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Hypertext Novels
The RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research
organization that provides analysis and solutions for the challenges facing the public
and private sectors around the world, has done an interesting study of e-books entitled:
Innovation and the Future of e-Books. The author of the study was John W. Warren.
According to Mr. Warren, the future of e-books may include enhanced e-books.
This concept could prove interesting to authors interested in experimenting with hypertext novels. A hypertext novel would include links within the text that takes a reader
to various locations either within, or without, the novel itself.
In 2002 when Alex Domokos and Rita Y. Toews were writing their novel Prometheus, the idea of
including hypertext was considered. The novel, set in Nepal, seemed to lend itself to the inclusion
of both photos of the area and links to more information on the culture and traditions of the society
the reader was about to enter. The authors felt the inclusion of these elements took full advantage
of the capabilities of e-books. In the end the idea was set aside.
The concept of hypertext novels in print format is not new. According to the RAND study, novels that play with the
hypertext form include Fernando Pessoa's The Book of Disquiet (posthumous
1991), Julio Cortázar's Rayuela [Hopscotch, 1963], or Norman Mailer's Advertisements
for Myself. Hopscotch invited the reader to choose various paths through the novel;
Mailer's work proposed three different readings; and Pessoa's invites browsing through the series of
thoughts and fragments. Although cumbersome in print form, the idea seems particularly
suited to an e-book format.
Hypertext offers a unique way for the reader to actually participate in the story, or even add
to the text if freedom is given to join in as an author. One challenge, on the surface, would
be unique writing styles that could interfere with the readability of the story line. This could
be overcome by having individual authors participate as specific characters in the plot. The result
would be each character having a unique "voice", thereby eliminating one frustration authors
often struggle with.
Challenges certainly do abound with the concept of hypertext. Links within the text that
remove the reader from the immediate story could also draw them totally out of it. On the other
hand, giving an audience a chose of story lines and story conclusions could draw an enormous
audience to the work. As noted by Warren, the Choose Your Own Adventure series of the 1980s
 allowed young adult readers to make plot decisions and the series sold more
than 250 million copies.
Hypertext has proven successful with teaching situations. Kelly's Baby Brother, a children's e-book,
includes linked words within the story that takes the young reader from a
word to a picture of that word. For instance, if the child clicks on the word "hands", he or she is taken to a
picture of hands.
Hypertext is not a business model that most publishers are familiar with. And if a multitude of
authors contribute to a novel ownership issues come into play. However, with the age of digitalization
it is authors and innovative publishers who will push the envelope far enough to bring seemingly
off-beat concepts of what constitutes a book into the mainstream. It will be the adventuresome readers
inter-acting in the reading experience who translate success into something publishers
understand - the bottom line on the sales ledger.
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