Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
Features
New Life for Fading Titles
6/27/2002
The consolidation of the publishing industry during the past 20 years has changed the landscape for both new and experienced authors hoping to see their manuscripts become printed works. Because fewer houses are publishing new books, authors—including those in the higher education community—have fewer places to send their proposals.
Of course, there are alternatives, including publishing via a so-called vanity press or self-publishing on the Web. However, a third option is available that may work well for scholars seeking a way to make their work available to any audience. Now, writers can take advantage of a digital publishing technology known as print-on-demand to reach a larger pool of potential readers.
Several print-on-demand publishers exist, including Xlibris Corp., iUniverse Inc., and Lightning Source Inc. Lightning Source, a division of Ingram Industries Inc., most recently worked with publishers who are transferring some of their titles to print-on-demand status. The company also provides digital fulfillment and other services for publishers.
Is print-on-demand the right option for a professor seeking to publish a manuscript? Possibly, says Arthur Asa Berger, professor of broadcast and electronic communication arts at San Francisco State University and author of more than 30 books. Berger, who has published with several traditional scholarly and textbook publishers, turned to iUniverse to keep alive a book called Bloom’s Morning, which had gone out of print.
“There was a professor using the book in his course,” Berger says, “and I wanted it to continue to be available to him and his students.” Because of the low cost of publishing the book with iUniverse—under $200—Berger decided to give it a try. Although he hasn’t yet earned back his investment, he endorses the print-on-demand option.
“For someone who is an unknown quantity, it’s a good way to get published. Instead of spending thousands with a vanity press, you can spend $100 or $200 and get a book.” Berger points out that the print-on-demand approach ensures that the author will get at least one printed copy of the book, with the option to buy as many more as he or she wants. Authors can direct interested buyers to the company’s Web site or recommend that they order it through their local bookstore.
For Berger, this was an important selling point, because much of his audience consists of professors who use his books semester after semester.
He continues to publish with traditional publishers while placing some of his titles with Xlibris and iUniverse. “Different books are suited for different publishing models,” he notes. “It’s important to have a sense of how much commercial potential a book has and treat it accordingly.”
For more information, visit the Web sites for Xlibris (www.xlibris.com), iUniverse (www.iuniverse.com), and Lightning Source (www.lightningsource.com).
Recommended Reading
- IBM Unveils New Software Designed To Streamline eDiscovery
IBM has announced the release of new Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software specifically designed to meet the needs of clients dealing with complex legal discovery requirements. The eDiscovery solutions expand on IBM's ECM platform and are intended to give organizations greater control of digitally stored documents in an effort to reduce costs and streamline the discovery process involved in litigation.
- Microsoft Releases SQL Server 2008 to Manufacturing
Microsoft has released SQL Server 2008 to manufacturing (RTM) and, as an evaluation edition, to subscribers of its Microsoft Development Network and TechNet services, the company announced Wednesday.
- Security Woes Up, as PHP and OSS Make the List
Software vulnerabilities are up this year, especially Web browser-based ones, according to a new report from IBM Internet Security Systems. The X-Force 2008 Mid-Year Trend Statistics Report, released in late July, defined the problem broadly. A vulnerability is anything that results "in a weakening or breakdown of the confidentiality, integrity, or accessibility of the computing system."
- Textbook Publishing in a Flat World
According to the National Association of College Stores in a 2007 survey, the average cost of a new college textbook was $53. The founders of Flat World Knowledge, which launches with its first run of college textbooks this fall, consider that too high--so high, in fact, that they'll be offering textbooks for free, at least in versions that can be read online.
- CourseCast 2.0 Adds Podcasting, Streaming Media Features to Free Lecture Capture System
Panopto has released CourseCast 2.0, an update to the company's classroom capture system that's available free to academic users. CourseCast 2.0 had previously been available as part of Panopto's beta program for educators since June.
- It IS about Technology: Integrating Higher Ed into Knowledge Culture
For more than twenty years, we educational technologists have talked about "integrating information technology into higher education." The implication was that education would stay the same and information technology would benignly slip in and cause no ruckus at all. This rhetoric no longer applies, if it ever did, and does a disservice to us as we work through the intricacies of this age.
