Shareware Supreme Volume 6 #1/swsii.zip/swsii/201/RUBYV22.ZIP/RPRESS

Text File | 1993-06-02 | 19KB | 368 lines

               Digital Publishing Association News
                 Volume 2, Number 6 - June, 1993
                 Copyright (C) 1993 Ron Albright

This, and all, issue of the "Digital Publishing Association News"
is sponsored by the Digital Publishing Association and its member
publications. "Digital News" features news, product developments,
and other information of interest to authors, distributors, and
readers of electronic publications. Items presented here serve to
inform the public of the electronic publishing industry, that
industry being the authorship and publication of reading materials
in electronic format, rather than traditional, paper publishing.
Back issues may be found on the Digital Publishing BBS at
205-854-1660.

Pre-announcement Announcement: 2nd Annual Digital Quill Awards

While the actual onslaught by the DPA on the press and media
outlets won't begin until next month, I want to go ahead and allow
the readership of the newsletter and early announcement - a head
start? - on the Digital Quill awards for 1993. Yes, the Second
Annual Digital Quill Awards for excellence in electronic publishing
will be held again this year.

The response last year was very gratifying and attracted a great
deal of attention to the DPA and its members' publications. More
importantly, it allowed the writers and publishers active in
electronic publishing to get the recognition they so richly
deserve. With the release of the awards - the announcement was
carried in several widely-read news outlets - those of you who
submitted to the contest got some significant critical acclaim and
recognition from sources other than your readership.

The rules remain virtually the same as last year. The competition
is open to materials that were first published in electronic
format. That means, materials that have been uploaded to an online
system or distributed on disk for reading as digital materials
previously are eligible for consideration. Materials that were
simply created on computer (most writers use those for EVERYTHING
these days, anyway) and do not meet the criteria of having been
made available on an online system for reading do not qualify.

Award Categories:

Regular Publication - a weekly, monthly or bi-monthly publication
that has been in publication for 6 months or more. This category
will include both fiction and non-fiction magazines and
newsletters.

Fiction Book - an original (eliminating reprints of the
"classics" in digital format - who among us can hope to compete
with a digital edition of Shakespeare's classics?) electronically
published novel. Length: 50,000 words, minimum.

Non-Fiction Book - an original non-fiction book in digital
format. Length: 35,000 words minimum.

Short Story - a single original story appearing either alone or
as part of an anthology or magazine and published in digital
format. This category shall exclude reprints of stories
originally published in a paper publication. Length: 1000 words,
minimum.

Non-fiction article - a single originally article appearing
either alone or as part of a magazine and published in digital
format. This category shall exclude reprints of articles
originally published in paper. Length: 1500 words, minimum.

Publishing software - a software program (Shareware or
traditionally marketed) designed for publishing text and/or
graphics and facilitating their distribution and viewing.
Nominations will be accepted from users as well as original
authors.

Hopefully, the prizes this year will be more substantial that in
1992. A certificate, suitable for framing, will be awarded to
first, second, third winners in each category. In cases where the
number and/or quality of submissions warrants, certificates of
Merit will also be awarded. Additional prizes, such as software or
other writing or publishing tools, will be solicited from various
commercial companies. If we are able to secure any, these will
be announced in the future. Also, since we have something - not
much, but something - in the budget this year the Board of
Directors will decide on whether or not cash awards will be
included in the prizes. Announcement of the winners will be
made through press releases from the DPA to the appropriate media.
If the DPA is granted permission by the respective authors, the
winning submissions will be compiled into a "digital anthology"
sponsored by the DPA and circulated in electronic format to the
Press, the BBS circuits, and the online community.

I also envision a "Grand Prize" winner this year as well. If we can
get the Board of Directors to agree on a selection process, that
will be awarded in addition to category winners. Finally, I hope to
include some awards to selected industry personalities recognizing
their contributions to the electronic publishing industry. Nominees
for these "Certificates of Recognition" will be accepted from any
DOA member. The decision of these awards will be determined by the
Board of Directors of the DPA.

As before, judges will be selected from members and nonmembers with
expertise in each category. Volunteers are being immediately
considered. If you would like to judge a particular category, just
let us know. I think the judges last year did a terrific job,
particularly considering the volume of submissions. They were
prompt and thorough and very fair. The judges will be announced in
the near future. Again, decision of the judges is final.

At the suggestion Ted Husted, we have decided to link the 1993
Digital Quill Awards to our other media event for the year,
"Electronic Publishing Month." In 1992, that month was November and
that seemed to be a good time for the media to cover it. We will
continue that again this year. Winners for the 1993 Awards will be
announced as part of the activities of "Electronic Publishing
Month."

DEADLINES: Submissions will be accepted from original authors or
from the editors of a publication in which the submitted material
appeared. Submissions must be made in digital format (via modem or
on disk) to any of the "electronic addresses" listed below.
Deadline for submissions is September 30, 1993. Entries postmarked
after 9/30/93 will not be considered. Winners will be announced on
or before November 15, 1993.

Submit materials to any of the following addresses:

CompuServe: 75166,2473
GEnie: RALBRIGHT
MCI Mail: 370-7474 (RALBRIGHT)

Or, if you have a modem and are not a subscriber to these online
systems, you can upload submissions to the Disktop Publishing
Association BBS at 205-854-1660 (1200/2400/9600; 24 hours/day).

Or, if you wish, you can submit materials on disk (Mac or IBM; any
format) by mailing to:

The Disktop Publishing Association
1160 Huffman Road
Birmingham, AL 35215

      Common Questions and Answers About Eligibility

QUESTION: I am interested in submitting a short story to your
contest.  As a professional writer am I eligible to enter the
contest?

ANSWER: Of course! Most who enter consider them professional
writers.

QUESTION: Is a short story that was written on computer
but later published in a magazine suitable for submission?  What
about a short story that hasn't appeared in a magazine but might
in the near future (since it has already been submitted to a
"hard text" magazine)?

ANSWER:  If the Quill Awards were open to ALL materials simply
created on a computer and not electronically distributed, it would
get pretty chaotic. The DPA will accept materials that were created
AND published - either  on an online service or on disk - for
others to read via  computer. It may sound like we are splitting
hairs but it is an  important distinction.  The DPA wants materials
(1) created on  computer AND (2) for reading PRIMARILY via
computer.  Both  conditions must exist. It is not a Boolean "OR"
condition - not  "created on computer OR read by computer. It is an
"AND"  condition - created on computer specifically to be READ by
computer.  The material MUST exist in a "published" format in  some
electronic fashion.  Again, at the risk of beating the  distinction
into the ground, materials simply CREATED on computer and not for
computer-mediated reading are not eligible.

QUESTION: Since the stories I am considering for submission may
become a chapters in a book, I am concerned about the copyright
situation.  Will the story be published or merely judged?

ANSWER: All writers retain full copyright for their materials.
We will ask for permission to publish the winners' works in an
anthology disk (which will not be sold for profit), but the
individual papers will be included only if permission is granted
by the authors.

Final Notes on the Quill Awards: I promise this year that we will
mount a major public relations campaign for both the Digital Quill
Awards and "Electronic Publishing Month." I am already compiling a
list of press contacts and I will personally pound them with press
releases starting in July. We are starting early enough that was
can get some ink this year to coincide with the awards. Giving
ourselves enough lead time was the major lesson I learned from last
year's awards. We are starting early enough this year to really get
some interest generated. I hope you will do your part. If you plan
to enter, send information about the Quill Awards and your entry to
your local paper. Local papers love stories about their readers
competing for national awards. Think about how you can get the news
out. Everyone is part of this - prospective competitor or observer.

TELEREAD Finds Supporters...

If you have not read TELEREAD.TXT from David Rothman on the DPA
BBS, you really should jump on a copy. David's ideas about the
future of electronic publishing are wonderfully inventive and
imaginative. He is seriously pushing the idea, almost single-
handedly, to anyone who will listen. He recently told me he has
found a major advocate. Seems the idea of online publishing and
universal access to literature has caught the fancy of none other
than William F. Buckley, noted columnist, magazine editor, and
political analyst. As I understand it, Buckley plans to have a
future newspaper column discussing the Teleread concept.
Congratulations to David for being such an effective advocate for
his remarkable plan for the future of electronic publishing. The
DPA strongly supports David's "TeleRead" concept. It just makes
sense for all involved in the publishing industry.

Sort of like TeleRead...

According to Diane Duston and her story carried by the Associated
Press, the Library of Congress is already beginning to experiment
with the idea of remote electronic access to publications. The
Library has mailed computer and video disks to 44 libraries, public
school systems and universities around the country where people can
go to view historic documents, films and recordings. But, taking
the process even further, Denver's Columbine High students are
participating in an experiment to see if the materials can be
delivered remotely from the Library through a cable television
system.
   Among the works available to the Columbine students are:
   --Early motion pictures, including films taken by Thomas Edison
of President McKinley's inauguration; footage of New York City at
the turn of the last century; San Francisco just before the Great
Earthquake and fire of 1906.
   --Historic photographs, including Mathew Brady's coverage of the
Civil War.
   --Documents, including papers from the Continental Congress and
Constitutional Convention from 1774-1789.
   --Early sound recordings, including the voices of Presidents
Harding and Coolidge and General John J. Pershing.
   The disks and equipment are kept at the local cable television
station and can be distributed to any household or building hooked
up to the company -- in this case, Jones Intercable, the
seventh-largest cable company in the country.
   The students at Columbine sit at personal computers in their
school and call up a menu that enables them to pick the materials
they want for transmission by the cable station.
   The dream is to someday make the collections of the nation's
largest library available to schools and homes across the country
on a cable TV channel that consumers can dial into for historical
films, documents or photographs.
   According to Dustin, Library of Congress officials say their
dream is to eliminate the shipping of disks altogether so that
someday the collections can be sent from the library, perhaps by
satellite, directly to cable outlets.
   Cable companies are moving rapidly to supply consumers with
technology that will enable them to punch buttons on a remote
control to call up specific programming.
   The capability will eliminate use of the telephone to order
pay-per-view programs or goods on home shopping channels. It also
could be used to dial up the Library of Congress.

Software Update: The Instant Magazine Machine

Mohamed Bhimji (M&S Software Company, 3103-67A Street, Edmonton,
Alberta Canada T6K 1S6) has made available a wonderfully simple
tool to get your text into an attractive reading interface as
quickly as possible. "The Instant Magazine Machine" (TIMMS.ZIP on
the DPA BBS) allows the author to create a simple menu of files and
then have them presented to the reader with a beautiful, "Graphical
User Interface" (GUI), mouse-driven interface. TIMM is really
something to behold in its simplicity and ease-of-use - for both
the author and the reader. No hypertext, no graphics - just the
presentation of ASCII about as nice-looking as it gets. If you are
a non-programmer looking for a unique interface with which to
display your text, I strongly suggest you take a look at TIMM. The
registration fee ($25.00 as I recall; check or money order) gets
you unlimited distribution rights with no licensing fees. Nice
product; nice offer.

On the publication beat...

Will Ballard has released his Windows-compatible (but readable on
any machine as ASCII) WriteWare Electronic Magazine.  I'll let Will
explain his marketing plan:

"This is provided as WriteWare, which means that it is not, in
fact, free.  It functions much the same way as shareware.  This
means that if you liked the work presented here and you want to see
more of it in the future, you will need to contribute financially.
The cost per issue is two dollars.  Yes, this means that each
issue is registered separately.  Currently we accept cash,
check, or Money Order.  Make checks and Money Orders payable to
WriteWare, c/o Will Ballard (P.O. Box 610, Denton, TX 76202; (817)
243-2102).

"We are continually open to suggestions and quality submissions for
our magazine.  We would like the authors, poets, and essayists of
the world to contribute to our forum in order to spread their work
(and fame) around the country.  With enough interest we plan to
make ordering easier by phone using credit cards in the near
future, until then please support innovative media!"

We wish Will and WriteWare all the success in the world.

One of the best new magazines out on the digital circuit is Todd
Jacobs (Jacobs Publishing, Ltd., Abrams Hall, Box 1029, Washington,
DC  20307; 202-388-9742). Using Orpheus (from Rod Willmot and
Hyperion) as the interface, "Electronic Review" is a combination of
fiction and other works. It includes advertising. Todd has massaged
Orpheus into a unique, easy-to-use interface and combines a number
of features that I didn't even know Orpheus could do. Even if you
are not a reader, you will want to look at this publication for the
way it uses Orpheus so nicely. You can find the latest (May, 1993)
issue of Electronic Review on the DPA BBS as "ER-MAY93.ZIP." Nice
going, Todd. Todd has a lot of big plans for electronic publishing
so if you are an author looking for a market, you may want to touch
base with Todd for some of the details.

A personal note...

On June 7, I enter the hospital for what will, to say the least, be
a challenging experience. Not that you are interested in the
details, but I am going to have three-vessel coronary bypass
surgery. I tell you this not to get "Get Well" cards or the like (I
beg you to let me suffer in peace!), but to explain why the DPA BBS
may be out of order for long periods of time or your electronic or
paper mail gets, seemingly, ignored. It's not that I am ignoring
you, but that I am temporarily incapacitated. In any case, be
patient with the BBS and your correspondence. Hopefully, I will be
able to get things back to normal within a couple weeks. In the
meantime, beat the bushes and proclaim the DPA to the highest
mountain tops. With your continued enthusiasm and energy, we will
continue to grow and prosper. See you next month!

Member Update - Current Members as of 6/1/93:

          Founding Member - Ron Albright          $250.00

          President's Club - Mike White           $100.00

          Full Membership - Ted Husted             $25.00
                            Del and David Freeman  $25.00
                            Paul Peacock           $25.00
                            Ed Brezezowski         $25.00
                            Jan Moens              $25.00
                            Ian Firla              $25.00
                            Walter Gammons         $25.00
                            Rod Willmot            $25.00
                            Bret Fledderjohn       $25.00
                            David Bealer           $25.00
                            Harvey Forman          $25.00
                            Michael Gibbs          $25.00
                            Lynn Hellebust         $25.00
                            William Forbes         $25.00
                            Charles Weideman       $25.00
                            Meckler Corporation    $25.00
                            Wilbur Glover          $25.00
                            Don Lokke              $25.00
                            John Galuszka          $25.00
                            Andrew Varga           $25.00
                            Carl Slater            $25.00

          BBS Membership - Mike Carnell - The Book Board
                           Wally Wang - The Success!! BBS

          Association Membership - Byron Lanning   $10.00
                                   Leslie Stuphen  $10.00
                                   Margie Smith    $10.00
                                   George Demer    $10.00

Thanks to all for your continued support and financial assistance.