My already longstanding plan is to write a book on how the Internet is causing a communication revolution in China, targeting an often-ignorant
outside world.
Last year the plan did not work out. Too busy, no decent sponsorships, and actually I was so familiar with the subject I feared it would bore me to death.
Now the situation is changing. I'm getting involved in Chinese plans to double the number of Internet users from 115 million now to 230 million in five to ten years time using 3G mobile connections. That is a too big story not to write up.
The topic of my book is China's second communication revolution. My plan is to write it partly with the help of the audience of my weblog, China Herald.
I explained that this morning to the publisher who agreed last year to publish my original book. This morning he offered a rather frank assessment: "What is our added value for your book?" he asked. A fair question in this digital age.
Mostly my Gmail account does a good job in removing spam, but last week a messages from Lulu.com made it to my inbox. Their offer: DIY-publishing at virtually no cost. Now, I'm pondering: should I take up that offer, or do you think publishing houses still offer added value?
Any experiences out there? Can we do it all without publishers?
Ah, thanks for the feedback. I'm going through the little...
