Reply to Justyna's "Opinions? Comments? Textbook Publishing!" Post

I swear this site hates me. Tried doing this comment as cut and paste. Then tried manually retyping it and still, nada. It's the same verification problem, only it loads and there's nothing to see. Is anyone else having this problem? I'm using Firefox version 3.0.6. Maybe I need to update...

Funny, my writing process class was also discussing this today when we breached the "technology and how it affects writing" topic. It seems the overwhelming consent was that while publishing is a dying industry and despite everything being digitized, many still love books and because of that, traditional publishing as we know it will continue. But not for long...

It's a sad thing to see publishers and text-book writers participate in this "scam" as you put in and it is a scam. I'm torn about it, knowing that perhaps text-books is the only place that will consistently and continually generate profits in the present and future while the rest of the book market fluctuates. But as a student and consumer of books, it frustrates me to no end to find that the 100+ dollar textbook I bought at the beginning of the semester is now worth $15 or worse, nothing because a new edition is out. Of course, it's not always a scam. Sometimes, there are valuable new additions to the edition, like interactive links, which can be very useful for a science major like me- nothing helps like visuals and online quizzes. But other times, it seems like a new edition is an excuse for a makeover. A new shiny cover, a few different pictures and it's the next must-have textbook while older editions are instantly obsolete. I don't approve of such practices. If there's a genuine need to update and often there are with the new things we discover, then a new edition is warranted. Otherwise, for majors where things are pretty static and don't change much, like math, it's a waste of money for students.

Realistically though, the publishing industry will do what it has to do to survive. I guess I'm only glad that I won't be a student forever and won't have to keep on purchasing the most up-to-date text-books too.

Congratulations to George!

George's publication at BoxOfficeProphets is a great development, and an instructive one. It points toward some of the uncertainties -- and some of the suspicions -- of internet publication. As George writes,

I submitted what I was hoping to be a first draft to what I assumed was a bi-weekly article, so my first piece posted to the site is actually one I'm not too thrilled about. I was expecting more discussion with an editor, but instead found out it was live before I even knew the webmaster found it worthy.

(Strange for a blog post to quote a recent post from the same blog, but there you are.) George entered this arrangement, in short, believing that his work would go through the traditional editing process. It did not: instead, it was shipped straight to the site as is. As a result, he's not as happy with his publication (which he considers a draft) as he had hoped.

What does this suggest? To me, at least two things:

1. Web publication is faster, but the very speed of web publication may mean the role of "content developers" (what we used to call "writers" and "editors") is unclear. Do people even have editors? Or do writers do their own editing? What about post-publication editing? That's very possible, but should it be allowed, and to what extent?
   
2. Traditionalists are suspicious of the quality of web publishing. I tend to think their suspicions are overrated, but incidents like this suggest that there may be some rationale.
   

In traditional magazine or journal publishing, the writer gets to see a corrected draft or a galley proof before a text goes out into the world. The speed of web publishing makes that less likely, and a great deal of the burden of editing may be pushed upstream, as it were, in the direction of the writer.

Bottom line: the roles (and the rules) are changing. During a period of transition, mistakes proliferate. When working with a web publisher, try to nail down who is responsible for what. Get a clear sense (if you can) of the steps of the process. Because some web publishers might never have articulated the process in so many words, you could be doing them a favor.

Anyway, congratulations George! This is a good gig.

I've been published... sort of

As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently was accepted to become a writer for BoxOfficeProphets.com, a site devoted primarily to film. One of the three assignments I'll be working on for them moving forward is a monthly article called the "Uncanny Update", where I discuss/rant about the latest super-hero and fanboy film adaptions on the upcoming release schedule. Unfortunately, I submitted what I was hoping to be a first draft to what I assumed was a bi-weekly article, so my first piece posted to the site is actually one I'm not too thrilled about. I was expecting more discussion with an editor, but instead found out it was live before I even knew the webmaster found it worthy. In any case, moving forward, I will be using the first three Tuesdays of the month to do a weekly article called "Take Five", where I pick 5 random films I've enjoyed to recommend and chat about; the last Tuesday of the month, I will be doing the "Uncanny Update"; and once every two months, I will do an article called "Shaking Our Fists at the Sun", which will be a bi-weekly piece about pop-culture events and is shared among four writers who rotate over those two months.

In any case, while I ask that you don't weigh your opinion of me as a writer for the entertainment industry entirely on this first rough draft of the "Uncanny Update", I figured I would share it with you all anyway. Enjoy, and stay tuned for my next article!

The Uncanny Update

Opinions? Comments? Textbook Publishing!

Last week, I had a co-op interview for a company in the publishing industry. While the experience was quiet ordinary, I struck up a very interesting conversation with my interviewer, and I am curious about what anyone here thinks. Once again, this is open to anyone, since I myself have not yet decided how I feel on the subject.

Aptara, the company I interviewed with, is a small 'publishing' house in Boston. It does mostly textbooks for all levels of education. While this is not a publishing house in itself, it is a company that other publishers outsource to.

Toward the end of my interview, I asked how the economy was affecting the publishing industry, and, in particular, this company. I was extremely surprised when the project managers told me they had been busier than ever and were doing extremely well. They then proceeded to tell me why....

Basically, both publishers and writers are supporting each other in the 'scam' of the century: they are printing new editions every year and attempting to print them bi-yearly. By doing this, they are constantly making new profits, since students cannot buy used textbooks.

Ultimately, the students blame the bookstores for now carrying 'used' editions, when the bookstores can only order what is in demand. As a student and someone who wants the publishing industry to succeed, how do you feel about all of this?