Core Dump

Here's an article from The ContentWrangler on how traditional (that is, book) publishers can use XML to modernize their processes and help them use their books' content in new ways. From what I've garnered reading authors' blogs, book publishers are still using practices that were modern in the 19th century (some are still accepting manuscripts only on paper), so this article may be a bit optimistic. The publisher cited as the main example, John Wiley, who most readers of this blog will know from their technical and programming books is way ahead of the curve.

It’s time for traditional publishers to follow suit − with a content-centered XML-first publishing approach. Getting there is not the difficult or disruptive process that many publishing executives have assumed. For instance, innovative new authoring tools enable content to be created in XML using interfaces indistinguishable from Microsoft Word. (XML is an open content standard that drastically reduces the effort required of publishing houses to create eBooks — and every other type of content. XML is designed to help publishers break the dependency of content on proprietary formats and specific devices. XML content can be easily repurposed, reused, shared, sorted, aggregated with other content, and automatically processed, published, and delivered, often on-demand.)

Labels: books, XML