The Coming E-Book Tsunami

In this issue:

• Rant on the E-book Revolution
• Submission Guidelines for Voyage Magazine

Rant: The ebook revolution is growing like a Tsunami. The biggest news of the week: floundering Encyclopedia Britannica, stalwart print pub for a quarter of a millennium, will change venues and become a free site on the Web, hoping to survive through advertising. Each time I try them at http://www.britannica.com, I can't get in and I suspect it's because their servers are overwhelmed…yup, I just got through and that's exactly what's happening.

IMHO, the greatest irony of all is that, as soon as the ebook takes its place in history, and the last trees are felled to make print books, the Britannica will reappear in book form, not made of paper, ink, and dead horses, but made of pixels and ASCII characters. Good luck, Encyclopedia Britannica! You'll do fine!

And now a word on encryption. The U.S. print industry, which has conglomerated until it's run primarily by foreign owners using U.S. lawyers and MBA's, hasn't "got it" yet… which is fine, because in the meanwhile the little ebook houses will have a chance to establish themselves and stick together so they'll survive when the print giants start stomping around with their giant hobnailed boots.

Here is why encryption is stupid. First of all, any hacker worth his salt will take it on as a challenge, or maybe a lunchtime diversion, to crack through whatever walls the print publishers put up.

Secondly, let's look at what happens with print books. Do you think that print books are designed to be read by only one person? Does a print book come with a kind of chastity belt so that the buyer is the only one who can enjoy it? No…when you buy a print book, if you enjoy reading it, you'll most likely pass it along to a friend to read. A book may be read by dozens of persons, but only one paid for it. Does that make the other readers criminals, thieves, hackers? No, of course not. This is a form of advertising that serves the author and the publisher very well. But here's the clincher: there are these things called public libraries, which are funded by taxpayer dollars; they buy a copy of a book for the express purpose of letting as many people read it for free as possible. And it's perfectly legal. Isn't that amazing?

The print publishers, like an elephant standing on a stool with crossed legs and closed eyes at the sight of a mouse, look rather silly right about now. That buys time for the little ebook publishers, who are springing up all over the Web, fueled by the excellent work of writers who couldn't get into the teeny little pipeline in NewYork. It buys them time to consolidate and band together in order to protect their position when the commercial print houses climb down from their stool. A further ray of hope: they will arrive with their size 48 hats, convinced that they know everything, because they've had absolute power in their pond for too long, and no doubt they'll stumble around falling over their feet before learning the ropes. While the cat's staggering around drunk, the little mice will have time to carry all the crumbs to their mouseholes. And in the end, the print giants will look just like the new ebook publishers.

Voyage magazine
Regent Chambers, 40 Lichfield Street, Wolverhampton. WV1 1DG.UK. TEl/Fax:01902 423353

A multi-genre short story & poetry magazine which takes readers and writers on a voyage of discovery to the four corners of the universe and all corners of your mind. Recently voted the best new small press magazine. Short stories 1000 - 6000 words, poems upto 60 lines.

We buy First British Serial Rights but the magazine is now distributed to 32 countries so no reprints please.

Your stories should be character driven and have the ability to create strong mental pictures in the mind of the reader. We welcome new writers, working with you where possible to improve your work and perhaps suggest other markets which might be interested. We also give reasons for rejecting your work. Send completed manuscript by email to john@voyage99.freeserve.co.uk or snail mail to the address above.

NEEDS: Horror, Dark Fantasy of the sort found in the mags Peeping Tom or Blood & Screams. Artwork & Photography - there are four slots, general illustrations to support stories and poems, Final Thoughts, Alternative Histories and the Front Cover. A careful study of past issues is essential to understand the type of artwork and photography we use.

Tips: Since opening to e-mail submissions we have received several hundred stories and poems from overseas. 95% have been rejected because the writer submitted without having properly researched the magazine. Read at least one issue befor submitting to avoid wasting your time and increasing our work load.

Payment: £10 (US$16) per 1000 words on publication. Response time 14 days. Publication within 6 months.

Sample copy £5 ($8)/ 6 issue subscription £20 ($32) (Subscribers also receive two special edition issues each year - this years are at Halloween and Christmas making a fabulous 8 issues a year).Cheques/POs payable to JGD

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