The never-abating battle between industrial-commercial publishers with their ever more potent technological and legal arsenal and free-spirited arts and craftsmanship crowd now rages as fiercely as ever in numerous discussion lists, fora, tomes, and conferences.

William Morris started "private press" movement in England in 19th century to counter what he regarded as callous commercialization of book publishing. When printing press was invented, it was put to commercial use by private entrepreneurs (traders) of day. Established "publishers" (monasteries), with a few exceptions (e.g., in Augsburg, Germany and in Subiaco, Italy) shunned it as a major threat to culture and civilization. Their attacks on printing read like litanies against self-publishing or corporate-controlled publishing today.

But, as readership expanded - women and poor became increasingly literate - number of publishers multiplied. At beginning of 19th century, innovative lithographic and offset processes allowed publishers in West to add illustrations (at first, black and white and then in color), tables, detailed maps and anatomical charts, and other graphics to their books.

Publishers and librarians scuffled over formats (book sizes) and fonts (Gothic versus Roman) but consumer preferences prevailed. The multimedia book was born. E-books will, probably, undergo a similar transition from static digital renditions of a print edition - to lively, colorful, interactive and commercially enabled objects.

The commercial lending library and, later, free library were two additional reactions to increasing demand. As early as 18th century, publishers and booksellers expressed - groundless - fear that libraries will cannibalize their trade. Yet, libraries have actually enhanced book sales and have become a major market in their own right. They are likely to do same for e-books.

Publishing has always been a social pursuit, heavily dependent on social developments, such as spread of literacy and liberation of minorities (especially, of women). As every new format matures, it is subjected to regulation from within and from without. E-books and other digital content are no exception. Hence recurrent and current attempts at restrictive regulation and legal skirmishes that follow them.

At its inception, every new variant of content packaging was deemed "dangerous". The Church, formerly largest publisher of bibles and other religious and "earthly" texts and upholder and protector of reading in Dark Ages, castigated and censored printing of "heretical" books, especially vernacular bibles of Reformation.

It even restored Inquisition for specific purpose of controlling book publishing. In 1559, it issued Index Librorum Prohibitorum ("Index of Prohibited Books"). A few, mainly Dutch, publishers ended up on stake. European rulers issued proclamations against "naughty printed books" of heresy and sedition.

The printing of books was subject to licensing by Privy Council in England. The very concept of copyright arose out of forced recording of titles in register of English Stationer's Company, a royal instrument of influence and intrigue. Such obligatory registration granted publisher right to exclusively copy registered book - or, more frequently, a class of books - for a number of years, but politically constrained printable content, often by force.

Freedom of press and free speech are still distant dreams in most parts of earth. Even in USA, Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), V-chip and other privacy-invading, dissemination-inhibiting, and censorship-imposing measures perpetuate a veteran though not so venerable tradition.

The more it changes, more it stays same. If history of book teaches us anything it is that there are no limits to ingenuity with which publishers, authors, and booksellers, re-invent old practices. Technological and marketing innovations are invariably perceived as threats - only to be upheld later as articles of faith. Publishing faces same issues and challenges it faced five hundred years ago and responds to them in much same way.

Sam Vaknin is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He is a columnist for Central Europe Review, United Press International (UPI) and eBookWeb and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com.

Visit Sam's Web site at http://samvak.tripod.com

After you create your article "3 Ways to Win At Poker" with usual 4 line author bi-line at bottom of page, create another file based on article titled "3 Great Ways to Win At Poker." Make sure you list resources, references and links over to your website or to more product pages and more information about you.

This file will be called your "infoproduct" or information product.

If you are lazy and just want to use exact same file as you used as your free article, that is okay as well.

Once you understand how encryption system works, you will understand how beneficial it is to allow people to purchase your articles.

Assign a price of $3.95 to your Infoproduct.

Now for a summary of what you have so far.

1. Article...used to market your e-book that you give away for FREE

2. E-book ...which is your basic product. You will charge $9.95 each

3. Infoproduct that you advertise in your e-book selling for $3.95

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Now here is good stuff and this is why I make sure I format in Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF. I also keep all of my files smaller than 500 kilobytes in size to allow delivery via e-mail without use of Zip files or other confusing helper programs.

My newest products are all text files that are small in size and can be read on any computer without any special software requirements.

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You now have your encryption system in place

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Picture this...At current time, you are watching a 2-hour hockey game.

While you are watching TV an Internet surfer, Jack Sprat, locates your website article.

(1) Jack Sprat reads article about your 3 gambling tips and thinks it's great.

(2) He goes to your website and purchases your e-book for $9.95

(3) He loves it so much that he sends it to his whole "Gamblers Anonymous" data base with over one million strong. This takes place in time span of one hour! Jack Sprat knows nothing about copyright laws. He is just so happy to share your expertise with his friends!

Over one million e-mail recipients receive attachment but only 10% or 100,000 people read about your tips. The other 90% just hit delete key on their computers. They are afraid of opening any e-mail attachments.

Over 100,000 read your e-book for free and 10% or 10,000 readers are so moved that they decide to click on over to your website and purchase your "Infoproduct" for only $3.95 each.

(Remember that your infoproduct is your free article with a price tag on it.

Your gross sales for one hour's work = $39509.95

(1) 0 X 100,000 = $0.00 Your E-book Sales (2) $9.95 X 1= $9.95 Jack Sprat's E-book sale (3) $3.95 X 10,000= $39509.95 Infoproduct sales

You made $39509.95 in one hour. Since your E-book ordering system is on automatic pilot, you never talked to a single customer or took product out of your inventory.

You are halfway done with hockey game and haven't even turned on your computer.

You also have 100,000 People talking about you at this very minute.

Are you excited yet?

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Your fame and fortune encryption system continues on...

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Remember those 10,000 people who paid $3.95 for special report after reading your e-book for free?

One person out of that group, Sylvia Wiss is only dishonest person out of 10,000 . She purchased special report for $3.95 and decides to send your $3.95 special report to one million of her friends. She sends it to "National Association for Preservation of Gambling" ...one million strong. Sylvia too, is Internet savvy and blasts out your Infoproduct to a million people in only one hour.

Like in above example only 10% of group or 100,000 read it. The rest consider it Spam or e-mail that should be deleted. 10% of that group or 10,000 love your Infoproduct. They love it so much that they purchase your featured e-book that was advertised in Infoproduct that was just stolen. Remember your "101 Winning Poker Strategies" Price 9.95?

Sylvia's efforts have resulted in 10,000 E-books, selling at $9.95 each, which equal $99,500 plus original $3.95 sale of Infoproduct to Sylvia Wiss.

Congratulations to your top salespeople!

Jack Sprat 's efforts created $39,509.95 in total sales. The total time elapsed is only one hour.

Sylvia Wiss brought you $99,503.95 in a time frame of one hour Your total sales for day: $139,013.90 The total time that expired during this process is just two hours

I wonder how much money you will have earned in next 40 hours?

There is one more question I will leave with you to think over. At what point do you contact an attorney and ask about copyright violations by Jack and Sylvia?

While you are thinking that over, I am going to see if there is anything else I can watch on television.

My E-book Fame and Fortune Encryption System is still operating.

Good luck.

---------------------- Resource Box ---------------------

Wayne Perkins, "The E-book Marketing King" Presents: Teleseminars to walk you through process of selling your information on-line. Make money today! http://www.wayneperkins.net/ebooks/write.html mailto:wayne@wayneperkins.net

Wayne Perkins is the best selling author of "A Cheap and Easy Guide to Self-publishing E-books" and presents teleseminars on how to sell information on-line. Wayne Perkins, Hypnotism Education Website is a top pick on Yahoo.

Wayne's mission in life is to help you achieve your mission in life.

Learn how to create, protect and sell your e-book files: