Thinking about self-publishing your book through Smashwords?

In the video embedded above, author Paul Salvette walks you through the process of formatting a book for Smashwords. You can read his complete Smashwords tutorial at this link. Here’s more about the video:

“This video series will show you how to format a Word manuscript to be properly uploaded and converted into an eBook on Smashwords.com. EPUB and MOBI files covert well with this technique of utilizing the style feature in Microsoft Word. This tutorial will guarantee that you .doc source file passes the Smashwords Meatgrinder.”

Barnes & Noble has launched a new self-publishing program called NOOK Press. Independent authors who used the bookseller’s PubIt! platform need to switch to the new platform.

If you want to see what sign-up entails, watch the video embedded above–you can follow the same sign up process at the NOOK Press sign up page. In the video embedded below, you can watch the new set of editorial tools in action. Here’s more from the release:

The “Quick Start” option lets writers try out the tools before they commit to becoming a vendor, all they need to sign up is an e-mail address … Easy ePub Creation and Editing: With new content creation tools, authors can easily upload a manuscript just once, then continue to write and edit directly within NOOK Press, quickly and easily turning their work into a professional-quality ePub file. Integrated Collaboration: NOOK Press allows authors to safely and quickly invite their network of friends and editors to read and comment on any NOOK Press project in a secure environment.

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Thinking about self-publishing your book in Amazon’s booming marketplace? The online bookseller has a number of helpful tutorials for independent authors, including Building Your Book for Kindle and Building Your Book for Kindle for Mac.

In the video embedded above, you can watch a tutorial about how to self-publish your book for the Amazon Kindle. You can also read the text from the video at this link. Here’s more from Amazon’s collection of tools for Kindle publishers:

Delivering a high quality, properly formatted book to your readers is important. Books that aren’t properly formatted may impact your sales in the form of negative reviews from readers, and in some cases, be removed from the Kindle Store. There are many file types that can be uploaded and published using KDP; some requiring only minimal formatting. We encourage you to check out the tools and resources which can help in creating and previewing your book prior to publishing.

What’s the best app for transcribing recorded interviews, speeches, videos or other audio content?

Below, I’ve rounded up a few free apps for manually transcribing long interviews. I spent the weekend using the free Transcribe tool for Google Chrome, an elegant, simple add-on that gives you the ability to slow down or speed up a recording while transcribing. It works on both Macs and PCs. Here’s more about Transcribe for Chrome:

* Single key keyboard shortcuts – to pause, slow-down, speed-up, rewind or fast-forward the audio clip.
* Auto-saves your transcribed text with EVERY keystroke locally in your browser.
* Works completely offline – you don’t need an Internet connection to use Transcribe! Just click on the Transcribe icon on the Chrome New Tab page anytime, and the Transcribe app will open.
* We don’t store or process your audio clips on our server – everything happens locally on your browser. Your data is yours.

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Thinking about self-publishing with Apple’s free iBooks Author tool?

If you want to explore the program without creating an account, check out the detailed video tutorial embedded above. Emerson’s College Journalism Department has also created detailed videos for every step in the iBook Author creation process. Check it out:

Follow these simple steps to learn how to create your own iBook and send it to the iBookstore!
You can find searchable transcripts of these tutorials at this link.

For your weekend reading pleasure, here are the most popular AppNewser headlines of the week.

They include a free copy of the Reeder app, Goodreads alternatives and a way to digitize everything you write (video embedded above).

Click here to sign up for AppNewser’s daily email newsletter, getting all our publishing stories, book deal news, videos, podcasts, interviews, and writing advice in one place.

1. Reeder for iPad Is Now Free

2. Best iPad Stylus for Writers

3. How to convert ePub Books for use on Kindle

4. Save Handwritten Notes on Your iPad Wirelessly & Instantly

5.  Non-Amazon Alternatives to Goodreads

6.  Send Free International Texts with These Apps

7. Websites Where You Can Download Free eBooks

8. How To Make a Homemade Stylus

9. Free eBooks of the Week

10. ‘The Saturday Evening Post’ to Publish F. Scott Fitzgerald Short Story Collection

Facebook expanded its ‘family of apps’ today, releasing Facebook Home. The new Android apps will only run on specific phones, but the tools make Facebook the most important part of your mobile experience.

What do you think? Do you want your Facebook photographs and conversations to be integrated into your everyday smartphone usage? Social Times has more about the collection of apps:

Facebook Home will include a “cover feed” for the home screen and the lock screen; and “chat heads,” or profile pictures, that pop up when friends send the user a message … Facebook created Home in partnership with mobile device manufacturer HTC. The software will come pre-installed in the HTC First, which AT&T customers can purchase for $99.99 beginning April 12. The app will also be available for download on Google Play for mobile devices including HTC One, HTC One X, Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy S IV, and Samsung Galaxy Note II. Versions for the HTC One and Samsung GALAXY S4 are coming soon.

The Tabby Award judges were revealed today.  Follow this link to meet the complete panel of judges.

Branchfire co-founder and Tabby Award winner Ravi Bhatt will chair the judges and TabTimes founding editor George Jones will be vice-chair. TabTimes and the Application Developers Alliance are accepting submissions for The Tabby Awards for consumer-focused tablet apps from now until April 15. Here’s more from the release:

Building on the success of last year’s TABBY AWARDS /Business competition, TabTimes – in partnership with the Application Developers Alliance – is now producing the only competition worldwide for the best iPad, Android and Windows 8 tablet apps for consumers. Judges will review submissions in 27 different categories that mirror what consumers might see in an app store.

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For your weekend reading pleasure, here are the most popular AppNewser headlines of the week.

They include changes to airline device rules, the best iPhone apps for writers and a way to digitize everything you write (video embedded above).

Click here to sign up for AppNewser’s daily email newsletter, getting all our publishing stories, book deal news, videos, podcasts, interviews, and writing advice in one place.

1. What Are the Best iPhone Apps for Writers?

2. EPad Femme Tablet Made Exclusively for Women Now Selling in Middle East

3. How to convert ePub Books for use on Kindle

4. Save Handwritten Notes on Your iPad Wirelessly & Instantly

5.  Tools To Use When Google Reader Dies

6.  iPads & Kindles May Soon Be Allowed During Take Off

7. Websites Where You Can Download Free eBooks

8. How To Make a Homemade Stylus

9. Free eBooks of the Week

10. ‘The Saturday Evening Post’ to Publish F. Scott Fitzgerald Short Story Collection

TabTimes and the Application Developers Alliance are accepting submissions for The Tabby Awards for consumer-focused tablet apps from now until April 15. The early bird discount ends today (March 29).

The contest will celebrate the top consumer apps in the world of tablets, exploring some of the best mobile content. Here’s more from the company:

The TABBY AWARDS competition is open to consumer applications written for the iOS, Android, and Windows 8 operating systems. The competition covers 27 categories including Entertainment, Games, Health & Fitness, Lifestyle, Music, News, Shopping, Social, Sports, and Video. A panel of experienced app developers, designers and publishers, as well as tech bloggers and journalists are being assembled to judge the competition.