XML: Code of the Future
by Liz Thomson -- Publishers Weekly, 10/17/2008 10:47:00 AM
Mike Shatzkin of the IdeaLogical Company delivered some news at a Frankfurt seminar that will shock many publishers: the book now comes under that catch-all contractual category of subsidiary rights. It is part of what has been called "the Copernican change" - that is, intellectual property is now the sun, not the book. "The book is merely one orbiting opportunity," declared Shatzkin at a session entitled Start with XML.
For those who don't know, XML - standing for Extensible Markup Language - allows users to determine their own markup elements, its prime purpose being to allow systems to share structured data via the Internet. It is used both to encode documents and serialize information. ONIX, epub, XBITS and bookDROP are all examples of XML-based standards and specs.
Essentially, it means that publishers working in XML, which they must do from the moment they take delivery of a manuscript, can repurpose it for downloads to e-readers, mobile phones and devices as yet unknown to us. "Chunking" and "transforming" were words that Shatzkin used repeatedly, meaning that content - what publishers currently like to think of as a book - can be customized to suit buyers' individual needs and delivered in a variety of ways, via download direct to a reading device or for print on demand for example. In addition, it enables the tagging of content with information on rights and so forth.
"XML means greater flexibility and lower transaction costs, enabling broader and more targeted marketing," as the book is "split apart to create new products," Shatzkin said. And as bricks-and-mortar retailing contracts, reaching a multiplicity of often niche markets via the Internet is becoming ever more important.
STM publishers have been quick to grasp the XML nettle, as have specialist publishers such as O'Reilly Media, which publishes in the field of computer technology. But even so, as Andrew Savikas of O’Reilly Media noted, "anything that's shiny and new causes a anxiety and uncertainty". Be sympathetic to that, he advised, and ensure that "at least one senior member of staff really understands the technology. Pick pilot projects carefully."
Both Shatzkin and Savikas pointed out that even for those trained in desk-top publishing, XML represented a challenge, not least because the tools for working with it are as yet not fully developed. Early adopters who worked online in HTML and blogged in the first days of the web may find it less alien. But the message is that embracing XML means short-term pain for long-term gain: "It will unlock the future," concluded Shatzkin.
