Posted on: 19 December, 2001
Author: Ruth Marlene Friesen
I joined a ... Writers' Group a few weeks ago, and the email ... of those members is quite ... Browsing and skimming them last night Icame to one where a writer who has vision tr I joined a Christian Writers' Group a few weeks ago, and the email exchanges of those members is quite exhilarating. Browsing and skimming them last night Icame to one where a writer who has vision trouble andcan't read regular print books challenged the others to produce more e-books.E-books are read on the computer, and the greatestthing about them, as I've discovered myself, is that one can enlarge the text so it is easier to read. For those who find even that too difficult, it is possible to get software in your computer which will read thetext to you. I'm not sure how digital it sounds, butI believe in many places that software is free to anywho are legally defined as blind.What shocked me about the exchange was that a numberof writers had admitted a bias against e-books whenthis other member first asked who all offered theirbooks in this form. The mindset still seems to be, abook is not really published until it comes out inpaperback or hardcover.I confess I've learned too, that fiction doesn't sellas an ebook yet, though all kinds of marketing manualsand self-help books do.Fortunately, when this writer explained herself, theothers rallied around with offers to help out. One said she'd gladly offer her books to be read on tapeif anyone could be found to do it. Another urged thatwe all consider producing our books in digital at thesame time as in print.Thinking about all this today, I suddenly see wide open doors of opportunity for ministry and perhaps abusiness. Here in Canada, I believe the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) is on the lookout forvolunteers to read books on tape. They have a lendinglibrary by mail. The US has similar organizations.All you would need is a good clear voice for readingwithout stammering or hesitation, and with a lively,instead of monotone voice. It wouldn't matter if yousat in a wheelchair, or had no use of arms and legs.The same reading could be put on tape or CD. Besidesthe audio, the CD might have a graphics or flash movie version as well.If you know, or could learn some web design skills,you could volunteer or make small paying arrangementswith various authors to turn their books into e-books.If they have a website they might be happy to pay youa small commission on each downloadable copy sold alongside of their print book.If they don't have a website - guess what - you havethe skill, so offer to build that author a simple oneor two page website to sell her books. All it needsto be is a terrific sales letter with ordering linksat the bottom. You'd think the writer could write upthat effective sales letter, right? You'd just copy and paste it into the web page.Should it happen that you have more advanced skills,or they grow on you, why not set up a library, orbookstore of ebooks? Market it specifically to those who need the benefit of being able to read a book on their computer.Hey-hey, before too long even those with 20-20 visionwill come snooping around, praising the advantages of digital books. You'll be a trend-setter.The whole publishing world is like it's just had anearthquake, and the after-shocks haven't all hit yet.The dust hasn't settled on all the changes coming.Be a Mover and a Shaker. Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com