Last year 1279 professional authors completed a lengthy questionnaire on their use of, and attitudes towards, technological tools for writing and publishing. The data were analysed quantitatively, by examining the most frequent responses to items on the questionnaire, and qualitatively, by looking closely at details illuminating the relationship between authors and publishers. The results, for present purposes, are divided into three broad bands of interest: first, what types of writing software authors are currently using; second, what the implications of using authors' disks in the publication chain are; and third, how technology alters perceptions of the 'copy' as a unit of sale. Findings suggest that though authors are operating at basic levels, they have embraced technology with more enthusiasm than their publishers. The challenge facing those involved in books is to make provision for presenting and displaying work in electronic form: to improve contracts and licensing agreements, and to disseminate information on technology to authors.
THE RESEARCH PROJECT
Scope
We've, by and large, thought of computerisation as tools to reduce labour. In fact, we are ushering in a significant change in relationships between author and publisher, creator and editor, and thoughts and the delivery mechanism by which such thoughts are transmitted to the community. (Zuboff, 1988) Such thinking is at the base of the full report on the questionnaire Authors and Information Technology: New Challenges in Publishing (Dorner, 1991). It demonstrates that:
โข the industry lacks awareness of the implications of technology's revolution; โข contracts no longer cover all possible areas of difference; โข methods of handling text need redefining; โข new roles imply new methods of remuneration; โข the multiplicity of systems in use requires bridging methods; โข new standards and guidelines are required.