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Why an Ezine?
We all grew up reading magazines and books printed on paper. There is a certain comfort level there, as well as pleasant associations, like the heft of a book, the smell of its pages, the anticipation we felt in picking up a story where we left off, and the pleasure of browsing through a bookstore -- something akin to perusing a treasure chest.
THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PRINTED MATERIAL, but we're now at the beginning of the Information Age with eBooks and ezines ("e" as in electronic). Many people, my wife included, are reluctant to accept the electronic medium. For some, the reasons stated above are enough to eschew the transition. For others, computers carry the connotation of work and drudgery, so that viewing anything on a screen is distasteful.
That's a shame, because there are compelling reasons for embracing this new technology, particularly for periodicals. The benefits are both personal and environmental.
From the publisher's point of view, it's far more cost effective. Writers, photographers, editors, graphic artists, and web designers still have to be paid, but the two largest expenditures, printing and distribution, are virtually free. Distribution, in fact, is incredibly easy, global, and free of waste.
Waste is a major environmental concern. For the last issue of EPICUREAN magazine, we printed 30,000 copies for newsstand distribution. The cost of paper, ink, labor, and distribution (by truck, train and boat) was enormous. After being on the stands for two months the unsold units, about 20,000, were destroyed. That's 10,000 pounds of paper committed to landfill. And that's not unusual: most successful magazines consider 35 to 40% a good sell-through. And back issues are rarely saved; the great majority are RELEGATED TO THE TRASH HEAP.
eBooks can be updated faster, and eBooks and ezines never go out of print because there is no storage cost, and no reason for libraries to jettison old books to make room for the new.
From the reader's point of view, ezines offer other advantages. The reader can conveniently access a vast library of downloadable information INSTANTANEOUSLY, without having to drive to a bookstore or library. Those in rural areas have the same access as those in big cities. You can digitally store a whole library's worth of books and magazines, and on your laptop, your PDA, or on an eBook reader, you can carry a whole library with you wherever you go. You always have a dictionary at your fingertips. And the amount of paper trash you generate will decrease significantly.
Furthermore, eBooks can do things that traditional books cannot. For instance, an article in EPICUREAN TRAVELER can link to relevent hotels, restaurants, our travel agency (Epicurean-Travel.com), and tourist boards. EPICUREAN TASTING ROOM can link to wineries' websites, or to Beverages & More to buy wine.
Helpful information can be kept on a website, or rerun in an eBook/ezine issue after issue, because it costs nothing to print, and next to nothing to distribute.
With the advent of high speed internet connections, the web is moving toward a blend of print and video. Future issues of EPICUREAN TRAVELER will include streaming video cooking demonstrations, and articles with video illustrations.
It's NEW, it's EXCITING, and it's here to stay.