When people talk about epublishing it makes me think of the
old Betamax video system that battled with VHS and lost. I suspect there will
be many ‘Betamaxes’ in the epublishing world while the new technology finds its way. We need to keep up with developments so, last
week, I went along to the Leicester Writers’ Club to listen to an epublishing discussion.
Chris Meade spoke passionately about the need to explore
this new technology rather than just post up old style books on ereaders. He showed
us some exciting children’s story apps being developed for ipads and his
work on if:book further explores digital opportunities with literature. A
recent project involved David Almond working with groups of school children in
conjunction with if:book writers to create instant ebooks. He explains it much
better himself at his website, Book Futures.
The author, Amanda Grange, is making use of ereaders to upload
her backlist. She uses Amazon’s software for Kindle and assured us that it’s
easy once you know how [isn’t everything!] What she likes about Kindle is that
you can get up to 70% of the royalties. The downside, of course, is that you
have to publicise it yourself.
Stephen Baker, from EBooks by Design, specialises in
converting into eformat those books that need a bit more design, ones that have
pictures, charts, tables, specialist fonts, the sort of things that Kindle can’t
handle. His rates seem reasonable too. You can find him at EBooks by Design.
John Martin, from Leicester libraries, spoke about elibrary
books. I was amused that they self-destruct* after three weeks but saddened by
the refusal of Amazon to allow Kindle books to be included. This means that at
the moment estocks are limited but library services are ‘in discussions’ with
Amazon and have a determination to keep up with all the latest technological advances
which is excellent news.
*OK, so they don't actually self-destruct but they do disappear off your ereader on the due date.
*OK, so they don't actually self-destruct but they do disappear off your ereader on the due date.
I came away from the evening with a tingle of anticipation
for the future. The way forward with ereaders still exists in the minds of boffins
but it’s going to be developed and soon and I’ve no idea in what way. How
exciting is that!
