Peter Meyers is the author of our latest TOC publishing project. His ebook is called Breaking the Page and a Preview Edition of it is now available for free. How does Peter’s ebook differ from the other TOC ebooks we’ve been working on? Let’s start with the opening statement from his introduction:
Some days I feel like a better title for this project would be “Breaking the Book: How eBooks Botch the Reading Experience.” Why the pessism? As digital screens replace printed pages, the results often disappoint as much as they delight.
Yeah, that pretty much sums things up.
When Peter first pitched this idea to us I knew we needed to publish it. It closely aligns with our goals for TOC. In particular, we’re focused on brining the community together to work on the reinvention of publishing. Pretty ambitious, yes, but our community needs to work together on this opportunity.
Later in the introduction Peter goes on to talk about the questions he wants Breaking the Page to help answer. They include:
- How can digital books remedy the shortcomings of print?
- What is the purpose of the page?
- Given an “infinite canvas” what kind of content is best suited to occupy this space?
- How do you take things like gestures and motion and turn them into editorial elements on par with the introduction of, say, color ink?
What is the role in a digital book of the editor? of editing?
These are questions one person isn’t going to be able to answer. That’s why I want to encourage you to get this free Preview Edition of Breaking the Page and join in the discussion. Give us your feedback on Peter’s project. Attend our free webcasts. Download and check out our free video podcast series. Attend TOC NY in February (use the discount code “WIKERT” to knock 15% off the price, btw). Sign up for our free enewsletter. In short, become an active part of the community and help our industry get beyond what I like to refer to as the current state of quick-and-dirty-print-to-e-conversions.
Breaking the Page is a great place to start. I hope you’ll get your free copy today and let us know what you think.
[Via Joe Wikert’s Publishing 2020 blog]
Maybe they should tackle the Meaning of Life next ….. looks like a load of vapour to me … and I can’t be bothered having to create an account and go through hoops to read any different …
Howard,
I worked hard to make this one vapor-free ;). If you do any have interest, free downloads are available direct from the iBookstore (http://bit.ly/uLSTzm) and Amazon’s Kindle Store (http://amzn.to/rIIugN). Assuming you already have an account at one of those shops, no additional work required!
Best,
Pete
I can’t help but wonder whether “enhanced ebooks” isn’t a solution in search of a problem? I can see some enhancements in children’s books, and that it can be useful in reference books, but I can’t see any value in “enahncements” in narrative fiction.
In the audiobook world, there were experiments in adding sound effects: you’d actualy hear footsteps, or a gun shot. This did not go over well in the listening community, and I think it’s been pretty much abandoned. All a video or audio enhancement in my narrative fiction would do is pull me out of the story.
Telling a story well with text alone is certainly a challenge. Adding rich media and interactivity raises that bar exponentially. Initially, many will try but only a few will succeed.
Eventually, enhanced eBooks with well told stories will become common but only if enough writers take up the challenge today and tomorrow.
Peter – 🙂 ok I was a bit harsh …
If it’s all free and an open discussion is invited why are these hurdles in the way of a download ? Why not just put it as a downloadable PDF or ePub ? I’m ready to jump in with my opinions 🙂