Paperless Publishing

How can we exploit the new technologies of publishing in digital form? Do we really need books, or even publishers for that matter? Colin Haynes has some interesting answers to these questions, and he seems intent on covering all forms of electronic text as well as the possibilities for authors in just about every medium.

To begin realistically, his answer is that "Yes" people are still very keen on books, and he even advises electronic authors to keep this in mind when designing their pages. However, he points out that electronic books are cheaper to produce, update, distribute, and store than those in traditionally printed form.




Although he has plenty of advice for authors dealing with established commercial publishers [protect your electronic rights!] there is a supposition that many might wish to take advantage of new technology to publish themselves or set up their own companies. Just think, it can all be done from the kitchen table now.

He is indefatigable in offering such people suggestions. He lists the publishing opportunities available, as well as the wide variety of media to be exploited. These range from floppy disk and CD-ROM, via modem and On-Line services, through radio, bulletin boards, virtual bookstores, to flash cards [PCMCIA cards] and satellite broadcasting. It's an upbeat exposition of the possibilities, and there doesn't seem to any form of niche publishing he hasn't thought of - from repurposing your old clippings to putting that great novel on a bulletin board to drum up interest for your next film script.

At a technical level, he is keen to support the average user who may not have access to the very latest equipment. He argues for instance that the small electronic publisher can settle for using cheap and cheerful shareware readers to be used in conjunction with their data. More potential customers, many of them still using old 'minimal specification' systems, will thereby be able to access the data. Choosing sophisticated software will involve publishers in higher licensing fees and programs which may not run well on 'old' 386 machines.

This seems like a reasonable point - until we see the software on the floppy disk which comes with the book. This is a suite of programs for authoring hypertext publications. They're freeware, and they work - but oh dear, they do look rather tired and old-fashioned. Most seem to have been conceived in the pre-Windows era of entirely DOS-based programs.

The main problem, which looms larger and larger as the book progresses, is that he doesn't provide a step-by-step, first-hand account of How it is Done. There are plenty of examples of what could or what might be successful, and he mentions other people who have found a niche, but the exposition all seems somewhat theoretical. Indeed, as he repeatedly mentions the 'research' which had gone into the writing of the book, I began to wonder how much of it was based on first hand experience. There is also more than a hint of hucksterism which at its worst descends to mere marketing advice - the type which tells hopefuls how to get their product noticed at the point of sale.

So, at its best this book may infuse enthusiasm and help generate ideas in a wide variety of users; but at its weakest it has something of the snake-oil salesman tone about it. The coverage is commendably broad, and there is even good advice en passant. Product manufacturers' addresses are listed, but amazingly for a book on this subject, no email addresses or Web sites are given.