This 200‐pager is one of those books which, on first sight, appears rather implausible. However, on closer inspection such suspicion is allayed. The reason for the misapprehension is possibly the implication in the book’s title that it somehow covers the whole Internet thing ‐ nowadays an almost impossible feat. Or, indeed, it may be that the title, by defining so loosely its audience, sounds over‐ambitious. Yet the clear structure and good design of this paperback make it a very useful and interesting reference tool. Its content is perhaps best summed up as the Internet bit of the writers’ bit of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook ‐ incidentally they share the same publisher.
A lively introduction proclaims the book to be a cook book rather than a recipe book, thus the reviewer’s appetite was truly whetted. The first three chapters give outline descriptions of getting online, e‐mail and the World Wide Web. These chapters are useful and clearly explain the technology in a non‐technical way.
Chapter four begins the focus on the writer by introducing:
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virtual communities;
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moderated forums;
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writers’ circles; and
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Internet conferencing.
The focus then moves to electronic publishing where a sound grounding in e‐books and e‐journals is given. This is one of the book’s strongest areas, listing as it does the various approaches to designing portable reading technology such as:
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the Rocket e‐book;
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Qubit;
- 3.
Glassbook Reader; and
- 4.
Softbook.
The whole chapter on electronic publishing will be of great benefit to writers who find themselves encountering new practices because of the Internet. Such practices are of course not confined to creative writers; journalists, academics and scientific researchers all may benefit from the advice within this section.
The following chapter is brief but deals with the craft of writing within a digital environment. Interactivity, hypertext and multimedia are all mentioned and explained well. Examples of interactive poetry and the tools used to assist creativity are discussed. These aspects I feel warranted more investigation as they are of particular interest to the writer. A section dealing with publishing on the Internet is most informative and caters for not just the creative writer but also academic and commercial ventures. Useful pieces on Web site design and on the practicalities of hosting a Web site are included. Technicalities are explained with a disarming clarity and one is left thinking that it cannot be all that simple. It is pleasing to see mention of emerging technological standards such as xml and also to see that the principles of metadata, usually confined to the magic box, are explained with the enthusiasm of a librarian.
The final chapter covers a miscellany of issues from digital copyright through to repetitive strain injury. The section on plagiarism is a thought‐provoking discussion, particularly for those working in academic libraries. The author illustrates the complexity of ownership within the digital world through reference to the non‐digital. She provides two amusing quotes which serve to show that plagiarism is almost fundamental to the human condition: “Copying from one source is plagiarism, copying from two is research”, from Mizner, and from Stravinsky “A good composer does not imitate, he steals”.
A brief passage on censorship could have been expanded given that many writers (alas usually journalists) consider the Internet and pornography to have a special relationship. (They don’t). The Internet: A Writer’s Guide provides a final section which is an annotated listing of useful Web sites. These links are very well researched and described and are arranged with reference to the relevant chapter. In conclusion I would expect this guide to become a regular publication and perhaps for it to expand the directory style appendix to include information on, for example writing groups.
