Currently the product will only be available on the iOS app and on Amazon.com, but I would assume that Android users won’t be left out, not those that read on a Kindle device.

As a reader, you would be able to download the first three episodes free, and then after that it would be on a “token” basis… You would buy tokens and exchange them for future chapters. If you like the story, you can keep reading and pay for it, and if you don’t, you can abandon it and stop paying.

The royalty situation for authors is actually not bad, assuming that they can maintain readership.

One rub is that the material can’t be anywhere else for free on the web. For example, I couldn’t take the book I offer free to subscribers, Escape, and serialize it. Unless I remove it from here prior to the launch of the Vella product (we don’t know when that will be, BTW). That isn’t a big deal… if I were to decide to participate. I would likely create new material anyway. I have a few stories that are in progress that could be released in an episodic format. They aren’t ready yet, but neither is Vella.

But here is the big question… What do you think, Dear Reader? Would you be interested in that type of reading experience? Would you tune in to follow a story?

What about the inevitable abandoned stories? I have written on a couple of platforms that encouraged episodic content. There were scores of stores that were just left hanging, abandoned by their writers because of boredom, lack of readership or life getting in the way.

There are three things that determine exposure

• Shutter speed
• Aperture (lens opening)
• ISO (film speed or media sensitivity)

Photographers can use shutter speed to enhance the image a variety of ways. Fast speeds “freeze” motion, while slow ones allow it to blur. Both can added to the desired outcome of the photo.

The aperture that a photographer selects will also affect the way the image comes out. If a small aperture (high “f number, like f22) is used, the image will be sharper from the foreground to the background. That is awesome for landscapes and things like that. If a wide aperture (like f2.8) is used, the focus area will be shallow. That is great for portraits or times when the desire is to separate the subject from the background.

The ISO or sensitivity is the game changer… Back in the days of film, one might load up a roll of 400ISO film. That was it… for the next 24 or 36 shots, that was in the camera. Now it can be adjusted for each individual shot. Low numbers (like 100) have less grain or pixelation and better color, while higher numbers (like 1600) need less light for the proper exposure)

There is a relationship between each of the elements. Without too much depth, the ISO determines how much light is needed on the sensor, aperture determines how much light comes through at a time and shutter speed determines how long the light will strike the sensor.

Aperture is how big the hose is. Shutter speed is how long the water will run. ISO is how big the bucket is that has to be filled.

The upshot of the digital world is that a photographer is no longer constrained by available film speed (ISO) and can decide on the shutter speed and aperture that will deliver the desired image, while adjusting the ISO to meet proper exposure.

Back in the day we took a guess at what film speed we would want for the next group of pictures, and then only worried about calculating our shutter and aperture. Now all of those choices can be made with each picture.

The only drawback is that it is another choice for the photographer to make. For some, that makes it harder… for others, it is a welcome choice.

But in the days of film, on a bright day, it was tough to shoot wide open apertures (letting in lots of light and giving a shallow field of focus) while using a slow shutter speed (letting in lots of light and allowing items in the frame to motion blur) unless using a VERY slow film. Espcially if the latter part of the roll of film might need to be shot during the evening with fading light, and/or need small aperture (less light, more depth of focus) and faster shutter speed (less light and freezing motion).

Imagine shooting a landscape, and in the foreground there is a leafy branch. The gentle breeze moves the branch during the exposure. You need a small aperture to capture the depth of focus needed… but you also need a fast shutter speed to stop the motion of the branch. In the old days, you hoped for the best… now you can dial up the ISO and fire away.

Cool stuff.

WordPress Editorial Calendar

Prettymuch what it says it is. Under the “posts” heading on the admin bar, I have a calendar tab. When I open it, I have the month’s calendar, showing what posts are scheduled to go out on that blog each day of the month.

The cool part is that I can move posts around, from day to day, just by sliding them. It also let’s me see my schedule visually. It is a very handy tool.

Jetpack by WordPress.com

There are a load of free features available through this plugin. It does require that you have a WordPress.com login, but you can still deploy it on your self-hosted site.

Site stats, performance, security and more are available through Jetpack. There are paid levels, but I don’t utilize them on my blogs.

WP-DBManager

Yep… database manager. I use it to repair and optimize my database. It’s easy and automates the task. And it’s free. I like free.