WWWAC's Writers Sig held a spirited discussion on a range of issues,
from emerging business models and compensation for writers to
platform wars and intellectual property protection. All the
panelists, including Claire Zion, editorial director of
iPublish.com; Steven van Leeuwen, founder of Bartleby.com; Glenn
Hauman, founder of Bibliobytes.com; and Kimberly Duva, publisher
relations account executive for Barnes & Nobel.com's eBooks, agreed
that no single model has emerged. And all are experimenting with
different models. Moderated by Sara Nelson, Books Editor of
Inside.com, all panelists said they give away some at least some
content, with most experimenting with ad-supported content. Two of
the panelists, Haumann and van Leeuwen, are almost exclusively ad-
driven, while iPublish is participating in Bookface, a new ad-
supported e-book site. All panelists were bullish on the future of
the e-book business, though all admit that it will take some time
for the market to reach critical mass. The October meeting will be
held on Wednesday, October 4, and the topic will be Writing for
Entertainment Sites. Email marc@perton.com for more information or
visit wwwac.org.
