New book gives writers the power to publish and market their work
Praise for _Paperless Publishing_:
"The _only_ authoritative sourcebook for anyone considering publishing in this new form . . . Haynes' grasp of both the benefits and the problems in e-books, as well as giving a virtual 'who's who' in the industry, shows that he is an expert in every aspect of this exciting new industry."
- Ron Albright Director, Digital Publishing Association
Electronic publishing has given virtually anyone with a computer the power to publish, but until now, there has been no authoritative reference on the subject. Timely and thorough, _Paperless Publishing_ is the first book with all the hard-to-find information and practical advice writers need to fully exploit this emerging technology.
Award-winning author Colin Haynes tells readers how to publish straight from their computers at minimal cost. This book/disk combination provides a powerful package writers can use to: create professional-looking title screens, contents lists, chapters, and indexes; add graphics to publications; use sound, animation, and other multimedia features to enhance works; effectively package and market works; generate royalty income; choose the right software; and publish on CD-ROM, floppy disks, over networks, and by modem or along information highways.
Writers are empowered by the new media: How to "publish for pennies"
Writers, journalists, editors, librarians, poets, photographers, artists, and business and professional people are shown how to publish their own works electronically in a new book that enables an 80,000 word manuscript to be converted into a fully formatted and indexed paperless book in under an hour.
Then copies can be made onto floppy disks for a few cents each, or transmitted by modem for marketing and distribution over the Internet and other on-line services.
"Writers are empowered by these new media, and the cultural impact promises to be greater than the invention of cheap paper and the printing press with movable type that marked the Renaissance," says Colin Haynes, author of _Paperless Publishing_.
"Unlike the Renaissance some five centuries ago, this Renaissance II is a cultural revolution in which hundreds of millions of people around the world will actively participate. This new Age of Enlightenment is made possible by virtual publishing, in which the words and pictures need have no physical form until they reach the reader. Then they can be read or viewed in a variety of ways depending on the needs of the reader - including being printed out onto paper."
"Books, journals, and magazines become more accessible to the disabled - particularly the visually handicapped - and the environmental benefits are enormous."
In addition to providing instructions and a disk of software to create electronic publications, _Paperless Publishing_ investigates the personal impact the new media will have on journalists, authors and editors, poets, dramatists, librarians, business and professional communicators, academic and scientific researchers, and teachers and students. The award-winning author and former wire service bureau chief marks his 40 years as a professional writer with a detailed review of the challenges and opportunities facing editors.
Although _Paperless Publishing_ covers the creation of multimedia works, Haynes points out that, after more than five centuries of commercial print publishing, the ubiquitous paperback with plain text on low cost paper remains dominant.
"Very soon it will be commonplace to use your hand-held portable computer to read the electronic equivalent of a paperback novel or self-help book, with the pages predominantly text, plus drawings or diagrams if appropriate, " says Haynes. "But writers can themselves also create the lavish, full color productions - books that are really multimedia programs incorporating such features as animated and live action video, graphics, and advanced audio."
In a publishing first, there are coupons in _Paperless Publishing_ for readers to obtain the author's research notes over the Internet, as well as more than 30 selected software programs to compile electronic books for children, catalogs, magazines, scientific papers, poetry collections, and other publishing needs. The author's Internet address is http://www.awa.com or SoftLock.com.
Windcrest/McGraw-Hill
$27.95 Paper
ISBN 0-07-911895-X
384 pp., 50 illus., 7 x 10
Includes DOS- and Windows-compatible software on disk.