“Books are becoming e-books and blogs and websites have appeared as books and other types of media. In this state of flux, it looks like the paper book has the power to beat virtual writing rather than the other way round. In Brazil, there is more than just a fashion of launching e-books to attract readers and writers but also an opposite stream in which blogs have reached the offline shelves as well as the movie screens.”
….
“Another writer who first grabbed the attention of readers through the Internet and then had her book published is Clarah Averbuck. After moving from the southernmost state of Brazil Rio Grande do Sul, where she did not finish her studies but started writing for the web, to São Paulo’s capital, she created her first blog in 2001: the very popular brazileira!preta (PT), and the year after Averbuck launched her first novel “Maquina de Pinball” (Editora Conrad, 2002). She has also written “Das Coisas Esquecidas Atrás da Estante” (Editora 7 Letras, 2003) and “Vida de Gato” (Editora Planeta, 2004).
Inspired by her stories, plays and films have been produced in Brazil. Last year, Nome Próprio (PT), a film directed by Murilo Salles was awarded four prizes at the Festival of Gramado, including Best Picture, and Best Actress for Leandra Leal, who plays the main character, the writer Camila.”
More here on Global Voices.
My Take
This idea of taking a blog ‘offline’ has been something I’ve thought about although the logistics of how it would work aren’t clear in my mind. Of course, it wouldn’t mean stopping what I do here but just knowing it is being done by others is food for thought. In these cases, I don’t think its so much the information that’s being sold as it is the viewpoint. I’ve never known e-books to be extremely successful so I would most likely take the more traditional route.
What I do find to be interesting is how certain country-specific blogs generate pointed questions and requests from their readers such as how to go from A to B or where can I find this or that. My Eyes On Colombia site, for example, even though the same as this site, only receives the above-mentioned kinds of comments. My thinking is that with Colombia, there is a lack of general information out there while with Brazil, it’s an overflow.
