Could PRINT textbooks be distributed electronically--perhaps BYPASSING conventional print publishers? I'm interested in opening up a discussion about the potential for and the problems with distributing textbooks via the Web or other alternative, computer-based means. I'd like to see if there's enough interest in the topic to warrant a workshop at the next SCS conference. And so, I'm posting the following to a few e-mail groups. Please excuse the cross-posting. In the past few years, we've seen very interesting experiments with computer-based, distributed-on-CD-ROM textbooks for film/TV studies. For my pedagogical purposes, however, a PRINT version of the textbook is essential (see below for further comments). My question, however, is: Must we remain shackled to the current system of large publishing houses producing/distributing/marketing books at great expense, and taking the lion's share of the profits? Could that print textbook be PRODUCED wholly by its author and DISTRIBUTED/MARKETED through electronic, computer-based means? The key issues in publishing always constellate around production, distribution, and marketing. Within the past year, intriguing new models for electronic publishing have arisen. We're at the stage now where authors can electronically create material that will be printed elsewhere--either by the reader him/her self, or a local photocopy shop, or a campus bookstore, or some Web-based entity. I have been exploring alternative methods for distributing a textbook of mine (TELEVISION: CRITICAL METHODS AND APPLICATIONS), which was recently declared out of print by its publisher. I do plan to seek a new publisher for a revised edition, but in the interim I'm concerned to see that the book remains available. The options I've discovered so far: 1. Web-based distribution of printable files. Web-based companies such as 1stBooks.com and FatBrain.com, for instance, will handle the sale of electronic files, which the author provides (typically in Adobe's PDF format, though also in Microsoft Word). The user downloads files from these companies, which handle all the billing details, and the author is paid a 50% royalty--which compares quite well to the 10-13% royalties that are typical in textbook publishing. The reader then has the option of printing the textbook him/her self or simply reading it on his/her computer screen. One could, of course, put an HTML version of a textbook on Web site and readers could print that. I see two problems with this: (1) the pagination of HTML documents varies from one printer to another, making it difficult to cite them in class; (2) a method of payment for access to Web files does not exist (to my knowledge) and thus this method is limited to materials for which one does not want to be compensated (1stBooks and Fatbrain have found away around this for PDF/Word files). 2. CD-ROM distribution of printable files. One could put all of a textbook's PDF files on a single CD-ROM disk and sell it directly--either through an online company or a traditional catalog. The advantage to this is that one could also add material like motion video and sound clips--linking to them from the PDF files. (This assumes that you could get around the copyright issues.) Production of such CD-ROMs has gotten cheap enough that an author could do it him/her self. 500 disks--with jewel cases and artwork--costs about $1,500 or $3 per disk. If one were to sell them for, say, $19.95 one would only need to sell 75 copies to recoup that investment. Distribution is more of a problem. Amazon.com's "Advantage" program allows authors and small publishers to sell material directly through them, but currently it does not accept CD-ROMs. I've contacted them about this and they say they may accept them in the near future. Does anyone know of other Web-based options for selling CD-ROMs? Obviously, there are plenty of online stores that are willing to sell your material, but all the ones that I've found charge for this service. If an author has just one or two books he/she is selling, then paying $100 per month to an online store just doesn't make sense. 3. Distribution via custom publishing or "course packet" companies. Even though Kinko's got out of the course packet business after being successfully sued, most college bookstores still offer packets of assigned readings drawn from various sources--incorporating copyright clearances for them. Perhaps there is some way for an author to draw on this resource. E.g., the author could provide PDF files to a campus bookstore or national "custom publishing" company, which could print/bind/sell books directly to students. The author could charge a higher, one-time fee (say, $500) for the files and permit unlimited duplication, or a percentage of the sales could be remitted to the author as a royalty. 4. Distribution through online textbook stores. Web-based textbook stores such as VarsityBooks.com and BigWords.com are sprouting like mushrooms these days. Selling author-produced textbooks would seem like a natural thing for them. I've contact them about the possibility, but haven't heard back yet. ----A few comments on electronic-only textbooks---- Herb Zettl's CD-ROM on TV production was the first I saw that was produced as an electronic-only textbook. Since then there's been Robert Kolker's film-studies project (bundled with FILM ART), and Ellen Seiter's work on children's TV. Perhaps there are others? I've been excited by these efforts, but I must confess that none of them have made their way into my syllabi. This is partially a logistical problem as our computer lab only caught up to multimedia technology last spring, but it's more a pedagogical one. I need a textbook that students can bring to a computer-less classroom with them. I want to be able to say, "Turn to page 237. Who can explain what Bordwell and Thompson mean by 'mise-en-scene'? Can anyone apply that to the film we just saw?" Beyond the question of whether students can stand to read dozens of pages of on-screen text in preparation for class, text on a monitor just does not work for me in-class. I've taught in computer labs for the past four years and trying to lead a discussion while students stare at computer monitors is a disaster. To me, it appears that the best application for computer-based learning is not in-class, but outside of class where students can use CD-ROMs for SELF-PACED learning. Computer-based learning also has terrific potential for distance-ed applications. Thus, for my pedagogical style for the foreseeable future, I'll need a PRINT textbook; but the method by which I obtain that textbook may change. ---- Jeremy Butler [log in to unmask] ScreenSite http://www.tcf.ua.edu/ScreenSite Telecommunication & Film/University of Alabama/Tuscaloosa ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite http://www.tcf.ua.edu/ScreenSite