Is proofreading really necesary? After all, it&rquo;s the age of the Internet. Surely an author doesn’t need to spend time -- and money – nailing down every last detail. And there are so many free converting programs for e-books.    Why not just plug in that Microsoft Word document, let the program do it's magic, and upload it to the Kindle store? Is it just me, or is there something a little distracting about this paragraph?

(There are seven typos/formatting errors above.)

Welcome back to the iPad Advice for Writers series. I have a whole list of iPad apps for writers and editors I'd like to review, so stick around, fellow iPadders and those jealous of our considerable awesomeness. Upcoming reviews include Pages, Noterize, Office2 HD, My Writing Nook, Split Pea, iAnnotate PDF and more.

Today I'm going to start with Bashō, a writing app exclusive to the iPad.

It took me way too long to find the ō to use in the above app's name, henceforth it shall be known as Basho.

Basho advertises itself as a distraction-free writing environment for the iPad. If you are a Mac user, think WriteRoom, or the nirvana-inducing Ommwriter.

Let me first say that I'm not typically an early adopter. I got my N64 after Gamecube was already out. I still use my scroll-wheel iPod and I have never had an iPhone. I usually wait for something to be cheaper or refurbished or 2nd generation before I jump on board. I'm not afraid of the early experience, I just don't mind waiting and enjoying what I have at the moment.

Ah, not so with iPad. And I'm not sure why. When it was first announced I thought it was a giant iPhone that couldn't make calls. But then I played around with one. And my kid played around with one. And I was hooked. I told myself I didn't need anything, just the dirt cheap 16GB Wi-fi only one. And maybe I could figure out how to make it work for me.

First of all, if you're interested in the e-book revolution and haven't already read Ken Auletta's April 26th New Yorker article, Publish or Perish: Can the iPad topple the Kindle, and save the book business? you might want to check it out. It's a standout piece on an often-discussed topic that really puts Apple and Amazon.com's role in the e-book revolution into interesting perspective.

One thing I found particularly interesting about the article was its exploration of some of the stats and financial figures that attest to the speed with which e-books are gaining traction in the book marketplace.

A few highlights:

As the April 3rd launch date of the iPad inches closer, the details of what we're actually going to see on the laptop without a hinge and a keyboard have been a little sparse. We were promised the future with this thing!  I want to see some magic books!

 

Well, at very least, I would like to see some reason to fork out several hundred dollars for what still seems a little like a bigger version of my iPhone.  Finally, however, we're hearing from individual publishers what they'll have going on around the device's launch date.

 

 

PaidContent UK has a look at what Penguin has up its sleeve for the Apple iPad, and in a few words, what they have planned is exciting.

Normally, when giant corporations fight, it's more a source of indifferent amusement for me more than anything.  While I recognize there was some drama last month over whether companies should be able to act like people, most of the time when public kefuffles occur, it's provides me a giggle over whether Papa John's hurt Pizza Hut's market share by saying that their ingredients are better.  There are certainly underlying issues involved, but it ends up sounding like two fifth graders upset that one didn't invite the other to a birthday party.  Even though it involves the business I work in, I have to admit, this whole Amazon vs. Macmillan seemed to fall into that category, until I started reading authors talk about how they've been affected.