Mark Gilroy

Bringing Books to Life!

Do e-Readers Cause More Eyestrain Than Paper and Ink? (It depends.)

What e-reader do you use?

What e-reader do you use?

In 2010 I wrote a blog, which listed the reasons that I had selected the simple black and white Kindle (E-ink technology) over the iPad, Nook, Sony, and other dedicated E-readers (all using LCD backlit technology). At the top of the list was the prevailing wisdom that E-ink and paper-and-ink cause less eyestrain than an LCD (backlit) display during longer reading periods.(Incidentally, it is hard to believe that the tablet device was new at the time! The first iPad was introduced April 3, 2010.)

I’ve continued to advise people to purchase a separate, inexpensive, dedicated E-ink device for long form reading. But when someone recently challenged me on this issue and asked where I got my data that LCD backlit screens increase eyestrain, I had to admit I couldn’t remember where I got the information and that I had never personally read a primary research piece.

I was delighted to find a fairly recent (December 13, 2013) peer-reviewed journal article, E-Readers and Visual Fatigue (Kevin Paterson), which is available to you in its entirety with compliments from the National Library of Science if you want to go through the design, methodology, and data of the study to draw your own conclusions.

And just in case you were wondering, with the explosion of digital reading, whether it be on E-reader devices,  smartphones or computer screens, there is a scientific name for eyestrain caused by digital reading: Visual Fatigue Syndrome (VFS).  [Read more…]

The Secret to Writing So Others Will Like It

writing what others will like

Write something to suit yourself and many people will like it; write something to suit everybody and scarcely anyone will care for it. 

Jesse Stuart

The fact that I have made a living in the world of publishing for some thirty odd years is proof that I have acquired, written, edited, published, and sold what others wanted and asked for many times. I have helped publish a number of very successful books and series that were not necessarily what I might be looking for as a consumer and reader myself—a new devotional for mothers is a good example—but I knew that the material would meet a real need for many others.

I believe in focusing on others and will continue to do so for my “day job”.  So don’t get me wrong. I believe in the discipline of marketing as applied to writing and publishing and business development, especially the early part of the science when you scan and closely observe the world to see what people are looking for and buying, trying to spot new interests and trends.

But having said that, there came a moment in my publishing career that I decided to ignore everyone else and write something for me—to go with my gut feeling and instinct that if I like it, others will too. No way was I going to revert to form and gather focus groups or put out surveys. I decided to go with a jury of one. Me.  [Read more…]

Can You Transform Your Life From the Outside-In?

What happens when a homeless vet meets a hair stylist? And what does that have to do with personal transformation? Watch and you will be amazed.

Some would argue that true transformation only happens inside of us – it’s a matter of the heart. Others point to the outside and argue that if you change a person’s external circumstances that person has a much better opportunity to become a new person from the inside out.

I am a firm believer that there is a God who created the world and who is the giver of all gifts, including faith and the ability for us to make decisions that change us for the better or the worse. We are designed to be active participants in who we are and the person we are becoming.

For that reason, my answer on whether life is transformed from the inside or the outside is YES.  [Read more…]