If you have an iPad or an iPhone, you can now host a video Google Hangout on your mobile device–connecting with your writing group, book club or editor in a face-to-face chat.

Simply download the free Hangouts app and sync with your Google+ contacts. Once your circles are loaded, you can quickly launch a hangout. AppNewser has more:

Users on iOS devices can finally start using Google’s new chat app, appropriately call Hangouts, allows you to do what you’ve always done with Gmail’s desktop experience: text friends, start videos, and share photos in seamless conversations across multiple devices. The best part about the new Hangout app is how easy it is to continue a video chat from a text chat in seconds. If that feature doesn’t impress you, Google’s also putting in 850 emojis for all of those emotions you can’t express.

Has your to-be-read pile grown out of control? There is a Japanese word for that!

Avid reader Wemedge had his daughter illustrate the word “Tsundoku,” a informal Japanese
word that describes our out of control book piles. Want to know more about the word itself? Wiktionary has more about the word:

tsumu, to pile up + doku, to read, punning on tsundeoku, to leave piled up) Noun  (informal) the act of leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with such other unread books

Hollywood producer Neal Edelstein explored the boundaries between film and app with Haunting Melissa, a serialized “ghost story that was designed to be watched in the dark with headphones on.”

AppNewser interviewed the producer:

The film, which was written by Andrew Klavan, isn’t to be watched in one sitting like your usual movie. It’s also not your average series with multiple episodes. Instead app users can experience the story over a six-to-eight week period as different pieces of the story are revealed. As viewers progress, Edelstein’s Hooked Digital Media will add new content to the app that helps advance the story. When a new piece is added to the app, users will get a push notification. The schedule is a mystery, so don’t expect a new episode every Tuesday. It’s unpredictable, explained Edelstein. Clips are also not a standard length. For instance, one clip could be three minutes, another twenty, but each piece will push the story forward, explained Edelstein.

Are you looking for a writers group? Writers groups can motivate you to write more, critique your work or even help you publicize your work.

We have created an experimental project to connect writers around the globe, helping hundreds of GalleyCat readers create writers groups both online and in the real world.

Sign up to join our free directory here. Once you fill out the simple form, you will be able to access our complete directory of GalleyCat readers who are looking for a writers group–contact them directly to build a new group.

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Brooklyn’s Community Bookstore will open a second shop called Terrace Books, “a (mostly) used bookstore in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn.”

The bookstore will replace the six year old Babbo’s Books, located 242 Prospect Park West, a couple blocks away from Prospect Park. Check it out:

A grand opening party is being planned for June. What to expect at Terrace Books? A considered selection of used books, a few new books, books to give as gifts (especially around the holidays), kids’ books, and more. Quick and easy delivery of new titles from Community Bookstore by bicycle. All the out-of-print books and vintage dust jackets you can handle. And for Babbo’s customers, we’ll honor your credits and gift certificates.

Ambulant has created an ergonomic eReader case called the Wingo. They hope to raise $55,000 on Kickstarter to cover the costs of manufacturing the product.

We’ve embedded a video about the project above–what do you think? Here’s more about the project from Dr. Anthony D. Andre:

The Wingo is a simple but elegant solution to the growing dilemma of how to hold tablet devices without undue effort, strain or fatigue, especially when using only one hand. Its “wings” virtually hold onto the user’s hand, negating the need for the user to pinch the device and carry the burden of the weight with the finger tips. I think that it represents a valuable ergonomic option for frequent users of such devices.

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How will we read with Google Glass?

Mashable has created a Google Glass app called Mashable Velocity for Google Glass, sending quick alerts users to readers before a story goes viral. AppNewser has all the details:

When the app predicts that a story will go viral, the Google Glass user will get an alert. Users can decide to have Glass read a summary of the story to them aloud or share the story on their social networks. Mashable created the Velocity tool, which predicts which stories will go viral before they go viral, back in December when they relaunched their website.

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One bestselling self-published author urged other writers to avoid reading reviews online. Do you agree?

Novelist Paige Weaver has spent five weeks on our Self-Published Bestsellers List with Promise Me Darkness, but she stopped reading reviews as her book spread online.  Here is her simple advice:

My policy is DO NOT READ YOUR REVIEWS. Good or bad. I’ve heard this from other authors so that is my new motto. The first few days after “Promise Me Darkness” was released, I read all the reviews and they were good but I knew that the bad ones were coming. Every book has had bad reviews. It is just human nature. We can’t all agree on everything … I do not read reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, or anywhere else. I’m too scared. I haven’t developed that thick skin so many authors told me I had to have in this business. My hubby and friends tell me what the good reviews say and sometimes they tell me what the bad reviews say if they think it might be helpful for my writing. Knowing there are some bad reviews does hurt, I’ll admit, but then I think of that childhood saying – “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.”

Assignmint is a new platform aimed at streamlining the process of pitching, writing and billing outlets for your writing.

Follow this link to sign up for a free author account. If you are a working freelance writer, you should explore the free service–they already have resources for keeping track of stories, creating invoices or adding up expenses. Check it out:

First, hit your Contacts dashboard to add your favorite outlets and editors. Be sure to search our directory outlet before you start typing addresses: We have more than 15,000 U.S. newspapers, magazines, websites and other publications already in the system. (Don’t see yours? Tip us off; we’ll add it.) Soon, you’ll be able to search this directory for new outlets that might want whatever it is you’re peddling. Then, put together some new ideas and send them via your Pitch dashboard. For your convenience, we’ve pre-installed dummy “pending” and “draft” pitches in your account to help you get started. Your editors can reply via email (as they normally would) or directly to your Assignmint account using our secure pitch lander pages. Once you get the job, it’s a snap to record assignment details, file copy, track expenses and send that all-important invoice. Soon, using our proprietary banking gateway, you’ll have the option to accept secure electronic payments directly from your employers.

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