How to use this Page

"Watership Down with Armadillos"

An immigrant's story!

READ A SAMPLE CHAPTER!

Author Jerry Weinberg recently posted this on a listserv and gave permission for folks to use it. He asks a provocative question about how we refer to books.

A pet peeve of mine:
Because books (usually) made of paper have been around for hundreds of years, they have captured the name “book” as their exclusive property.

Because electronic books have been around for about one generation, they have a different designation, “e-books,” which makes them sound like they’re not real “books.”

I’ve started distinguishing between the two types by calling the old type “p-books.” P could stand for paper, or print, or perishable, or whatever you choose.

The e in e-books could stand for electronic, easy-to-use, enduring, elastic (for their ability to change dynamically), or whatever you choose.

Both p-books and e-books are equally “books,” not “real books” and some “johnny-come-lately pretend books.”

And who knows, maybe there will be other types of book – x-books, for any number of x’s. (like a-books for books delivered in audio format)

I’m encouraging my friends and colleagues to use this nomenclature, rather than “e-books” and “dead-tree-books” or some other clumsy attempts to bring e-books to the same stature as p-books.

From now on, I’m using the term “book” to refer only to the contents, not the form. If I’m talking about a paper book only, I’m using p-book.

If you’d like, feel free to join the campaign. Thanks for listening.
Jerry

Please leave a comment–do you think pBook is a good term for print/paper books? Does aBook for for audio books?

Enter to win $16,000 in prizes! There’s getting published in style and then there’s getting published in a way destined to make every other author in the world jealous.
Featuring everything an indie author could possibly need to publish, promote, and sell their book, this grand prize is positively packed with goodies. This is our most amazing grand prize package ever!

The Grand Prize includes:

• BookBaby — Premium eBook Publishing Package (A $249 value!)
• BookBaby Print — 300 Books, Deluxe Cover Design, Interior Formatting (A $3,000 value!)
• HostBaby — 12 Months Web Hosting (A $199 value!)
• BEA Trip — BEA Passes, Transportation, Hotel, Book Signing (A $4,000 value!)
• IndieReader.com — Interview & Review (A $500 value!)
• Circle of Seven — Book Trailer Production/Distribution (A $2,000 value!)
• Smith Publicity — Press Release, Media Blast (through Net Galley), Publicity Consultation (A $3,000 value!)
• BookDisplays.com — CityStand Book Stands (A $80 value!)
• JKSCommunications — 15-Date Virtual Book Tour (A $1,750 value!)
• PR Newswire — Web Reach Plus Release Distribution (A $400 value!)
• PR by the Book — Social Media Consultation (A $900 value!)
• Total Prize Value: $16,078

There’s no cost to enter. Hurry! Deadline for entries is April 30, 2013.

Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. Deadline for entries is April 30, 2013. One winner will be chosen at random on May 6, 2013.

Someone has to win, so enter. What do you have to lose?

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy