In my last post I wrote about the types of jobs present in the publishing industry and the importance of each to the whole. In this, my final blog post in this series about publishing related topics, I will talk about actually working in the publishing industry, explaining how to go about it and clearing up some misconceptions along the way.
This blog has so far been dedicated to discussing various facets of the publishing industry and the ways in which people interact with and create publishing content. In this post, I will look at the kinds of people required to make it all possible, detailing the roles and responsibilities found in a typical publishing house. All of these roles would be found in larger publishing houses but, in smaller publishing houses, one person might take on several of these roles. Nevertheless, they are all integral to the publishing process.
In the US, 80% of US schools use eBooks or digital textbooks (1). In a 2019 research study, 95% of students at two UK universities said that they “relied most heavily on ejournals for their study” (2).The average student might take one or two physical books out of the library to complete an essay or some research, with the rest of their study and the rest of their sources being conducted and found online. But setting simple online-ready versions of essays and books aside, eBook technology itself has had a positive impact on education and through this digital process education has been made more interactive and engaging.
If you a person who doesn’t know anything about eBook formats, figuring out what eBook formats exist, what devices they’re compatible with, and if they even still in use can be confusing. A quick look at the ‘Comparison of e-book formats’ Wikipedia page will give you a brief glimpse at just how confusing an ordeal this is. There are over twenty listed formats. Some are obsolete. Some seem similar. Each has different uses, pros, cons, and usability. This post aims to erase some of the confusion by picking out the three most popular and most useful eBook formats, discussing a few others along the way.
What is responsive web design and why does it matter? Explained simply, a website or web page can be considered responsive if it changes or adapts depending on the screen size / device being used. Though this is rather easy to understand, the benefits of using such responsive web design are less understood.
A seemingly simple question to answer, the question of what a typeface is is quickly complicated by the introduction of other terminology. What is a font? How is it different from a typeface? Why are there different typefaces? For someone not well versed in typography (the typical person), broaching this topic for the first time can prove overwhelming. A first-time designer, for example, is suddenly faced with the question of whether or not they should use a serif of sans-serif font for their title. Should it be bold? When is it okay to use stylized fonts? There are no solid answers to these questions, but there are general rules which people follow, and this blog post will provide a quick overview of what typefaces are out there, how you can use them.
What is HTML? It’s a word often used and well-known by those who have interacted with the internet since its conception and subsequent mass public use, but it’s a word few people truly understand. At its most basic, the acronym stands for Hypertext Markup Language. It is the document file format which forms the basis of most every web page ever created and is the means by which you are able to read this blog post now.
Forbes reported that “U.S. Audiobook Sales Neared $1 Billion In 2018, Growing 25% Year-Over-Year” in an article which detailed the rise of audiobooks. This format, the descendant of the audio CD, has seen an impressive rise in popularity in recent years, dominating in many of the ways eBooks were expected to do so. But there is an interesting caveat to this success: “the percentage of Americans who have ever listened to an audiobook stands at 44%, just one point up from 2015’s 43%” which suggests that the consumer base for audiobooks hasn’t expanded. So why are sales increasing?
What makes a good book cover? Is it colourful? Is it illustrated? Does it convey what’s inside effectively? Though the answers to these questions may be obvious, defining what constitutes a ‘good’ book cover is in actuality hard to pin down.
This is a blog post. What is a blog? What is a blogger? Why does this form of writing deserve its own terminology and when does a blog stop being a blog? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a blog is:
