Updated: 10/29/02; 9:56:54 AM.

 Russ Lipton Documents Radio
simplex veri sigillum


daily link  Wednesday, September 04, 2002


Now ... should a book(s) on Radio be produced on paper, as a linear .pdf file (with links), a weblog, a .root file or a combination of some/all?

Having published three dead trees, the sad reality is that even most bloggers only pay money for forests. Be that as it may, I can't bear this approach. It's too orthogonal to the entire exercise. Besides, publishers are too unprofessional to suit the needs of professional writers. Think on that a bit.

At the same time, while I may (will, duh) illustrate the book using weblogs, this is, after all, going to be a book, not a weblog. So, it must be online but with somewhat more explicit structure and framework than a weblog.

Since deploying a .pdf file from online file(s) means nothing more than flattening out those files, there is no barrier to creating such files. No doubt, I will. Minimally, .pdf makes printing convenient. But .pdf by itself best mimics dead tree books. The format is inescapably linear.

Creating Radio books as .root files within the Frontier-or-Radio desktop application probably makes the most sense. This gives me not only writing/outlining tools but a set of rendering scripts so browsers can display my stories. I can change the presentation over time based on the dynamics of the content. That's vital.

But how do I sell a .root book (that is, files upstreamed to a user's WWW folder)?

I'll make two bets.

First, really good content about Radio will find an honorable audience willing to pay to keep more stuff coming. (One reason I refuse to use Blogger or MovableType is that they cut away the ground for a revenue-based aftermarket, even with professional versions).

Second, I'll bet that only a relatively small percentage of that audience will share my sweat with others without paying for it.

If users will pay $5.95 or $7.95 or $9.95 or $12.95 for a useful text, I'll write another ... and another ... and another. If they don't, I won't. It's really not going to be very complicated.

(By the way, I'd rather sell one, two or five thousand books a year for a product with integrity than ...).

  feedback:   3:05:51 PM  permalink  

 
September 2002
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30          
Aug   Oct

    Powered by PicoSearch
Top 10 hits for goal-oriented documentation on..
Google
1.Russ Lipton Documents Radio
2.Russ Lipton Documents Radio
3.Russ Lipton Documents Radio
4.Russ Lipton Documents Radio
5.Russ Lipton Documents Radio
6.
7.Jonathon Delacour: Trying to score a goal
8.Project perspective on goal - oriented measurement program
9.Goal Oriented Requirements
10.Services: Analysis, Design, Documentation

Help link 10/29/02; 9:56:35 AM.


Subscribe to "Russ Lipton Documents Radio" in Radio UserLand.

Click to see the XML version of this web page.

Click here to send an email to the editor of this weblog.
Click here to visit the Radio UserLand website.

jenett.radio.simplicity.1.3


Copyright 2002 © Russ Lipton.
Last update: 10/29/02; 9:56:54 AM.