Contents: World Wide Web WWW-next generation points of view form and function of document processors document standards media and document integration

Type: General Notes: Clearly-written, well-designed textbook that introduces you to the elements of electronic publishing for the Web, Internet, CD-ROM, and other media. Provides a wide background to tools, techniques, processes needed to develop electronic documents. Good choice for classroom or self-study. The CD contains a hyperlinked version of the entire book. Contains Index. Illustrated. Reference.

StudioB Interview
Spotlight on Sandy Ressler

How did you get involved in writing computer books?

Well...about ten years ago, Don Libes (a friend and co-author of our first book) and I were bored with our jobs, and we simultaneously decided we wanted to write a book. We both knew a lot about UNIX so we decided to do an overview of UNIX and its culture. This eventually turned into the book Life with UNIX.

Did your desire to write a book stem from a desire to write or a desire to explain UNIX?

A little of both. I knew I wanted to embark on a big, high-quality project. The problem with writing reports and papers at work is that there are many constraints as well as an approval process run by people who aren't necessarily qualified. I really wanted to do something where we could just say what we wanted and didn't have to worry about any "official" opinions.

As far as it being specifically a UNIX book -- at that time UNIX was quite established but there was no single source for a quick overview of the most useful commands and tools that were the best part of UNIX. There's also this "UNIX philosophy" thing that we wanted to get into: an approach to developing systems that UNIX encourages. Finally, we wanted to present it all with a sense of humor...after all, UNIX isn't a cure for cancer! It's just an operating system people can and should have fun using.

Tell us a little bit about your newest book, The Art of Electronic Publishing. What makes it different from other Internet publishing books?

Why it's the best Internet/Web book out there of course (bada boom)! Seriously, I did try to cover all of the pieces involved when you write-with-a-computer. It's a good general overview of the various technologies which, when combined, make up the Web. I try to present all of these technologies as pieces of the complex process of writing documents. I cover stuff like multimedia, HTML, graphics integration, protocol issues, style sheets and most importantly document standards like SGML and it's relationship to HTML and the Web.

I wanted to let people see that documents created for on-line publishing are often dependent on "unseen" standards, protocols and the environment a "reader" will use. There's also a good chapter with a series of case studies describing how people deal with various electronic publishing projects from CD-ROMs to the Web, as well as traditional books and journals. The CD-ROM included with the book also contains the video "SGML The Movie" as a QuickTime file with an Acrobat front-end. It's also fun to read.

It sounds like this is much more than just a Web book. What gave you the idea to write a comprehensive guide to electronic publishing?

I've always been interested in the use of computers as writing tools. There are so many different aspects to it. When I have to do a task I dislike -- let's say develop a proposal -- one way I make the task palatable is to use a new tool to help in that task. I'm a technophile in that respect, and very curious about technical stuff in general. So as I discover new tools that assist in writing, I try them and see how well they work. Though the playing eventually has to stop and I need to complete the task I set out to do, I begin to look at the field in a gestalt kind of way where I try to grasp the whole field and then refine those areas I have to learn more about. Electronic publishing is such a wide-open field that encompasses many technologies that I've just gotten into it.

There's also a large component of visual design that goes into a document. I'm a very visual person and like to tweak documents 'till they look good. It's kind of amusing sometimes, particularly if I have to do some nonsense for work, to create a really good looking document that's content-free.

I noticed that the entire text of your book is available on the Web. How do you think this affects your book sales?

That's a really good question. I actually have no idea. I did specifically nag the publisher to allow this (which they did). My reasoning was that since the book is about electronic publishing, a Web site containing the entire contents of the book is only natural. A PDF version is also available on the CD-ROM packaged with the book. My hope is that if the on-line contents looks interesting to someone, they will go and buy the real thing (which also doubles as a door stop...try doing THAT with a Web site).

Is writing a full-time job for you? If not, what 's your "real" job?

Writing is my spare-time "night" job. My "day" job is working at a large government science agency. The good part is that I get to play with lots of cool gee-whiz toys, the bad part is that I work for a large government science agency.

About the Author

Mr. Ressler has been involved with a variety of interactive computer graphics and video technologies for almost twenty years. Currently he is a member of the Information Technology Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology where he is involved with work on user interfaces. He is author of Perspectives on Electronic Publishing and co-author of Life with UNIX, both published by Prentice-Hall. He is also the author of a course for a subsidiary of Addison-Wesley entitled Multimedia Development-A Hands-On Workshop.

You may find out more about him at his Web site: http://www.nist.gov/itl/div894/ovrt/people/sressler/sressler.html

Amazon.com talks to Sandy Ressler

Search for books by Sandy Ressler.
You may email the author at sandy@ability.net
The author's home page is at: http://www.prenhall.com/electronic_publishing

Amazon.com: How did you begin writing? Did you intend to become an author, or do you have a specific reason or reasons for writing each book?

S.R.: My first book "Life with UNIX" was coauthored with a friend and we just wanted to be able to put together a book that was unique and covered the entire universe of a topic - in that case UNIX. We were also bored with our day jobs.

Amazon.com: What authors do you like to read? What book or books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?

S.R.: Definitly science fiction and humor like Dilbert and Dave Barry. Mostly I try to inject a little humor in many places while writing about "serious" topics such as electronic publishing but in general I try to have fun while still being informative, which hopefully gives lets the reader have an enjoyable read.

Amazon.com: Could you describe the mundane details of writing: How many hours a day do you devote to writing? Do you write a draft on paper or at a keyboard (typewriter or computer)? Do you have a favorite location or time of day (or night) for writing? What do you do to avoid -- or seek! -- distractions?

S.R.: It's just way more work than you can imagine! Since my last two books were about electronic publishing you would think that I would take my own advice and plan out things more but I'm just not that organized. I generally write at night for a few hours after my day job and the kids have gone to bed.

As far as drafts I like to get pieces of the whole book done so that I can get a good mental picture of the entire project. The last book probably went through half a dozen or more rewrites before I sent it to a professional editor to help with grammar and punctuation for the final polish.

Amazon.com: Do you meet your readers at book signings, conventions or similar events? Do you interact with your readers electronically through e-mail or other on-line forums?

S.R.: Haven't done any signing yet but I'm hoping too soon. I've had a little interaction with readers via email and that's been fun. I'm still waiting for the call from Dave Letterman :-)

Amazon.com: When and how did you get started on the 'Net? Do you read any newsgroups, such as rec.arts.books and rec.arts.sf.written, mailing lists or other on-line forums? Do you use the 'Net for research -- or is it just another time sink? Are you able to communicate with other writers or people you work with over the 'Net?

S.R.: I've been on the net pretty much since it existed in the early 80s (yes I'm getting older by the minute). Well at work I say I use the net for research (wink wink). I communicate with many people daily for work and writing over the net.

Amazon.com: Feel free to use this space to write about whatever you wish: your family, your home town, hobbies, favorite places, where you've lived, where you went to school, what jobs you have had, your last (or planned) vacation, your favorite color/food/pet/song or movie, what books you'd take to a desert island, what you intend to do before you die, or what you think of just about anything.

S.R.: Well I did just get back from a vacation to the Outer Bank of North Carolina so I'm mellow and won't blow off this question completely :-) Actully I'd just like to hear from people if they like the web site and the book...when you're writing you never know if anyone is going to see the stuff. Oh and in a few years my kids are going to start college so it wouldn't hurt if some of y'all actually bought the book.

I also wanted to tell the Amazon.com folks that this is a way cool system! Congrats.

You can read recent interviews with authors.

Ambitious newcomers to site building might want to first read Sandy Ressler's The Art of Electronic Publishing. This book presents a good overview of the tools and techniques available to Web publishers. It covers much ground, from Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) to Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), and everything in between. Unfortunately, that's also its biggest weakness: Ressler sacrifices depth for breadth. He provides little hands-on information about using the tools he describes. Numerous references to other sources-mainly Web sites-compensate somewhat for the lack of depth. Technically savvy Web novices will appreciate Ressler's logical organization, clear explanations, and unpatronizing style, however. The book gives a clear picture of how to approach your Web project.