Alternatives to the Printed Word

Here's what Book Summit Director Dan Poynter had to say recently about what people will be talking about at this year's event:

While the Book Summit discussion is participant-driven, it appears the major issue this year could be the creation and dissemination of printed-book alternatives. Alternatives involve the writing, producing, converting, inventorying, shipping, selling and reading of both eBooks (electronic) and aBooks (audio). Either edition may be placed on a CD or downloaded.

Why? With printing in China, publishers cannot respond to, and take advantage of, a sudden bestseller demand. Sony has debuted a new eBook reader. Sony has clout and a good track record. Infinity and Lulu are producing audio products
on demand now. This may be the year of the printed-book alternative.

Many of my books are in both eBook and aBook format, and I consume a lot of both in my travels. I’ve been experimenting with alternatives to the printed book for some time.