“What makes a book? “Words”

“What makes a book? “Words”

[In a November 2008 lecture on] Book Production Trends . . . Frank [Romano] . . . brought up Random House V/s. Rosetta Books, a 2001 case in which Judge Sidney Stein denied Random House’s claim to e-book rights on certain of its titles. According to Frank, Judge Stein’s decision was based on his opinion that an "e-book did not fit the definition of a book". Frank put his audience on the spot by asking them to define a book. I was stoked at this point, because the lecture was sponsored by Bookbuilders of Boston (on whose board of directors I serve), and most of the audience were Bookbuilders members. Here’s where my people get to show off their publishing mojo, I was thinking.

“What makes a book?” Frank asked again.
Voices from the audience called out:
“Pages.”
“Pages in sequence.”
“With a binding. Pages bound together in sequence.”

A woman sitting in front of me spoke up with the thin, cautious voice of a fifth grader who isn’t completely sure she knows the right answer. “Words?” she said. Nobody seemed to hear her.

I hope next time she speaks up louder, and I hope Bookbuilders listens. Because the future of Bookbuilders – and all its member companies – depends on being able to see books as something much more than pages bound together.

~ Susan Marie