Gas and Air

Ah, that exhilarating feeling of looking out of the plane, across the landscape below, right before you parachute down into those fields...that vista is a bit of a luxury when you're working intensely on an all-consuming passion or project.

The bird's eye view of authonomy is something I'm being treated to right now, because I'm returning to the fray of the development team, following the 'launch' of another great passion of mine (a baby girl, born a few months ago). Of course I've been participating on the BETA site from the other side of the fence, as a member, but it's hugely exciting to be making the jump back into the action.

The motivation for setting up authonomy is just as vivid and pressing for us as it was when we first stumbled on the idea at an editors' gathering. If 12 years as a books editor has taught me anything, it's that - despite all the talented people with writing projects on the go - it's a full time job to hunt them out and select the ones you'd like to work with.


Those of you with writing projects underway will know getting recognition for your work is a mammoth undertaking. Even when you're convinced your work is actually very good, and even when you've (true to the old Writers' and Artists' Handbook advice) established and schmoozed a few personal contacts, it's still frustrating and often extremely difficult to get visibility and go where you want to go - be it a commercial contract or the thrill of running a productive local creative writing circle. And by my book, if you've got genuinely good, tight writing, a proper appealling idea and drive, and an established audience, your work darn well deserves more oxygen.

Those who make a living as commissioning editors or literary agents will testify that, some days, the job of locating lasting and marketable talent can feel as efficient as finding a needle in a haystack. On those days, at sight of the morning mailbag stuffed full of fresh, hopeful manuscripts (I'll take a photo for this blog someday soon!), we all feel like a double espresso to take the edge off the task ahead.

And speaking to other editors and writers, published and still-to-come, I know this hunger to change and improve The System is shared. I've blogged about this elsewhere, but the desire to celebrate and promote new talent is the bottom line here. Already I can see authonomy's potential to make a difference to professionals, as well as the people who rightly take pleasure in reading and writing for it's own joy.

OK, parachute lady, nice to hear...but if you're anything like me, you'll want hard facts, so here we go...

In the run up to our launch, some rather splendid people in the HarperCollins commissioning teams around the globe have been getting excited at what they're now seeing emerge with authonomy. (If you want to check out where we have offices, start here.) There's a host of editors with real commissioning power coming on board at launch who'll be regularly reading the work which the authonomy community rates as the best on the site.

What does 'best on the site' really mean? Well, for those of you already settled in on the BETA authonomy, it's this element of rating, recomending and ranking that will be the most noticeable shift when we launch - the big 'So What' of the site. It's been essential for us to test the upload process and get a select number of discerning members established before the great hunt begins, but very soon we'll start to see the bookshelf mechanism really coming into its own.

A few of our UK editors are putting together some pointers for you on what kind of thing we're particularly looking out for this year. High-quality, arresting writing is always number one, but it helps to know which genres and kinds of books that are meeting with more popularity and keen audiences right now. There's no reason why you should be pushed into anything but your own unique style and genre, but if you do take a side interest in such trends, keep checking the blog and site for these insights.

But we're also keen to hear writers' own experiences and opinions about how the dialogue between authors and publishers can be improved - all of the invitees at the BETA phase are helping enormously to shape this Brave New World, so hats off to you all.

Tomorrow, I'm off to hear some of these experiences and to talk at the Winchester Writers' Conference about getting published, and our motivations behind setting up Authonomy, giving a sneak preview about what's coming up next. Title: 'How to Avoid the Slush Pile'. (Yes I know you hate that term - we did too, that's why we're here.) Hope to see a few of our UK-based members there?

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Pitching to the World

authonomy's private beta has now been running a month, and we've been belting in upgrades as we go. One of our very first additions has been to add RSS feeds – allowing users versed in the dark arts of syndication to be updated instantly on the latest comments, and most importantly the latest pitches from submitting authors. It’s a small change visually, but a big change for the site as a whole – because already it offers a tantalising glimpse of a far better way to handle the book-world’s fabled ‘slush-pile’.



First of all, here’s the science bit. RSS, which stands for “Really Simple Syndication” is a very basic piece of technology that lets even staunch technophobes suck articles from one site and put them somewhere else – perhaps where they can be more conveniently read. A very popular use of this is for regular web users to pull together onto one web page (known as an ‘RSS reader’) the latest articles from all their favourite sites - allowing them to keep a quick eye on everything that’s going on by visiting only one location. Click here for an example of an RSS reader in action.

In addition to this, RSS feeds are also used to add interesting content to existing websites. For example, if you run a book blog you can now add to it a list of the latest headlines from The Bookseller or the Guardian with just a few clicks of the mouse. Increasingly, companies are placing RSS feeds from relevant sites on their intranets, ensuring all their employees are up to date with the latest news from their industry – indeed, if you’re using the latest version of Windows you can now drop feeds straight onto your desktop.

How does it help the book trade? The advantages of RSS are the ability to publish content far and wide (in the process, reaching people who would never come to your site of their own accord) and also to allow web users to easily identify the most interesting information from the mass of content produced daily on the web. Which are also two reasons why the feeds system perfectly suits the stack of unsolicited manuscripts known all too often as ‘the slush pile’.

authonomy’s new feeds allow hungry editors and agents to add a rolling feed of the latest submissions to their desktop, home page, intranet or indeed anywhere else that proves convenient – gaining instant access to book pitches from around the world, and ‘one-click’ access straight into the text of whatever catches their eye. By removing the mail bag, the self addressed envelope, the reply card, authonomy can offer editors more proposals, from more sources, than ever before – and in a convenient, inobtrusive, digital form that doesn’t cost time, or effort, or money to process.

Suddenly feeds can make the search for unsolicited talent much more attractive; and much less wasteful. Indeed, if the present unsolicited system sees manuscripts land on the wrong desks – even sent to houses who don’t publish in matching areas – feeds can allow editors and agents to select exactly what they want to see. This might, on a basic level, mean subscribing to a feed showing the latest crime novels, or the latest memoirs, but there’s no reason why it shouldn’t search a book’s ‘tags’ for an even more precisely targeted update. Want to be alerted when a new serial-killer manuscript arrives? Have a hole in your list the size of a female forensic investigator? A feed-based slush pile offers all these opportunities, and more.

While authonomy’s aim is to make things better for unpublished writers, we understand that by far the best way to achieve this is to make things easier for editors. The simple syndication of our pitches is just the very first development of the tools we’ll be adding (of which more to come) which aim to make the submissions process more effective – in short, to make the 'slush-pile' more inviting to those to whom new talent is valuable, and currently difficult to discover. Because the more manuscripts pass over more desks, in more countries, the more opportunities there are for writers from a whole heap of different backgrounds to get that all-important break.

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A Step by Step Guide to RSS

Confused by RSS? As discussed elsewhere on the blog, we've added RSS buttons to make it easier for you to keep up with everything that's happening on authonomy.com - but not everyone's in the know about the really simple world of syndication. Read on for a step by step beginners' guide on how to begin.

In short, RSS allows you to collect in one place a constantly-updating list of links and articles pulled from your favourite sites - saving you the hassle of visiting each in turn to find out what's new. In simplest terms, it's like creating your own online newspaper or magazine - produced entirely from sites you've handpicked. Click here for an example of a page of feeds I've pulled from various publishing blogs...

There are a heap of companies offering free web space to create a page like this - amongst them Netvibes, Bloglines and Yahoo - but one of the simplest routes is just to use Google. With the 'iGoogle' service, you can now personalise that big white Google search page to also display information specifically relevant to you, pulled from whichever sources you choose.

To add authonomy feeds to your google search screen, you'll first need to set up an iGoogle page at http://www.google.com/, which will probably look much like the screenshot below. If you're google page doesn't already look like this, just click on the small blue 'igoogle' link in the top corner to start setting up your own 'reader' page - it's very simple indeed, and on-screen instructions will talk you through the process.



In a new window open up authonomy.com, and look for the little orange RSS buttons (see the picture at the top of this post). Right now there are two options - you can choose to be updated about each new book that our members upload to the site (in which case, click the RSS button on the homepage), or you can choose a feed that lists all the latest comments left on any particular book (in which case click the RSS button above the thread of comments that particularly interests you).

Because I've got some fairly old software, clicking the RSS icon below the 'latest books' list presents me with a terrifying page of computer-speak, but if you're using newer versions of Windows (or you're on a mac) the page you get will look a little more inviting. Whatever comes up, you'll need to highlight and copy the web address, as below.



This web address is the key to setting up the feed. Go back to the iGoogle page you've created, and click the 'Add Stuff' link, which you'll find in the top right hand corner of your 'iGoogle' page. It will bring up a screen similiar to that below - you need to find the link named "Add Feed or Gadget" in the left hand column. Click the link, and in the box that appears, paste in the web address which you copied from authonomy. Click 'Add' to finish.



That's it! When you go back to your main iGoogle page, you'll see that your chosen feed has appeared amidst all the other content there. By clicking and dragging the blue bars at the top of each box you can arrange all your 'feeds' as you want them on the iGoogle page - and by clicking on the links that sound most interesting you can dive straight into authonomy, and straight into the content you want to read.



These feeds will update as authonomy itself updates, so you'll always be shown links to the latest goings-on around the site when ever you visit Google to search. Now that you've set up an iGoogle RSS reader page, you can also add feeds from any other site that interests you by repeating the process - the BBC, MySpace, blogs, even your email account. Before you finish, just remember to save your page (and if you don't have a google account, you'll need to create one) so that whenever you visit http://www.google.com/, all your feeds will appear as you left them.

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Rolling Out The Fixes

We're all really eager to get on with launching the second phase of authonomy, but over the last few days we've been taking time to fix many of the concerns you've reported to us in our first few weeks of life. Hope you spotted a few changes over the last few days - here's a quick run down of what we've been up to.

Most noticeably, we've whacked up the text size a couple of points, and darkened the colour - both of which makes the site much easier to read. It was a little troubling at first to fiddle with what we'd thought were carefully balanced designs (and our designer's taking it well, considering) but there's now no doubt that the site's a million times more accessible as a result. And my eyes hurt less, which is a bonus...

It's great to see so much debate going on around the many books already uploaded. Due to popular demand we've now started work to add forums to the site, which should give all our members more opportunity to discuss topics not directly related to the books on offer. These aren't going to appear immediately - indeed it may take us a bit of time still - but rest assured these are on their way.

Eagle-eyed amongst you will spot that we've added an RSS button to both the latest books list, and to the comments thread on each individual book. If you know about RSS then you can dive straight in and use the feature - if not, look out for a post in the next few days explaining what it's all about, and why it's a good way of keeping up to date with all the happenings here at authonomy.

And while we're on comments, there's a couple of changes here too. We've put all the paragraph breaks back into your comments (who knows where these were going!) so there's now every encouragement to leave detailed feedback for authonomy's many writers. We've also had a go at simplifying the 'cherry pick' system, which allows authors to highlight the comments which they feel best represents / supports their work. Some of you are using this feature with enthusiasm, some of you are yet to discover it - again, look out for a post addressing this in more detail.

All in all, a busy week - don't think we're resting on our laurels! Your feedback is invaluable, so as always, don't be shy to report your issues through the contact us page, and check back here for regular updates.

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We're working on the uploads...

Nearly two weeks into our beta, and we're really excited by the number of books that have been created by authonomy members - thanks to you all. Sorry to hear, however, that some of you are having problems with the upload process - be assured that we're working on these issues now.

As I write, we've got two bugs in our sights. First of all, some of you seem to have lost the occasional space between words within your text - no doubt quite infuriating if you've already painstakingly checked your manuscript for typos. Secondly, a small but significant number of you seem to be finding that your files are getting rejected altogether (mostly, though not exclusively, those of you trying to upload '.rtf' files). Fixes are on the way - apologies if you're amongst the unlucky few, and we're very grateful for your patience!

These are exactly the kind of problems we want to target throughout our beta period - so thanks to all those who've reported their concerns. We're watching the site very carefully, but we can't spot all the bugs ourselves - so please continue to register any problems with us using the 'contact us' page on the site. It might take a few days to get a response, but nothing's going unacknowledged!

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Authonomy is up and running!

Lift off! Our beta launch is up and running, and our first few hundred members are now logged in and exploring the site. Have to admit, it's been a nerve-wracking business, after so much work behind closed doors, to finally open up our first phase to public scrutiny - and it's been a great relief that your comments, on the whole, have been very positive.

Needless to say, it's been immensely exciting to see a community spring up so quickly on our empty site. We've really enjoyed watching new members appear, and we're very excited by how many people have already uploaded books - more than a few in their entirety. A big thanks to everyone who's been taking part.

Of course, it was never going to go completely to plan... Apologies if you've tried to use the site's 'contact us' page to send us your feedback over the last day or two - it's been playing up a little, so we may not have got your message. We've fixed the problem now, so please do fire away with your questions and queries, and we'll try and address them as best we can.

And do keep an eye on your email if you registered for a beta invite at www.authonomy.com and have not yet received an invite code. We do intend to send out new batches of invites very regularly, so you shouldn't have to wait much longer - and if you're not on our list, it's not too late to sign up! We're definitely looking forward to welcoming you - once we're convinced our servers aren't going to explode...

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Welcoming the woodcut...

A sunny spring clean for the authonomy blog, and a first public outing for our startling new logo, up there in the header. Some of you will love it, some of you will hate it - we think it's quite fun...

The blog's new and impressively yellow rebrand heralds the imminent arrival of authonomy's private beta launch. While we've still a little way to go on the full development (there's plenty of bells and whistles to be added), a site like authonomy is really nothing without its community. And on that basis, we'll soon be delighted to invite the first few hundred names on our email list to set up residence, behind closed doors, in the very first incarnation of the site.

Many thanks to all of you for your interest, and for your patience. If you're not yet on our list it's not too late to whack in your email address over on the holding page at authonomy.com - check back soon, or subscribe to our feed, and we'll keep you up to date...

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