The Book Kahuna and his Corgi, Derek!
Almost 30 years ago when I first got into publishing, this question had one answer: Print on Paper. Now that we have advanced technologically and have seen the advent of many different formats for CONTENT distribution, we need to make sure what this blog is all about.
What we are referring to when we say the word BOOK is defined thusly:
Any vessel for the dissemination of CONTENT that may be in a wood-based form, an electronic form, or a database form. It can also depict a product that can be a variant of any and all of the defined formats previously listed. In addition, there may be products such as enhanced e-books that have a melding of other media formats integrated within a framework of one of the formats we have listed above. In other words, we really don’t care on this blog what format the final product is, but all the steps in a normal digital workflow are needed to configure and compose this final product.
In bookland, we’re not here to reinvent the wheel, just make sure that the wheel can roll and keep all the participants happy and peppy when put onto the road.
The one myth that needs to be dispelled at this juncture stems from the workflow process of a print book and an e-book. To get to a final product on each of these formats the manuscript must be edited, the book pages need to be laid out, the pages need to be proofread, and then the index needs to be compiled. This last item with the index, the index will be requested from the author if his contract stipulates that he is the one accountable for the preparation, but he will be given plenty of time to submit the final manuscript when the production schedule demands.
What are your thoughts on this definition? Is it too narrow for those who were working with CONTENT in other areas? Michael Stelzner in his book “Launch: How to Quickly Propel your Business Beyond the Competition” has said that the importance of your content is the main lifeblood that will determine whether your business is successful or becomes a victim of the economy’s “Corporate Darwinism”.
So in summarizing: the book you write may not be one that elicits a commanding presence in the market, but if the CONTENT is good you will find a following that will help your book to adequately add depth and width to your brand.
thebookkahuna 