought were worth sharing.

Grim News for Giveaways: Over the last few years Facebook has been a favorite platform for  authors, publishers, and other book industry professionals for hosting contests. But thanks to a few barrier-raising format changes Facebook recently instituted, that tool may now be toast. As Jason Boog reports, contests must now be hosted on a Canvas Page or Page Tab created inside Apps on Facebook. Then there's the new rules for registering participants. "You must not condition registration or entry upon the user taking any action using any Facebook features or functionality other than liking a Page, checking into a Place, or connecting to your App. For example, you must not condition registration or entry upon the user liking a wall post, or commenting or uploading a photo on a wall." Before hosting your next giveaway, be sure to familiarize yourself with all the strict, new guidelines and lengthy restrictions.

A Return to the Traditional: Our friend Jason Allen Ashlock, Principal of the Moveable Type Literary Agency, is one of the best analytical thinkers we know about the e-volution of the publishing industry. Today he was kind enough to share a few insights about how agents work with self-published authors like Victorine Lieske, a Moveable Type client who has sold more than 100,000 copies of her self-published e-book, Not What She Seems. You can hear more from Jason at the free workshop we'll be co-hosting with ASJA on May 24 on how to break into ghostwriting.

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Book that trip: If you're planning an exotic getaway this summer, or just want to escape to a faraway  land while sunning on your local beach, the Telegraph has just the ticket for you. Offering a new twist on the summer reading list, the U.K. paper has compiled a menu of favorite fiction by location. Their "Around the World in 24 Books" showcase takes you from Italy to India and from classic authors like E.M. Forster to modern stars like Cormac McCarthy.

Slang "thang": In yet another sign of the impending apocalypse, slang words "innit," "grrl" and "thang" have been added to the Collins Scrabble Dictionary. Offering a more accepting perspective, American Sarah Churchwell writes in the Guardian that, while "innit" may be an abomination, English is constantly evolving and change is necessary for survival. As she puts it, "There's no language so pure as a dead one."

Rules for the unruly: There are few things scarier than speaking to an unfriendly audience, especially for an inexperienced or unconfident speaker. The Eloquent Woman today provides some helpful coping mechanisms -- 12 tips for establishing credibility and winning over a tough crowd. Some hints: don't brag when introducing yourself, don't over-apologize, and be bold.

Sour Apple: While tablets may be all the rage, magazine publishers are having a hard time getting a cut of the action. Last week, Hearst and Conde Nast were the first two big magazine publishers to release their subscription agreements for the iPad. Women's Wear Daily revealed that the publishers are less than happy about the terms of the deal with Apple and that sales are not living up to expectations. We wrote on Monday about new research suggesting that people aren't using their iPads to read. Maybe Conde Nast should just buy Angry Birds.

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Konrath the Contrarian: We see a lot of articles offering marketing tips for writers, but few are as informed by experience and of true utility as this post from thriller author Joe Konrath's blog sharing the lessons he has learned about e-book selling through trial and error. While acknowledging up front that many factors outside an author's control affect sales, Konrath points out a few ways that writers can boost their odds. The obvious place to start: by exploiting all available sales platforms (Amazon, B&N, Smashwords and Overdrive in particular). He also pooh-poohs some of the traditional marketing avenues -- paid advertising, making public appearances, and putting out spam. "I fully believe that the ultimate reason I am selling so many e-books is because I got lucky."

Nice guys finish. . . . seventh? If you've ever played the game Telephone as a child, then you know first hand how easily words can be misunderstood, misrepresented, and ultimately mangled beyond their original meaning. The New Republic this week offers a fun little reminder that great figures in history are every bit as vulnerable to this phenomenon -- a digital slideshow of legendary misquotes from prominent public figures like George Washington, Voltaire, and that favorite American quipster, Patrick Henry. Indeed, if you've been repeating Henry's most famous exaltation, "Give me liberty or give me death!" you probably ought to thank his biographer, William Wirth, for penning the quote.   

For future reference: While Ronald Reagan may have had a slew of superb speechwriters at his disposal, none of them ever took the place of what our friend John Barnes refers to as his "future file." USA Today reports that the Gipper famously kept a stack of note cards where he jotted down lines from poems, meaningful quotes, and hoary jokes to hold for future reference. Recently rediscovered in a cardboard box at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, these cards have been edited into a book by historian Douglas Brinkley, The Notes: Ronald Reagan's Private Collection of Stories and Wisdom, that's set to hit shelves today. Do any of you keep your own "future file" to incorporate into later speeches? How often do you draw from it? 

Piggy-bank publishing: Financially-strapped writers take note -- author Mindy Klasky is currently testing a novel twist on literary fundraising that bears watching. According to GalleyCat, Klasky's new book, Fright Court, will be published by chapters online. At the end of each post readers are encouraged to send donations through PayPal. Donors will receive a myriad of small gifts including magnets and personalized, signed posters for their support. Klasky has opted to try this approach -- dubbed the "Reader-Supported Serialized Novel" -- after already putting out several books through traditional publishing channels with limited success. 

Short is sweet: Researchers at the Poynter Institute have found that the key predictor of what keeps peoples' attention when they read online is paragraph length. "The bottom line," according to Ragan, "is that stories with shorter paragraphs got more than twice as many overall eye fixations as those with longer paragraphs." If you feel that your writing falls on the lengthy side of the spectrum, Ragan provides a few tips on how to tighten it up. For example, simply hitting the "return" key more often and using bullets to break up a series of three or more items can instantly clear up clutter.