Skip to main content

Recent developments

The 21st century has brought some new technological changes to the publishing industry. These changes include e-books, print on demand, and accessible publishing. E-books have been quickly growing in availability in major publishing markets such as the US and the UK since 2005. Google, Amazon.com, and Sony have been leaders in working with publishers and libraries to digitize books. As of early 2011, Amazon's Kindle reading device is a significant force in the market, along with the Apple iPad and the Nook from Barnes & Noble. Along with the growing popularity of e-books, some companies like Oyster and Scribd have pursued the subscription model, providing members unlimited access to a content library on a variety of digital reading devices.

The ability to quickly and cost-effectively print on demand has meant that publishers no longer have to store books at warehouses if the book is in low or unknown demand. This is a huge advantage to small publishers who can now operate without large overheads and large publishers who can now cost-effectively sell their backlisted items.

Accessible publishing uses the digitization of books to mark up books into XML and then produces multiple formats from this to sell to consumers, often targeting those with difficulty reading. Formats include a variety of larger print sizes, specialized print formats for dyslexia, eye tracking problems and macular degeneration, as well as Braille, DAISY, audiobooks and e-books.

Green publishing means adapting the publishing process to minimise environmental impact. One example of this is the concept of on-demand printing, using digital or print-on-demand technology. This cuts down the need to ship books since they are manufactured close to the customer on a just-in-time basis.

Further development is the growth of on-line publishing where no physical books are produced. The ebook is created by the author and uploaded to a website from where it can be downloaded and read by anyone.

An increasing number of authors are using niche marketing online to sell more books by engaging with their readers online. These authors can use free services such as Smashwords or Amazon's CreateSpace to have their book available for worldwide sale. There is an obvious attraction for first time authors who have been repeatedly rejected by the existing agent/publisher model to explore this opportunity. However, a consequence of this change in the mechanics of book distribution is that there is now no mandatory check on author skill or even their ability to spell, and any person with an internet connection can publish whatever they choose, regardless of the literary merit or even basic readability of their writing.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Social intelligence

Social intelligence is the capacity to know oneself and to know others. Social Intelligence develops from experience with people and learning from success and failures in social settings. It is more commonly referred to as “tact,” “ Common sense ,” or “street smarts.” Social scientist Ross Honeywill believes social intelligence is an aggregated measure of self- and social-awareness, evolved social beliefs and attitudes, and a capacity and appetite to manage complex social change. Psychologist , Nicholas Humphrey believes that it is social intelligence, rather than quantitative intelligence, that defines who we are as humans. The original definition by Edward Thorndike in 1920 is "the ability to understand and manage men and women and boys and girls, to act wisely in human relations". It is equivalent to interpersonal intelligence , one of the types of intelligence identified in Howard Gardner 's theory of multiple intelligences , and closely related to the theory of ...

¨butter fish¨ also known as The Escolar

   Health effects  Escolar's wax ester content can cause keriorrhea (Greek: flow of wax), gempylotoxism or gempylid fish poisoning. Symptoms range from stomach cramps to rapid loose bowel movements, occurring 30 minutes to 36 hours following consumption. This condition may also be referred to as steatorrhea. Two known ways to reduce the likelihood of escolar-induced keriorrhea are to limit portions to six ounces (170 g) or less and to consume portions close to the tail, which typically have a lower wax ester content. Reports conflict on whether deep skinning, freezing or grilling will reduce the likelihood of keriorrhea.

Marmoset

 - The marmosets /ˈmÉ‘rmɵsÉ›t/ are 22 New World monkey species of the genera Callithrix, Cebuella, Callibella, and Mico. All four genera are part of the biological family Callitrichidae. The term marmoset is also used in reference to the Goeldi's marmoset, Callimico goeldii, which is closely related. - Most marmosets are about 20 centimetres (8 in) long. Relative to other monkeys, they show some apparently primitive features: they have claws rather than nails, and tactile hairs on their wrists. They lack wisdom teeth, and their brain layout seems to be relatively primitive. Their body temperature is unusually variable, changing by up to 4 °C (7 °F) in a day. Marmosets are native to South America and have been found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru. They have also been spotted in Central America and Mexico. They are also raised in captivity as pets. - According to recent research, marmosets exhibit germline chimerism, which is not known to occur in nature in an...