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(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
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RELATED ARTICLES
Simple Way To Become An Information Entrepreneur Do you think there is a difference between someone who writesa fiction manuscript and someone else who authors their own instruction, self-help or "how to" book? Making Money With Information Products I actually know a few people who are making millions a year through home-based operations (and a few others who have been able to subsidize their incomes from low risk business ideas). In most cases, all it took was some good market research and the get up and go to actually put the information product together. Believe it or not, the biggest obstacle to overcome when putting together an ebook or DVD product is actually having the motivation to get started - it's not as hard as it sounds! The most common, and usually the most successful information products are e-books, audio cd / tapes and increasingly, DVD's. We'll take a look at each of these categories in more detail below:Writing a successful ebookYou really have 2 options here. You can develop the content of the e-book yourself, or you can get someone to do it for you. There's a few other ways you can go about creating an e-book, for instance, obtaining the rights to an out of print book, but these methods and considerably more complex and don't offer any guarantees. If you're a semi-confident writer, my advice would be to try and write the book yourself. A good way to start is to write about something that you are interested in ? spend 15 minutes a day putting down your ideas, if you find you are struggling, do your best to outline your ideas and then investigate the possibility of hiring a writer to research and draft the remainder of your ebook. There are loads of good writers around who will put together polished and concise copy for around 10 cents per word. Take a look at http://www.profitpuppy.com/freelance-sites.htm for more information about finding a freelance writer. Some writers expect up to $175 US an hour for their services, although thanks to the internet, it's not impossible to find a reasonably talented scribe for around 10 cents per word. It's important that you are clear in what you want to achieve when advertising a project so that you attract someone who is well suited. If you don't have any luck with Elance or Freelance Writers, you could also try posting to Yahoo Groups or approaching people at your local uni. It's important to remember that your reader probably won't be too concerned about your command of the English language - just make sure you clearly explain your concepts and ideas (especially if you are writing a "how-to" style ebook). For more information about writing and marketing e-books, visit http://www.profitpuppy.com/writing-and-selling-ebooks.htm where you will find a number of valuable resources.Audio CD's and TapesIf you don't fancy yourself as a writer whatsoever, another option you have is to create and audio tape or CD. It's not as expensive as you might think, and audio products still have great appeal for buyers. While DVD's and Videos have become easier to create, tapes and CD's are still the mainstay of the information product world. The reason of this is that media savvy buyers aren't enticed by the often amateurish production qualities of video or DVD info products. Another advantage of tapes and CD's is that you can listen to them anywhere, for example in your car on the way to work. To produce a CD or Tape of reasonable quality, you are going to need to purchase (or hire) the necessary equipment. If you can afford to buy some studio time, it's worthwhile, but if you just starting out, it's an undue expense that you can avoid. Your local electronics store should be able to arm you with a noise reducing microphone and some high quality audio tapes (another option is to record to your computer first). You can expect to pay around $50 - $80 all up. You don't need expensive equipment to get started, although you may have to upgrade if as you go along? Assuming that you've researched your topic (and target market properly), you can begin working on your information product which should give some step-by-step advice on how to overcome a particular problem or achieve a particular goal (there's more about picking your topic below). Just remember that when you start recording you deliver the essence of your experience (or research) in an entertaining and concise way. If you are producing an instructional CD or tape, a simplified and bare bones approach is often best. Come up with steps that will help your customers achieve their desired goal/s. When you're ready to go, shut off the phones and start recording (it's also a good idea to have a script in front of you). Record your tape in less than 60 minutes. Play it to your friends, make any changes you think might be worthwhile based on their advice. When you're happy with the final product, create some duplicates (or get someone to do it for you) and then start selling your product on the Internet ? It's that easy! Making your own DVD information productIf you think your idea is an exceptional one, or something that could work better visually, then you might consider producing your own DVD of Special Interest Video (SIV's). This type of information product (often referred to as Guerilla Video) is becoming more popular as the required production technology becomes more accessible. Anyone with a DVC, a computer and some editing software can now make fairly professional looking DVD's. DVD's like tapes and CD's are also more valuable in terms of what your customer might pay for them; although they are more expensive to produce, people are more likely to pay extra money to watch a DVD (especially if it can show them how to do something instead of having to listen or read about it). For example, showing someone how to dance or swing a golf club would be much more valuable then telling them how to do it.Remember that the 'if you can't do it, get someone else to' principle applies for DVD's and audio information products as well. It will cost you a little extra, but will usually be worth it in the long run.Regardless of your current level of video expertise, if you have the basic equipment, you can produce your own SIV. The first time around, you should consult with a sound and lighting technician and hire a video editor who can help you assemble your masterpiece. Picking a topic and selling itI probably should have covered this at the beginning? Anyway, by now you've probably got 3-4 ideas for your own e-book? If not, you'd better get brainstorming! Have you ever trained an animal? There's a product right there. Do you have a fantastic way to save money? There's another product. Do you know how to build anything? That's definitely a product. There's potential for information products all around you. The most important thing is that you research you target market properly and find out what they are interested in. A great way to do this is to post a short online questionnaire which you can advertise through pay per click Google Adwords. You could offer to give away a free copy of your product to anyone who helps you out with your market research. Before marketing your product, decide how much it's worth: as a rough guide, you can sell an audio tape for at least $10 - $30 or a series of tapes for a lot more (depending on the subject) and you should be able to double that price for a CD or DVD product. At the end of the day you really have to test your price -you need to understand how much the market values your information. If your product can help other people earn money, you should be able to sell it for $97 per unit or more. If you're trying to market a dog grooming manual you may find it more difficult to generate good returns ? you must pick your topic carefully. Some killer website copy, targeted ads and packaging can all help add value to your product. You will also need a merchant account so you can accept payment for your information product. Visit http://www.profitpuppy.com/accepting-payment.htm to learn more about merchant accounts. E-books, tapes and SIV information Products can be the ideal business to start - they are easy to produce, simple to ship, and enjoy high returns because people aren't paying for the physical form the product is delivered in. Remember, that after you've completed your product, you'll be making nearly 100% profit (that's if people are interested enough to buy it). For example, if you produced just 1 DVD and can sell 500 copies at $50 a piece, you stand to make $25,000?Regards, Rob Rawson Look How Easy It Is To Write Your Own eBook What happens when you stumble across a promising market, idea or topic for an ebook, but don't know how to quickly find out what content you should package to sell? 7 Secrets to Explode your eBook Sales! Part 7 Secret #7: How to create a mountain of sales usingmultiple Royalty Publishers! The Problem With E-Books One of the most popular online ventures is selling e-books. People are hungry for information; that's why they're on the Web in the first place. And e-books are cheap to produce and distribute. 3 Powerful Types of eBooks That You Can Sell Online A big part of knowing how to write and sell ebooks is understanding exactly what will turn a prospect into a hungry buyer. Writing an eBook is Risk-taking Behaviour ? Choose to do it! The choice to author a book isn't one that just suddenly comes to you. It's something that gradually happens. And it usually happens many times before you begin to take it seriously. 7 Secrets to Explode your eBook Sales! Part 1 Secret #1: How to write an incredible eBook! 30 Truisms About eBook Authoring The decision to author an eBook is a life-changing decision. The "fallout" from publishing an eBook will change forever the way you see yourself and the way others see you. 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. Lets Get One Thing Straight About Being A Published Author Just for fun, evaluate the following statement: 20 Questions To Ask Before Creating An eBook 1. What will be the title of your ebook and will ithave a subtitle? EBOOKS Are Books Too! Electronic books ? that is books you read on the computer- have the same information and entail the same reading experience as books in the traditional form ? that is books you actually hold in your hands. An ebook looks just like a Microsoft document but it is transformed into an ebook format such as PDF where the reader cannot make any changes to the document. There are other points of comparisons of ebooks and just regular books. How to Leverage Your Business with a Free eBook Free has a magical property of attracting even the most well to do in our society. People love to get free stuff. Using free giveaways is the best known strategy for businesses to build prospects and sales. 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. Unfortunately the market has shifted. Unless you are a celebrity or come to the table with an eager audience of book buyers, most publishers won't even blink your way no matter how great your idea. eBook Publishers Dilemma: Should I Use PDF or Exe Format? If you write and publish eBooks, sooner or later you will probably be faced with a dilemma - should you create your eBooks as .exe files or .pdf files? Why The Future Will Always Be Digital Products Everywhere you go on the Internet, you will find some type of "digitalproduct" on any website. What are "digital products?" Digital productsare any products that you buy and then download to your computeror print to paper. An eBook Publishers Dilemma: Should I Use PDF or Exe Format? If you write and publish eBooks, sooner or later youwill probably be faced with a dilemma - should youcreate your eBooks as .exe files or .pdf files? Delivering Your E-book Much of the attraction of e-books is that they can be purchased and received instantaneously. Within minutes of reading your great sales copy, someone can purchase and download your book? just like that. If you are not set up for e-commerce with digital delivery, you are probably losing sales. Customers do not want to wait around for an e-mail attachment to arrive, or a package to be shipped. Simply put: if you can't deliver your book rapidly, someone else will get the sale. If you do not produce your product quickly, the cost to drive traffic will outweigh your profit, making this a losing proposition. Just One Quick Question Ever notice the number of times a client or prospect says some variation of 'I just have one more question,' or 'Just a quick question?' The answers to those questions are the grist of a tips booklet. You may be asked the same or similar questions repeatedly. And whether you think you are a good writer or not, you can always develop tips based on what people have already said they want to know from you.
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