Keeping up with the Joneses

The other day, I finally got my hands on an iPad, and I must admit, I was impressed.  Sure, I understand why some have been quick to dismiss this neat gadget.  And like any new technology, it has its limits.  Nevertheless, I could see why everyone wants to check it out.

By now, you probably know that we at failbetter.com are celebrating ten years of publishing great fiction, poetry, visual art, and author interviews. At AWP in Denver, we got the festivities underway with a gala cocktail hour and reading, featuring Sherman Alexie, Michael Martone, Terese Svoboda, and several hundred happy attendees. Soon, we'll choose the winner of our Tenth Anniversary Novella Contest, with the victor netting a $500 prize, and the work to run in installments, starting this fall.  We'll we have one more big project in store for the year.  This December, we'll put out an anthology of the best fiction and poetry we've published so far. 

That's where the iPad comes in.

In addition to spending the year compiling our best work from the past decade, we’re also figuring out in which of the multitudes of publishing formats said anthology will be made available: e-book, Kindle, Nook, and now iPad.  Sure, we'll also publish the collection on traditional print as well.  So while folks will continue to debate the lasting impact of the latest publishing invention, we'll just jump on board and go along for the ride.  After all, publishing in yet another format may seem excessive - but if this enables us to get great writing to even a few more readers, it will be worth our while.