Manchurian Books

Authors and
audience used to interact (remember Socrates) to generate
knowledge, information, and narratives. Interactive e-books,
multimedia, discussion lists, and collective authorship
efforts restore this great tradition. Moreover, as in the not
so distant past, authors are yet again the publishers and
sellers of their work. The distinctions between these
functions is very recent. E-books and POD partially help to
restore the pre-modern state of affairs. Up until the 20th
century, some books first appeared as a series of pamphlets
(often published in daily papers or magazines) or were sold by
subscription. Serialized e-books resort to these erstwhile
marketing ploys. E-books may also help restore the balance
between best-sellers and midlist authors and between fiction
and textbooks. E-books are best suited to cater to niche
markets, hitherto neglected by all major publishers.

III. Literature for the Millions
E-books are the quintessential "literature for the millions".
They are cheaper than even paperbacks. John Bell (competing
with Dr.


Pages:
83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107