All this buzz about ePublishing and eBooks misses the most important point: We’re on the cusp of ePublishing 2.0. Just having a digital version of a printed book is what I call ePublishing 1.0. It’s so the last decade.

That’s because prose is still prose and text is still text and who wants to take the time to read that?

I sure don’t and neither do my readers. The real movement and the next serious wave in writing, publishing, and content providing is what I call “The Interactive Movement.”

It’s not just about catching someone’s eye or getting their attention. And, a good story might hook someone but will it really last, can it sustain someone to read 300 pages?

Man, 300 pages sure sounds like a lot to read. Didn’t that stop when I graduated college? Who reads that many pages of text now?

No, ePublishing 2.0 isn’t about text or putting fancy fonts into your eBook. And, it’s not just about thinking you’re creative and cool by adding some timely pictures or even tossing in some slick videos.

They key is about Interactivity and engaging your reader, your audience for the length of what you are offering. You do this by weaving a compelling and engaging digital offering from start to finish.

That’s why I say the next generation of eBooks need to be part People Magazine, a dash of YouTube, and a heaping serving of Huffington Post.

Writers no longer need to be Authors. Hell, they don’t really need to even write well. But they must convey and communicate. And, this is most effectively done by connecting with your readers.

That’s why short bursts of prose or text hold attentions. And, prose must be more casual. Conversational writing is the real conversation. We’re bored with fancy writing, authors who talk to us like teachers and act superior.

We want to read in the same manner our friend would talk to us or the guy next to us at the bar. And, we want to stay interested, keep involved.

ePublishing “2.0″ authors do this by using all the tools in their arsenal: Video, Pictures, Music, weblinks, etc.

eBooks are really webpages and websites. The better and better the eReaders, the iPads, and the other devices we use to consume our online media become, the more that statement will be true.

So, if you really want to succeed as a writer, blogger or author in this New Age of Media, be more People Magazine than New York Times.