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"E" is for...

Margaret I. Carr

E-books, eBooks, e-books, e-publishing, ezines, editing and editors and much more. The first two aren't really in common usage yet. We still are more likely to write e-books rather than ebooks or eBooks and e-publishing has barely begun to be invented. (By this time next year it may, at Internet speeds, be considered well established and drop the hyphen.)

There's more than just frequency of use involved though. Personal preferences will have an effect. I rather like the looks of eBooks although I do wonder about using it at the beginning of a sentence. The small "e" with the capital "B" seems to signify that books are the important part and the electronic presentation is just a minor factor. I prefer this to the hyphenated version which, to me, signifies temporary or experimental. I love books and the medium is less important than the content.

E-publishing

Publishing, electronic or paper, includes everything from a one-person newsletter through multiple contributor magazines to single books and collections of books. Each medium has advantages and disadvantages and the sooner we stop arguing over whether one will supplant the other or not the sooner we can focus on developing along the lines of the advantages of the medium of our choice.

Timeliness and accessibility seem to be the two main advantages of electronic publishing. My Mulberry tree has started shedding its berries. This started me musing on signs that Summer has arrived. If I wanted to write something along those lines it would be mis-timed for print publication by half a year. For electronic publication it would be just about right, at least for the Northern hemisphere. I do need to remember that world wide doesn't just mean East and West, it also means North and South and our readers south of the equator are approaching their Winter Season.

How is electronic publishing going to grow? Not, I hope, in the direction of slavishly imitating paper publishing. If electronic publishers will take the time to study and analyse the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches we may see a lasting improvement and expansion of both. Writers will benefit and when writers benefit publishers will find themselves in a stronger position.

Look for features and columns on electronic publishing in future issues of T-Zero and if you have experience that you are willing to share check out our Submission Guidelines in this issue.