(Emerging) Books

A novel re-definition through experimentation of the classical format of the book is emerging.

Consider the now defunct BookTailor. It used to sell its book customization software mainly to travel agents - but this technology is likely to conquer other niches (such as the legal and medical professions). It allows users to select bits and pieces from a library of e-books, combine them into a totally new tome and print and bind the latter on demand. The client can also choose to buy the end-product as an e-book. Consider what this simple business model does to entrenched and age old notions such as "original" and "copies", copyright, and book identifiers. What is the "original" in this case? Is it the final, user-customized book - or its sources? And if no customized book is identical to any other - what happens to the intuitive notion of "copies"? Should BookTailor-generated books considered to be unique exemplars of one-copy print runs? If so, should each one receive a unique identifier (for instance, a unique ISBN)? Does the user possess any rights in the final product, composed and selected by him? What about the copyrights of the original authors?

Or take BookCrossing.com. On the face of it, it presents no profound challenge to established publishing practices and to the modern concept of intellectual property. Members register their books, obtain a BCID (BookCrossing ID Number) and then give the book to someone, or simply leave it lying around for a total stranger to find. Henceforth, fate determines the chain of events. Eventual successive owners of the volume are supposed to report to BookCrossing (by e-mail) about the book's and their whereabouts, thereby generating moving plots and mapping the territory of literacy and bibliomania. This innocuous model subversively undermines the concept - legal and moral - of ownership. It also expropriates the book from the realm of passive, inert objects and transforms it into a catalyst of human interactions across time and space. In other words, it returns the book to its origins: a time capsule, a time machine and the embodiment of a historical narrative.

E-books, hitherto, have largely been nothing but an ephemeral rendition of their print predecessors. But e-books are another medium altogether. They can and will provide a different reading experience. Consider "hyperlinks within the e-book and without it - to web content, reference works, etc., embedded instant shopping and ordering links, divergent, user-interactive, decision driven plotlines, interaction with other e-books (using Bluetooth or another wireless standard), collaborative authoring, gaming and community activities, automatically or periodically updated content, ,multimedia capabilities, database, Favourites and History Maintenance (records of reading habits, shopping habits, interaction with other readers, plot related decisions and much more), automatic and embedded audio conversion and translation capabilities, full wireless piconetworking and scatternetworking capabilities and more".

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" and "After the Rain - How the West Lost the East". He is a columnist in "Central Europe Review", United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com

---

How to Use eBook for Marketing and Promotion

There are innumerable ways to use ebooks to promote your... Read More

Choose the Right Format for Your Ebooks

Choosing the right file format for your ebook is an... Read More

20 Ways To Profit With Free eBooks

My habit of collecting every free eBook I could lay... Read More

How to Protect Your Ebooks and Software from Being Stolen!

There are many systems that can lock your software or... Read More

7 Secrets to Explode your eBook Sales! Part 5

Secret #5: How to build steady sales for years to... Read More

How One eBook Author Writes eBooks

How does this eBook writing process actually work for an... Read More

Your e-Book - 7 Best Reasons to Create Your First e-Book

1) Speed to market - One of the biggest problems... Read More

Surefire Way To Find Hot Selling eBook Topics

To become an entrepreneur, you need product ideas.Even more important,YOU... Read More

How to Harness the Power of Ebooks for the Benefit of Your Website!

Ebooks can be a powerful tool when it comes to... Read More

Make Your Own E-book!

If you have a newsletter or knowledge you wish to... Read More

Self-Publish Your Ebooks Through ClickBank

There was a time when ebook publishing was seen as... Read More

Writing An eBook - The How To Guide

Whenever you're listening to one of the big names in... Read More

Youve Got To Be Joking!

I don't know about you, but I get a lot... Read More

6 Good Reasons For Writing An eBook

Electronic books also known as ebooks for short are one... Read More

Top Ten eBook Mistakes and How to Correct Them

Did you know that you already have an eBook inside... Read More

Cash in on Your Expertise

Even though I've never met you, I know one thing... Read More

Top Ten Tips To Get Started Writing Your Book - Part 2

You are far more likely to successfully write and publish... Read More

Invasion of the Amazons

The last few months have witnessed a bloodbath in tech... Read More

You, Marketing-Minded Financial Planner, Can Be an Author

After you've gotten in the groove of turning out articles... Read More

Ebooks - How To Bring Them Into The Market

So, you have decided to start an ebook business. The... Read More

Using Internet Marketing E-books Helps With Business Issues

Using an Internet marketing e-book when starting a new home-based... Read More

Using Ebooks As A Highly Effective Marketing & Promotional Tool

Ebooks are part of the new frontier of cyberspace. They... Read More

Rapid Knowledge Development for Businesses

When there is little time to go to the local... Read More

Top Ten Tips To Get Started Writing Your Book - Part 1

You are far more likely to successfully write and publish... Read More

Your Guaranteed Path to Becoming an Information Product Money Machine

How To Turn Your Talks or Articles into Books, eBooks,... Read More

How To Rebrand Your eBook Using Active eBook Compiler

Complete all the pages for your eBook in HTML format.... Read More

Writing Acknowledgements for E-Books

It is important to have an acknowledgements section in your... Read More

Make Profits from FREE e-Books

E-books are one of the most beneficial and easiest ways... Read More

Write Your eBook - 6 Great Ways to Find the Time

Busy! Busy! Busy!What's new? And who isn't busy?The majority of... Read More

The True Purpose of a Tips Booklet

"My topic doesn't fit into a how-to tips format."That comment... Read More

How to Leverage Your Business with a Free eBook

Free has a magical property of attracting even the most... Read More

How To Get Your Article or Ebook Started Fast... Time Saving Tips To Get Your Writing Moving..

As we have all heard time and again (and it's... Read More

Cashing In by Writing How-tos

If you enjoy explaining how something is done step by... Read More