So I’m pretty excited to introduce a new series of posts I’ve got planned for the blog. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now, but hadn’t quite gotten around to. Actually, it’s a school project that has encouraged me to go for it. (More on this later.)

I’ll be publishing 6 posts about the process of creating a Snippet. (Posts in the series will go up on Fridays.)

What is Snippet? That’s what I hope to answer with today’s post, the first in the series.

Snippet is a pretty cool app (it’s free!) I discovered earlier this year. It allows individuals (anyone and everyone) to publish/sell interactive ebooks. Basically, it’s a creative outlet for ideas.

Take a look at this video: Introducing Snippet. (I’ve linked to the video just in case it doesn’t load here.)

So I’m currently taking a class called Reading, Writing, and Speaking in the Digital Age. (It’s a mouthful.) It’s all about digitization and new media and how they’re changing the way we share ideas.

Online blogs, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest (just to name a few) are relatively recent. I’m a writer who blogs about books. Fifty years ago, I would not have had such an easily accessible platform with which to publish my thoughts. And I would most definitely not have been able to self-publish my novels or convert them to ebooks.

Now there’s Snippet, which allows writers to use a variety of media in their published work, including hyperlinks, photo, video, and audio. A Snippet does not necessarily have to be a novel. (In fact, it’s designed to be short and sweet – and affordable!) It could be a collection of sorts, or a simple How-To.

Throughout this series, I’ll be exploring how new media is changing the way we publish and market our thoughts and ideas – specifically by looking closely at Snippet. By the end of the six weeks, I hope to have successfully published my own Snippet.

The reason I’ve decided to chronicle this process is because I think it’s exciting for teen writers. If you’re interested in creating a Snippet, I encourage you to join me! Let’s do this together.

Tentative outline for the remaining posts in the series:

Week 2 – Getting Started – creating a Snippet account, exploring Snippet’s features

Week 3 – Snippet in Review – taking a look at published Snippets

Week 4 – Taking Action – tools for creating your Snippet

Week 5 – Taking Action (continued) – content, layout

Week 6 – Taking Action (continued) – publishing finished Snippet

Thoughts? Questions?