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Downtown Writers Network is a resource for independent writers in central
Ohio. |
A Writers' Guide to E-Publishing
Back in the 1870s, novelist and humorist Mark Twain wrote a celebrity endorsement to the makers of a new device called the "Remington Typewriter." Twain was the first major author to use it as a professional tool, and he submitted the first typewritten manuscript of a novel, which turned out to be "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." The typewriter was new technology at the time, but within a few decades it replaced the fountain pen as the universal symbol of the writer's craft. The typewriter changed and dominated the world of writing for the next century. If he were alive today, Twain -- instead of Stephen King -- would have been the first major author to publish an e-book. Last spring, King's novella "Riding the Bullet" sold almost a half million copies online in a little over two days, creating a sensation that was covered in the national media and that was watched closely by writers and publishing houses around the world. E-publishing is here, and it's on the move. Even discounting all the hype about the e-publishing trend (and there's a great deal of hype out there), it's clear that e-books and other electronic revolutions will profoundly affect the publishing industry and the career of writing, in ways that will make the typewriter pale by comparison. For a printer friendly version of this article, click here. Contents of this
article |
Where will
e-publishing take us? This series of articles will provide a survival guide for
writers, beginning with an introduction to the technology that's currently
being used. Other articles in the series will explain what writers need to know
about e-publishing -- what its potentials are, what its pitfalls and dangers
are, what to watch out for, and your rights as an author.