Culture

People nowadays seldom buy books to read. They'd rather spend time surfing the Net. Writers are now trying to put their novels on the Internet so that more people will have access to their work.

In fact, several online novels have established homepages in Hong Kong already. The Cyber Writers Association is an organization that provides spaces on the Internet for writers who want to share their creative works.

Mr. Johnny Chen, vice-chairman of the association, said, "As profit-seeking institutions, publishing houses have to consider factors other than the quality of the novel itself. But for us, we just put up writing on a homepage as long as it does not contain offensive materials."

Mr. Andy So, a Chinese University student who has posted his writings online, said that unlike book publishing, novels on the Internet is not bound by geographical constraints.

He said, "It is really flattering to receive compliments from readers living on the other side of the planet.

"And I guess this is the main driving force for most cyber writers."

However, Mr. So also said that putting texts on the Net has a few drawbacks. He said that criticisms from readers are usually direct and frustrating. Moreover, the problem of copyright infringement is fairly common on the Internet.

"It's comparatively easy to take other people's work as your own on the Internet. All you need to do is click a button," said Mr. Poon.

Although novels published online share a much wider readership, the development of online novels is still in doubt.

Miss Kristy Fong, the publishing manager of Crown Publishing in Hong Kong, is quite reserved about the feasibility of publishing novels online in Hong Kong.

"People go online for information only. I doubt how many of them are willing to sit in front of monitors and spend hours reading novels," she said.

Miss Fong said even though the trend to publish novels online may continue there are limitations that one must not overlook.

She said, "A book doesn't contain only words. It is a mixture of ideas, designs, marketing and presentation combined."

Miss Fong also said that she will not consider work on the Internet for publication at the moment.

"We are definitely looking out for good writers. However, our prime consideration is quality, and we are not sure if it is that easy to find good writers on the Net," she said.

Mr. Tsao Chit, a critic and writer in Hong Kong, said that the explosion of Internet novels has had a significant effect on the monopolistic market.

Said he: "New writers can get into the market this way and make positive contributions to the creative force of Hong Kong.

"However, as many novels of highly different quality appear, the situation may eventually get out of control."

Mr. Tsao also sees practical limitations of online publications.

Explained he: "Books are portable. You can bring them wherever you like. But for online publications, you have to bring along a notebook computer to read them, which is too clumsy.

"Another practical limitation of online novels is that reading novels by looking at the computer monitor is bad for the eyes."

Mr. Tsao said he will not consider publishing all his writings online at the moment.

"If I'm writing a collection of my own, I may consider putting one or two pieces of them on the Net simply for the interests of myself and the publisher," he said.

However, Mr. Chen, the vice-chairman of The Cyber Writers Association, has a very different view on the prospects for novels published online.

Said he: "It is a trend for people to digitalize printed materials. First came newspapers; then came magazines.

"Once people accept that reading can be done online, they will follow the trend."