“Browsing my own website often starts me wondering about things I have no answers for. It can also nudge me into another web-surfing binge; this time about copyright ownerships in ebook publishing.
“Scrolling through my recent posts, I realized that many dealt with epublishing. Rapidly emerging epublishing is formidable in its potential, and like all first encounters with something new, it both fascinates and frightens.
“I confess that, initially, fear triumphs over my fascination. I’m afraid that the technology of writing ebooks might be beyond my grasp. And what about the business side of epublishing?
“In the early 1960s, becoming a local news correspondent required me to dust off an ancient typewriter, brush up on rusty typing and business skills, and surmount challenges as they came. That first writing leap scared me, too. However, within a year I was teaching other writers how-to avoid pitfalls (and lawsuits) while covering a newsbeat.
“Confidence came with experience. In the early 1970s, fellow writing group members said, “You should publish your stories in a book.” The allure of authoring a book to memorialize the homesteaders I revered was irresistible. Totally ignorant of the many aspects of authoring regional history, I began what was to become a series.
“Boy, did I learn!
I mastered tape recording oral history, writing indexes for chapters and for people included, and photographs. I created the bibliographies, wrote cut lines for photo reproductions, and worked with editors, graphics and printing departments.
“Attending to dozens of details I’d been ignorant of meant that by the time The Statesman-Examiner published my three-volume Behind These Mountains series (1986-1992), I was also inducted into book marketing.
“That really broadened my outlook!
“My experiences became subjects when I was asked to teach at writing workshops and history conferences. Idaho Writer’s League awarded me Writer of the Year. That, I have to confess, was because of my excellent documentation rather than the quality of my writing.
“Similar to today’s intrusion of epublishing in my life, back then, it was access to the Internet that came to my sparsely populated Montana valley.
“Maybe I was braver then.
“No matter the minimal instruction of the telephone company’s two-hour program on the wonders of the Internet and how to connect a dial-up, I just HAD to take the leap and gain the world!
“I whooped for joy over the 1996 Edition of Mecklermedia’s Official Internet Yellow Pages. I still have that four-pound book which was my most exciting Christmas gift, given me by my ever-thoughtful daughter.
“Overcoming daily computing challenges spun into articles like Fire In The Wire, which explains how to resolve computer modem failure; published by Mother Earth News in 2001.
“With research at my fingertips instead of a hundred-mile drive away and email query responses within hours, I soon thrilled at seeing my byline in national magazines.
“So why my apprehension about the challenges of epublishing when experience has taught me to overcome fear?
“Conquer fear in small increments.
“I took the first step about a year ago. Blogging is epublishing. I let it intimidate me far too long. But overcoming my fear of blogging quickly encouraged me to create a website, Montana Scribbler . Do those count as two baby steps toward publishing ebooks?
“I may soon succumb to the inevitable and begin using Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. Resistance is as futile as forgoing Paypal and teleconferences! All that really matters is determination. So why not tackle ebooks.
“Maybe my website posts are my way of building my courage to tackle learning the technology necessary to become a published ebook author? Wisdom tells me now is the time to begin exploring the business side of this endeavor, like how author’s copyrights and right to reprint elsewhere can be affected by epublishing.
“Minimal web surfing brought more questions than answers. But why delay while experts are still debating copyright details? Articles like The National Academies Workshop on Copyright in the Digital Age, Bill Rosenblatt’s Copyright and Technology website (which covers digital rights technologies), and commentaries on Laura Hazard Owen’s Publishing Trends are online. The complex issues won’t be resolved quickly.
“I’m secure in knowing experienced writers will encourage and support my efforts. My good friend, Clive Warner already pointed out one important factor, “Ebooks can be apps—and a programming team has to make the app. Increasingly, the writer may be only one part of a team making a ‘product’.”
“The writing journey need never be lonely, and at least four reputable organizations offer contract help: the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Authors Guild, the Authors Registry, Text and Academic Authors and the Writer’s Union (Canada).
“Years of visiting Ivan Hoffman’s website has made me prudent enough to consult an intellectual property attorney as well.
“My fascination with the future of publishing hasn’t abated one little bit, offering as it does new dimensions to enhance my life.”
Mona welcomes help from tech-savvy readers! Email her at mtscribbler@air-pipe.com. And then you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!
