What Would You Want in an E-book?
My amigo, the novelist Steven Pressfield, is considering writing a sequel to his The War of Art, but in E-book form:
Writing Wednesdays #27: “Help!”
….Here’s the issue. I’m thinking about writing a follow-up to The War of Art. Sort of a War of Art 2.0. Some things I’d like to know from your perspective are:
1) Would you be interested in such a book? (Tell the brutal truth; don’t be kind.) Would you consider buying it?
2) In what ways would such a book be most helpful to you? As a motivational aid? A kick in the butt? For further insights on Resistance? On professionalism? Something else?
I have my own ideas on these issues, but it would help me a lot to hear what you think.
3) If War of Art 2.0 could be exactly what you want, what would it be? If it had three main sections, what would they be? If the book could deliver a specific feeling as you closed the final page, what would that feeling be?
Would it be like the original War of Art or would it be different? In what ways?
5) Does it matter to you if the book comes out in hardcover? (It doesn’t to me.) Would paperback be just as good? What if it was released as an eBook that you had to download and print out-is that worthwhile or a pain in the butt?
I’m thinking of constructing the book so that it could be read on an iPad-in other words, including video or links along with the text. If you were reading it on an iPad or other such device, what type of videos would you like to see included?
Some years back, I was briefly involved in some preliminary discussions with venture capitalist Dave Davison, on how to take a book and make it into an extended Web 2.0 experience. This was well before the Kindle or the Nook and a designated platform did not exist. Ideas were kicked around with a designer, but nothing ever came of it, being just a little too far ahead of the technology.
My question is: What additional features would you like to have with an E-book that you do not have now? Regardless of the content, what would you like an E-book to do in terms of an experience beyond just providing you with a text?
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:15 am
Zen, Good post. There is a professor named Ladlow (I believe) at Brown who has surrounded the notion of hypertext, and one thing I gleaned from a couple of his academic works is the notion of a ebook having either hypertext, or embedded video/still photos. I’ve been rearranging my books the last few weeks, and when I came to "Moon Shot"–I paused and thought how neat it would be if the book came with the video. Same goes for much of the neurobiological/cognitive stuff I’ve been reading; the ability to click on a model of the brain (human or rodent depending on topic) and "seeing" what the author describes. The professor who did "Phantoms of the Brain" did a great PBS special where he added videos/interviews to his presentation–I was tempted to contact him and suggest that he sell the DVD with the book, for I’ve read/viewed both (highly recommended, btw). Knowing that many of your readers have interest in strategy/martial topics, how cool would it be to read an account of the battle of Chancellorsville and be able to click on 3D topography/photos-videos of the battle field/etc. Histories of military campaigns can be dry, adding these interactive features could make things a little more relevant and interesting. (BTW, I did not comment on Pressfield’s request because I don’t know of anything to add to a great topic. The War of Art is a classic and should stand alone.
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:20 am
If there is any video, it should very, very brief. Think of photographs in a book. A 5-second video of a game-winning goal would be better than a still shot. In the case of a non-photo illustration, think of something that uses 3 or 4 frames to show how something changes over time – this could be condensed into a brief and simple animation.
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Also, I would hope that the video is not reliant on YouTube or similar sites. This would only prompt the reader to click on related videos and lose focus on the book.
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:47 am
Good topic Mark.One only has to look at Wikipedia to see the value of an E-book. Their entries are peppered with links to other entries that support the main subject. An E-book would lend itself the same features, just as this very post, and almost every other blog incorporates. With E-books you would only have to highlight the subject and a simple click will bring up the footnote.
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:19 am
" how cool would it be to read an account of the battle of Chancellorsville and be able to click on 3D topography/photos-videos of the battle field/etc. Histories of military campaigns can be dry, adding these interactive features could make things a little more relevant and interesting"
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"If there is any video, it should very, very brief. Think of photographs in a book. A 5-second video of a game-winning goal would be better than a still shot. In the case of a non-photo illustration, think of something that uses 3 or 4 frames to show how something changes over time – this could be condensed into a brief and simple animation."
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"With E-books you would only have to highlight the subject and a simple click will bring up the footnote."
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Excellent comments. I agree – the embedded apps should enrich/highlight/extend the text experience without overwhelming/distracting or be added just for the sake of bells and whistles. I too would like to see maps that could be pulled up and rotated in mil history. The little bars and triangles representing action in battle are a lot like football diagrams, if you played the game or at least visited the stadium, the map conveys a lot more to you than if you did not. The topography and scale is often elusive ( generally publishers want to get away as cheaply as possible, so the plainer and fewer the imagery the better). Keeping apps as "superempowered footnotes" would keep them from dominating the reading experience
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:36 am
Looks like J. Scott beat me to the first comment. I agree with everything he wrote. Also agree that the footnote / endnote thing would be great, especially if there were some kind of pop-up box that allowed you to list all instances of the source cited in the material. A clickable index and endnotes would also be nice. For citations of shorter documents, like sections of a legal code, provision of a treaty, a newspaper article, or the like, being able to click on the footnote and view that text would also be nice.
April 6th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
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