Internet Enterprise!

Colin Haynes has some interesting answers to these questions, and in Paperless Publishing 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 print. 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, even though they have issue dates as recent as mid-1993.

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 the tone of a snake-oil salesman about it. The coverage is commendably broad, and there is even good advice en passant, but in terms of a marketing opportunity, I think he's missed it. Product manufacturers are listed, but amazingly for a book on this subject, no email addresses or Web sites are given.

Alfred and Emily Glossbrenners on the other hand put a very heavy emphasis on caution and realism. In Making Money on the Internet they set out to explode romantic myths about the pot of gold at the end of the Internet in a manner which is refreshingly hype-free. They analyse the structure and components of the Net, so that potential entrepreneurs can be in no doubt about the complexities of what lies ahead. At each stage of their exposition, they give warnings to the effect "If you're not prepared to tackle these issues, then don't bother going any further." [Unusual, to have authors urging you to stop reading.]

In fact the first thing they do is put readers through a bracing course in ASCII codes and the mechanics of digital transmission. Then there follows a history of ARPANET and a breakdown of Internet facilities: FTP, Gopher, Veronica, WAIS, Telnet, and the Web. They explain emailing, domain names and all those other things which nobody ever told you when you first went on line. Indeed, the first three-quarters of the book could be re-titled "The Internet - an Introduction in Plain English". [It would certainly have been more use to me than trying to plough through Ed Krol's The Whole Internet at the start.] But since they have written so many other books about the Net, one can't help feeling that these introductory chapters might just be recycled file material.

A convincing argument is made in favour of automatic responders as the most powerful marketing tool of all, because they offer easy access to users. This they claim is the secret of success in Net Marketing - give people simple access to details of your product. Don't be too pushy, and avoid the hard sell. Just invite customers to ask for information - but then give it to them as quickly as possible. They offer a very frank inspection of the fees charged by various service providers, and they are commendably prepared to name names.

Writing in 1994, they are very sceptical on the commercial value of Web pages. This is based on the observation that the number of people with Web browsers is a very small percentage of those on line. Furthermore, even at 28.8 K baud rates, the length of times needed to download those sexy graphics is likely to deter most users. They'll log off and go elsewhere.

At the end of the book there's an unashamed twenty page plug for their own company and resources kit - but since they are only charging five dollars per disk, this seems just about forgivable, and they do tell you how to locate the information yourself if you prefer.