(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.


More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More E-Books Information:

Related Articles

Are You Using The Four Letter Word?
The most powerful word in the marketing dictionary is made up of just four letters: F-R-E-E.It doesn't matter what kind of product or service you're promoting, if you can use the word FREE in your advertising and marketing, then your response rates will shoot up.
Internet Business Model For Selling A Single, Unique Product
An e-book is a single, unique product. It's unique because no 2 authors can write exactly the same book since it will contain each author's own knowledge, personal experiences and other things not known to the other.
The Secrets to Writing Your Very Own Profit Pulling eBook!
I can guarantee that anyone can write an ebook. Everyone has their own interests which they can talk confidently about in depth and detail.
How To Find HOT, Non-Internet Marketing Topics For Your eBooks
It's so tempting to write ebooks yet again, on "How To Make Money on the Internet" isn't it?You see the thousands of books pitching the next big tip, technique or strategy for making money online.You get a flood of email from guru's who have made it big in the world of internet marketing products, writing ebooks on that topic.
The REAL Info Products Secret and How to Get Out of the Cycle
Most "info-products" revolve around Internet marketing, and get rich quick schemes. Everyone is looking for that instant "secret" that will guarantee them overnight success without spending the start up capital of a real brick and mortar business.
Ebooks - the Easy Way To Get Published Now!
A friend put the story of his life as a professional magician, film promoter and entrepreneur on paper. It took ten years, two electric typewriters and probably a gallon of correction fluid.
10 Steps to Author 1 eBook
Authoring a book, specifically an eBook (electronic book), is easy, affordable and profitable. Share your expertise and experience with an international on-line community of learners.
Why eBooks Are The Most Overlooked Path To Online Prosperity
The ebook revolution is here! The Internet now makes it possible to come up with an idea, turn it into an ebook, distribute it over the Internet, and start making money - allin 30 days or less. In the offline world, 30 days wouldn't typically even be long enough to start getting rejection lettersback from publishers.
Rapid Knowledge Development for Businesses
When there is little time to go to the local public library or shop around for a good business book, e-books on the Internet may be the best solution. If you are looking for specialized information, e-books may be the "only" solution.
10 Secrets to Write Your eBook Like a Winner!
You already have what it takes to write your first e-book. And like other winners you can create or increase your passive income stream each month.
How to Write Your First Ebook
Writing your first ebook may seem like a daunting task. But like many projects, it won't seem so bad when it's broken down into manageable chunks.
3 Steps To Turning OK eBook Sales Into Unbelieveable Results!
Have you noticed that 90% of "How To" information about creatingand marketing your own information-based products online is basic beginner stuff? Yet, every week we hear from those looking for help taking theirbusiness to the next level.  It's true, the vast majority of dreamers never earn a cent because they simply don't get started.
Book Publishing for Entrepreneurs
There was a time when it was relatively easy to get a book published. You took a great idea to an agent, the agent sold the idea to a publisher, and soon you could call yourself an author.
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 very, very true), writing articles for ezines/newsletters and ebooks is a greatway to increase your exposure, brand your name, establishyourself as a Subject Matter Expert (SME), increase your subscriber/optin base and ultimately, increase that so-longedfor amount of cash in your bank account.For some people writing comes easy, others have gone to school and studied how to write.
How eBooks Can Be Used As An Online Business
Times are hard today! Though the economic data would indicate otherwise, we are now facing a world economic problem of such massive problems that could result in a large economic downturn. In many countries we have massive property bubble that is just waiting to burst and the recent large increases in the price of crude oil are certainly not going to help inflation and if sustained will lead to interest rises that will have a devastating effect on the world economy.
E-book Sales - Will Your Cover Close the Sale?
Well designed professional looking e-book covers do much, much more than show the title of the book. An e-book cover can be a powerful attention grabbing sales tool.
Profiting From Writting Your Own Ebook
As you might have heard, the Internet is all about information. Millions of people logon to the Internet each day searching for information.
Ebooks are Promotional Powerhouses
Ebooks are fairly easy to produce, and their production cost is inexpensive. Just think aboutit: you don't need a publisher, an agent, a printingpress, offset film, ink, paper, or even a distributor.
This Simple Publishing Mistake Could Be Losing You Half Your Back End Sales!
Many of the Internets biggest ebook sellers are making this simple mistake, and it's almost certainly costing them a ton of money in lost back end sales. You must not make the same mistake!I was having a bit of a tidy up on my PC the other day.
Youve Got To Be Joking!
I don't know about you, but I get a lot of joke stuff arriving in my email. I've got one buddy in particular who hardly lets a day go by without sending something.