There’s a new site called Myebook.com that states you can upload comics to their site for people to read. So I tried it out to see how it works and also I have an interview with Sy Whitehall of Myebook.com to answer some questions about the site.
First you sign up for a free account which is fairly simple and straight forward. Then you launch their editing tool which is in Flash. Then you upload the image files, which can be done in mass up to 30 files. You can also upload video and audio files as well. Then a slight issue I found that in order to load a completed comic page onto their page you had to set the image as the background for the page and not just place it on the page. Apparently their tool does basic publishing functions like arranging a page, so you can move images around on one pages, but if you have a finished comic page you’ll need to make it the “background” so it will take up the full page. Also they don’t really state the dimensions of the page so it’s hard to see if you’re keeping a similar ratio to the original page or is it going to get stretched out of shape (if that information was there, I couldn’t find it easily).
That said, it was all fairly easy and quick and I was able to upload a comic in roughly 30 minutes.
You can look at the finished results here-
http://www.myebook.com/index.php?option=ebook&id=973
Oh and here’s a quick over view about copyrights and how Myebook.com seems to handle them. According to their Terms of Use Policy, it states that by uploading your comic to their system you give them licence to allow that comic to be downloaded. That said, each download is limited to one download per person and can’t be copied by users. Also the licence expires when the content is removed from the site (with the exception that an archive copy is kept except it’s not for public use). To read more, go to http://www.myebook.com/index.php?option=termsofuse
Now onto the interview with Sy Whitehall of Myebook.com
-For of those of us who aren’t so technically inclined what is Myebook exactly?
Put simply, myebook is an on-line tool that enables users to create their own books, be it a comic, photo album, book or magazine the system will enable the user to create the publication and then viral it out to the myebook community and the general web. The system handles all common media types including images, videos, sound files, text documents, vector graphics hotspots and more so simply put myebook is a platform that enables the user to bring all this together in one place.
-Is it just a site where we can host comics or there more tools than that?
Given the number of different types of media you can include in an ebook , there is far more available than just hosting your comics. An ebook opens in front of you, you turn the page and a video, an animation or audio starts to play. It is a whole new way of viewing published media on-line. You provide the content – we provide the medium. It is quite literally ‘your imagination’ in an ebook.
-How did Myebook’s get started? Was it just an idea that was thought of one summer cookout?
Great question. My understanding is it purely came down to right time, right place and right surroundings.
It was a culmination of ideas that once discussed started to fall into place. The document was written and it was handed to the developers. Nearly two and a half years on and here we are.
-What is the plan for Myebook?
What you see at present is the base myebook platform. We have additional stages in development at the moment but these are all add-on’s to the system, the plan for now is that we get people registered as either viewers of the content or book creators, we want to always keep it free and ensure that everyone can benefit from this exciting new tool. We will send you the press releases as and when new systems are launched…
-Why add comics to Myebooks?
There are a number of answers to this question. It is the perfect medium for people to get their work out there and get it noticed. As we discussed earlier the media rich features allow the creative amongst us to make something very striking. The way the pages turn and the way the whole thing looks lends itself perfectly to the comic creator and then the comic reader.
-How can Myebook’s work for comics specifically?
The comics publishing and distribution industry is going through some big changes at the moment. Creators are looking further away from traditional methods of distribution and we think what we have here certainly goes some way to publishers re-thinking their business model. In addition we are also looking into available revenue streams for our comic partners, this will hopefully be released over the next couple of weeks and will we hope be the best deal for both the comic creator and myebook.
-What is the advantage of a comic creator in using Myebook?
Our tag line is ‘Create, publish, share – get it out there’. That’s exactly what will happen. The content goes up and the readership will undoubtedly follow. The creators will tell their readership where they can preview, read and get involved in their favourite publications. At last in a highly competitive industry we have created something that will give creators and publishers an equal footing. In addition it’s a great way for a comic creator to present their new ideas, and its free to use!
-How does Myebook differ from other digital comics sites like DriveThru Comics and Wowio?
The first main difference is visual, we display a comic in a way it should be viewed, not as a slide show but as a book, the page turn offers the user the ability to turn the pages as they would a physical comic, its far more engaging than a PDF.......
We allow our users to not only post their content on our site we are also including the tool that enables the user to actual create their publication within our systems, you can have a book in development for a day / week or month, the beauty is when they are ready they just press publish, and there is no cost for the software or even any downloads, its your publishing tool that you can access from any machine.
-How has the response for comics on Myebook been so far?
We started to let our name sneak out there last week and to our delight the comics industry came straight on board. The benefits are there for all to see. We appear to have created a happy marriage between the publishers and the readers.
-There is mention of a community function for site?
Indeed. The whole community element of myebook is massive. It is structured in such a way that everyone can have a community. Based either around something personal to themselves or their family, and so keep it private, or something which carries a much bigger user/fan base like comics. The way we have structured the communities and contacts allows members to offer their ebooks into the community where they can be commented on and discussed.
-Is there a tool that can help form creative teams (artist, writer, inker, ect.)?
When you see how the community side of myebook works, you will agree it’s the perfect tool for team work, contact, interaction and networking
-How do copyrights work exactly with Myebook?
I would advise reading the term and conditions but simply put myebook makes no claims to ownership of content uploaded or displayed through our systems.
-Is there planned Print-On-Demand features for Myebook?
To put it simply, yes. Additional information will be available on this via future press releases once released.
-Comic book publisher Markosia has come out in support of Myebook. What is their relationship with the site?
Markosia created an account and started adding their titles.
It is very nice to welcome them on board.
-Does the staff of Myebook read comics?
There is only one guy who enjoys his comics, but now they are in myebook yes!! We spend our lives looking at screens. I am looking forward to really getting hooked on something and following it. Up to this point I am yet to settle on anything. I am looking out for something that hits the funnier side of comic publishing. Any suggestion? (Editor note: If you do have any suggestions for Sy and the rest of Myebook.com on books they should read, feel free to post them and I’ll compile the list to send to them).
