Is a PDF a
book?
One
definition of a book is Physical objects
consisting of a number of pages bound together.
Another
definition of a book is A written work or
composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
Although
there are almost as many E-Book readers as there are formats available for
reading E-Books, can you call them books by the definitions above?
When reading
for review, I prefer PDF format only because of simplicity, and I can delete it
after I finish the review. I don’t call it a book; it is just a written story
by some author.
There are
many companies where authors can publish their book, even the venerable Simon
& Schuster created Archway Self Publishing,
where anyone can write and publish.
Companies
like Lulu, Xlibris, Book Locker, Outskirts Press, Create Space, and many more
will publish manuscripts; an author can pay to have a manuscript printed into
book format, either hardbound or paperback creating a publishing house.
Is this to
be the future of books?
As an avid
reader for over six decades, the future of books and the written word are
something special in my thoughts, I wrote a blog post titled The Demise of the written word. In that
post I mention the use of software, I see in commercials extolling the virtue
of diction software to write. Is this manuscript creation of the future, this
type of manuscript will likely end up requiring more editors and proofreaders,
because no software is 100 percent effective and correct.
Publishing
houses no longer have editors and proofreaders for every manuscript and proof
copy of the books they print. Although, publishing houses are adding to the
burden authors face in today’s publishing environment, which begs the question,
Are books better or worse than years past?
I leave it
up to you to answer.
Robert Medak
Freelance
Writer, Blogger, Editor, Proofreader
Published Author,
Reviewer, Marketer
