by Kimberly A. Cook (Twitter@ WarriorTales)
Surfing online last week I came across a story about a Seattle Drugstore chain installing an Espresso Book Machine in one of their stores, in conjunction with Kodak Alaris, to make publishing our own books as easy as a trip for chips. Boggles the mind. Imagine what self-published Benjamin Franklin would think if he could see our new printing presses now.
It can never be a bad thing to have cookies, coffee, tea or hot cocoa together with ordering freshly printed books; almost at our tables! I love the smell of toner ink in the morning.
Digital media has changed the publishing game so much in a short amount of time. This is a moment when production process improvements directly impact the ability of everyone to publish books. Whether creating games, videos, pod casts, ebooks, comic books, picture books, interactive web sites or old-fashioned paper, communication and content are King and Queen.
Like we know from Spiderman, “With great power, comes great responsibility,” is even more true in today’s publishing world. I gave up a long time ago trying to be first at anything in this business, I just want to write what I love. It doesn’t happen overnight and that is okay with me.
Whether learning to drive, cook or breakdown an M-16 rifle, certain tasks take time, patience, skill and persistence. Writing is one of those creative arts which benefits from effort and hard work.
To paraphrase Yoda, when the printing process is ready, the author will appear. While we work on our craft and spend time developing our characters and stories, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the developments in the digital book business. Who knows, our next publisher might be the drive-thru window at Starbucks. (It could happen!)
Read the article here: http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/seattle-based-drugstore-pilots-espresso-book-machine-on-demand-printing-center/
Enjoyed reading this. It echoes some of the thoughts I’ve been having lately as I ask myself, “What’s next???”
I’m with you. For a fiction writer, even I can’t imagine! Besides that bar code on my forehead thing I’m sure is coming.