1915 The virtues of digital publishing (Digital Virtues)
austraLasia #1915

The virtue of digital publishing

ROME: 1st August 2007 -- 
Digital VirtuesDigital Virtues, 'Reflections, frameworks and practical matters for Institutes of Consecrated Life and their members', has now been professionally published.  Given that an earlier austraLasia (#1903) spoke broadly of the contents of this book, let me focus this time on the publishing process. It was a logical conclusion of the subject matter which looks at, amongst other things, Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). At one point, in the chapter on 'digital discernment', the author asks 'why do I do (digital activities) the way I do? Is it worth questioning the processes I use? Could I do things in a more human way?".

    This work was written, print-prepared, and ultimately published with those questions in mind.  It was published by Lulu.com, and it may be of interest for readers to know that the entire publishing process did not cost the author a cent.  It did require a series of decisions about how to prepare the material.  By the time the text went 'to the printer' (online, as a simple upload in pdf format) it was structured and formatted in a professional way, but the software used was FOSS, so that cost nothing either.
    How does a publisher make money if it costs an author nothing to publish?  To begin with it is print on demand, and the print cost per page would be slightly higher than 'normal' publishing where a certain print-run is set initially.  Of course, in this online process, if the author wants a copy of his own book, he buys it!  At €10.15 for a 190 page, full colour cover, perfectly bound paperback, this is very reasonable, and in fact the author buys it for somewhat less than that amount.  Lulu takes a 20% commission out of the extra couple of euro added on to the print cost. Nobody loses!
    My guess is that Salesians, by and large, have not ventured into this kind of publishing, though it was a Salesian who put me on to the idea.  It is, in my view, both a possible and in some cases desirable way to publish - having seen situations where rooms full of unsold books raise a question mark about economics as well as other things.
    All that aside, should you want a copy of Digital Virtues, want to preview it online or at least see the table of contents, or should you know a religious community or individual who would benefit from it, it suffices to go to http://www.lulu.com/content/1021109 where you can order it or at the very least fossick around in there to read up about this useful publishing process. For some reason, the book and its publishing process has struck a chord in Latin America, where they have promised me a Spanish translation within a short time, and wish to make use of it within the context of the Red Informatica de la Iglesia America Latina.  I hope it gets a few English readers as well!
   
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