http://www.panelfly.com/
I've been contemplating the move to "all digital" as not only the process to the output (which I already do), but as the final output itself, for a while now. This, in my opinion seems to be a cost effective and speedier way for a small publisher or independent to get their stuff out onto the market - bypassing traditional channels and saving on costs in the traditional print method. (Though if you don't know already Ka-blam may be a good option for the print side if you want to keep costs down.)
With the advent of the iPad (never mind the iPhone and it's clones) this seems to be a more and more relevant method. There also some other digital readers and methods. This is a peculiar shift, but it might be one to jump into head first. Actually I think quite a few people have already gone the all digital route, and they go to print when the demand is there. PVP, Sinfest, Real Life, Zuda...the list of who's already in that space is long and storied...
The generation ahead of me wants all print, the generation behind is going digital - some kids don't even know what books are - and I've been riding the fence. The kicker? I saw the future 10 years ago and didn't move on it.
I think I've been kind of hesitant to jump past the traditional approach - but in today's day and age, it may be the only way that makes sense. Looks like I know where to next...
Opinions?
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The only restriction that I'm seeing is the fact that there is TOO MUCH CONTENT - they don't know what to provide nor the best way to do so. These proven by the fact that the On Demand user interface is clunky as all get out and they'll provide some of the most recent movies with a smattering of old movies - but they might not have some that the other guys have and vice-versa.
Now, if someone can manage to create a really clean cut user interface and apply it to "books" (comics, children's, novels, and the like) I think there could be some really neat things happening in the digital space. Even if it's applied to a company library...hm....
It's boiling down to this: digital books is a format. It is different from paper books. Paper books is a format. Use each accordingly as you see fit.
Though, if you want to avoid high costs associated with the traditional book market, digital is an approach that is available. BUT don't bypass the traditional editorial process or you'll be stuck with a sub-par product you can't sell. HOWEVER, common wisdom is Quantity is job one, and the more you produce the better you'll get, even if the early stuff is crap. You gotta start somewhere.
M.
Shaina Widmer said:
I personally feel that the Holy Spirit helps us acquire skills with any kind of tool if we open ourselves to Him. The media used is not so important as flowing and communing with Him. The media though will influence "voice". A collage that I make will have a different "voice" in storytelling than my using ink on rice paper. Collage will allow me to slowly build and consciously think through things. Ink on rice paper will force me to be very intuitive. If one is slow ... one gets a blot ... hehe.
Your art is fantastic. Nothing to do with the thread, just thought I'd let you know.
Brian Jeffrey Durham said:
Bingo. What a move. It's wise and it is necessary, and there are cool toys, but it ain't easy.
From this end of the scale, I can be honest when saying you always struggle with contentment, whether it's manual or digital.
perhaps i am not being clear. i am not suggesting that technology itself is "good" or "bad". my opinion does not vary from your own, that it is, as you say, "value neutral". note that when i spoke of values, i mentioned an "internal values-check".
i also believe that connection with God is most definately a matter of the soul, and does not depend on the tools/physicality involved. hence the personal nature of an internal values check.
I am interested in your suggestion that familiarity fosters ease of connection. That makes a lot of sense, and definately needs to be taken into account, especially in times of severe transition, such as the move from manual to digital. It is perhaps, then, even more important to approach such changes with wisdom, counting the cost of our exchange, and recognizing our motivations in doing so, when we will be the ones familiar with the "old way", and so, perhaps not as quickly comfortable with the new tool/media as the next generation.
But this only addresses the connection to God, and not to creation, which I still see as an unquantifiable loss.
thanks for sharing your opinion. it has definately helped me to clarify my own thinking on the topic.
I dont believe the old way is the best or only way. I do believe there are many benefits for the artist engaged in new technology, and i am not belittling them. . .but this does not negate the fact that the possible loss of connection with creation and with God is a serious and worthy matter to consider when choosing to adopt any change offered to us by our culture. There is much more to be considered than money and convenience, and more worth in being wise than in "keeping up with the times". Again, I am not saying that the old way is "wiser" at all, just that this topic needs to be approached with some discernment, and a good internal values-check.
I was talking to someone the other day and they mentioned that a teen they were talking to barely even knew what a book was. And then we look at children...and some of them don't even realize that there never was an iPod or cell phones or these digital doo-dads or no nintendo DS. Even the world of "texting" on phones is crazy to me - but to some girls in the early 20's it's like it's always been there. It's nuts. I know for sure that some of the little ones I know are living in a totally different era than me, and we're not that far apart!
Me? I love paper. I want paper. I would own a library if I had my druthers, and I would curate it, and love it, smell it, flip it, order it, file it, and create more books to fit. I just can't afford it - to print, ship, create the distribution channels - unless there were some cheaper options. But if a quality product is produced, and demand dictates otherwise, I will jump full bore into hard copy production methods.
Ah. Choices. Options. Hm.
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